# Making Dog Parks Work



## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

DISCLAIMER: My first recommendation to dog owners is probably to avoid dog parks in general. Play dates are really so much better. If you do go to dog parks, exchange information of owners who have dogs your dog plays well with and do play dates at their house.

Ok, I'm pretty jazzed because we've finally found a system that works for dog parks. We live in a suburban/city area, leash laws are relatively strict and we don't have a yard, so organizing legal play dates can be tricky. We do play dates at other owners' houses once in awhile, but I've found the owners who were so zealous to arrange them when both our dogs were puppies are no longer interested now that their dogs have calmed down. 

ANYWAYS, Oso still loves to play with other dogs. He really truly does and dog parks, which I used to adore, have a lot of risks associated with them. You don't know the other owner's or the other dogs. 

This is what we do...

1) Go at off times, when it's not that busy

2) Watch before we go in (and leave if there is an aggressive or unstable looking dog)

3) Be prepared to leave at any time if an aggressive or unstable looking dog comes in.

4) Don't play by the entrance gate - there is too much excitement/activity over there. Plus, you don't get to observe other dog behaviors if you are over there. If we are in a big dog park, we play in another area. If a small one, I put Oso in a sit or call him to the back and play with him there by myself while I watch the dog's interactions with other dogs. If all seems ok, I tell him "ok" and he can go say hi. If you haven't trained this, it's worth doing!

5) Bring compressed air. We bought a pack of the air spray that you clean computers/electronics with. If a dog comes over just to dominate Oso, I spray him before he even gets to him. I haven't met a dog yet who hasn't backed away and it doesn't hurt them. I thought other owners would be mad with me, but none have. Most want their dogs to be well behaved and appreciate the help (or just don't care). Sometimes Oso will do zoomies and stir up a lot excitement. He'll have 4-5 dogs on him, get scared and stop. If the dogs all play well, they normally stop too, sniff him and play a different way or move on. If they are too into prey drive/domination drive, he'll have to try to defend himself against multiple dogs. As soon as they don't listen to his cues, a bunch of spray goes in the area and they stop. 

6) You aren't there to be friends with the other owners. You are there to watch your dog, play with your dog and make sure your dog is playing safely with others. Move around with him/her. If your dogs get in a real groove, the other dog is obviously safe and there is noone else there, chatting is probably fine. But, if it's a busy park, you should be a cautious and busy owner. 

7) Control your energy. You want to be confident and calm. If you are nervous by the way a dog is playing, you can transfer it to your dog or others and it's best to do something else for activity. 

**Some of you may disagree with me breaking up little dog fights/squirmishes before they start, but I don't know the other dogs or their owners and I don't feel like the dog park is the place to set hierarchy. It is a place for young dogs to play how young dogs do. Typically, I can tell the difference between a correction (because Oso is being annoying or the dog is older) and behavior that is dominating/protective/preydriven, just not typical play. Since, I've started just spraying, it's really been no problem.

Dogs are nicer to Oso now that he's a little older, about a year and a half, even though he is still unneutered. There seemed to be more controversy when he was a crazy hyper baby baby and then an annoying adolescent. Some of these were corrections and I appreciated them as they taught him better play behavior.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Luv -U nailed it - the reason PIKE will never be in a dog park - to many Variables - but if you must - follow her rules and you VVill be a little bit safer ( the PUP ) this forum is filled with off lead sites - research them and find one near you - if you can not find one ! post in your area and hope to find 1 - a 1 or 2 hour drive to let your pup run off lead is VVell VVorth it !!!!!


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Well said. We have two large parks we meet up with friends at. We hang off to the side for fetch and playtime and leave if any bad energy starts.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Great post L2L. Even though we don't go to dog parks anymore, we used to enjoy them running similar rules. It's all about vigilance.......


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

I felt like it was time to share.  It took us awhile to figure it all out. We now have positive experiences pretty much every time. Honestly, the spray air can made the biggest difference. I'm not a fan of conflict and feel so much better when I know I can break up small squirmishes with the dogs. We don't go a lot, but Oso soooooo enjoys it when we go and it goes well.

I agree that traveling out to open land for off leash time is soooo worth it!!. But, 1-2 hour drives are more of a weekend thing . With these doggies needing stimulation every day, it's not always possible. On leash runs are fun, but Oso was sold on doggy play since his first puppy play time session at 10 weeks.


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## mlwindc (Feb 8, 2013)

Well said! I especially like the points about paying attention and staying vigilant... My least favorite time to go is the 5:30-6 time because the after work crowd is a bit rough. Staying alert and leaving when needed is key!


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

I used to follow the same rules, granted I did not have an air can , and still had a major fail. Who would have thought Penny being excited to play with the dog on the other side of the fence would've been the same dog to land Dozer at the vet with some staples behind his ear just moments later? And I'll tell you the other owner was afraid to reach down and pull his dog off. So it was up to me and Dozer to get him off. So all I want to add to the rules is to carry an actual weapon just in case, even a knife. Sounds crazy but if it comes down to it you'll protect your dog out of instinct anyway so carry something that will help protect you too.


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## RubyRoo (Feb 1, 2011)

Good points L2L.

We have been taking Rubes to dog parks since she was 5 months old. We are Helicopter parents (hovering over our child at all times) with Ruby. There have been many times in which I was nervous about a dog so we left. We only go to very large parks where we can go off to walk and many times if I have to go by myself I ask friends along or have a meet up.

I have seen dogs get into it many times. I am very lucky that Ruby tends to stay away from that and when a dog gets a little rowdy she moves on to the next one. She seems to get along with all so we have never had an issue. Even when other dogs get rough, she will go away as she doesn't want any part of it and not running towards the drama like other dogs do. I am always trying to enforce her good manners but also know we can't control other dogs and their owners.


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