“Peanut! Peanut? Come sit here.” I said, pointing at the floor in front of me. My cute, black Miniature Schnauzer / Shih Tzu promptly trotted over.

“Good boy.” I said, patting him. “Go down the slide, now.” I enunciated, pointing at the slide of the playground structure I had led him on.

He gave me a look, as if trying to say, Come on. WHY can’t I go down the stairs next to me? I picked him up and put him on the slide. Whee! He practically fell down the curved slide, looking like a dinghy inside the water slide in my favorite water park (which, by the way, is Schlitterbahn).

“Up again!” I told Peanut, who looking quite frazzled. Peanut tried to climb straight up the slide. This could be a treadmill for the dog. Put a treat in front of him, and he’ll run and run and run, I thought.

“Peanut!” I called and lead him over to the padding below the stairs. He came over, his tail wagging like crazy that I could imagine a fly being scarred away by the “rope of death”.

He would not, however, go onto the structure, as if apparently realizing it meant being thrown down the slide.

What his tiny little brain (okay, maybe not that tiny) didn’t realize but I did was a little trick. “Come here, Peanut.” I said, pointing in front of another slide about two yards (or meters) away from the first slide.

He came over, and in a few seconds… WHEE!

There was one more slide left, and it felt like lives in a game: you start with three, and one by one they are used…

What I saw after a moment, however, was quite amazing. Peanut himself walked over to the first slide and stood in front of it, looking heroic, as if he was about to go down a canyon.

I gave him a helpful push. WHEE!

This time, just as amazing, he walked over to the stairs, but it was too high, because he was coming on from the side. I led him to the front of the stairs, and this time, he walked over to the third slide. It was as if he was saying, Is this one safe?

I pushed him, just a moment before I noticed there was a huge puddle under it.

Oops. However, Peanut, being the cute little coal lump of his, jumped out at the last moment. Smart dog! “Good boy!” I applauded.

We played for about five minutes more, and then we went home, content. Peanut followed us the whole way.