I would never take my dog to a dog park. There are some really good owners but they are some owners who probably haven't had their dog out in 2 years that all of a sudden get a wild hair to take the dog to the park. No socialization, no shots, etc. There are places & dogs that I will allow mine to run free with but these are very few & far between. Dog fights are just too hard to break up.

Patricia

Pertaining to the yahoos with sick dogs as mentioned above:
Why do people always miss the obvious? If your dog is vaccinated there ought to be little concern about whether or not other dogs are vaccinated. As for general illness such kennel cough or whatever, dogs might get sick from time to time and it shouldn’t be a big deal at all. It should help them build a stronger immune system and if need be the vet’ always as something that can knock out the dogs sickness in a few days. If not your dog may have larger health issues than being around other dogs.

As for the puppy that got scared, being protective is good and all but a scare isn’t going to do your dog any permanent or lasting damage. If anything it will teach it what all dogs need to learn early on and that’s caution. That’s what fright teaches us all.

Come on people, let’s get out from under our rocks and live a little. That way our dogs can to. Now don’t misunderstand me, because I know that kids and animals are not the same (for those who may shout at my audacity to make any kind of parallel), but should parents not take kids to the park for fear of other sick kids and bullies. NO, that would’ve have given us all terrible maladjusted lives. The same goes for pets. They too need to live a full range of experiences and that includes the unexpected as well as our constant unconditional care and love. That way they can become well-adjusted and healthy pets. Really now, to what extent should we live in fear of what’s out there. Think about that before making statements to the effect of “but what if this” or “ and what if that”.

(For those who haven’t, please read my previous comments a few sections up.)

Please excuse my typos above. I just noticed 'em.

Hope to see y'all at the dog park!

Luca,

'As for the puppy that got scared, being protective is good and all but a scare isn’t going to do your dog any permanent or lasting damage. If anything it will teach it what all dogs need to learn early on and that’s caution. That’s what fright teaches us all.'

Well time will tell I guess, but I have to disagree with you statement above.
Anything a pup is subjected to at a young age that scares the shit out of it MIGHT cause at the minimum nervousness later on in life.

Now you will probably tell me my pup has weak nerves or something ok but I know he was cautious for the following few outings.
Who would want a dog that lives it life thinking it is going to be attacked?

regards
hayden

I agree with Hayden. Depending on the age of the pup and the incident that occurs, a young dog may forever be nervous or dog aggressive if a negative experience happens with another dog. This happened to my 8 year old son's dog (not at a dog park) She is horribly nervous around all other dogs now, except for my old SchH 1 female that she has known since we got her at 7 weeks. She was about 14 weeks old and traumatized by another dog (a female with pups that got loose), until that point she was friendly and social with all animals and had met many dozens of dogs in a controlled setting. She is now fearful and dog aggressive, rolls over submissively when other dogs approach and when they lose interest and walk away she cheap shots them in the back legs and will actually fight. I believe that this is the result of her puppy trauma. I would NEVER take a puppy to a dog park..........I have plenty of friends with dogs that I know and trust if I want my dogs to interact with other dogs.

LUCA,

Who's missing the obvious? What is harder, breaking up two miss-behaving children or breaking up a dog fight? I think the answer to that is quite obvious. There are plenty of ways to raise a well adjusted pup and a dog park is not the way. A young pup who is seriously attacked by another dog will many times grow up a fighter forever. Either that or he will be shit scared of every dog he sees. I agree with Cindy and Hayden. Take your pup to the pet store, or over to a friends house, or for walks in the neighborhood. Let him meet people and other dogs, on leash in a controlled environment. Stay away from off-leash dog parks. Dog parks are just plain stupid, let alone for puppies.

Chuck, I gotta disagree with you. I agree that pups should not be taken to dog parks. It is much better to socialize them with dogs you know, that you are positive will be good with puppies. I would *never* take my pup to a dog park.
As to dog parks being stupid, they're only as stupid as the people who use them. Like Lou, the dog park is a place where I can work with my dogs off leash with distractions. I never go at the really busy times, only at off peak hours, and I never just stand around with my thumb up my behind in the middle of the pasture and let my dogs do what they want. I walk my dogs on the trails, and frequently issue commands. If we happen to encounter another dog along our way, I simply keep walking and call my dogs to follow. This way, they do get to meet other dogs, but they are not staking out territory or forming a pack, or sticking around long enough to want to establish a dominance heirarchy.
Again, it's how you use it that makes all the difference. I don't subscribe to the "let the cute little doggies play together" philosophy. For me, the off leash park is a place where I can legally exercise my dogs off leash without having to drive for a half hour or more, and it also gives me the opportunity to work on their off leash obedience.

JParker,

You explain my point in my first post on this subject perfectly. You are one who has enough sense to not have any problems. Your reasons are understandable. The average beginner trainer though should probably distraction train their dog somewhere other than a dog park. I don't really disagree with you. I just think for the average dog owner, dog parks are a bad idea.

Hayden,
Caution is good. You certainly seem to care for your dog so keep it up and the seemingly shy caution should turn to a more confident caution. Which is good. Remember that pups at a young age take cues from their owners. If you are scared, they will take that cue and be scared as well (For the most part – all dogs are different of course). If you are confident, your pup will take that cue from you as well but, the caution will probably never leave and that’s not bad in a confident dog. We can help our dogs be confident when bad things happen to them. With some it maybe easier than others but that’s just a part of life.

Cindy,
Yes, I have seen horribly nervous dogs too. What I noticed however is that they were dogs that were taught to be scared and nervous by the their owners. They took cues from the owners on how to react to things. If the dog in question was a little frightened by something the owner would quickly over sympathize. Thus, the dog takes the cue, feels the fear, nervousness or tension of the owner and suddenly the dog feels more fear than the he/she may have had to begin with leaving it with a longer lasting impression than would have resulted. If this type of behavior by the owner becomes constant then you get a nervous scaredy dog. This may or may not be the case for the dog you have mentioned but it’s certainly a possibility and it happens quite frequently as I have noticed this behavior throughout my life and have been able to correlate that with many nervous dogs.

Remember, In this case I’m just talking about pups and how they progress form there. In older dog that has been influenced will already have a predisposition. Not that they can’t be taught different but it can be a bit harder and dogs can regress but loving kindness is generally the key with few exceptions as exceptions will always exist.

Chuck,
Wow it’s amazing the parallels people will draw. I was raised around dogs most of my life and I have had to break up a few dog fights. Maybe I’m just desensitized to the trauma of it all but I’d rather break up a dog fight than older kids. Some are pretty violent. If you meant younger kids, than younger pups aren’t hard to break up either. Considering that, I really don’t think I’m missing the obvious.

J Parker,
I’m in general agreement with your comments.

Once again… Chuck,
How can you honestly make that last statement about not disagreeing with Parker when your comment before was “dog parks are just plain stupid”? Seems conflicting to me.

Julie,
Turned out to be a pretty hot topic! I had no idea that it was ‘till I visited this page.

Everyone,
Thanks for your comments. Whether or not you’re in agreement with me, I think it’s important for people in the dog community to exchange, thoughts, ideas and any suggestions we may have for each other. Yet, we must obviously think all advice through and decide what is best for our dogs and us because all dogs, people, places and situations are different to any number of degrees. All in all, I think the bottom line is that we all love are dogs and are looking for feedback so that we can all be better dog owners.

The dog park I go to is fenced. I didn't know non-fenced existed.