How to Socialize Your Dog at The Dog Park

A recent bad incident at a neighborhood dog park made me realize that a lot of people are probably unaware of the potential dangers of taking your dog to the dog park and trying to properly socialize him/her. My American Bulldog was attacked by a much larger Husky and I want to share some tips/advice on how this could have been prevented.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. When first arriving at the dog park, bring your dog in on a long leash. Many dogs will come over to you and start to sniff your dog. Attempt to stand back and allow this to happen. If there are no problems after a few minutes, go ahead and remove your dog from the leash.

2. Observe your dog for the first few minutes now that he/she is off of the leash. If your dog is bothering or becoming a nuisance to other dogs, go over and see what you can do. If your dog is really causing problems leash your dog and remove it from the area and investigate.

3. If your dog is doing fine and there is another dog that is causing the problem for you, feel free to figure out who the owner of that dog is and ask them to try and help. The other owner should monitor the situation and remove the problem dog if possible.

4. If your dog is not causing problems and no other dogs are picking on your dog, you have a success situation. Continue to monitor and enjoy your day.

Tips & Warnings

• If you even think that your dog might attack and injure other dogs when released from the leash you should do the right thing and keep a muzzle on your dog while you observe.
• Many dog parks have a smaller fenced area for problem dogs and it is often advisable to start your dog out in this area before integrating him into the larger area.
• It's common for dogs at the park to form packs and run together and even have friendly skirmishes with each other. Just make sure that it does not turn into a nasty dog fight.
• Bring waste bags to pick up dog excrement if the dog park does not supply
• Do not bring a bitch in heat to the dog park.
• Ensure your dog has all required tags/shots before going to dog park
• If a dog fight breaks out (and this does happen) be extremely careful trying to separate the dogs to avoid being bitten
• Do not bring food into the dog park
• If either you or your dog is injured by another dog, call the police, take photos and get a copy of the report.

Resources

• Secrets to Dog Training

[Mindee94]

on 5/31/2009 Great tips on dog socialization. A dog attacking due to insecurity never has a good outcome. Socialization is a must to decrease the pets anxiety. Thanks!