The Dog Park Dilemma

I posted a question on our Facebook page the other day, basically asking if your dogs are “Dog Park Dogs” or not.  There were mixed reviews, but it seemed like most people avoid dog parks (and mainly because of the inattentive owners that bring their dogs to the park to run off all their energy and don’t take them for walks).  Some people had even written that a dog (or dogs) they’d had in the past loved dog parks, but that the dog (or dogs) they have currently don’t “do” dog parks.

Here’s a little background on my experience with dog parks…  Our local “Bark Park” opened a few months after we got Chloe in 1999.  Chloe was estimated to be between 9 and 18 months old, though the vet guessed a year old.  She was spayed before she left the SPCA.  We took her to the dog park a few times, but eventually my dad said he wasn’t taking her to get “molested” anymore.  She was more interested in what was going on with all the dog’s humans, than in being part of the actual pack of dogs itself.  The whole “molested” thing is because she would get humped at least 4 or 5 times by different dogs every time we were there.

My sister and brother-in-law got Daisy, their Boxer, when she was 7 weeks old–in April of 2007 (she was born in mid-February).  Every time we would take Daisy on a walk and she would see another dog, she would always want to play with them.  So, once she was old enough and had all her shots, we started taking her to the dog park (she was also spayed before she went to the dog park).  She absolutely LOVED the dog park!  She never got into fights and, being a typical Boxer, loved to roughhouse and “box” with the other dogs.  I used to take her every day after work and then my sister would meet us there.  Daisy would stay at the dog park for 1-2 hours before she finally tired out.  We met some friends around our age at the dog park that we actually all still stay in touch with today.

Enter Highway around Halloween of 2008 (he was about 4 years old then).  Highway was the white Boxer that just went Over the Rainbow Bridge at the end of June.  He was neutered when he came to live with my sister and brother-in-law (and Daisy).  He would get into fights at the dog park, so my sister and brother-in-law decided to just stop bringing both of them to the park (he and Daisy).

Then Riley came along.  I started taking her to the dog park as soon as she was old enough and had all her shots.  (She wasn’t spayed for her first few visits there, but she did go again a few times after she was spayed).  I thought it would be good socialization for her–HA!  Turns out, she was utterly terrified…but I really can’t blame her!  Of course, the pack of dogs already in the park swarms any dog that enters through the gate.  Imagine little (probably) 18 pound Riley with about 8-10 fully grown adult dogs literally on top of her.  She would hide under the benches the entire time, or try to climb up into my lap if I was sitting on a bench.  Our park is pretty big, so I would walk towards the other end and Riley (being the “Heeler” she is) would naturally follow me…and get tackled by the bigger dogs in the process.  Eventually, she began snapping at the other dogs that would try to get her to come out from under the bench and play.  I decided that since she was obviously not comfortable with going to the dog park, why should I force her to in the name of “socialization?”

Nowadays, Riley’s fine with one or two other dogs at our house or in our backyard.  She’s even okay with a group of 10-15 dogs at an obedience class (presumably because they’re all actually being attended to by their owners and are being controlled for the most part).  And she’s okay with other dogs at the beach or on walks at our local nature park.  She still, to this day, has issues with large numbers of dogs running free (and largely uncontrolled) in a fenced in area (dog park).

So, here’s my survey results with my/my family’s own dogs:

Chloe is “Dog Park Indifferent.” She doesn’t love it, but she doesn’t have it either.

Daisy is a “Dog Park Lover!” She does great in large, uncontrolled, rowdy groups of dogs!

Highway was a “Dog Park Hater.” Or I guess it should say “Dog Park Grump” since he would get into fights.