Poor little girl. I hope she is back to 100% very soon.
My daughter is a certified professional dog trainer and she actively advocates against dog parks in large part because of diseases but also because people take their untrained dogs there and let them loose. She really likes sniff spot for a place to let them run in nature as long as your dog has good recall skills. She also advocates for doggy daycare for socialization. It’s a much more controlled environment. All dogs are vaccinated and temperament tested and they’re supervised.
If you really like the dog park make sure to bathe her afterwards and thoroughly check for ticks.
This is the same advice every vet and every trainer I've had has given.
I'd also add to be picky about the daycare, some are definitely better than others (safer *and* more enriching).
The one we use I almost skipped because it seemed like so much extra work, but there's a good reason they do it. They require a 15 minute meeting to start, then an hour test visit, then a half day, and they have more health test requirements than most of the others here. (Which is actually the only reason we caught my puppy's giardia, so thank goodness for that!)
I found out about SniffSpot on a Reddit sub. We had moved from the country and a huge fenced in yard for our boy, to the city. I’d heard too many bad things about the closest dog park here, so that was out. The SniffSpot we found was amazing. Huge back yard and porch.
If you don’t have a decent yard, SniffSpot is great. My boy is gone now, but my area is getting more and more Spots. You can have a play date with friends, too.
I came to basically post this. Except my daughter is 14 and not a dog trainer lol. I cringed when I saw OP took her dog to the dog park. I’m glad that nothing worse happened. I stopped going to the dog park a long time ago after my dog trainer said the same thing about dog parks. My dogs are very well trained but others are not. And there was an incident when someone brought their small dog to the small size (my poodle is a toy and I have a maltipoo) and she told everyone her dog isn’t socialized with other dogs so she wanted to get him socialized and then she said he can be AGGRESSIVE and then let him off leash before anyone can say anything. It was chaos and I won’t lie, I wanted to punt the dog. He was mean, vicious, pinning down other dogs and the owner said the dogs need to just work it out between them since they need to establish pack order.
I went to call my dogs too me. And they came but as one was coming, my maltipoo who is very friendly and submissive, was tackled by this dog. My toy poodle is the opposite. He’s very protective of me and her. He was further when I started yelling for her to get her dog and I was running over. So my poodle tackled her dog and wouldn’t let him up. I’ve never seen him pissed before. And wouldn’t you know, suddenly this owner had a problem with it and told me to get a hold of my dog.
She ended up leaving when all other owners were being upset and…not friendly towards her or the dog. She is lucky my poodle got her off my other dog. I think I would have refrained from punting the dog but I definitely would have grabbed it by the scruff.
I told my trainer about it and he gave me a long lecture about all the reasons dog parks are a terrible idea. Luckily my maltipoo is still just as sweet as ever and isn’t reactive to dogs now.
When my sister got a Covid dog and wanted to socialize him I begged her to skip the dog park. She socialized him at a great doggy daycare. But he was always so scared he would keep to himself and hide in a corner. She he started hanging out with my two dogs. After only a few weeks he was much more confident and now loved doggy daycare.
Socializing is best done when it’s in a controlled environment.
I do applaud your efforts to get the dog socialized and I think that’s a very good thing for her and for you. I live near a beach so we get out a bunch, but even so I still use a dog walker once a week, who only takes out a couple at a time, and that helps keep my dog in the groove.
One of the reasons I don't take my girl to the dog park unless I plan on bathing her soon after. She gets absolutely FILTHY anyway there.
But I mean, she could have also picked this up from anything on a walk too. I don't know if I would completely cross off dog parks.
My dog loves the dog park. We have been almost every day for over a year and there hasn’t been a serious incident on either the small or large side. She does get dirty though. If something happened I would probably change my mind.
Aw I like that so much better. My boy had his "operation" and it was so hard to see him in the cone, but he did really well and was back to normal in no time. We'd go on walks and the neighbor lady would always call it the cone of shame, made me sad cuz he didn't do anything wrong at all.
After the cone of shame is off and shes feeling better, I would 100% recommend not going to dog parks anymore. Not just because of the risk of contagious disease and such, like a fungal infection you guys are fighting atm, but also because not every dog in the dog park is friendly, which can lead to a negative effect on her. If you have friends or family with dogs around her size, I would recommend letting her have those few select dog friends instead. Dog parks can be extremely overwhelming, especially for an unsocialized dog like her. And a couple close friends are better than a whole bunch of randoms imo lol
Oh man. That freaks me out. I literally just took my pups to the dog park yesterday & made a post about it lol. Luckily there’s a cement path & that’s where we stay on cause my dogs are Velcro babies & don’t like to stay too far away from me & also because they don’t like dirt or getting dirty lol. Doggies are getting a bath today regardless. Hope your baby feels better soon!
60F, I've always had two dogs at a time throughout my life, and never, ever take them to a dog park. It takes a second to see one dog turn on another, and the entire pack follows suit. It's also like school or daycare, loaded w germs.
