Dog Park manners

[Shamas mom]

I am not generally a fan of Dog parks...but I am in a position where the dog park is really the only place that I can let Shamas off-leash without worrying much about trouble. Even in my own yard, I have to worry about the neighbors letting their puppy out, and Shamas "going off"

Shamas' issues with other dogs have always been much less off-leash. That's the time that there's no interference. No leash aggression, no owner input, no fence(barrier frustration). Nothing to stop him from understanding communication. And he has a wide area in which to avoid dogs he'd rather not interact with. He has never had much interest in other dogs, preferring to range on the edge of the field than join the packs

So after all the work I've done with him, I've now found a park where we can go, and let him off leash, then walk on trails away from most of the other dogs. Sure, we see other dog...but not many. The field is HUGE, and there are rarely more than 6 dogs in it at a time.

My question to you, fellow owners is this:

What behaviors do you like to see in off-leashed dogs?

Here's what we know so far:
Shamas has a decent recall, and I have two ways of calling him-" heyo" casually calls him back if he strays, and his name if he's needed.
We're teaching him to stand with us, if I spot a dog coming in or going out that I'd rather not have him associate with.
HE checks in after interactions, to be sure he's doing "good" This keeps things short and sweet.
If he takes off after a dog that looks nervous about it(or their owners do), I call him back with a "don't be bossy" This mostly settles the other owners, who can see that he's under supervision..
If we spot 3-4 dogs coming in to say hello at the same time, we vacate. Shamas can handle up to two. Past that, he WILL bare teethe and tell them to back off. But he doesn't bite, and he recovers quickly to meet and greet one at a time. We ran into that with a pack of huskies a little while ago. Once that pack dispersed, he was fine with them.

I have noticed he's not that big into joining games- he'd rather walk the trails. If a stick is thrown, it's better to throw two. Chloe got possessive in the summer over a stick, and he learned to let the other dog have it.
Little dogs that run fast confuse him. He can't figure out why they sniff noses and run away!

Shamas likes to be at the dog park for 20m to 45m depending on the trail he chooses. I let him pick the trail. There are three that run around the inside of the park. He has imported the rule "we do not enter the place until you both pee and poop" from all of our visits to people places, so that gives me plenty of time to observe the conditions inside, and him too. Then he decides if he'd like to go in or not. Some days he just goes on the outside trails and explores the woods on-leash.



Here are some pics of the other day. This is why I love this particular location- I rarely see him this carefree!







There were actually about a dozen dogs present in the park that day. But the place is so big that we could easily avoid almost all of them

 

[Candy]

He does look really happy and relaxed there! This is why I enjoy the moors so much, plenty of space for everyone, no need to go near another dog unless Joy chooses to.

 

[Jacqui-S]

Wonderful photos!
Really made me smile!

 

[kateincornwall]

This is really great , that he can avoid others if he wants to and just do his own thing happily , it looks fantastic x Reuben is the opposite , he loves play but according to the owner of the field he goes to , they chose what they want to do , some like just pootling around whilst others want the play . The photos are lovely x

 

[Jessica]

The photos are lovely - he looks so relaxed and happy.

To answer your question about behaviours I want to see in an off-lead dog - for me the owner is more important. As long as I see that the owner is watching their dog and managing the interaction, I feel fairly relaxed.

When we meet off-lead dogs, I let my dogs decide what to do, and just make sure that they've got enough space to move away if they want to (e.g. not meeting head-on, e.g. on a bridge or a narrow path). Jess wants to say hello to every dog that we meet but she does it very cautiously. She approaches quite slowly and on her tummy, and if the other dog seems receptive she will wiggle her way along and then after they sniff she will play a little bit, or just run back to me once the greeting is finished. I don't worry about her as she seems to have good dog-sense and backs off if a dog doesn't seem receptive. Brodie couldn't care less about most other dogs. If a really playful one runs up to him he will play chase but he never approaches them and is more likely to avoid a dog than try and greet it.

As my dogs aren't at all reactive or aggressive to other dogs, my worry is an out-of-the-blue attack from someone else's dog/s. I avoid groups of dogs as I don't like mine getting mobbed, and I avoid dogs that don't seem to be under any control. But if there is an owner in close proximity and s/he is paying attention, I assume that their dog wouldn't be off-lead if it couldn't be trusted and am happy to let the dogs meet or ignore each other as they choose.

Little dogs that run fast confuse him. He can't figure out why they sniff noses and run away!

This made me laugh, that is probably what Jess does. It's an invitation to chase!

 

[Shamas mom]

The photos are lovely - he looks so relaxed and happy.

To answer your question about behaviours I want to see in an off-lead dog - for me the owner is more important. As long as I see that the owner is watching their dog and managing the interaction, I feel fairly relaxed.


and I avoid dogs that don't seem to be under any control.



