31/10/2021
Not a week goes by where I don't have to reassure a concerned dog owner their dog's social behaviour at the park is 100% NORMAL!
It's so strange the way we expect our dogs to go to the park, meet 5-10 random dogs, and get along with them all perfectly.
Me? I hate going to nightclubs. I'd rather have coffee with one or two friends, or maybe a walk. Maybe you're the opposite and love going to crowded pubs and making new friends! Neither of us are 'abnormal'. Ok ok, maybe I am - sometimes I take a book to the pub to sit quietly and enjoy my craft brew...
So the sooner we all realise that our dogs have personalities too, the sooner we can stop creating goals for our dogs that they'll never enjoy.
If your dog is aggressive or nervous around other dogs, it's totally reasonable to have a goal to get them to walk past another dog on leash at say 5m distance. It's not a reasonable goal to expect them to enjoy playing with random dogs at the dog park!
As humans, we rarely stop to chat to folks on the street, unless we know them. Somehow this idea goes out the window with dogs, and there's this weird expectation to meet every single other dog on a walk! That's pretty stressful.
Most people want want their dogs to cope with the fair expectations of living safely in our community - to be neutrally social and robust. So let's set some fair expectations:
🐩🐕 Think about your dog's play style. Different breeds play differently! Eg herding, wrestling, body slamming, chasing...
🐕🦺🦮 Find a couple of well matched doggy friends for your dog, and let them play in low traffic locations (eg someone's backyard, a secluded park) to enjoy play time.
👋 Set the expectation early that not all dogs are there for play! Teach your puppy that most dogs you meet on the street aren't relevant to them.
🤚Advocate for your dog in play. Don't allow dogs to 'sort it out', or for your dog to bully or be bullied.
🤷♀️ Avoid dog parks. Sorry folks, these places generally suck for fair, beneficial and harmonious play.
Happy playing!
Image courtesy of https://www.everydogaustin.org/post/spectrum
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