Basic Dog Park Etiquette (Part Two)

You might be thinking to yourself, “we need two blogs to cover dog part etiquette?! What is this, a fancy dinner party?!” Well, a visit to the dog park is a few degrees less formal, but involves even more chaos and moving parts. Keeping things under control requires rules, both formal and informal. By following proper dog park etiquette, everyone can stay safe, have fun, and head home happy and satisfied.

4) Teach your dog proper greeting skills

Greetings between dogs are just as important as greetings between humans. Remember, you only have one chance at a first impression. Do not allow your dog to charge other dogs and greet them overly enthusiastically. This could put the new dog on edge almost immediately. Energy like that has a way of spreading quickly from dog to dog, affecting the entire dog park. Also, do not let your dog perform dominance displays on other dogs.

5) Follow leashing rules

Depending on the dog park, there may be areas specifically marked for leashed and off-leash activities.Follow these rules closely. Never bring a leashed dog into an off-leash area. When everyone is running around having fun, it is easy to get tangled up in a leash. In worst-case scenarios, this could cause broken legs or choking! Retractable leashes are particularly dangerous in off-leash areas. If your dog isn’t trained to behave off-leash, then he may not be ready to play in these areas.

6) Never bring a pregnant female or a female in heat

This one should come as common sense, but unfortunately, we have seen this rule violated more than a few times. Remember, dogs are animals. They depend largely on instinct. Exposure to a pregnant female or a female in heat taps right into this instinct side and sends them wild.