The sight of other dogs, the smells, and the chance to run around makes your dog want to haul his/her butt to that gate to gain access to that fun. You as the dog owner experience the dog park differently and sometimes know or do not know if your dog should be there. The obvious benefits of going to the dog park could be socialization for meeting other dogs and people (and for you to meet other dog owners) in a secured environment, lots of exercise, freedom for you and your dog off leash, and saving time if you drive over and let other dogs tire your dog out rather then going on a long walk.
There are many factors that can affect your experience at the dog park. While I am not going into detail about them in this post, I did create a Dog Park Cheat Sheet (you can grab below this post) with some more tips to make your experience better. However, I want to share three tips to help you and your dog now to have a successful time at the dog park.
Know your dog
First of all, really knowing your dog and who he/she likes to play with is important. If you have a small dog, then playing with other small dogs makes more sense than large dogs. Also, has she/he played with more than one dog or many at a time? How did that go? Maybe for your dog to play with one or two dogs at a time is better than ten. Recognizing how to set your dog up for success or knowing when to leave the dog park if it is not working out is essential.
Timing is important
Secondly, when you go to the dog park is important too. There are times like in the morning or evening when other dog owners are thinking the same thing (my dog needs to get rid of his/her energy, exercise, and it is easy for them to hop in the car or walk to the dog park). There are going to be way more dogs and people and that might not work for your dog. Choosing times that the dog park is less crowded could still meet your needs but be easier for you and your dog to handle it. Moreover, if your dog has other dog friends, you could set up a different time to hangout at the dog park. Everyone knows each other and the dogs get along so that will make it fun and safe for everyone.
Watch your dog
Finally, my last tip is for you as the dog owner. Sure it is great to chat with other dog owners and share stories and have fun but your main priority should be your dog. Instead of standing next to another dog owner you should be moving around. Therefore, you can watch your dog and be ready to take action if something happens. Part of being a dog owner is keeping your dog safe. Even if the dog park is secured with a fence you still need to be proactive as well as remind your dog you exist among all this fun. Practicing “come” while there will give you another way to gauge if that cue would work with your dog or need more practice. I have seen from time to time dog owners who are hoping by saying their dog’s name several times (different tones) to call them over but get no response.
Unfortunately, it is unrealistic to expect your dog, especially in such an exciting environment, to respond to you if they have never done that before. My last point is to keep training on the behaviors you want your dog to do and use your time at the dog park to see where your dog is on learning them so if something happens your training together can work in your favor.
I hope these tips are helpful and remind you that there are ways to improve you and your dog’s experience at the dog park. If you have any questions or suggestions please comment below.
Are you prepared for your next dog walk?
- Checklist of the supplies you need for your walk with examples of each
- High value and low value dog treat examples
Ready to have a great experience at the dog park?
- Learn what your dog may or may not like about the dog park
- What to bring with you
- How long you should stay
- The mistake you might be unknowingly making that's affecting your dog's experience
- The dog park app I use and recommend
Great tips. Our dog, Ruby, is socially awkward and occasionally reactive. When we do go to dog parks (which isn’t very often), it is usually in the off hours when there aren’t many other dogs around.
Great tips and very important for pups and their people. Always best to plan ahead and make safety a priority.
Good tips. So many things can go wrong at the dog park. I love that you made a cheat sheet for this!
We only go to the dog park during off-peak hours when there’s few dogs around. I always keep an eye on Mr. N too. He doesn’t really get into mischief but he’s tiny so he needs the supervision.
I actually never go to dog parks. The main reason is that I don’t know the other dogs (or owners). I don’t feel safe letting my dogs run loose with dogs they have never met before with owners I don’t know. It might be stupid but I have heard about so many dogs getting bit by other dogs in the dog park that I won’t take that risk. It might just be the dog parks around here 🙂
If I would try it again I will remember your tips though. 🙂
These are great tips! I see so many people who stay at dog parks when their dog is well over their threshold, which is just asking for trouble. Or owners who think that the park is for their own socialization and don’t watch their dogs. I get almost as much exercise at the dog park as my dogs do when we go. If they run to the other end of the park, then I go too. You need to make sure they’re safe at all times and you just never know who is at the park that day.
My town is in the middle of building a dog park and one of my biggest worries is the dog owners that don’t have control over their dogs. I love the idea of a cheat sheet, it’s a great reminder!
While all of these tips are great, hands down the most important is for people to watch their dogs. My guess is most of the problems that arise in dog parks are as a result of a human not recognizing signs from their dog or another dog in advance. Before their is an issue, dogs are usually pretty good about using 10-20 signals as a warning.
That is a good point Stephanie. I try to educate my clients about play and stress signals and keep it simple and successful.
There’s a dog park right up the street from my house, and it’s always busy there. I’ve always been tempted to walk over and see the dogs, but I haven’t yet. These are great tips for a fun day.
Your last tip, that a pet parent’s primary responsibility is to keep their pet safe at the dog park, is such an important one! Thanks for sharing these tips!
Glad you liked it.
Great points! I haven’t visited a dog park with Bean and Yoda but I would also add: try to be more interesting than other stuff at the park so your dogs are more likely to come when called. Bring high value treats and reward each time your dog checks in with you or comes when called.
These seem like good tips to help make a visit to the dog park more fun! I have been to a few dog parks and observed that many of the humans weren’t as attentive as they should be. I haven’t taken my current dogs to the park because I don’t think they would enjoy it. My dogs from years ago would have LOVED the dog park, sadly there weren’t any back then, but they went on lots of adventures with us.
I’ve always avoided dog parks like the plague. It’s not the dogs I don’t trust, it’s their humans.
That is true Paul.
We took my mom’s dog to the dog park for the first time a few months ago. I think Bandit would have done fine, but my mom was uncomfortable and he picked up on it. Found a small park and it was better.
That is great to try different parks out and find a good match for your dog. I try to keep a positive vibe even in stressful situations but sometimes it is hard and your mom must have been really worried something was going to happen. I hope she feels more confident with each visit.
I really loved taking my dog to the dog park, but it started to become unpleasant when there were a large number of “bad” dogs and dog owners there. We stopped going because of that, I was just too frightened. It’s a shame because I loved it and so did my dog. I’m currently looking for a new park that might have a more mellow & responsible crowd. These are really good tips, thanks for sharing. I wish all dog owners would follow them!
Love & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Bad behavior by dog owners unfortunately can ruin dog parks which is sad. I wish you luck finding another park.
Dog parks scare me. My dogs are on the smaller side and I worry about larger dogs around them. I know my dogs, but don’t know other people’s pets, and there seem to be many clueless people (at least around here) that don’t know the dog park rules of etiquette.
I think that can be an issue for a lot of dog owners because you do not have prior knowledge about the other dogs when you go to the dog park.
I agree that knowing your dog and knowing the environment is essential for a good dog park experience. We don’t visit too often, but only one of my dogs can handle the dog park all the time. My female, gets so overstimulated so we have to make sure we go at low volume times.
Such good tips as Kilo the Pug hates the dog park. He starts shaking and pulling away. I think if his previous 4 owners had socialized him and taken care to have him have a happy experience it would be different. He clearly had a terrifying time with a big dog.
That is sad but at least you know that is not the best place for Kilo to go.