Dog Parks

This video brings up some health issues related to dog parks. Your dog may be healthy, vaccinated, on flea preventive and de-wormed - but are all the other dogs? Besides any health considerations, I actually posted this clip because of the Veterinarian's comments that dog parks can provide 'obedience training' and an opportunity to socialize dogs to people and other dogs.

I know I'm often the odd man out here, but I never recommend dog parks to my clients. The majority of what dogs know about interacting with other dogs is learned from their litter-mates during 6-8 weeks of age. Regrettably, many dogs in our society leave their litter before this important socialization occurs. Because of this, they may not have had the opportunity to learn good behavior around other dogs. But dogs that need work on socialization as adults generally aren't going find what they need at a dog park.

Without close supervision by experienced and responsible owners, pack instincts can quickly heighten at park visits. This can erode a dog's relationship with its owner and undermine good behavior at home. Dog parks are just too informal and unstructured for me to see many benefits versus substantial risks. Certainly dogs can be around other dogs, but the owners should always have the dog's focus and respect.

IMO, the time owners spend taking their dog to a park would be much better spent in structured walks with their pet, playing fetch, or practicing obedience training. In these cases owners are teaching their dogs to live well in our human world. They are providing the exercise and mental challenges necessary to develop well adjusted dogs and healthy relationships with their pets.

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