Dog Parks

Lou dog, what are your dogs' breeds?

Why push it? There is nothing wrong with a dog park not being the right place for a dog. I think of dog parks as being the equivalent of loud nightclubs for dogs. Lots of people love loud nightclubs, love to dance and yell in order to be heard and love to drink...

...but there's nothing wrong with being a person who doesn't do well in that environment. Same with dogs. Why try to make your dog okay with something that won't even be fun for a dog with territorial/protection issues? Dog runs are *so* stimulating... it's like taking a very sensitive person who is prone to anxiety and trying to make them become a nightclub person. What's the point?

Your initial post makes it very clear that your dog is not going to be good in a dog run, and dogfights are scary and you are liable. I owned an aggressive dog and paid more than $3000 in other people's vet and medical bills, and was *very very lucky* that my dog only bit dogs with angelic, levelheaded owners who forgave me, even though my dog mauled their dog.

Dog parks are public places. Please don't set yourself up to pay a huge bill or lose your dog or both. Learn from my mistakes.

Hi Lou

I agree with the others -a trip to the dog park with your dogs as they currently behave would at best be stressful and at worst dangerous for all involved. The other day, I went to the beach here with my two dogs, and met another dog and his owner. Everyone was off-leash, as is the custom here. Then the other dog starts attacking my dogs, and I could barely get them away. The owner just said "Oh, he just doesn't like other dogs". So what the he** was he doing letting that dog approach mine without a leash or a warning to me?! This, like many other situations recounted here, shows the inherent danger of off-leash areas: you can't control the other dogs/owners, so you need to be aware of the risk involved for both your dog and other dogs.

It sounds to me like your dogs do need some socialization, given their behavior, and maybe you could meet with your friends in another place to slowly get the dogs used to each other, or even better, seek out a trainer who provides such an opportunity in an environment where your dogs' behaviors can be addressed. The danger I see with your idea of frequenting the dog park as a group is that if you're not careful, that group could turn into a pack that terrorizes the rest of the park.

Taking dogs like yours into a dog park before their underlying aggression/dominance issues are addressed and potentially resolved, even after learning to get along with a few other, is like throwing a kid with a few swimming lessons into the ocean. Please don't do it, for your and your dogs' and everyone else's sake.

Vanessa

Hi Lou,

"Then assuming schedules allow, increase the number of friend's dogs who I know untill we have a nice group. Conservatively we will end up with 5 or 6 that will by a couple of months hopefully have some sort of groove they are in regarding a leashless park. Then not take just my two, but the whole group during a normal time when it has a fair amount of stranger dogs there. "

I wanted to mention this before and forgot. If you do this, you'll create a pack of dogs that see the dog run as their territory and that you are less able to control. Please don't do this, you are increasing, not decreasing, the potential for a problem, and you are also increasing the potential severity of the problem. A group of dogs working together, with reactivity/protection issues...

...could easily kill someone else's dog. The stakes are high. My dog only mauled two dogs, and the cost and stress was unbelievable. I felt so guilty.

It is a good idea to have your dogs socialize with other dogs, but it's probably more appropriate for you to spare the other dogs and owners and yourself the stress and worry, and do this socialization in a private place.

Check out Fight! By Jean Donaldson. It's full of great information for handling dogs safely and socializing dogs who are having issues like you describe.

I think I'm too much of a worrywart to ever take any dog to a dogpark. I'd rather set up playdates with dogs I know and wouldn't be too many of them.

Plus, my dog is a Shih Tzu and I would never risk taking a dog under 10 pounds to play with large dogs that I don't know. There's a very good chance that the dogs would play just fine, BUT the slightest fight could leave my Shih Tzu dead, whereas a larger dog may only need stitches. If the park had sections for dogs of different sizes then I would consider it, but I still think don't think I'd be comfortable with it.

    Ah rubbish! I don't like what I hear! I'm listening though. I guess I need to re-evaluate. I'll just find other places, good lookin' out guys.
    As a matter of fact, My dad was baby-sitting for my sister the other day and I ventured over there because they have a fenced-in back yard. Well okay, he bought me dinner too, but I seized the opportunity for the dogs too. I'm a college student, I'll jump through hoops for free food. Anyhew, they had a ball. I should have taken a toy or something, but they had fun playing chase regardless. I think I'll just stick to that tactic for now. I've coined it: Controlled Opportunistic Leashlessness. Remember it, it'll catch on soon. Believe you me.
   
Alieliza,
    My pup is a Germ.Shep. and my adult is a whole lot of stuff. lol.