Doggie Park Runs!

A few months ago, my family got a new young female husky to add to our already full-house of three dogs. Recently, my brother and I have been taking all of the dogs to a park with a big grassy field to run and play with them on 30 feet long dog leashes. It’s a great way to not only get our dog’s energy out but also our energy! However, although it’s super fun, it is also hard work to manage four dogs on long leashes. My brother and I have to learn how to communicate with each other about how we will handle the dogs. Communication is only part of working together, another part is watching each other’s back and being there for your teammate. For example, if one of us is getting tired or can’t handle a dog any longer, the other will notice and offer a switch of dogs or insist on a break. We work together as a team because that is how everyone can benefit--my brother and I benefit from the positivity from working together and the increased productivity, and the dogs get a fun experience that is relatively stress-free and exciting. So, even in something as simple and running dogs at a park can benefit from some collaborative teamwork. This CAS experience reflects learning outcome 5 because I exhibited the skills needed in this specific collaborative work and recognized the benefits of this teamwork as well.