# At the dog park



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

I just found this channel on YouTube and I really like it.

It teaches owners how to protect their dogs at the dog park, especially small ones, and how to disengage aroused behaviors leading to fights. She has many of them, I’ve watched 2 so far.

I don’t really have a dog par to go to, but we do meet other dogs sometimes in an off-leash space. I carefully choose the dogs I want my dogs to interact with : no big dogs unless very mellow and slow or old, no medium excited dogs either. I stay away from off-leash dogs unless I know them.

https://youtu.be/9Az6K1wZGb8


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Thank you, Dechi--that gal is spot on! I will recommend the videos to certain people at the dog park


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

Everyone should watch this before going to the dog park 


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

This video was sad to watch. I've only taken my dog twice to off leash parks - never again. My minipoo was chased, not in a fun game, but as prey by a rottweiler who was brought there by the mother of the owner and she had no control nor did she help to get the dog off my dog and she did not apologize. Thankfully the other dog owners did help me grab my dog. They helped me make certain that my dog wasn't traumatized by the experience as well which was important.

If you're chatting with friends or you don't know what you should be looking for, it's easy for these situations to occur routinely.

I love the small dog social that I go to weekly at my local humane society. They have a couple of volunteers who are there, without their dogs, to watch the interactions of the dogs. They step in anytime there is a problem because while the owners are in the room too, we're often chatting and not always paying close attention to our dogs. There are crates and gating to separate dogs. Only well behaved dogs are allowed to attend and they keep records of your dog's vaccinations. There are a few larger, very calm dogs who attend with their smaller siblings.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I will look at those later, but they sound great. On my few experiences at local dog parks the people get way too involved with talking to each other and the dogs sort of end up fending for themselves. Even just from the content intro of the first video I like the concepts and suspect they should be required for folks who want to use dog parks (which I think should have some sort of membership so people are accountable for even simple things like cleaning poo).


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## asuk (Jan 6, 2017)

Wow! Thanks dechi for sharing. I don't have a park in my area, but I am thinking of bringing milo to one when we go on vacation. This sure makes me rethink my decision. I would love it if I can find a small dog social kinda thing. Her comment about the husky is spot on! My best friend has a neutered husky and he can't play with milo. He is ginormous and display all the behaviour of the husky in pursuit of a prey when he "plays" with milo.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Ahh now that I've watched I see that those videos were made by Sue Sternberg. She has run a dog trainer workshop/camp for many years (not sure if she still does) where you go for a week and work with a shelter dog that you haven't met until the workshop. I know some people who have done her camp. Some people don't like her since she is old school and doesn't have certifications, but she has tons of experience and the first video that came up through Dechi's link was really insightful. Aside from having a very good read on what was happening with the dogs her comments of what the people did or didn't do to help their own or other dogs were spot on.


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

We go to an unofficial dog park every day, and it is the highlight of our day. Bob used to remind me when it was time for his supper, but now Sam reminds me when it is time to go to the park. We see the same people there every day and Cammie just loves to run around and greet her canine and human friends. And then she sounds the alarm if someone she doesn't know dares to approach. Such a funny girl. Sam is totally focused on his ball and he likes to choose who will throw it for him -- usually not me! I'm sorry that some people have bad experiences with dog parks, but we just love it.


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

We're moving next week from our out-in-the-country house with access to a secluded three acre meadow where the dogs can run free, to a cottage in a retirement community with no place for free play. In fact, there are other dog owners in much closer quarters than we're used to, which will make managing Blue problematic. Not sure where we'll find room for them to run, but a dog park isn't in the cards.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

I've had a love/hate affair with the dog park since I started taking Maizie almost 3 years ago. However, we have not had a negative experience in quite a while due to my being more observant. I protect my dogs and I get out of there if I see _any_ possible trouble coming in! 

The dog park is Maizie's happy place


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

zooeysmom you hit on the key to the quality of this experience which is the need for the owners to be watchful and to take the needed steps to keep things safe, fun and under control.


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

I don't understand people who sit and stare at their phones at the dog park. I usually take headphones and then wind up sticking them in my pocket, because I spend the whole visit following Archie around and I can't pay attention to much else. 

Of course, in my case I'm mostly concerned about his behavior -- he's figured out that the other owners in a dog park are dog-friendly, so he tends to mob them if I don't remind him to be polite. The second I'm not looking, he'll jump up on a picnic table and lick some unsuspecting phone-reader in the face. But I also like being present so that I can de-escalate dog situations if needed. He can be a bit much for shy dogs, so I keep an eye out and redirect him as needed. He takes signals from other dogs well, but I prefer to step in before the other dog has to tell him to go away. You can tell when other owners similarly know their dogs and are aware of compatibilities, and it's so helpful.

But even if he were perfectly behaved, I don't know how you can throw your dog in with a bunch of strange dogs and then not pay attention. Yikes!

My old dog park was a neighborhood dog run that wasn't advertised anywhere, so you had to live nearby to know about it. It was always the same people and dogs, and we knew which dogs got along with each other and which didn't. Nobody took it personally if their dogs didn't get along. It was fantastic. Archie had buddies of all sizes and breeds. Now there are a few that we go to, and only if they have a separate area for small dogs. The best one is a huge fenced-in area with tons of trees to keep it cool. The space allows all the dogs to get away from each other when they want to, which is important for cutting down the tension. Most of the high-conflict parks I've been to are just overcrowded. Sure, there's occasionally a problem dog at the park, but more often they just get stressed and have no way to de-escalate.

Anyway, thanks for sharing!


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

The dog park is one of lucky’s favorite places. Unfortunately, Lucky has a dog park nemesis. It is a coonhound that bullies other dogs around. He is uniquely aggressive to Lucky and would bark at him nonstop like a stereotypical hound. He would also chase Lucky and lunge at his neck. I hate this dog so much and he has ruined many of Lucky’s happy moments. His owner is as A$$ who made fun of Lucky’s pom poms once. This man does not watch his dog and lets it bully all the other dogs at the park. I’ve had to yank this dog off of Lucky several times while the owner is nowhere in sight. Next time I see him, I’m going to confront the owner. If you aren’t watching your dogs, how do you clean up after them? I am always ready with my own poo bags. 


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Well I have an idea. One of us needs to invent a teleportation device. zooeysmom, lisasgirl, snow, Dechi and anyone else here who buys into watching the dogs carefully and agrees to intervene effectively can get into their transporter and we can meet at our own private and beautiful dog park with a pond, trees and hills somewhere in the middle of North America.


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

lily cd re said:


> Well I have an idea. One of us needs to invent a teleportation device. zooeysmom, lisasgirl, snow, Dechi and anyone else here who buys into watching the dogs carefully and agrees to intervene effectively can get into their transporter and we can meet at our own private and beautiful dog park with a pond, trees and hills somewhere in the middle of North America.




Haha love the idea! 


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

snow0160 said:


> Haha love the idea!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


You could also use your teleporter to bring Kit to my classes.


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

lily cd re said:


> Well I have an idea. One of us needs to invent a teleportation device. zooeysmom, lisasgirl, snow, Dechi and anyone else here who buys into watching the dogs carefully and agrees to intervene effectively can get into their transporter and we can meet at our own private and beautiful dog park with a pond, trees and hills somewhere in the middle of North America.


I'm in!!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

lisasgirl said:


> I'm in!!



We need a physicist!


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

lisasgirl said:


> I'm in!!


Me too ! What a great idea !


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