Finn at 11 weeks - Socialization in Dog Park
Westerville Brooksedge Bark Park
November 18, 2007
We had heard so many good things about Brooksedge Bark Park and had a fantastic time when I went with our friend Kami and her two calm submissive adult female Bassett Hounds a few months before. When the idea came to mind of visiting a small off-leash dog park, we thought to ourselves...sure why not this park?!
So we checked it out with Finn.
One of the valuable and enlightening lessons that we took from this...
dog parks can be a scary place for a very young puppy, especially
IF dog owners do not fully understand how dogs communicate to one another
IF dog owners are nervous, fearful, anxious and not calm/assertive (dogs can pick up our energy)
IF dogs in the park were NOT walked or exercised before entering the park
IF the dogs have not been socialized with puppies before
IF dogs are not trained basic commands especially the command to come when called
Knowledge is Power!
Get educated about the dog park in question.
Check if it expects the highest standards in dog care & ownership.
Find out about the its rules and restrictions.
The dog park is only as great and safe as the dog handlers/owners make it.
Luckily, we and Finn recovered from this experience considering there were just so many dogs that were not easily controlled by their owners. We had to keep ourselves confident, calm and made sure that we drew boundaries for the other dogs if they tried to bully a very young puppy.
November 18, 2007
We had heard so many good things about Brooksedge Bark Park and had a fantastic time when I went with our friend Kami and her two calm submissive adult female Bassett Hounds a few months before. When the idea came to mind of visiting a small off-leash dog park, we thought to ourselves...sure why not this park?!
So we checked it out with Finn.
One of the valuable and enlightening lessons that we took from this...
dog parks can be a scary place for a very young puppy, especially
IF dog owners do not fully understand how dogs communicate to one another
IF dog owners are nervous, fearful, anxious and not calm/assertive (dogs can pick up our energy)
IF dogs in the park were NOT walked or exercised before entering the park
IF the dogs have not been socialized with puppies before
IF dogs are not trained basic commands especially the command to come when called
Knowledge is Power!
Get educated about the dog park in question.
Check if it expects the highest standards in dog care & ownership.
Find out about the its rules and restrictions.
The dog park is only as great and safe as the dog handlers/owners make it.
Luckily, we and Finn recovered from this experience considering there were just so many dogs that were not easily controlled by their owners. We had to keep ourselves confident, calm and made sure that we drew boundaries for the other dogs if they tried to bully a very young puppy.
Sniffing it out...(notice Finn's tail)...seems okay to us...
Finn, showing calming signals (lowering his head and wagging his tail) to greet the big dogs (some were clearly showing teeth).
Finn was able to relax and take a break. Just for a wee bit...
Calming signals with a Sheltie and a Spaniel.
Smaller dogs do not necessarily mean, calmer and nicer dogs. In fact, we encountered some real feisty ones. What was interesting was that owners kept wanting to calm the dogs down by saying, "It's okay" which seemed to do the opposite...making them even more anxious.
After the dog park.
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