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Introducing dogs at the park
How does one go about introducing dogs at the park? My dog can be timid and doesn't always know what to do when a dog approaches (when we got him the people said he had been attacked by two dogs before. That's why he's scared). He has been to doggy socailization class and does very well. It's when we're at the park that he gets timid. He's not a biter but he seems scared and I want to help him get more comfortable. Any suggestions?
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I didn't realize this is something you can really 'teach' your dog... I thought they would naturally learn or have the instinct to do! I never had a problem with my dog and shyness in the park, but it's interesting to know that these things can be fixed with tecniques like this.
Here is a great article with step by step instructions to introducing dogs at the park.
http://www.ehow.com/how_4700959_introduce-dog-dog-park.html
Hi. Approaching people at the dog park in order to ask for help is sometimes difficult. However, if you go there long enough you can always find someone who would be willing to help. So, my suggestion is - perhaps those people could get their dog to sit while they hold them on the leash and then you could let your dog go up to the leashed dog in his own good time. In that way, after successfully going up to other dogs and sniffing and generally saying hi in a safe manner, and not being overwhelmed or threatened, then your dog might begin to gain confidence and self esteem (look Mom what I can do). Then, once the dogs said hi and got along, they could all go off-leash and perhaps you could walk for a short time with your new friends in order to let the "kids" play. This might take a while, but would be worthwhile in the long run.
Thanks for the suggestion, alphamom! We gave it a try and asked a couple of owners with dogs the same size if they would mind playing along. We did it one at a time and it worked like a charm. The only problem is, there are lots of dogs at the park who don't come when called and they come running towards my dog and scare him. He has already gotten much better in this short time so I thank you! It's such a good but simple suggestion I don't know why it never occurred to me. We will keep at it. Thank you again.
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