I spent most of my life growing up at home with 3 or more dogs in the house on 80 acres in the mountains outside of Boulder. So when I finally went off to college at Colorado State, it was strange to not have a dog. As soon as I graduated and bought my first house, I set out on the dog search. You can’t have a house with a huge backyard without a dog! I decided on a Weimaraner, and named her Bella. I know all parents say this, but she has to be the most well behaved Weimaraner that I’ve ever met. She certainly has a lot of energy, but that’s the kind of dog I was looking for.

Worn out From Some Fun At The Park

When I moved into Old Town, and my girlfriend moved in with me, we decided that Bella was in need of a friend to keep her company and play with to get her energy out. We looked at a lot of different types of dogs, but settled on a Doberman Pinscher, and named her Haley. She is one of the sweetest dogs you’ll ever meet no matter what you’ve heard about Dobermans. She will definitely protect us if needed, but if you’re a friend, she’ll just sniff and lick you.

Looking Cute!

Well, the point of this post is to tell you what you can do with your dog in Fort Collins, so I’ll stop fawning over my dogs for a bit. First, the dog parks in Fort Collins are located very conveniently. There is the Horsetooth dogpark at the far west side of Horstooth Road, and that is probably the biggest one in town. We frequent that one a few times a week, so if you see me there, say hi. Next, there is the park at the old Fort Collins High School at Peterson and Pitkin. This has been recently downsized due to a disagreement between the CSU marching band and dog owners, but there still is an area designated for dogs. City Park is also a great place to take your dog, just make sure they are very responsive to voice commands, because you can get in a bit of trouble with a crazy dog off leash with the ambiguous leash laws. Plus, it’s right on Mulberry street, so that’s another reason to keep your dog near you.

Speaking of City Park, one of the great events in Fort Collins is the City Park Pooch Plunge. This is put on by the City Park Pool at the end of the season for 2 days. For a minimal entrance fee, you and your dog can swim around in the pool, play with other dogs, and get a party favor for coming. It is an awesome time, although my Weimaraner got stung in the face last year by a bee, and she’s allergic. Other than that minor speed bump, it was a great time!

Fort Collins also offers great hiking trails and bike paths where you can take your pooch with you. I’d love to offer you some suggestions on what to do, so just give me a call!