This made me laugh, that is probably what Jess does. It's an invitation to chase!

This is part of why I ask. I noticed that the owner of the dog Shamas ran towards last trip looked a bit nervous, then settled when they heard me call him back and tell him not to be bossy. Their dog had been jumping and rearing in a happy manner, which is what I think got Shamas' attention.

I've also seen him herd smaller, running dogs, thus the "don't be bossy" correction. He bosses the cats around, at homeand we're trying to teach him not to. He can usually pull himself up 3-4 stepps into a charge, and then comes back complaining about them. He's allowed to "fill their space", and move them that way but not charge at them

 

[MrChew]

To answer your question about behaviours I want to see in an off-lead dog - for me the owner is more important. As long as I see that the owner is watching their dog and managing the interaction, I feel fairly relaxed.

Yes, this is what I look at the most as well. Engaged owner and happy looking dog usually makes for a good interaction. Chewie wants to say hi to everyone but then only wants to play with certain dogs. He leaves tiny or old dogs in peace usually, after a good wiggle and sniff hello.

 

[Lab_adore]

Yes, this is what I look at the most as well. Engaged owner and happy looking dog usually makes for a good interaction. Chewie wants to say hi to everyone but then only wants to play with certain dogs. He leaves tiny or old dogs in peace usually, after a good wiggle and sniff hello.

Same. Maxx always wants to play with big dogs and if we meet on lead he has an enthusiastic sniff, a bit of a bark if the other dog doesn't pay enough attention and then an attempt to leap in the face of the other owner. We let him wander and sniff by himself in the park with his extra long lead on and we keep a careful eye out for other dogs. If they arrive we grab the lead and check out the dog and owner. Unless it is one of his mates we let him off but otherwise mostly we don't. This morning a friendly, enthusiastic dog came running up but we just let him leap around a bit on the long lead as we just weren't sure. He was happy.

 

[Selina27]

I rarely see him this carefree!

This is so lovely to see!

I'm no expert on dog park manners, but just wanted to say I enjoyed your photo's of Shamas xx

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Great photos of happy Shamas.

I've had two dogs that were great in dog parks (Duncan and Mama Jodhi), one that was great but had to be monitored closely because he didn't have much in the way of dog to dog social skills (Brogan) and then there's Carbon. I've been once to a dog park with him. He wasn't terrible - he's mainly bouncy and tries to play with everyone. However I don't have control and his enthusiasm can be downright obnoxious, especially to older or more frail dogs. If someone throws a ball, his brain leaks out his ears and he turns deaf. I felt like I instantly turned into one of "those people" who pretty much just runs after their dog apologising for the trail of destruction. I didn't feel good about it and wouldn't go back even if I could (the dog park we went to was in California).

When I used to go to dog parks regularly, red flags for me were people who would play with their phones and ignore their dogs as soon as they got into the gate. Also people (mainly young men) who would come with certain breeds on a choke chain with the dog dragging them in. They seemed to think the more gagging noises from the dog and the harder they pulled, the bigger their balls were. And not referring to the dog's balls.

Having a Rottweiler and Pitbull myself, these types of owners seemed to always want their dogs to 'play' with my dogs. It was weird. But I learned to just get up and leave when someone like that arrived, as did most of the other regulars. It's sad for the arriving dog (not their fault), but you gotta protect your own pups first.

By the way, I don't think that these young guys were bad people - really bad people don't take their dogs to dog parks - but rather really young, really uneducated and brought up to believe the "quien es mas macho" culture around owning certain high-profile breeds.

Whew. Yet another dissertation penned by Emily, when you just asked a simple question.

 

[Shamas mom]

Feel free to voice- it helps me as well. I'm inexperienced with dog parks, or even letting dogs play together. Shamas is my first dog, and came with such a boatload of problems, including aggression, that it's taken me 3 1/2 years to get him to the point where I'd let him in a field with other dogs. It was always in the back of my mind that a dog is an extension of one's self, and if he bites, I'm responsible!

I saw what you mean about those two types of dogs today. There was a white Shephard whose version of play was to bowl over the small dogs. And no owner intervention. other owners tried to keep their dogs out of his way.

And a bully breed who flanked other big dogs and growled in their faces. Shamas was flanked by both her and a shephard at the same time and bared teeth for them to back off. Then, a whole bunch came to check on him, which he didn't like much and I held his collar for a minute while I settled him down and moved him off.

I did also see a couple of dogs dragging their owners in. I noticed they didn't heed too well once offleash either.

Today was very busy for this park. We didn't stay long. But we were also in at peak time, because I wanted him to get in a good run before I went to work.