Is a Dog Park Right for Your Dog ?

 Dog Parks – Are they really all the rage?

A trip to your local dog park can be a wonderful experience for your best friend.  However, it is important to keep some rules in mind to ensure a good and safe experience.  Please consider the following when deciding whether this is a good fit for you and your dog.

1)      Not all dogs belong in the dog park.  Dogs that are not fully vaccinated, including puppies under the age of 16 weeks, should not be at the park.  Dogs not on heartworm and parasite preventatives should also not be at the dog park.

2)      Intact male and female dogs should not be brought to the park.  You will run into problems if you have an intact male or female present and the female is in heat.  It there are two intact males they may fight.  It is always best to spay and neuter your pets.

3)      Small children should not be brought into a dog park.  Dogs can too easily run into or trample a child.  Children that run and play and scream can easily set off a dog’s prey drive.  This can lead to injury, bites, etc.  So, if your dog is not used to children, not good with them or is prey driven, you may want to keep them away from the dog park or leave if a child enters.

4)       Make sure your dog is well socialized.  This happens with some work in a well-controlled environment.  Bringing your dog or puppy to the dog park is not where socialization begins.  Seek out a good dog trainer or talk with your veterinarian for more information and guidance. 

Understanding that a dog park may not be right for you, know that there are plenty of alternative activities that you can do with your dog. See below for some suggestions.

- Hire a professional dog walker for regular, daily walks

-       Sign up for a special activity or class such as obedience training, refresher training classes, scent classes, agility, fly ball or fast cat.

-       Enlist a couple of friends to go on regular pack walks with.  These excursions would provide that your dogs are on leashes and walked in a pack-like formation either side by side with handlers or single file in pairs of two (handler, dog).