Dog Parks- Are they worth the risk
by: Lisa Hansen
Visiting a dog park is supposed to be a fun and enriching activity that allows our dogs to play with others, learn stuff and generally burn up energy. It can also be an opportunity to meet people and make friends and to get out side in the fresh air.
With the onset of Covid though life is a little more difficult for dog parks, it is important that we keep our distances from people in high risk spaces, and for some of us if we live in a COVID free area of the world then perhaps we forget that it is easily transmitted and yet we should still be vigilant.
For Dogs there are many diseases that can also be transmitted as easily as COVID and it should be remembered that unvaccinated dogs should not be at the dog park. Kennel cough, parvo and other diseases can be easily transmitted in unvaccinated dogs.
The biggest issue with dog parks though is that the people who use them tend to think of the dog park as a free for all, everyone can do what they want, their dogs can run in a safe enclosed space and the world is good right?
It is important though to remember that even if you are allowed your dog off lead at a dog park you are still required to have effective control over your dog.
What does effective control mean? It means your dog will come when called. You dog will walk away from someone else’s toy when asked and more importantly if things go bad at the park which they sometimes do, your dog is going to look to you and you are going to be able to remove it from risk.
There are other general rules for the dog park that everyone should abide by as well and these include picking up dog poo, taking your own rubbish to the bin and generally looking after he space you’re using. Don’t eat and throw away things like chicken bones or satay sticks, even if they do “break down” the risk to a dog who may not be under effective control is too much.
Being able to read body language is another important aspect of visiting a dog park with your dog. If you don’t have a strong relationship with your dog, and you do not understand when he is happy sad mad or scared then visiting a dog park may well put your dog at risk. Learning body language will change the way you see the dogs at the dog park as well, and if you are like me that may well destroy you enjoyment of the dog park.
Using your phone at the dog park should be for taking pictures and videos, not to take away your focus on your dog. It is important that you are always paying attention. You may think everything is ok but their maybe someones chicken bone a sharp stick even glass in a bad spot that may cause your dogs harm.
The my dog is friendly mantra is no good a the dog park either, sure it isn’t the place to take a dog who is a little bit nervous around other dogs or who may even bite another dog, but it happens, people take their reactive dogs to the dog parks every day. It is not a training method I would use but if it works for them it shouldn’t be a problem for you either if your dog and theirs is under effective control.
Control your exit and entries to the park, only release your dog after you have entered the dog park and closed the gate behind you. Ensure that your dog waits at the car and is under control. The stimulation of the dog park and the excitement of being their can easily turn into a negative response if another dog bounds up to close. When entering the park, do a couple of basic exercises, sit , drop stay just to make sure you dogs focus is on you and he knows this is an activity you are doing together. Help him to maintain this focus throughout the adventure by calling him out of play ( make sure you have a great reward) and then releasing him to go play. This will also help you to bring him or her home when it’s time to go.
When its time to go home remember that your dog may be tired enough to walk next to you back to the car, but the next round coming through may be in overexcitement and so keep your dog on lead.
Dont let your dog be a bully, don’t allow your dog to be over the top in play or chase a nervous dog, playing happily and healthily requires both dogs to be enjoying the activity. You may think its alright because your dog is just really friendly, but if the tables were turned and your dog wasn’t so keen how would you feel. Practice calling your dog to you and refocusing his attention so that you can control the excitement levels of play.
Aggressive responses are not all about mean dogs, sometimes a highly stimulated or excited dog can respond badly to a (accidental) sharp tooth or to an extra dog joining in the play. Make sure you are watching for the excitement escalation are giving a play break to refocus and calm your dog down.
You can not control what other people do at the park and every time I go to the dog park I find myself a mess of nerves. I know my dogs and luckily I have my own dog park at home, I know when my dogs growl at each other or bully each other that teeth are never involved and that sometimes my pack queen may need to be a little heavier on the discipline, I also know how my dogs are going to respond to this, but sometimes when I am watching dogs at dog parks I see signals that indicate an incident is going to occur and intervention is essential, but convincing owners of that is hard work.
Knowing your Dog will help, getting to know other dogs and their owners will also help, if however you are uncertain or uncomfortable trust your judgement and err on the side of caution with your dog.
If you are a nervous owner and your dog hasn’t had much experience at the dog park set him up for success by taking him at a quiet time with a friend whose dog he gets along with. Let them start with a walk and then have some controlled play. Repeat this until you and he are confident at the park. Don’t be pressured into participating in a full on rough and tumble at the park when it is full of regulars. Take your time, maybe even go to the park without your dog once or twice to see how the owners and their dogs behave.
If you have a puppy remember that every socialisation experience should be positive, if you want your dog to be dog social then taking it to a dog park where it is overwhelmed and may even get tumbled a bit hard during play is not going to ensure the puppy is social worse if the puppy gets attacked at the park and they really do get attacked at parks sometimes, it will ruin its chances of being social forever. Take your time and socialise somewhere safe for the puppy, invite safe dogs to play at your home, go to puppy school and make puppy play dates. Go to the dog park when your puppy is older, has taken a couple of play tumbles and is confident enough to get back up and re-join the play. Make sure the experience is positive.
Below are some dot points that may help make your dog park experience more positive.
- Focus Your Dog Before Going in
to the Dog Park - Clean Up Your Dog’s Poo
- Make Sure Your Dog Knows How to Behave with Other Dogs
- Make sure that your dog is always safe and confident
- If It Looks Like Things are Getting Tense, Don’t Pick Up Your Small Dog
- If You Can’t Call Your Dog Back, Don’t Take Him to an Off-Leash Dog Park
- Understand That Bullies Have No Place in a Dog Park
- Don’t Let the Dogs “Work It Out”
- Don’t Bring a “Resource Guarding” Dog to a Dog Park
- Don’t Bring a Young Puppy to a Dog Park
- Don’t Bring a Bitch in Heat to a Dog Park
- Don’t Socialise with Humans at the Expense of Your Dog
- Put Your Smartphone Away- unless your taking photos
- Respect Each Other
- Control Entry and Exit
- Learn and Pay Attention to Body Language