Dog parks are great places for your four-legged friend to socialize with other dogs and get some exercise. But dog parks come with their own sets of problems.
What if your pooch picks a fight? Or ignores your commands? Or starts mounting another dog?
And then there are the owners. What if they're busy on their phones and don't see their German shepherd terrorizing your Chihuahua? Or what if they don't pick up their dog's poop?
We talked to Lindsay Stahl, a certified dog trainer who works at Westgate Pet Clinic in southwest Minneapolis, about how to handle bad behavior (both human and canine) at local dog parks.
Q: What's the most common complaint you hear from other dog owners who frequent dog parks?
A: Honestly, it's that there's always that one dog who shouldn't be there and the dog owner isn't approachable because they know it. They think their dog being snappy is normal. Sometimes the dog has little quirks and the dogs can work it out, but the majority of it is that the dog doesn't enjoy other dogs.
Q: Any advice for dealing with unruly owners?
A: It's one of those situations where you're not going to win. I don't want to say if a dog is being a jerk you should leave, but for the safety of the dog, it may be the best thing to leave.
Don't make it about the person, but about the dog. You can avoid a lot of these situations by continually moving through the dog park. When people and the dogs gather, it increases the chance for confrontation.
Q: When it comes to owners not picking up after their dogs, should you really say something if you see something?
A: Saying something, and in a nonconfrontational way, is important. There is an actual health benefit to picking up their stool. The spread of intestinal parasites can be rampant in dog parks.
Q: What age and size of dog should avoid dog parks?
A: From a medical standpoint, after 16 weeks when they're fully vaccinated, and from a behavior or social standpoint, dogs that are a year old can take social cues and read other dogs much better. Size is a disadvantage. Just because they're small doesn't mean they're timid. Take a step back and think, "Do I have a dog that can go to a dog park?"
Q: What's the safest way to deal with a doggy disagreement?
A: I look at dog confrontations on a spectrum. The first thing is asking if it's an appropriate way to interact. A lot of people will step in right away and the dog will feel that growling wasn't enough and next time it could want to all-out fight. When that happens, don't reach in, don't grab your dog. It goes against every fiber of your being, but nine times out of 10, that dog is going to turn around and bite you. When they're in the zone, they're going to protect themselves.
In that situation, make as much noise as possible and use a sports water bottle if you have one — sometimes just giving one squirt to the dog's face is enough to distract them.
Q: What if your dog starts mounting another dog?
A: It's a controversial answer because a lot of people aren't comfortable with it, but I'm a huge advocate for having dogs figure it out. Humans can be the ones to make it more complicated. Pulling a dog off can escalate the situation.
Dogs mount for a bunch of different reasons based on the age and sex of the dog. It can be play behavior or an invitation to play.
Hannah Wagener is a freelance writer.
