Article 1: Dog Parks Vs. Other Dog Friendly Spots

By: Crystal Dunn, Lead Trainer and Founder Leaps N’ Hounds LLC.

Socializing your puppy is probably one of the most important things you can do for them.  It helps stabilize their temperament at an early age, teaches strong social skills that they will use throughout life, improves manners, and prevents neurotic and over reactive behaviors from developing over time.   It’s also fun.  Who doesn’t love seeing their young pup tumble with other puppies, greet new people, or snuggle up to a big friendly dog?  But there are a few things everyone should consider as they take their impressionable pup into new environments.  In this first article of the series I’ll talk about places to and not to socialize your puppy.

What not to do:  The Dog Park
The biggest mistake many new puppy owners make is going straight to the dog park.  Before I go on, let me stress that I am not ANTI-dog park.  I am just anti-puppy at the dog park – and for good reason.

It seems like the obvious choice, but dog parks are actually very dangerous places to socialize an impressionable puppy.  Many dogs find the environment overwhelming, sending the pup into panic and/or ultra submissive or aggressive states of mind.  At this delicate stage in your puppy’s life it is crucial to make sure all of their dog-to-dog experiences are good and constructive.  Panic does not do anything good or constructive for your puppy.

Consider the potential crowd at the park.  Do you know any of these dogs?  Just about anyone who has ever been to a dog park has seen some behavior that is scary between dogs.  It’s like throwing your pup to the wolves and telling them:  ”Figure it out, buddy!”  There’s no support, control, or trust being developed there.  All you can do is hope for the best.   Some dogs play way too rough or show rude dog behaviors, and your puppy does not have the maturity to deal with those behaviors properly yet.  Liken it to taking a 5 year old to an R rated film.  You don’t want your child to repeat bad words or violence any more than you want your puppy to learn to play too rough.

Dog parks are also breeding grounds for all types of parasites.  Even a vaccinated dog stands a promising chance of picking up a nasty case of Giardia or other parasite.  Dog parks are a very bad idea for dogs who aren’t completely vaccinated.  I guarantee you a puppy will pick up Parvo from a dog park faster than just about any other environment – and few puppies survive this terrible infection even if they’ve had one or two rounds of vaccinations already

And what about all that training you’ve been working on? Letting your pup roam freely in a space where they can ignore your very existence will not strengthen their relationship to you.  The dog park environment definitely reinforces more than just a few bad habits – namely the ability to completely ignore that oh so important “come” command.  Spare yourself some trouble and don’t put your puppy in an environment where they are guaranteed to ignore you and succeed at it.

If you must socialize your dog at the dog park, here are a few tips to make it a little safer and more constructive:
1.) Go when it is slow.  5 dogs or less is ideal.
2.) Choose a park that has trees and other visual barriers.  Stay away from big boring spaces where there’s nothing to do but obsess about the other dogs.
3.) Take your own water.  Community dog water=vet visits.
4.) Scoop the poop.  If you see a pile (yours or another dog’s) pick it up.  That Giardia parasite I mentioned?  Yeah, it’s found in poop and we all know how much dogs love to stick their nose in it.
5.) Familiarize yourself with dog body language.  If you can recognize rude dog behavior, you can defend your dog if needed and help others encourage friendly play at the park!

What to do: Visit Dog Friendly Places on Leash

Hop in! Mo will drive.

Austin is full of dog friendly establishments.  Home improvement stores, craft stores, pet suppliers, vets, groomers, restaurants, pubs, and leash parks – to name a few.  All of these places have a wonderful variety of people, objects, sounds, and even dogs!  Taking your dog to a variety of places will expose them to all kinds of fun new things- all while your dog is safely on leash by your side.  The leash may seem like a hassle at this stage (you’re probably still teaching good leash manners), but it is essential in teaching your dog to depend on you for guidance and protection.  Bring high value treats with you to make everything in these places a good experience while practicing sits, stays, and good manners.  Treats will make your experience with them much easier too!  Adding in a few trips to the vet or groomer without subjecting your dog to needles or clippers will also help create positive associations with these essential places for your dog.

One important note to add here (and we’ll elaborate more on this in a future article on this topic) is to protect your dog.  If at any time your dog is uncomfortable or frightened, give them space to move away from the scary stimulus.  If it is potentially dangerous (a dog you don’t know or an unfriendly person, for example), then get your dog out of there.  If it isn’t dangerous and you feel your puppy is overreacting, allow them space to move away, but give them time to evaluate the situation.  Add treats or other rewards to the situation if you think it may help change their mind (give a “scary” stranger treats to share, for example).  Never coddle them or force them, just let them observe and sniff.  Sometimes puppies just have to learn things for themselves.  There is nothing wrong with being a little cautious around new things.

For questions or to set up a training consultation, please contact us.