Dog parks are one of my favorite topics. I am convinced that they are built for humans to interact...not dogs. Once past the puppy stage, dogs are no longer comfortable with being thrust into an unknown environment. It can happen suddenly. The lack of a leash and the guidance of their handler makes the uncertainty more intense. Couple that with clueless owners (I am referring to the random mix found at the park, not you) and their hapless animals, and you have a recipe for disaster.
We cannot expect this new experience to be beneficial to our dogs unless we have carefully conditioned them to Accept a "good citizen" role in a woefully unpredictable environment. Only the best animals and the best handlers can reasonably be expected to master this. While training therapy dogs we play loud noises and crash pots and pans to the floor, to desensitize them to that which they will encounter in a hospital environment. This is reletively easy to do when compared to the unpredictable nature of a dog park, which has little or no control save the fence.
I am strongly in agreement with other posters here...give your dog play time with predictable play pals, in an environment that you can control.
We cannot expect this new experience to be beneficial to our dogs unless we have carefully conditioned them to Accept a "good citizen" role in a woefully unpredictable environment. Only the best animals and the best handlers can reasonably be expected to master this. While training therapy dogs we play loud noises and crash pots and pans to the floor, to desensitize them to that which they will encounter in a hospital environment. This is reletively easy to do when compared to the unpredictable nature of a dog park, which has little or no control save the fence.
I am strongly in agreement with other posters here...give your dog play time with predictable play pals, in an environment that you can control.
