I tried to take my dog to the dog park - split into small dog and big dog by gates. If I see 2-3 dogs in the big dog area, I let my dog go to the small dog area where there aren't any dogs. I was told that he shouldn't be socializing with a group of big dogs or that COULD result in an attack, until he is 1 year of age. I fear since tiger gets easily distracted he will NOT come back to me, provoke some other dog by his jumpiness, etc. He also seems to be eating small pieces of wood as well, and its not like he 'drops it' when I tell him to (and he KNOWS that command). I then put him back on the leash since he cannot handle this kind of freedom it seems. When I try to get him to run, he yanks/bites the leash and jumps on me....and suddenly the leash is a toy that he won't allow me to have so he starts growling. I TIRE of this game and I am frustrated. He is 5 months so I think this is his testing stage .
Re: Dog Park help? Hi, I'm not very experienced but lets see if we can do something to help. Who told you that you can't take Tiger into the area with the bigger dogs? Have you bought Pippa's Total Recall book which will help you recall Tiger in all manner of situations including away from other dogs? Do you do any training that will tire Tiger out a little, such as retrieving a ball, sits/waits hide and seek, find the toy etc. If you do these things for 10 minutes 2 or 3 times a day Tiger will be using his brain and this can be very tiring for a young puppy. When Tiger eats bits of wood can you exchange for a favourite toy? and praise him if he gives it up. Could you play fetch with him in the park to keep his attention, he may also think since you are putting him back on his leash that's the end of his fun. Try every so often to put him on leash and then after a short while let him off again therefore teaching him that being put on leash is OK. I wouldn't try to get him to run while he's on his leash as maybe he is getting over excited and thinks you are playing a game hence the he thinks it's a toy. If he starts biting the leash stop moving and try to get him to sit and when he is calm move on but if he does it again you must stop be consistent and hopefully Tiger will soon tire of it. Use very tasty treats when he is a good boy and doesn't bite or jump up. As I said, I am a novice but hopefully someone experienced will come along and help you and tell me I'm wrong
Re: Dog Park help? [quote author=TigersMom link=topic=5340.msg67205#msg67205 date=1397065140] He also seems to be eating small pieces of wood as well, and its not like he 'drops it' when I tell him to (and he KNOWS that command). I then put him back on the leash since he cannot handle this kind of freedom it seems. [/quote] My boy was absolutely terrible for this - particularly when he was teething. But he grew out of it, and came to no harm while he was doing it. I do not believe that Tiger is deliberately defying you. He very well may know the "leave it" command in your kitchen, or garden, but that does not mean he knows it in the dog park - that's just young dogs for you. I don't believe that they think "I know I've been told to leave it but I'm going to decide not to". It's much more likely Tiger does not know what leave it means in the particular situation.
Re: Dog Park help? I let Harley (8 months old) play with most dogs (unless they are aggressive) no matter what the size (as long as the owner agrees!). It has really helped her socialising skills, especially with older dogs. I recall her every now and the and treat her sometimes and put the lead on, walk a bit, then let her off again....it has worked brilliantly so far
Re: Dog Park help? Just wanted to add that 2x 1hr walks for a 5 month old is way to much. You should be using the 5 min rule per month as a guide to exercise. So for a 5 month old around 1x 30 min walk a day is more what you should be doing. Try mental stimulation like hiding toys/food and training exercises to tire him out in between the walk. My adult dogs have only ever had 1 walk a day of between 1-1.5 hrs. I am a believer that the more you walk your dog the more they expect. Once my dogs have been walked they pretty much sleep for the rest of the day. They have never pestered for another walk because they haven't ever known a second walk as part of their routine. Chloe
Re: Dog Park help? That won't be necessary because you are quite right . He is still very young and just wants to play and have fun. Try not to see it as 'testing' you, it really isn't. Have a look at this article: My puppy won't obey me any more
Re: Dog Park help? [quote author=rubyrubyruby link=topic=5340.msg67317#msg67317 date=1397112005] Just wanted to add that 2x 1hr walks for a 5 month old is way to much. You should be using the 5 min rule per month as a guide to exercise. So for a 5 month old around 1x 30 min walk a day is more what you should be doing. Try mental stimulation like hiding toys/food and training exercises to tire him out in between the walk. My adult dogs have only ever had 1 walk a day of between 1-1.5 hrs. I am a believer that the more you walk your dog the more they expect. Once my dogs have been walked they pretty much sleep for the rest of the day. They have never pestered for another walk because they haven't ever known a second walk as part of their routine. Chloe [/quote] Just want to point out that the 5-minute per month exercise idea is not a RULE, it is a GUIDELINE. There is no true evidence that exercising pups for more than 5 minutes for each month has any effect on their health. Obviously, jumping is not great; neither is tiring them out completely. But it is equally important that pups are able to strengthen their muscles and joints by gamboling around. Just use your common sense and be guided by your puppy. Hour-long on-lead hikes with a 5 month pup are not ideal. But letting him play for an hour or so a day is just fine.
