Dog Park Etiquette: Yes, there is such a thing

I have not had a chance to visit Rochester Canine Play Groups, but I heartily cheer for them. Back in the day (when Carmie was here and young enough to take to the dog park), dog parks were non-existent. In fact, taking your dog to any park was a big no-no.

One understands the "no dogs" rule, a bit. But, then...one says, "MY dog doesn't misbehave." And, one would occasionally be wrong, because all dogs misbehave. Like children. Usually it's just exuberance and playfullness. Dogs that are truly aggressive need therapy. It's often a discipline issue, and meanness.

My first visit to a dog park was with Twiggy, my daughter Chloe's dog. Twiggy, a pure-blood Greyhound, is full of energy and has a mind of her own. In fact, I think Twiggy lives in a world of her own (not that she isn't cuddly, delightful, and precious...she's just so dang self-centered! You'd think she was a playful cat!) This pic is about a year old...I will have to get a new one from my daughter, soon.

So, I was a bit unsure about how she would act at the dog park. But, she was fine. She had a huge area to run around in, other dogs to 'play' with, and free reign of her need to run, run, run. Her interaction with others dogs was fun to watch. Apparently, she is better-behaved with her own-kind. LOL

So when I found this great article online that talks about dog park etiquette, I thought it was well worth sharing.

The site I found it on, eHow™ - "how to do just about everything"... has a lot of good pet advice so I recommend a visit, if you have time. For this subject, there were 7 Steps listed...

#1 seems critical to share here, "Wait until your dog is four months old before you visit the dog park." This is to make the experience a good one, both for your dog and for the other dogs there. In conjuntion with that is, IMHO, #4, "Choose dog toys wisely." Frizbees can attract a lot of attention and may cause issues - imagine two dogs fighting over the Frizbee, and yours is losing!

Anyway, dog parks are fabulous places to take your dog for socialization, if he or she is a solo at your house. If not, it's a great place for you to meet other pet parents and know you're giving Fido a chance for a good work-out.

Comments

[Lindsay]

Good tips for the dog park. Good for you on picking up after your dog and others' dogs. I wish more people did that around here. I have to admit though, I only pick up after my own dog.

[Chloe aka Yvonne's Daughter]

I've emailed a few new pictures of Twiggy. A few of her at said dog park.

Twiggy LOVES the dog park. She loves to run freely, to smell every inch, to meet new friends, and even meet new people. I can't imagine not having several dog parks at our disposal, and I'm wondering how we are going to do it in the winter when it's too cold for her to be outside long.

Being a frequent dog park visitor I thought I'd share a few other things I have learned:

1.Bringing fresh water is a must. Twiggy is so picky that if I don't have ice cold, fresh water she just won't drink. I learned quickly that bringing my own water is vital to her having a good time. There are usually dog bowls at the parks, but not all of them, and the ones that are there tend to get pretty dirty so it's better to be prepared with your own.

2. Our dog park has a walking loop around it and many people will walk while their dogs run and play. This means not always witnessing every #2 event. To help keep the park clean I usually pick up at least one random pile of #2 when I am there, and I've witnessed some wonderful individuals walk around and try to pick up as many as they can. It helps keep the dogs and the people in a safer, less smelly environment.

3. If you have extra plastic bags (maybe from your collection of hitting the grocery store every week), bring them. There is usually some sort of container to put them in to make them available to anyone who needs them for the clean up duty.

4. If you bring some sort of treat to give your dog for obeying, like I do for Twiggy - we are working on the "come" command at the dog park so I keep a small bag of little bones in my pocket - be sure you do not give them to any other dog without getting permission first. I'm always surprised to find out how many people say "no" when I ask if their dog can have a small treat, but a lot of dogs have allergies, or sensitive stomach issues, and I definitely don't want to make anything worse. So always ask first.

Now, if someone would just open an indoor dog park for wintertime, Twiggy and I would be oh so happy!