Ruff Paws

DOG BEHAVIOR

• Your dog should be reasonably confident and social. Those who are fearful, aggressive, or reactive are not appropriate for dog parks.
• Basic good manners are a park prerequisite. Your dog should not body-slam, mouth, jump on kids, or mark (leg-lift) humans in the park, nor should he jump into laps of random sitting humans without invitation.
• Your dog should be responsive to basic cues – at least “come when called,” “sit,” and “leave it/off,” so you can get control of him if necessary, and prevent him from harassing others.
• Barking should be kept to a reasonable level, both for the comfort of other park users as well as nearby neighbors. Occasional barks of joy are acceptable. Non-stop barking of a “fun police” type dog is not, nor is barking with more serious aggressive intent.
• Only healthy dogs should visit dog parks. Obviously, communicable diseases and parasites are unacceptable as these can affect and infect other dogs. Structural un-soundness that can cause pain (hip dysphasia, arthritis, etc.) are a high risk factor for causing aggression when a dog is hurt or stressed by the anticipation of being hurt.

HUMAN BEHAVIOR

• Don’t bring small children inside the dog park.
• Limit your use of toys or food treats as necessary to avoid dog/dog conflict. This may vary depending on the dog population at the park during any given visit.
• Keep puppies under the age of four months at home. They aren’t fully immunized yet, so are at higher risk for contracting diseases, and are very vulnerable to being traumatized by another dog’s inappropriate behavior.
• Be harshly realistic about your dog’s potential as a park playmate. The dog park is not the appropriate place to work on fixing your dog’s behavior problems.
• Watch park play for several minutes before you take your dog in to be sure there are no dogs present who are inappropriate play partners for your dog.
• Remove your dog’s leash as soon as you enter the off-leash area. Mixing on-leash and off-leash dogs can cause stress in the leashed dogs, which may lead to aggression.
• Supervise your dog’s play. This is not the time to bury your nose in the latest copy of Cosmo or your favorite novel. Be prepared to interrupt inappropriate play whether your dog is the perpetrator or the victim.
• If someone complains about your dog’s behavior, be prepared to consider his perspective before defending your dog or just blowing off the complaint. Apologize if your dog has been inappropriate, and be willing to leave the park if your dog is being too rough. If you really disagree with the person’s assessment of your dog’s behavior, ask someone you respect for her honest and frank opinion.
• Be polite, even if someone else’s dog is inappropriate and the owner isn’t controlling her dog or is unwilling to take her own dog out of the park.
• Avoid disciplining another park user’s dog. If you must use force to break up a fight, so be it, but do not attempt to “punish” someone else’s dog once the conflict is ended. If you find another dog’s behavior unacceptable, take your own dog out of the park rather than “correcting” someone else’s dog.
• Of course, as always, clean up after your dog religiously both inside and outside the park. Be willing to clean up unclaimed piles of dog poo from visitors who don’t know or don’t follow the rules of dog-park etiquette, or perhaps who just didn’t notice their dog leaving a fecal souvenir.