Aggression in dog park. How to handle it? (shepherd, lab, chihuahua)
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I'm sure you have has a million similar questions but I am new to dog ownership and could use advice on how to handle a situation. Thank you.
I have a new dog - he is a lab / german shepherd mix (or so we think - he was a rescue dog). He is very sweet and gentle by nature and a little shy but likes going out on walks and is just getting used to being in the company of other dogs. He is about 4 months old and was a rescue pup who was very timid and scared at first but is much more confident now. He's a large pup - he looks like a medium sized dog.
Today I decided to take him for the first time to my local wooded dog park with a friend.
I kept him on a very long retractable leash, but most dogs in the park are unleashed. Suddenly out of nowhere two dogs ran aggressively at my dog - one of them a medium- large what looked like some kind of lab mix and the other one of those tiny aggressive things - it might have been a chihuahua something like that. They both ran straight at him baring their teeth, the small one growling madly and ran underneath my dog snapping at him.
So basically my dog was trying to fend off two dogs, one above him and one below. There was no biting involved, just very aggressive behaviour from the other dogs.
The owners came over and my friend exploded at them saying if the dogs could not respond to voice commands they should be leashed. There was no apology just a response of 'this is an unleashed dog park' and that was it.
This dog park is 5 minutes walk from my house and I'd like to be able to use it without my dog being attacked. What is the protocol for situations like this? Should I just accept if I go to the dog park, my dog will have to put up with this (of course I know it will happen) but shouldn't the owners at least be apologetic if it happens? Or are they all within their rights to have their dogs threaten other dogs without apology?
As my dog is shy by nature I think more incidents like this could make him worse.
Your dog is too young for this type of behavior from other dogs. He will be negatively socialized to other dogs and groups of people, rather than positively socialized.
As a puppy and new dog at the dog park, he is low man on the totem pole to the regulars. However, what happened is not acceptable greeting behavior and is definitely not acceptable greeting behavior for a puppy to be exposed to. You do not want to continue this. It's going to really mess up your puppy's mind.
One of the points of training and socializing is to prevent poor behaviors. What you don't want to happen is to create problems and then have to work on correcting them. So for now, no dog parks.
Find ways to socialize your puppy other than the park and don't bring him back there until he is secure and happy and confident in his interactions with other dogs. This may well be several months or a year or more. Find places where there is control with other dogs.
See if you can find baby agility classes ( no or very low jumping) , puppy kindergarten class ( which will have some off leash play time) , then on to to basic obedience class Some training centers also have off leash puppy play groups ( very carefully monitored by trainers ). This is a critical time in pup's life for socialization. But is has to be positive associations with other dogs. Take him for lots of walks where he can meet people and where you can see other leased dogs and can determine their behavior before you let your pup and other dog sniff. .
As the dog park is close to your home, drive by it alone at different hours . See if you can figure out when it is empty or mostly empty. See if there are regulars who come at certain times who seem to have gentle dogs or when it is safely empty. Good luck with your puppy. Can you a post a photo of puppy?
Your dog is too young for this type of behavior from other dogs. He will be negatively socialized to other dogs and groups of people, rather than positively socialized.
As a puppy and new dog at the dog park, he is low man on the totem pole to the regulars. However, what happened is not acceptable greeting behavior and is definitely not acceptable greeting behavior for a puppy to be exposed to. You do not want to continue this. It's going to really mess up your puppy's mind.
One of the points of training and socializing is to prevent poor behaviors. What you don't want to happen is to create problems and then have to work on correcting them. So for now, no dog parks.
Find ways to socialize your puppy other than the park and don't bring him back there until he is secure and happy and confident in his interactions with other dogs. This may well be several months or a year or more. Find places where there is control with other dogs.
See if you can find baby agility classes ( no or very low jumping) , puppy kindergarten class ( which will have some off leash play time) , then on to to basic obedience class Some training centers also have off leash puppy play groups ( very carefully monitored by trainers ). This is a critical time in pup's life for socialization. But is has to be positive associations with other dogs. Take him for lots of walks where he can meet people and where you can see other leased dogs and can determine their behavior before you let your pup and other dog sniff. .
As the dog park is close to your home, drive by it alone at different hours . See if you can figure out when it is empty or mostly empty. See if there are regulars who come at certain times who seem to have gentle dogs or when it is safely empty. Good luck with your puppy. Can you a post a photo of puppy?
I agree - the puppy is way too young to be at a dog park. Leashed walks in popular dog-walking spots and playdates with dogs you know are really the route to go right now. Take him all kinds of places - if there's stores that let you bring leashed dogs, take him with you to as many as possible (as long as you know he won't do anything horrible on the floor). Introduce him to children in your social circle who you trust to behave well. Get him out of the house.
But skip the dog park for now. Every dog there will feel the need to put a dog that young in his place, and he won't know how to respond. The other dogs aren't being bad - they're having a natural reaction. Your puppy doesn't know where he falls in the pecking order yet. Let him get some confidence and self-knowledge in more controlled environments.
Your idea to socialize your pup with other canines is a wise one. However, I recommend you start with supervised playgroups at a training or daycare facility. This way your pup will have the benefit of trained staff monitoring the group and enforcing appropriate interaction. I'm sure you have many playgroups in your area. Let me know if you need help finding one. The way I'd go about it would be to locate local professional members of the following organizations and then check out their websites and/or contact them to find out if they offer playgroups:
Thanks so much for your advice everyone.
No dog parks. That's a shame but I take your advice. It makes sense.
We don't currently have a fenced in yard. We are working on it. We have just got planning permission but I suspect it will be at least another month until it is up (been trying to get planning sorted since October *groan*). It will be great when he can have a proper run about on his own.
I suspect he is going to be a very large dog so he needs lots of exercise.
Willow wind I'm posting some pictures. His name is Chester. We were told he was a Lab / Shepherd mix but I suspect they were just guessing. I strongly suspect he has a lot of Carolina Dingo in him. He has the same colouring and feet but doesn't have the sticky-up ears. Sometimes he looks like a lab and sometimes not at all. He is extremely sweet natured and good as gold. I housetrained him without a crate in about 2 weeks, so although I bought a crate thinking I was doing the right thing I never needed to use it so now its folded up in garage!
There is a reason I don't take my dogs to dog parks. Too many owners don't know how to handle their dogs. They're off, sitting on some bench, chatting about whatever, while the dogs run around. They don't even watch their dogs, so if something happens, by the time they get there, it's gone beyond bad to worse. In some cases, it could be too late.
If you do take your dog to a dog park, first go there yourself, several times, without your dog, and get an idea of the type of people who frequent the place. Some people are great at dog parks, but people like the above, in your OP, no.
I do not take mine to a dog park for the very reason the op describes. off leash dogs are only as good as their owners have trained them. unfortunately a great deal of dog owners don't care to control their animals. doggie day care once you see how the dog acts with the dogs in the group would be something to look into. lots of dog owners I know carry a walking stick to the dog parks or walking the streets. keep your dog as safe as you can. what a cutie!
What a handsome boy! He does look deceptively like a medium adult in the first pics.
I'm another one that stays away from dog parks, and I definitely would until he's older. But when he is, since you're so close you can try to figure out what times are quiet there, as someone suggested. If you get there and it's a no-go, well you just went for a little walk and that's fine too.
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