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One of the big things people love to do these days is to take their dog to dog parks. It is important before you take your dog to a dog park is to teach the dog some manners. That consists of teaching them basic obedience.

What should one do to prepare for a dog park?
Initially, seek out a training program with a professional, ideally one that also has some socialization training. It takes an average of 6 to 8 weeks for a family to train a dog and another 6 to 8 months to in-grain the training into the dog’s head. You need to teach the dog to respond to you. You need to set the tone from the very beginning. So now you are ready to go to a dog park. Take your dog to the dog park and initially keep him on a leash. Show him that even with all that stuff going on around him, all those dogs running and playing, that obedience is still the same. He still has to listen to you. I would probably take him to a dog park 3 or 4 times before I ever take him off the leash. When I eventually allow him to be off-leash in the enclo-sure, I let him play for about 5 minutes and then I would put him back on leash and do a small amount of training prior to leaving the play area. This will help reinforces that he/she needs to pay attention to you and also establishes dominance over the dog. So when something does happen in the dog park, he knows to come to you when you call him, no matter what’s going on. It is really important that your dog under-stands this from the very beginning.
How often should we go to the dog park?
Over the years I have noticed that people have started to complain to me that their dog all of a sudden started to bite them or nip them. In the conversation, I find that they started taking their dog to dog park more than once a week. They are taking them 3, 4, 5 and in some cases 7 days a week, so now the dog thinks, in his own mind, that his owner is in fact just another dog. The dog starts to engage with their owner like they do with other dogs, nipping and biting. This is not due to aggression, the dog just wants to play with their owner like another dog. He doesn’t have hands like two humans that are wrestling, he has a mouth full of teeth, so he is just going to reach over and grab you. This is truly a problem if you have small children in the home or older people whose skins are a little thinner and kids are so short that at some point they become a target. This can turn into other things, too. Dogs that use their mouth on you might start to thinking that you are not doing anything about it, so they are going to start to try to adjust their pecking order in the home. Therefore, it might start out as a very innocent thing and turn into something completely different. I don’t believe in taking a dog to a dog park 5 days a week. I think you need to train 4 days a week and go to the dog park once a week.
What are my responsibilities at a dog park?
People don’t recognize what the dogs are doing as far as playing. You can have different style of play. Very quiet play or you can have very noisy play. People think that the dogs are playing then all of a suddenly it esca-lates into something else. It is important that you watch the dogs play. If you see a lot of hair coming up, then there may be an issue and at this point, you may need to slow the play down or stop it all together.
Also, remember, not every person has an understanding of dog park etiquette. They might bring in their big bully-type dog. I am not referring to any specific breed. I am referring to dogs that are bullies. They are large, over- powering and little on the dominant side. You don’t want your dog to go down and have a situation with a dog that turns into a big dog fight. Kind of size up the situation before you release your dog. Don’t go down with the mindset that you are going to go there, release your dog, sit and talk with the other owners and admire your dog from a distance. Monitor the play to make sure your dog doesn’t get injured.
.If your dog gets into a fight, you need to try to figure out what went on, so as not to duplicate it. You need to be honest with yourself. Most dog owners are not honest with themselves; they feel ―It was the other dog’s fault.‖ You need to be watching your dog to see if your dog actually started the fight, you need to be sure that your dog is not the problem. If your dog is a big dog and it tears up a little dog, you will be civilly responsible to Animal Control and in court.
So, should I use a dog park?
When you get a dog, know what you are going to do with the dog. Make sure you have some kind of training plan and goals. Don’t just think that you are going to have this dog in the backyard and he is going to be watching the backyard, because they don’t know how to watch the backyard. They just know how to sit back there and make noise. Dog parks can be a problem, but there is no reason that you can’t go to a dog park. Size up the dogs there, size up the owners there. Make sure you understand they may not have the control of their dog like you do, assuming you have trained your dog. Don’t be in a hurry to run off to a dog park. Train your dog and if you are not sure, then train some more. Try not to put your dog in a position to fail. Socialization with other dogs is important and interaction with other dogs at a dog park once a week helps. Like any other aspect of training, you want to properly train your dog and properly socialize your dog. If you do it right, then you will have years and years of success at the dog parks.

YOU NEED TO TRAIN 4 DAYS A WEEK AND GO TO THE DOG PARK

From the PAWS Winter 2009 Newsletter

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Craig Norman is the animal behaviorist for San Jose Animal Care and Services and has been working with animals since 1972. He has trained field dogs; worked with seals and dolphins in the Navy’s Mammal Research Project; he worked with the veterinarian staff that work with the exotic animals at Lion Country Safari; and attended Cal Poly State studying large animals. He has attended behavior classes and is known for his work and training with aggressive dogs. To date he has evaluated over 20,000 dogs at the shelter.

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