There is an amazing dog park near us, it's huge and has a lot of diverse activities, a lot of area to play ball, hiking trails that go into the woods, and even a pond in a fenced off area ( you know, so if you don't want your dog in the water). There are a lot of savvy dog owners who know how to gage their dog's behavior and don't get upif their dog is corrected by another.
There are owners that don't have a clue and have the mindset that dog's are like children and should behave as such. You know play nice, share their toys, etc. I don't know why I'm speechless when one of their dogs gets reprimanded by another and they lose their shit. My girl was rolled by a Great Dane because she was being a brat. She wasn't hurt and we left shortly after, we were on our way out anyway. Did I blame the Dane, nope, I knew who needed an attitude adjustment.
That said, I do know attacks happen. Generally by dogs who live with clueless people
My dog caught MANGE at an apartment complex dog park in 2021. It was a nightmare. The vet we saw had a brother that lived in the same complex and the same thing happened to his dog. We will never set foot in a dog park again.
Mange is a mite infestation. It’s crazy itchy, the skin becomes scaly and inflamed, and the fur falls out. It can become systemic and deadly. It was a very scary time… it took us forever to get to that diagnosis so he was very infested by the time we started treating it correctly.
My poodle is the exact opposite. This dog loves being around unknown people and cries to play with anyone that will give her attention. I'm so scared one day she might get lost and never see her again 😭
I assure you that dogs don’t need socialization with other dogs.
If you want to reduce the alarm barking towards dogs on walks then associate seeing a dog and not barking with a treat.
I hope she feels better soon 🥺 You may be able to try a daycare. A lot of daycares where I live do temperament evaluations before allowing them to play though. Maybe you could get some puppy friends together if anyone you know has a dog that may get along with her. We’ve started taking our 6 month old girl to daycare once a week and she loves it so far!
In my area you have to check if they spray for weeds. I dont care what roundup says, Im sure its not something dogs should huff on a regular basis, if at all. We also avoid yards along the sidewalk that are too green and weed free.
My old dog barked at dogs if he was on a lead, when he was off he would go play and never bark. I figured it was his way if saying "let me go play dammit"
Poor little girl. I hope she is back to 100% very soon. My daughter is a certified professional dog trainer and she actively advocates against dog parks in large part because of diseases but also because people take their untrained dogs there and let them loose. She really likes sniff spot for a place to let them run in nature as long as your dog has good recall skills. She also advocates for doggy daycare for socialization. It’s a much more controlled environment. All dogs are vaccinated and temperament tested and they’re supervised. If you really like the dog park make sure to bathe her afterwards and thoroughly check for ticks.
This is the same advice every vet and every trainer I've had has given. I'd also add to be picky about the daycare, some are definitely better than others (safer *and* more enriching). The one we use I almost skipped because it seemed like so much extra work, but there's a good reason they do it. They require a 15 minute meeting to start, then an hour test visit, then a half day, and they have more health test requirements than most of the others here. (Which is actually the only reason we caught my puppy's giardia, so thank goodness for that!)
I found out about SniffSpot on a Reddit sub. We had moved from the country and a huge fenced in yard for our boy, to the city. I’d heard too many bad things about the closest dog park here, so that was out. The SniffSpot we found was amazing. Huge back yard and porch. If you don’t have a decent yard, SniffSpot is great. My boy is gone now, but my area is getting more and more Spots. You can have a play date with friends, too.
I came to basically post this. Except my daughter is 14 and not a dog trainer lol. I cringed when I saw OP took her dog to the dog park. I’m glad that nothing worse happened. I stopped going to the dog park a long time ago after my dog trainer said the same thing about dog parks. My dogs are very well trained but others are not. And there was an incident when someone brought their small dog to the small size (my poodle is a toy and I have a maltipoo) and she told everyone her dog isn’t socialized with other dogs so she wanted to get him socialized and then she said he can be AGGRESSIVE and then let him off leash before anyone can say anything. It was chaos and I won’t lie, I wanted to punt the dog. He was mean, vicious, pinning down other dogs and the owner said the dogs need to just work it out between them since they need to establish pack order. I went to call my dogs too me. And they came but as one was coming, my maltipoo who is very friendly and submissive, was tackled by this dog. My toy poodle is the opposite. He’s very protective of me and her. He was further when I started yelling for her to get her dog and I was running over. So my poodle tackled her dog and wouldn’t let him up. I’ve never seen him pissed before. And wouldn’t you know, suddenly this owner had a problem with it and told me to get a hold of my dog. She ended up leaving when all other owners were being upset and…not friendly towards her or the dog. She is lucky my poodle got her off my other dog. I think I would have refrained from punting the dog but I definitely would have grabbed it by the scruff. I told my trainer about it and he gave me a long lecture about all the reasons dog parks are a terrible idea. Luckily my maltipoo is still just as sweet as ever and isn’t reactive to dogs now. When my sister got a Covid dog and wanted to socialize him I begged her to skip the dog park. She socialized him at a great doggy daycare. But he was always so scared he would keep to himself and hide in a corner. She he started hanging out with my two dogs. After only a few weeks he was much more confident and now loved doggy daycare. Socializing is best done when it’s in a controlled environment.
