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Dog Parks

posted Aug 5, 2010 9:35 PM by Jon Richards   [ updated Aug 15, 2010 11:04 PM by Gail Clark ]
The Dog Park: a Dangerous Dog Party

By: Gail I. Clark, Ph.D.

The vision that inspired the construction of dog parks was to provide dog owners with a safe, fenced area, for well-behaved, social dogs to run, play, and socialize together. In reality, the dog park is a dangerous dog party and a haven for the untrained, unsocialized dog to release pent up energy and wear out so that they behave better at home. Often these out of control, unsocialized fur balls of energy can be aggressive to both dogs and people. While aggressive or dangerous dogs may not be welcome in the park, most dog parks are not supervised or regulated to prohibit undesirable dogs from entering. The only supervision at the dog parks is the dog owner who may not have a lot of experience or knowledge about dog behavior and body language and are often too busy socializing with each other or talking on their cell phones to pay attention to the dogs.

Generally, there aren't capacity limits at the dog park, so a space that is often no larger than a third of a football field may have 1 to 75, loose, untrained dogs, ranging in size from Chihuahua to Great Dane, running, chasing, and body slamming each other. Turning untrained, unsocialized dogs loose in a small area to play doggie football or socialize on their own is like turning a bunch of preschool kids loose on a playground without any supervision, rules, or boundaries. The overcrowded, unsupervised dog party is the perfect environment for a huge K9 brawl.

The Dog Park Social System.
Dog parks may seem like a true fun party for your dog and a great way to socialize, but in actuality, many dogs are learning inappropriate social and play behaviors. The dog park attendants, often lacking proper social etiquette, mob and intimidate the dog at the entrance of the park. Imagine going to a big party and being the last one to arrive and everyone comes to the door, looks you up and down, from front to rear, sniffs you all over to see who you are and where you have been. If your dog or puppy doesn't become frightened at being mobbed at the entrance, he is, at the least, learning an improper socialization style. There is always a bully on the playground and when the puppy gets bowled over by the bully or during a group romp, he becomes either afraid of other dogs, or worse, the new bully on the playground, negating any socialization benefits.

Other risks.
Aside from the danger of dogs getting injured in fights at the dog park, the doggie football style games of racing around, jumping, sharp turns, short stops, and body slamming can cause serious injury and expensive repair. The close contact games also provide a great breeding ground for bacteria and the spread of disease, whereas, limiting your dog to playing with just a few of his healthy, close friends in a clean backyard greatly reduces health risks.

Other options to the Dog Park.
Don't go to dog parks unless you can choose and regulate your dog's playmates. Set up play dates in your own backyard with a friend's dog or plan to meet at the dog park during an off time so just your dogs are playing. Supervise the play and start with short sessions initially, because just like kids, dogs play hard and get dog tired and irritable. Irritability often leads to reactionary snaps that can snowball into a full-fledged dogfight if the play gets too rough, even among the best of friends. Intervene before the play gets out of control. If a third dog shows up to play, introduce them one at a time and make sure all of the personalities are compatible. Ideally, all of the dog owners have good control over their dogs in case the dogs need to be stopped or called back if the play gets out of hand.

Dog park parties, where your dog gets to run and rump with his own kind are a great idea and can be safe and a lot of fun when you exercise caution by supervising the games and friends that play with your dog