Learning the Hard Way

Mulligan, like many boys, loves to play ball, but he is never allowed to play with a golf ball, even at home. It would be an outrageous breach of etiquette if Mulligan chased golf balls on the course! In all his years as a golf course dog, he has only gone after a rolling golf ball once.

He spent his first summer with me at the Country Club at Castle Pines, learning about golf course behavior. He hadn't been exposed to all the rules of golf course etiquette when he picked up a rolling putt during his very first Ladies' Day appearance. Fortunately, the ladies took his breach in good spirit. Mulligan's misbehavior gave me an opportunity to teach him good golf course manners and lay out the rules for playing with golf balls.

Preventing Off Season Injuries

Mulligan loves snow. If I let him loose to run the course, he will go all day running and jumping to exhaustion. Unfortunately, I learned early on when we were hiking in Colorado, that he won’t stop when his feet get cold. I don’t think he even notices the cold. So on snowy days, when he’d like to run free, I have to monitor how much time he spends outside. Overexposure can damage his unconditioned paws, and I don’t want my negligence during the off-season putting him on the disabled list when spring arrives and he has to go to work.