A dog and his boy

in the park are having a game...and yes, it is the dog who is leading the game - not the boy.
I pedal through a park to go to the meetings of my knitting guild. I could go another way, along a busy road. Going through the park is much nicer. 
It's a big park. The far side of it has play equipment and a barbecue area. The side I pedal through has a small bridge over the creek and the bike path. On either side there are dog walking areas.
Of course you are not supposed to let your dog off the leash  except at certain times. Still, people do. They always will. 
So, there is the dog and the boy.  The dog is not much more than a pup. It is full of bounce and energy. It is curious. The boy is about ten and he is laughing.
The boy is chasing the dog. The dog bounds ahead, stops for a moment, looks back and then continues on around in circles. It's a game!
It sees me, skids to a halt. I stop pedalling. We look at each other. His tail is wagging so hard it will surely come off?
      "He won't chase you," the boy says, "I taught him not to chase bikes."
We chat briefly about the dog. He's a "poodle-something" cross and "probably won't get much bigger". 
And his name? The boy hesitates and then tells me, "P.... it was my Dad's name. My Dad died just before we got him. It was all planned. My Dad and I were going to train him properly. So now I do it for him. You have to train dogs properly so that they respect you. It means you respect them too."
      "You're absolutely right," I told him, "He knows that too."
I pedalled on. The boy and the dog went back to their game. I could hear them as I cross the road on the other side.The dog is training the boy as much as the boy is training the dog. I think they will both be all right.