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To dog park it or not to dog park it? Most people get a dog and want their dog to be social. They say they will take it to the dog park. Exercise, and possibly run with it. Be there own little exercise buddy. The biggest fear in owning a dog I believe is having that dog that holds you hostage, where you can have visitors nor go out anywhere with the dog.
We often get dogs from a shelter. The dogs all have had lives. They’ve lived a sometimes-crazy life before you. You bond with the dog at the shelter you put the leash on it and take it home. Everything is fine. Your new friend is laying next you on the couch. The next day your new pal doesn’t seem to show interest in much of anything. Then after a few days your dog has not had contact from the outside world. You then finally have company over and your new friend goes crazy at the door. Just this explosion and for you, anxiety. The anxiety of I hope he likes people. You run the play back in your head about what the shelter had told you about him. Still though, anxiety is there. You open the door and he sniffs, you’re holding your breath because the barks didn’t appear to be friendly. Then once the sniff is done you hear a growl. After the growl he gets put into his crate or a room for the remainder of the persons visit. This is how it starts where insecurity can win. This is what I believe happens at the dog park.
When we adopt a new four-legged friend. We are happy. We are walking to the dog park. The dog is pulling, sniffing and visibly excited. A dog is in the horizon. You hold your breath as your dog is pulling, barking, and alert on the new dog in your cross hairs. Now you are not sure. If your dog will do alight in the dog park. Some if not most won’t even take the chance after having both described instances have happened. They will usually just go home. The unfortunate part is that the leash most certainly in the dog meeting one was causing the reactions from the dog.
My advice. Take a dog to the dog park the first day after a ton of structure had been given. You’ll still experience the pulling and the hyper activity. You don’t really have a relationship with the new dog. One major thing you can learn from taking your dog to the dog park is its natural position. You can gauge confidence, insecurities, and just over all friendliness of your new pup.
I’ll use Lilly as an example. I was nervous about her do to me seeing the hackles stand up. One thing I new about her already was that she didn’t have much fear or new how to over come fear very easily. She is confident. I saw that with here unsureness going up and down my basement steps, but she still did it without any help from me. A sign of good social behavior is she heard the washer going for the first time tonight and decided to get off of the couch and investigate. Not barking and growling but sniffing and being curious. For me, I rewarded her for that. I want her to be naturally curious. Back to the dog park. Once thing after the other dogs finally got done plowing their noses on her and sniffing her, she started to greet every new dog first. If she saw one coming she’d wait right at the gate for them to come in playfully. I noticed that her social skills are very good. The dog park can be an indicator that you’re bonding well with your dog. Let me explain. The first day I took her, she didn’t give a damn that I was there with her. Today, she came up repeatedly to say hi. She’s starting to bond because I’ve given her a ton of structure. Not mean. Just activity. Keeping her thinking. The rewards have been fair and just.
When you get you new dog, please do take him to the dog park. You will learn a lot. I believe the dog park helps you find where your dog fits in life. It will show you their personality. Who they are? Confident, nervous, aggressive, shy, happy, bully. You never know, and you can see if first hand if you go into a dog park. It gives you the opportunity to watch instead of participating. That to me is huge. That helps you understand what you need to work on. For me with Lilly it’s simple. People and dogs. Teaching her when it’s appropriate to be 100% social. She will learn this with me quickly as we do dog training together.