Re: Dog Park help? I did say that it should be used as a 'guide'. As a dog owner I would rather want to look back on the puppy years and know that I did everything recommended to protect my dogs joints. If my dogs develop joint problems at least I won't feel guilty that I might have overdone their exercise in their puppy years. I didn't stick to the 5 mins as a rule but used it as guidance and therefore if the guidance suggests a 5 month old should be being walked around 30 mins then surely if the OP is walking her dog for 2 hrs a day then it would be only right to highlight the possible dangers of overdoing it. I would hate for someone to say that they wish they had been told they were walking their puppy too much because now their adult dog has massive hip or elbow problems. I think there are lots of other ways to encourage good development of joints and muscles in puppies rather than just going out for long walks. Chloe
Re: Dog Park help? IMHO i would not walk my 22 month old lab for two 1 hour walks each day never mind a 5 month old , As has already been said you want to do your best in the early years why risk your dogs health at a later stage in their lives . You would not expect a an infant to walk for 2 hrs day so why expect a young dog to do the same , Our last rescue dog had to be put to sleep before the age of 7 because of severe joint problems . Although we have no evidence of how she was raised in her first year we were aware she did not have the best start . I see lots of new dog owners walking their puppies for over a mile a day it just baffles me that people have clear idea or concern that they could be very well damaging their dogs . Mike
Re: Dog Park help? Pippa has written a good article on how much exercise for a young puppy which pretty much supports everything I have said. I just can't work out how to put the link on here !! Chloe
Re: Dog Park help? Was it this one, Chloe? http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-puppy-exercise-how-much-is-too-much/ To link to a Labrador Site article just copy the contents of the address bar and paste it into your thread.
Re: Dog Park help? However, the link you have posted quotes a study which contradicts the 5 minute/month guidelines, saying that puppies which had off-lead exercise in a flat space were less likely to suffer hip problems.The article simply advocates a balanced approach. I would say there is a big difference between going for an hour's walk and spending an hour outside in a dog park or other off-lead area. After all we all have different sized gardens, so some puppies may be lucky enough to have masses of outside space at home whereas others have a small square of grass.
Re: Dog Park help? . ...except the fact that other owners have seen this dog at the dog park snap at me when I tell him to drop it and then take the rock/wood ro whatever he is trying to eat out of his mouth. What about the low growls to warn me? the bites? That is aggression. [size=8pt](edited to fix quotes - Rachael)[/size]
Re: Dog Park help? Tigersmom, a growl is not aggression as such - in dog language a growl is, surprisingly enough, a polite warning to keep away. Obviously, though, you do want to be able to take things from him that he shouldn't be eating, without him seeing it as a threat (which is how he sees it at the moment). Right now, you are both seeing eachother as impolite - you see him as rude for growling and he sees you as rude for trying to take away something that is his What he is doing is called 'resource guarding'. This article here is about how to deal with a dog that is resource guarding in relation to his dinner, but it has useful insights for guarding other objects too. It might help to have a read: Stop your dog growling over food. Lisa has also done a lot of work with her dog Simba, getting him to feel comfortable with people taking things that he has in his mouth. This is a thread about Simba growling when someone goes to grab his collar: Growling And this is someone else's thread but Lisa describes what she has done with Simba to deal with growling, at the bottom of the first page: Growling 14 month old Labrador. She has excellent suggestions and I would be trying all of them. Try not to see the growling as the result of an aggressive personality (it is not that) but as just part of a reasonable belief that he owns what he has found and that he should get to keep it. He really values those sticks and stones - they are like $100 dollar bills to him. I know that if I found a $100 dollar bill and someone tried to snatch it off me I'd tell them to back off too Believe it or not, that is basically how it is from his perspective. Your job is to help him to feel ok about giving you his $100 dollar bills.
Re: Dog Park help? He doesnt growl with food - just when you try to pick him up and when he has things hes not supposed to be having in his mouth.
Re: Dog Park help? That's good that he doesn't growl with food. But whether it's food or stick or toy, it is all part of the same kind of 'resource guarding' behaviour The solution is more or less the same - get them to see that your behaviour towards what they have is nothing to worry about. Did you have a chance to look at those links, especially the ones where Lisa had written about her experiences with Simba?
Re: Dog Park help? I would like to add some comments related to your dog park article. Are you resident in the US? I know that there are many dog parks in the US. I live in the UK. Firstly, in our ever increasing anti-dog urban (and it seems every environment) environments, I strongly feel that although it may seem that local authorities are providing exercise areas for dogs out of care and duty, this provision is another way of restricting dogs to small areas. Dogs have been companions of man for thousands of years, and although there is an argument that many dogs are not suited to urban life (an argument which I will leave for another time), they are social animals which should be included in everyday life including mixing with all types and ages of dogs and humans (and socialised with traffic etc.) in public open spaces, parks and beaches. By denying our dogs access to these areas (and experiences) we are excluding them from society and taking away their ability to learn and experience everyday life and become well behaved and well adjusted social animals. I do appreciate that responsible ownership is required in the first place. In turn we are slowly discriminating against our companions, feeding the anti-dog brigade and denying humans the well acknowledged physical and psychological benefits that our dogs provide. Comments are welcomed, particularly from readers in the US or where dog parks are common.
Re: Dog Park help? Well, I live in Canada, where dog parks and "off - leash" areas are becoming more and more popular. Basically because here, dogs are mainly not allowed to roam off leash, certainly not on their own, nor while they are in the company of their owners, like at a beach, park, playground, etc., unless there are clear indications that this is allowed. Now people do Ben these rules a bit, and most don't mind to have a dog roaming around if it is well trained and the owner picks up after it. But basically the rule generally is that your dog has to be on a leash if it is out and about. Hence, the proliferation of dog parks and off leash areas. Personally I am very happy that my town has just built a dog park where I can take Simba for some play and doggie socialization. Even when I am off leash outside of town, in the surrounding fields and forested areas, it is highly unlikely that I will come across anyone else out there walking their dogs, due to the simple fact of population density. And none of my friends have dogs that Simba can play with. So I pretty much have to take him to the dog park for doggie play, or the only doggie contact he gets is with other dogs who are in their yards and behind fences or on leash as we walk around the town. I dunno. I don't see a bit anti-dog agenda at work, myself. But maybe that's because I grew up here and don't know any different.
