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Bark Park News
Happy New Year’s Bark Park Members! As you make your New Year’s resolutions, remember to also include your dog. It is important to not only spend time with your dog but to improve your dog’s socialization skills. Any dog that uses a dog park should be well socialized BEFORE using the dog park. This will help to keep you and your dog safe, as well as the other dogs and owners that are in the park with you. Also, you want your dog to enjoy their time at the park and they can’t do that if they are scared and unsure about being there or if they are out of control with excitement. NOW is the time to work on socialization, before you start using the Bark Park again this year.
Suggestions to help improve socialization:
1) Walk with other well-socialized dogs. Walk a safe distance apart and/or one in front of the other, and then gradually decrease the distance until they can walk side by side.
2) If the weather permits, arrange backyard play sessions with another dog.
3) Also, visit pet stores during a less busy time at the store. As your dog’s behavior and confidence improves, visit the store when there is more activity.
4) Maybe consider some half-day visits for your dog at a doggy daycare.
5) Visit the dog park without your dog; you will get a whole new perspective when you can observe without having to monitor your dog. Learn from what you see and from speaking with other owners. Make your first visits to the dog park during “off-peak” times so your dog is comfortable and doesn't feel overwhelmed. Also, it is important to always communicate with other owners when dogs are interacting with each other.
Remember to be creative and find opportunities that work for both you and your dog’s individual situation.
Although we all try to keep our dogs under control, sometimes altercations between the dogs happen. Although warning snaps and growls are part of normal dog body language, they still need to be taken seriously, owners must get involved and the dogs should be separated. If these initial interactions aren't addressed, it can lead to a more dangerous situation. Some owners think that if the behavior is something their dog normally does, that makes it “okay”. However, this is not the case, you must control your dog, especially if it’s acting inappropriately to other dogs and/or people. It is important for owners to have a respectful open line of communication with each other. This will help avoid the potential for dogfights and keep the dog park safe.
Reporting Information:
Even if all precautions are taken, a major incident can still occur. If that does happen, it is important to report the incident to the Animal Control Office (267) 803-4859) and the WREC. This will help to determine if this is a one-time occurrence or if it happened because of a dog’s problem behavior that was not addressed and led to the incident at hand. Also, if there is a situation with a dog/owner’s behavior that you feel is putting others at risk, it should be reported to help prevent a dangerous situation from occurring. Please use common sense when reporting issues so everyday normal dog behaviors aren't being investigated.
Remember, the dog park is for the dogs, but the owners are the ones that have to keep it safe, so please talk to each other and work together so everyone can enjoy a fun and safe environment at the Bark Park! Why not consider coming out to one of the FREE Bark Park seminars as a refresher course in dog park safety, we would love to have you!
Finding A Friend
Also remember to check out the Bark Park website. We have recently updated the FAQ’s and there is a link to find out when your pet’s friends will be at the park! Some members of the Bark Park recently put together a Facebook profile so that members can find out when their dog can have a play date. Please visit their posting by clicking here. The Parks and Recreation Department does not have control over these postings, so please check with the group administrator for more information.
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