The weather was decent enough today to go to the park and children's playground. I armed myself with home-cooked, garlicky beef heart and chicken hot dog treats, and marched to the battleground with Ace at my side.

Lo and behold! We had a great time there. I followed the advice I received in the other thread to a T. I crouched low and soothed Ace when there was a horde of loud neanderthals passing through; I approached the parents and children alike and explained Ace's situation, and handed out treats; I stayed calm and confident through hyperactive hooves passing us by. And it worked!

At first, Ace was a little nervous. He gradually came out of his shell, and at one point even wandered up to a girl's shoes and sniffed vigorously. A tiny little girl waddled up to him and gave him a treat out of her hand, and even though she ran away while cackling, Ace didn't react. It was amazing! He could handle kids running past his face up on to the play structure, and loud noises as they thumped their way down the chute and slide. I am so proud of my little grey potato.

It helped a lot for Ace to have another dog around, too. Towards the end of our stay, a middle-aged French Bulldog wandered towards us and Ace said Hello in his frappy way. I was concerned that he had just had his neuter surgery, and shouldn't overextend himself, but he calmed down quickly. The frap let him burn off some of that nervous energy he had accumulated, and Ace went home a very happy puppy.

Thank you all again for your advice. I took it to heart and we ended up having an awesome day. I hope to repeat this success in the near future!