I often have clients that complain of their dog’s behavior in dog parks.  Their dogs don’t come when called, get in fights, wont listen, etc.  These are all valid complaints, but these are not behaviors that should be worked on at dog parks.

Dog parks are one of the worst places you can take your dog to.  I have always referred to dog parks as ‘disease ridden fight clubs’.

Why dog parks are bad

It’s funny, nearly every one of my clients tell me about their neighbors and their dogs.  They complain that the neighbors tie the dogs up all day, don’t get them proper vet treatment, and generally mistreat them and don’t get them training.  Do these people bring their dogs to dog parks?  Yes!!  Many of them do.

Dog owners are not always good dog owners.  How many people at the dog park brought sick dogs with them?  How many people at the park didn’t vaccinate their dogs properly?  How many people at the park wouldn’t even recognize if their dog was sick?  On numerous occasions in the U.S. there have been closures of dog parks because of diseases that were spreading like wildfire because of the parks.

Aside from the diseases your dog can pick up it is extremely likely that when you go to the park the majority of the dogs there are ill-behaved.  Even if you have perfect control over your dog you can’t have control over other dogs in the park.  If another dog picks a fight with your dog there isn’t much you can do.  Dogs are much more prone to fight than humans, so putting a bunch of uncontrolled dogs together in a park setting is a recipe for disaster.  I have had many clients take their dogs to parks only to have their dogs bullied or attacked by another off leash dog.  Sure enough those dogs and owners deal with fear for the rest of their lives.

How to socialize

If you are dead set on having your dogs play with a large group of dogs why not try an obedience training club.  There you should be able to find dogs with some training and owners that are more vigilant.  You may also want to try a dog day care that has responsible employees and screens for health and aggressive dogs.

When you put your dog in an uncontrolled setting with dozens of other dogs there are so many problems that can occur.  Avoid dog parks!