So Murphy is doing well on his lead, but I've been toying with ther idea of taking him to the dog park.  We have a wonderful one about 30 minues from our home, called Fort Woof Dog Park.  When I'm in the area, I sometimes stop by it and watch the dogs play.  They have two areas, one for large dogs and one for small dogs.

My concern is that Murphy is still very much a puppy at 8 month old.  While he is very manageable on his lead, off of it, he is sometimes freak-show crazy!  I don't think he'd hurt anyone or other dogs, but I do think he might get hurt just because he doesn't seem to realize he's a little guy, and he can be outright obnoxious when playing with other dogs (which he does pretty regularly with our Carrin Terrier and the neighbor's Yorkies). 

Q: Anyone have experience with introducing a dog to a dog park?  How did you do it?  How old were the dogs when you did this?  Good experiences?  Bad?

We've got such a nice weekend coming up, this seems like a fun thing to do.

We have a couple dog parks in our area that I'm dying to try out but your dog has to be spade/neutered first and Dink's not fixed yet. 

Dink (11 mos old) is very social and loves people & dogs and when we had him in puppy kindergarten the instructor actually let him play with some of the bigger dogs b/c the lil dogs (chihuhuas & poms & shitzus) were too tame for him and not fast enough.  We would only let him run and play till he realized they were 'dominating him'  so to speak and we would have to remove him.  

You just have to be right there and watch them closely and be ready to 'save' him if needed.  

JMO but I'd stay in the small dog section - we've heard too many stories on here about dogs getting attacked by larger dogs.   The key here, too, is the owners....if you're unlucky stupid people will bring agressive/unsocialized dogs to the dog park or not take responsiblity when a dog does get out of line.

As Kim stated, she had a good experience at the rattie jamboree because the other dogs were all well behaved.

Also, is he neutered yet? I'd get that done first if not.

Thanks for the advice and experiences!

Dogs can be unpredictable when in a new, exciting environment.  I think we'll go and give it a cautious try.  The park rules only state no dogs in heat, nothing about having to be fixed, but it's cool because Murphy is neutered.  I wanted to get it done early, so he wouldn't have a chance to realize what he's missing out on. 

We love the dog park!  Harley can be dog aggressive sometimes (depends on the other dogs), so he has a slide collar on in case I need to grab him.  It also helps when we first get there to leave him on the leash, on the slip collar, to see how he gets along with the dogs that are there  If there appears to be a dog that he is not going to get along with, we go home.  When we rescued Lilly, she was scared of her shadow, but she really blossoms at the dog park.  We have met some wonderful people and wonderful dogs there, and now Lilly and Harley have lots of playmates. We are in a small town, so we have alot of regulars.  It has been the best therapy for Lilly.   When the weather is bad, I'm not sure who is more disappointed, me or the dogs.  And the more we go, the less dog aggressive Harley has become.  He really loves to be part of a pack.  The only tip I have is, if you are going to be a nervous wreck, don't go if there are alot of dogs.  I think they can sense if their owner is apprehensive, and are less likely to join the pack or more likely to be aggressive.  If you are that type of person, you are better off to go at a time when there are only a couple of dogs to start.  Have a great time at the park!

From what I am reading, I would say he needs a little more maturity to be successful at the dog park.

I am a dog park person adn there are plenty around here. if you dog does't behave correctly it is a miserable experience. Plus, you run the risk of him being hurt when he annoys other dogs, even other small dogs.

My advice is to go at an off time when there are fewer dogs there. I used to go to the dog park everyday with Daisey but when we got Eddie it has slowed way down. Now we seldom go because I cannot depend on his behavior. I actually go to the midsize area, instead of the small dogs, so that Eddie is smaller and less agressive/territorial. I am able to relax and enjoy the park with my dogs early on weekends, late in day, or midday whenI have time off. I never go right after work or midday on a weekend.

Oh, and if I see children I leave or pay very close attention to where they are at everymoment. I will move to avoid them nearing my dogs. Sorry if I offend anyone, but that is truly how I feel about kids in a dog park.

