Going to the Dog Park
Dog parks – especially off-leash – are hotbed issues in many American communities. For your dog, a dog park can be a welcome break from his routine. The dog park can be used to help your dog increase and maintain his social skills, and perhaps give hi, some fun running and playing with members of his own kind. But that’s all you should expect from a dog park. It is not a place for your dog to work off his excess energy. It is never, ever to be used as a substitution for a walk.
Does this routine sound familiar to you? You’re tired. It’s been a long day. You don’t feel like walking your dog. So, you throw your dog in the car. Your dog is overexcited. You say, “It’s ok, Rex, we’re going to the dog park!” Your dog picks up on your energy and your signals. He recognizes scents and landmarks and figures out where you’re going. He starts to get excited and jump up and down in the car. You think, “Oh, he’s so happy, he’s going to the dog park!” No, that’s not happiness. That’s excitement which does not equal happiness. It equals unexpressed, frustrated energy. So, what are you doing? You’re bringing a frustrated, overexcited dog to a dog park. Depending on the dog, that can be a recipe for disaster.
When a dog with excited, frustrated, anxious, or dominant energy gets to a dog park, the dogs there are going to sense his energy immediately. This energy will be interpreted as unstable, and remember, dogs don’t naturally nurture instability. So, the other dogs will either approach him, challenge him, or run away from him, because he is too packed with a very explosive negative energy. Seeing those other dogs move away from him can send the unstable dog into predator or charge mode, because that’s the easiest way for him to release frustration. A dog in this mode can get in trouble, attacking another dog, and then all the other dog owners start judging him. Some owners will start figuring out when this dog usually comes to the park and will try to bring their dogs thirty minutes before or after that. When the dog does encounter these owners, they will send him negative energy, which he’ll pick up on. The dog park is no longer a positive experience for him.
What is the solution? Walk the dog! Take at least a thirty-minute walk at home, then, when you’ve parked your car near the dog park, walk him around the neighborhood there. If he’s a high-energy dog, use a backpack. Remember, he’s supposed to be using the dog park to work on his social skills, not as a substitute for regular exercise. Drain as much of his excited energy as you can, then take him to the dog park when his energy level is close to zero. That way, when he gets to the dog park, he’ll be relaxed but will still move forward and engage with the other dogs. This will encourage more healthy social interactions.
The calmer the dogs at the park are, the less likely they will be to chase one another. The less they chase one another, the less likely they will nip one another. The less they nip one another, the less likely they will be to get into a fight.
DON’T PUNCH OUT AT THE PARK!
Often, an owner’s behavior at the park is as much at fault as is her lack of preparation before she arrives. She gets to the park, lets her dog go, and then spends the rest of the time totally disengaged, standing in one place, gabbing with the other owners. The owner sees this time as a chance to relax from the pressures of having a dog - to “punch out” from the job for a while. This is not a satisfying pack experience for the dog because the dog is completely on his own, with no guidance from his pack leader.
This isn’t to say you should be in the middle of the pack, always engaging your dog. It does mean, though, that you should be on the alert, not standing in one place, but moving around the park and constantly connecting with your dog through calm voice, eye contact, and energy.
You must know your dog’s body language and how to snap him out of it if an interaction seems to be turning into a confrontation.
Your dog has four choices when interacting with other dogs – fight, flight, avoid, or submit. If your dog ignores or avoids other dogs at the park, that doesn’t mean he’s a social misfit! For a dog, ignoring is part of normal social behavior. A healthy, balanced dog knows how to avoid others as a way of preventing conflict and keeping his disposition stable.
DOMINANT-AGGRESSIVE DOGS SHOULD NEVER BE TAKEN THERE.
A FEARFULL OR NERVOUS DOG SHOULDN’T BE TAKEN THERE (Fear is a signal for any dominant-type dogs in the park to attack your dog).
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU EVER TAKE A SICK DOG TO THE PARK.
NEVER TAKE MORE THAN THREE DOGS AT A TIME TO A DOG PARK AND TAKE MORE THAN ONE ONLY IF YOU ARE CERTAIN OF EACH DOG’S TEMPERAMENT.
FEMALE DOGS IN HEAT CAN CAUSE DOG PARK FIGHTS.
THE PRESENCE OF FOOD CAN TRIGGER FIGHTS.
Remember, a wolf pack usually consists of only five to eight dogs at a time. You don’t have to be around ten to twenty dogs for your dog to benefit from and enjoy the company of his own kind.