Quick Tips Episode 17: Dog Park Safety

Tip #1: Before you even go to the dog park, understand dog communicate by body language and so it's up to us to be able to make sure we understand what our dogs are saying, so Understand the Basic Stress Signals. If your dog is suddenly always shaking off if they're yawning if they're repetitively looking away when they're interacting with another dog, it means that they might be uncomfortable about a situation.

Tip #2, when you get to the dog park wait outside for three to five minutes so either be in your car or 100 yards back from the fence.  It's probably gonna seem like the longest three to five minutes ever, especially for your dog, but it's so important watch the play. Is there an aggressive dog in that park? Is there a dog that looks like it might not be a good fit for your dog? Do the pet parents look engaged? Maybe a scuffle just happened? Spending that quality time, you'll be able to sense kind of the vibe that's in that dog park and make sure that vibe is good for your dog. If not, it's not worth it. Leave and come back later.

Tip #3: If you do decide to go in that park, Keep on Moving. The tendency is to just stand there stand still, and what happens is two things. Either dog your dog forgets you're there and stops listening or they start to guard you. So instead, keep walking around the park. This will make sure that your dog always checks in with you and also, as they follow you around, they're likely to engage with a dog and then break off and go play with another dog. This will help to make sure that play keeps balance and fun.