Dog Parks Part 1: Assessing Your Dog

This will be a multi-post series, with my thoughts on dog parks. I’ve written based on my observations of my own dogs as well as the experiences, good and bad, that we’ve had at dog parks.

Maxwell is an incredibly social pup. He’s only met one dog he doesn’t like (a tiny Yorkie that looked like it wanted to eat him alive) and he meets even the worst snarling with perked ears, furiously wagging tail, and a play bow. He then decides whether to physically initiate play (chin over the dog’s shoulder, gentle headbutt, or close air-nip), make a giddy run for it to begin a chase game, or just meander off in search of a more willing playmate. This makes him an excellent candidate for controlled group play.

Sadie likes food. By extension, she likes people who have ever, or might ever, give her food. Not surprisingly, given her highly reactive history, she doesn’t really care for other dogs. Maxwell is as extreme exception (she loves to play with him), and there are a few dogs owned by friends that she willingly tolerates. That means a wag, a sniff, and then a cold shoulder. If Maxwell gets the other dogs playing she will join in, but primarily to chase and corner him. She generally ignores the other dogs completely. This makes her safe in an off-leash group when well supervised, but not a good playmate.

The personality differences make them very different at dog parks. We humans love dog parks, because the pups can run and play and be crazy while we watch and chat with other dog-loving people. Maxwell often finds a good playmate who will chase him and/or roughhouse with him. Sadie spends a fair bit of time standing with us (occasionally whining softly) or wandering alone to sniff. If Maxwell’s play gets heated, she charge in after him and bark furiously. Sometimes the two of them will play together in earnest, but more often it’s Sadie joining another dog (or two or three) to gang up on him.

A few months ago, my boyfriend and I were at a local dog park enjoying a sunny afternoon. Maxwell had made friends with a young German shepherd, and was being merrily chased around the park. After a few go-rounds, two labs joined in… then Sadie came charging after him as well. The situation suddenly went from two pups have a bit of fun, to four large dogs pack-hunting my little guy. Maxwell ran and hid under a chair (occupied by another owner). The dogs went after him, barking and trying to flush him out. Not a single other person did anything to stop it. My boyfriend grabbed Sadie while I went over, carefully shooed away the other dogs (did little more than get them to back up a few steps) and coaxed Maxwell out. We left.

Dog parks are not right for every dog. Well supervised, they are fantastic for social animals like Maxwell. They are dead wrong for shy, fearful, aggressive, or reactive dogs like Sadie used to be. The Sadie of today falls somewhere in between; she can have fun when the right dogs are there, and when she feels like being social, but sometimes it’s just stressful. We never force her to play; if she wants to wander alone, she’s allowed to.

I’ve seen people bring dogs to the park that absolutely refused to walk through the gate on their own. Instead they get pushed, tail tucked, into the swarm of inquisitive dogs surrounding the gate. Or worse, the little ones get bodily lifted over the fence and dropped into the middle of the waiting mass of dogs. I’m a little amazed I have yet to see a fight break out when one of these reluctant dogs if forced in. And then there are the dogs that bare teeth at any animal that approaches, the ones who guard the tennis balls… I could go on.

Dogs who visit dog parks need to be not just dog-safe, but people safe. Expect there to be many other owners milling about, and assume that they are not truly dog-savvy. (Though hope that they are!) I’ve seen people practically grab a passing dog to pet them. If your dog isn’t going to respond well to intrusions in their personal space, they don’t belong at the park. Some of the basic things that I think a dogs needs to be able to handle are:

• Being grabbed suddenly, by the collar or body
• Being petted roughly on any part of the body
• People (including children) who laugh, shriek, and otherwise make exciting noises
• People (including children) who run around, carry fun toys, and/or may actually be afraid of strange dogs

On one of our most recent trips to the park, the dogs were both having a good time. The mix of dogs was smallish but well suited, and most of the owners seemed to be fairly knowledgeable about the basics of behavior. Then a family came in, consisting of mom, dad and a school-age girl, with their medium-sized dog. The parent come in and just start walking around a bit, no big deal. The kid, though, screams when a large dog runs up to sniff her (No! This coat is NEW! GO AWAY!), turns her back while looking over her shoulder, and runs away. In dog-speak, she just said Let’s play! The dog chased her, and the next thing I know, dad is pushing the dog away with the legs of a plastic chair and yelling. Apparently the dog nipped the back of her leg in excitement.

There are two sides to that incident. First and foremost, a dog at a park should know to never put teeth in contact with a person. Not even in play. That dog needs to learn impulse control and play where there are fewer temptations. On the other hand, nobody should come into a dog park and act like the kid did. There are posted rules, even, against running, screaming, and kids playing with the dogs. Should the kid have been bitten? Absolutely not. But this was a 100% avoidable situation that made an otherwise well-behaved dog look like a dangerous beast.

You really have to know your dog to appropriately assess their compatibility with dog parks. Should something unexpected come up that you don’t like, leave. Just because a situation isn’t bad yet doesn’t mean you should wait and see what happens. And for goodness sake, if your dog is bullying another dog, please intervene! If everyone did this, bad incidents would be greatly reduced and I believe both dogs and people would have much more fun.