Dog Park

[Katy]

Having lived in the country many years, I know this concept seems a little odd...or even humorous...but in urban areas, folks have to go to great lengths to let dogs be dogs...
Here is one great way city folks socialize their dogs...in dog parks!
Here are Jinjar and Dino in Redondo Beach playing with gobs Ridgebacks (there were about 30 of them there!!) and every other large breed imagineable!
(Click on image to enlarge)



They LOVE it...huge areas, tons of dogs to wrestle! It's really an awesome thing to watch...so many dog personalities in one place!

[hicntry]

Katy, I can't imagine 30 ridgebacks in one place. That looks like a huge dog park in that last picture.....and everyone is so well behaved. Amazing!

[Katy]

Yup, it's a big 'un! And, I've taken Dino and Jinjar many times-and rarely a growl is heard!
Here's a couple more shots from there!
(Click on image to enlarge)

[bhekadawn]

I've heard from several different trainers that dog parks are not the thing to visit until you have total recal on your dog. That I do not have at this time, so have not visited one. I have several in my area, but just opt for taking Lowboi out in the woods and such for a run and over to friends to play with other dogs.
Also, on another crazy dog thing note: In Seattle they have dog washes! Just like car washes. Bring your roll of quarters, the dog and away you go. They have all the shampoo, conditioner, bathing tubs and blowdriers you could ever need. I tell ya! People will pay for anything.
OH! and another thing. One of my sisters friends quit her job at Microsoft to open a doggie daycare. She takes care of 8 dogs during the day and is pulling in over $100,000 a year. Like I said, folks will pay for almost anything in the city.

[gundermann]

I wouldn't let the dog off leash in a dog park without being able to trust the dog to recall but taking them there on leash is a great way to socialize the dog and get them used to the park. If the park is packed with off leash dogs they can pick on the leashed ones. None of the dogs I have now could be trusted to run with strange dogs so the only time we visit is when it's pouring rain and nobody else is there. My dogs don't mind rain, as long as they can run they're happy.
Rob

[Leslie and Roofus]

I must admit, it was pretty entertaining to show all the “labrador people” at the local dog park what Airedale Antics are! That said, Roofus had a bad experience at a dog park once, he was nipped in the butt by an unruly border collie, and I stopped taking him to places like that. It wasn’t a bad bite, it could have been worse, but Roofus wasn’t the same “happy-go-lucky” boy after that either. Instead, he became “suspicious” of strange dogs, especially if some other dog showed any obvious interest in his rear end!

You may be able to trust your own dog at the dog park, but you can’t always trust other people with their dogs. For instance, the owner of the border collie that bit Roofus thought it was “cute” the way her dog was going around and picking fights! (Roofus wasn’t the only one; someone else’s dog had to make a trip to the vet!) When this happened, I had been working on getting Roofus ready for CGC, and I thought the dog park would be a good way for him to socialize with other dogs. The problem is that you can never be sure that your dog learning the kind of socialization skills you want. The border collie thing proved to be a significant set back to our training. Every time Roofus saw another dog after that, Roofus would be up on his toes and trying to instigate a stare-down. There were a few obnoxious outbursts too, and I had never seen Roofus act that way around other dogs before. There was a part of me that was afraid he might be ruined for Service Dog work completely, because I knew there would always be other dogs in public.

That was two years ago, and lucky for me, we were able to get over this; but I always remember the border collie incident and think about what a set back it created for us. The change in Roofus after this event was obvious to my trainer before I even told her about it. She made me swear that I would never allow him to be “over stimulated” around other dogs again unless I had complete control over his environment. We pretty much had to start all over from scratch, to “remind” Roofus how to behave in the presence of unfamiliar dogs. Essentially, I had to teach him how to ignore other dogs, just like how I taught him to ignore kids. I had to practice introducing him to “new” dogs constantly. These days, he only gets to socialize with dogs that have good manners. He is still an Airedale though, and he still may get excited over “other dog” encounters, but it’s a “happy excited” not an “aggressive excited.” The real difference is in how Roofus has learned to restrain himself when he sees another dog. For me, any possible benefits of dog parks are just not worth the risks. All it takes is one bad experience.

The ultimate test for Roofus was at the Mayo Clinic, where we ran into other Service Dogs and Therapy Dogs all the time; Roofus was such a good boy there, I couldn’t have been more proud of him, but I know he didn’t get that way by hanging out at the local dog park. There are better ways to socialize a Service Dog. You may want to think carefully about it before putting your dog into a situation like that, especially if you expect your Airedale to act like a pro when you take him into public places.


Leslie and Roofus

[macsmom]

bhekadawn wrote - One of my sisters friends quit her job at Microsoft to open a doggie daycare. She takes care of 8 dogs during the day and is pulling in over $100,000 a year. Like I said, folks will pay for almost anything in the city.

This is one area that I am working on. I am an artist who can actually do quick sketches of most dogs on the spot. But, I also work preferrably from my own photos. You would not believe some photos people give me to work from. I am counting on people who love their dogs so much that they would like to have a really nice portrait done of their canine family member.