A guy here had a wonderful dog that a child kept pestering until he nipped at him because the child hurt the dog. The police were called and after some court cases the dog was put down. The guys dog had never nipped before, was a good old dog. They even tried to present in court, with no success, that there was another incident where this child caused a liability for someone else because the parents were not controlling him and he was hurt on someone else's property. If I see children come into the park without adults, I leash my dogs and leave immediately. If they are with adults, I watch closely to see if the children are being controlled. I don't want my dogs put to sleep because someone else didn't control their children and my dog defended itself.

Vickie

Vickie

One more thing....if anyone is silly enough to bring in food, leave. It only causes fights. There are signs saying no to bring in food but there is always some bozo who grabs his lunch on the way to the park and even thinks it is fun to give out french fries.  Fights, fat, and sodium.......no thanks.

Vickie

We didn't go.

Off of his lead,I am just not able to control him in an environment like that.  We'll think about it again in a couple of months.

BTW... I have been very candid about Murphy's behavior, and it's absolutely true that he has behavior issues.  Every time he gets into something, it's my fault (or my wife's)  for underestimating his capacity for destruction.  I don't blame Murphy.  I just don't want anyone to think I've got some wild beasty that's horrible and untrainable.  If anything, I've not been dilligent enough with his training.  I've been working with him earnestly now for a few weeks, and he's improving a lot. 

Some really good advice here !   I went really, really slow in introducing Chloe to the whole dog park scene before taking her off lead there.   We first went off lead in a very secluded area (not the dog park) - completely away from any streets, cars or parking lots ( don't know if you have access to anyhing like that or not)  and very few dogs- if any at all. The 1st time was with my dad's dog who is never on a lead.  Chloe didn't even know what to make of being off lead at first then quickly firgured things out by watching my dad's dog and following her around.  Older, well trained dogs can often teach other dogs new tricks.  

We went to this same place for about 2 months (because we were usually alone and she was safe) before introducing her to the actual dog park.  Then after she was comfortable in this setting, I began to take her to the dog park about twice a week, but kept her on her lead for at least the first 6-8 visits there.  I only took her there when only a few dogs were around and always let her meet (sniff) the others there - again on her lead.  After several weeks of this, then I began to let her off lead for short periods of time, and again, only when just a small handful of dogs were there, and only after meeting the others while on her lead to be sure there weren't going to be any problems with the other dogs.   Better to be safe than sorry!!

So, my advice, take "puppy" steps.  No need to rush into this process.   Oh, and beware- not only can big dogs attack, but they can also injusre small dogs when they are just playing!!  They weigh more!       Good luck!!

I prefer not to do dog parks, even though I can take Bailey anywhere off lead he does well, despite distractions (and this sure didn't happen overnight!!). It's simply too risky because things can happen SO quickly.

Case in point. Earlier this month I was in Decatur, AL at an agility trial. Behind the arena where the show was being held, there is a HUGE 11-acre field where many people take their dogs to play. However, it is mandatory (AKC regulations) that all dogs be kept on leash. So Bailey and I were walking in this field, rather briskly... and this man comes out with his two pharoah hounds (large breed dogs). He lets them off lead. Now... please realize that agility dogs are trained dogs... ok? Well his two pharoah hounds take off after Bailey as though he were prey. It happened so quickly, that I almost did not get Bailey snatched up off the ground before the dogs were at us. They got to me and were barking. I was terrified because there I was holding Bailey in my arms and the man (owner) came running. Luckily, the dogs did not attempt to jump up on me, or there's no way I could have remained upright. The man gave the command "DOWN" to the dogs at a pretty good distance away... and the dogs did go down (a wonderful by product of distance training your dog). But it was scarey... and had I not been RIGHT ON TOP of the situation, I have no doubt that Bailey would have been injured even if it was not the dogs' intent to injure. Bailey weighs 9.5 lbs... each one of these hounds weighed at least 75 lbs. The man apologized... but I was not nice to him. I reminded him that his dogs were NOT to be off lead in the field. His response was.. "they are usually better behaved than that". I told him.... it only takes one time.

It's just not worth the risk for me....

Again... this is risky.  Even if you have control of your own dog... you cannot control other dogs.  But I certainly can't make these decisions for other people.  The dog park issue has been one that has been debated for a long time, and I suspect will continue to be debated for years to come.