Dog Park Etiquette: Some Common Sense Basics

After getting my Boston Terrier puppy I began reading around on forums dedicated to dog owners. Even though my local area does not have a dog park, I was still interested in learning about how dog parks work and what the purpose of these dog parks was. What I noticed was a lot of people asking for advice on how to deal with certain situations that they have encountered. With that information in hand I will share with you some common dog park etiquette that people should adhere to so that everyone and their dogs can have a more pleasant experience at the dog park.

Do not bring an aggressive dog.

For those who have a dog that is aggressive or not well socialized, you should not bring your dog to a dog park. An aggressive dog poses a threat to all the dogs and humans present. No one wants to feel nervous or scared of any dog that is playing at the dog park and your aggressive or non-socialized dog will make others nervous. The reason is an aggressive dog can turn violent towards other dogs or other humans present. So for everyone's sake keep your dog at home until you can curb the aggression.

Pick up after your dog.

It is natural that a dog is going to go poo while at the dog park. Everyone understands this and no one is going to have a problem with that. However, people will start to have a problem if you fail to pick up your dog's poo. So take some bags with you and a pooper scooper so that you are ready to clean up should your dog need to go poo while playing at the dog park.

Keep your sick or injured dog at home.

A sick dog can spread the illness to other dogs present and it is just not kind to put other people's dogs at risk of illness. After all would you take your sick kid to a play date? Of course you would not so please treat your dog the same way. Injured dogs can become a target for other dogs and there fore you are putting your injured dog at risk of being attacked. It is in an animal's nature to attack the weak and you never know which dog just may instinctively attack yours.

No human food.

Refrain from trying to eat while at the dog park. Dogs are animals and thus do not always know how to properly behave under all situations. You put yourself at risk of a dog jumping on you and begging for scraps of your food. I have read in several forums where dog owners have had to control their dogs from jumping on people who are eating at the dog park. When you bring food into the dog park you are setting even a good dog up to do something bad. So eat before or after you leave the dog park.

Stop that humping.

Humping is not a form of play and therefore you should control your male dog from humping on another dog. Dogs can be taught that humping is not acceptable behavior so make a point to work with your dog should you notice this type of behavior. When you notice your dog trying to hump another dog please do everyone a favor and remove your dog from the situation.

For those with female dogs, please refrain from bring them to a dog park while they are in heat. This is just asking for trouble.

While the above is not a complete list of dog park etiquette it is some of the chief complaints of dog owners. To help everyone have a pleasant experience observe the above etiquettes as well as follow all posted rules for your dog park.