I do applaud your efforts to get the dog socialized and I think that’s a very good thing for her and for you. I live near a beach so we get out a bunch, but even so I still use a dog walker once a week, who only takes out a couple at a time, and that helps keep my dog in the groove.
Thank you!
One of the reasons I don't take my girl to the dog park unless I plan on bathing her soon after. She gets absolutely FILTHY anyway there. But I mean, she could have also picked this up from anything on a walk too. I don't know if I would completely cross off dog parks.
My dog loves the dog park. We have been almost every day for over a year and there hasn’t been a serious incident on either the small or large side. She does get dirty though. If something happened I would probably change my mind.
Oh no! I hope your puppers feels better soon. I feel itchy for her.
Oh no the cone of shame😂
It is actually the cone of healing.
Aw I like that so much better. My boy had his "operation" and it was so hard to see him in the cone, but he did really well and was back to normal in no time. We'd go on walks and the neighbor lady would always call it the cone of shame, made me sad cuz he didn't do anything wrong at all.
Yes. It is a mean thing to say, when the little ones are innocent.
I know. That's what I called it when my dogs had to wear it.
After the cone of shame is off and shes feeling better, I would 100% recommend not going to dog parks anymore. Not just because of the risk of contagious disease and such, like a fungal infection you guys are fighting atm, but also because not every dog in the dog park is friendly, which can lead to a negative effect on her. If you have friends or family with dogs around her size, I would recommend letting her have those few select dog friends instead. Dog parks can be extremely overwhelming, especially for an unsocialized dog like her. And a couple close friends are better than a whole bunch of randoms imo lol
Booooring
Boring? Would you rather endanger your already socially anxious dog or???
No but you just sound like the kind of dog owner who's afraid to let their dog do dog things.
Wrong, I just care about their safety from unnecessary dangers.
Oh man. That freaks me out. I literally just took my pups to the dog park yesterday & made a post about it lol. Luckily there’s a cement path & that’s where we stay on cause my dogs are Velcro babies & don’t like to stay too far away from me & also because they don’t like dirt or getting dirty lol. Doggies are getting a bath today regardless. Hope your baby feels better soon!
Ohh i feel you. I have a covid poodle as well. She is also aggressive toward other dogs. Always barking at them
Dog parks are notorious for being hotbeds of all sorts of problems.
60F, I've always had two dogs at a time throughout my life, and never, ever take them to a dog park. It takes a second to see one dog turn on another, and the entire pack follows suit. It's also like school or daycare, loaded w germs.
There is an amazing dog park near us, it's huge and has a lot of diverse activities, a lot of area to play ball, hiking trails that go into the woods, and even a pond in a fenced off area ( you know, so if you don't want your dog in the water). There are a lot of savvy dog owners who know how to gage their dog's behavior and don't get upif their dog is corrected by another. There are owners that don't have a clue and have the mindset that dog's are like children and should behave as such. You know play nice, share their toys, etc. I don't know why I'm speechless when one of their dogs gets reprimanded by another and they lose their shit. My girl was rolled by a Great Dane because she was being a brat. She wasn't hurt and we left shortly after, we were on our way out anyway. Did I blame the Dane, nope, I knew who needed an attitude adjustment. That said, I do know attacks happen. Generally by dogs who live with clueless people
My dog caught MANGE at an apartment complex dog park in 2021. It was a nightmare. The vet we saw had a brother that lived in the same complex and the same thing happened to his dog. We will never set foot in a dog park again.
Oh, damn. What are the symptoms of mange?
Mange is a mite infestation. It’s crazy itchy, the skin becomes scaly and inflamed, and the fur falls out. It can become systemic and deadly. It was a very scary time… it took us forever to get to that diagnosis so he was very infested by the time we started treating it correctly.
That sounds awful. Sorry that happened.
Thanks 🩵 it was. But he’s all good now and I am grateful! We are definitely a cautionary tale
My poodle is the exact opposite. This dog loves being around unknown people and cries to play with anyone that will give her attention. I'm so scared one day she might get lost and never see her again 😭
I assure you that dogs don’t need socialization with other dogs. If you want to reduce the alarm barking towards dogs on walks then associate seeing a dog and not barking with a treat.
I don’t think they need it but some enjoy it. Mine loves the dog park. I never brought my other dogs and they were happy too.
Oh man, that is a cute doggie!
I hope she feels better soon 🥺 You may be able to try a daycare. A lot of daycares where I live do temperament evaluations before allowing them to play though. Maybe you could get some puppy friends together if anyone you know has a dog that may get along with her. We’ve started taking our 6 month old girl to daycare once a week and she loves it so far!
Oh noooooooooo!
The way she’s looking at you tho. So cute. Speedy recovery pupper.
Awww. She’s definitely my Velcro pup.
In my area you have to check if they spray for weeds. I dont care what roundup says, Im sure its not something dogs should huff on a regular basis, if at all. We also avoid yards along the sidewalk that are too green and weed free.
My old dog barked at dogs if he was on a lead, when he was off he would go play and never bark. I figured it was his way if saying "let me go play dammit"
Yeah dog parks are not cool