Do you work on training at the dog park?
The dog park is a strange place, isn’t it?
A free-for-all where quite much all habits is tolerated. Dogs charging each other. great deals of humping as well as growling as well as chasing. Peeing on things. Nipping as well as wrestling. No two owners agree on exactly how much herding, barking or butt sniffing is allowed.
So I’m curious, what do all of you enable from your dogs?
There’s no correct answer. Some dog owners let go of all rules as soon as they set foot in the park. This is not a criticism. It’s an observation. The dogs are actually free to do whatever they want. It’s the dog park, so let them be dogs.
And then there are the owners who try to micro-manage whatever that anyone else does. No butt sniffing allowed; it may lead to humping. No huge dogs chasing the bit dogs. No growling during play. Oh my God, no barking.
I’m sure most of us are somewhere in the middle. I expect my dog Ace to walk to the park without pulling, for example. as well as when I eliminate his leash, I expect him to stay heeling up until I state “OK.” I likewise expect him to find when I phone call him no matter what. Yes, even if somebody is holding a tennis sphere made from gold.
It doesn’t occur often, however I do not enable him to hump other dogs or to bark obsessively at one more dog. I likewise don’t enable him to take other dogs’ toys.
Do you guys utilize the dog park to method obedience training?
Personally, I don’t utilize the dog park as a location to work particularly on obedience training. I utilize it as a location to, for the most part, let my dog be a dog.
Last weekend I saw a guy working on the stay command at the dog park with his shepherd. He had the dog in a down/stay as well as he backed away about 30 feet. The dog was doing beautifully up until a husky-thing charged the shepherd head-on as well as type of tumbled over her.
To me, it’s not truly fair to put a dog in that position. Distractions are one thing. expecting a dog to stay a statue with 40 pounds of energy charging her is another. Plus, in this case, it set the shepherd up for failure. instead of minding her owner she ended up chasing the husky – ignoring both “stay” as well as “come.” Oops.
What about intervening?
With Ace, I try not to step in as well much. The dog park is supposed to be a fun place. Dogs, for the most part, can handle themselves. I do watch for tension between dogs as well as do my finest to lighten the circumstance by clicking my tongue or stating “Hey, look here!” in a fun voice. On occasion, I will step between dogs to block heavy eye get in touch with or I may whistle or utilize a toy.
If a younger, more lively dog is pestering Ace, I make sure to step in if I believe he may growl.
Growling is completely normal, however I understand some owners don’t appreciate it. So, sometimes I just phone call Ace to me as well as we walk away. sometimes I try to interact with the younger dog so it leaves Ace alone. sometimes I pat Ace on the butt to motivate him to lighten up as well as play, depending upon the situation.
Of course, it assists that I understand my dog truly well. He as well as I can quickly anticipate one another’s habits by now. I wouldn’t take a recently embraced dog to the dog park right away. I likewise wouldn’t bring any type of of the dogs from my dog walking company to the dog park right away (if at all). I want to get to understand the dogs a bit much better as well as develop some trust first.
Overall, I’ve always utilized dog parks as an chance to teach my dog that I expect him to ignore rude as well as excessively excited habits from other dogs. There will always be a dog or two that charges him. There will most likely be a dog that greets him head on or with a paw over his back. Some dogs will chase or nip or bark. all of these things are chances to reward my dog for staying calm as well as relaxed, as well as he does this beautifully.
OK, now I want to hear from you. What are your dog park rules?