My pup is 5 1/2 months and 45 lbs. I want to take her to the dog park but not sure if she should be on small dog side or large dog side. She is bigger than most of the small dogs and smaller than the adult dogs, and she is very, very playful. Which side should I take her on?
When we did that we went to the large dog side. IMHO small dogs are often more snappy and less tolerant than bigger dogs. You need to watch your pup closely initially to see how she reacts and other dogs react to her. Going when it is not busy is probably a good idea also.
Hi @Blaine I am trying to think why it would matter. The only thing that comes to mind is that you're going to let your dog physically interact with the other dogs. Could be wrong. But if so, may I urge you to resist the urge? You want to teach your dog to be calm around other dogs rather than being over-aroused. And I wouldn't let my dog off lead until I had a rock solid recall. You should take some new treats with you and let your dog do some scent work well away from the potential bullies and feisty dogs. Over time work towards the other dogs if you really think your dog needs to interact with the others. But that is way down my preference ranking. In fact I would not take my dogs to a dog park. Too many irresponsible owners with virtually no control over their dogs. I take my younger dog to a fenced in area of an obedience club and let her play off lead with a dog that I trust.and know that the other dog's owner has control over her dog too. We let the dogs run but we are the centre of attention. We initiate the retrieves rewarding the dogs. We teach them steadiness before giving them permission to run after the ball. The dogs run together but never pounce on each other. Neither displays any resource guarding with respect to the ball.they bring it back to us so we can re-launch the game.
Hiya, Johnny was about the same size when we started to go to the dog park. Johnny did very well with small dogs. He would lay on his side and play - I think this is called self-handicapping? He also did well with dogs of roughly his same size and age. There were also dogs of all sizes that he didn't do well with so for us it came down to individual dogs. The park was less crowded between 10 AM and 1 PM so I switched up the times we went in the beginning to find dogs he could play with and then we tried to coordinate. I second Ski-Patroller's suggestion to watch very carefully, and would add stay close when the dogs are wrestling or playing bitey-face. You *will* meet at least one owner who thinks normal lab puppy play is a vicious attack. Many dog parks have orientation for first time visitors. Thoughtful orientations review park rules and expectations and usually explain how to safely separate your dog in a fight. I hate to add the last bit but it's best to know what to do & hopefully never need it. Enjoy
Pups can learn lots of undesirable things in dog parks, which they will remember for their whole lives long - so personally I wouldn't take a pup to a dog park at all. http://totallydogtraining.com/over-friendly-dog/ https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/blog/Dog-Parks-Are-Dangerous-21816-1.html
Same thing no dog parks until mature with a strong recall. Meanwhile socialize through classes..so much fun to see all the puppies in class romping around together.....
