The dog park is a GAMECHANGER for our 5 month pup’s behavior

[ericastewart]

Wanted to share a revelation that we just recently had for our 5 month bernedoodle puppy. She has generally been your typical puppy: lots of biting at toes, barking, potty training issues, chewed up headphones, etc..

We were mostly worried about her socialization with other dogs. We live in a community with lots of dogs, but all their owners are busy so any interaction she would have was just a fleeting moment and maybe 30-60 seconds of sniffing, jumping, and barking. Other dog owners were hesitant to play because ours had so much energy towards other dogs.

So I found a local dog park and took her one time and she was the complete opposite of what I expected. I thought she would be jumping and barking all over the other dogs and owners, but she immediately became a perfect little socialite. She was going from dog to dog, checking in and playing with everyone nicely.

So we started taking her every single day and I cannot believe the improvement it’s had on the rest of her behavior. Seemingly overnight, in the past 7 days of taking her, she’s had 0 indoor accidents, there is no biting and we’re able to take her to outdoor places like restaurants and coffee shops and she’s a pleasant perfect puppy.

Hopefully it lasts, but just wanted to share the impact that a little extra socialization and exercise has had.

 

[slzander]

@ericastewart That is very interesting for me to hear. My puppy is going to be 5 months old soon, and every time I talk her on a walk and she sees another dog, she gets super eager, lunging and barking non-stop. I was thinking I would need to wait until I get her walk reactivity under control before I could bring her to the dog park.

 

[divined]

@slzander My pup was like this on walks too! We started by just sitting outside the fence at the dog park, gradually getting closer each day without barking (and lots of treats for just sitting quietly and watching). Now we can go inside the dog park and he doesn’t make a peep! He isn’t playing with the other dogs yet, but I’m just proud that he isn’t barking constantly (or really at all) while we are there!

 

[patti1950]

@divined This is exactly what we have to do with our 4.5 month old golden doodle. It's been 3 weeks of baby steps. First just walking around the dog park. Then sitting around the outside and staying calm. Then entering but staying on leash and staying calm. Once in a while we let her off leash with other dogs... only when she has proven she is calm enough. My advice: bring a pocket full of high value treats (bits of cheese work for me).

 

[kennethe62]

@divined This is really great to hear. My 7mo pup really freaks out when she sees other dogs on walks or behind our fence. I was afraid to try dog parks because of this. She plays really well with my GFs 4yo dog, but she's also known her her whole life.

 

[divined]

@kennethe62 Mine is 5 months and this has made him so much better on walks. He still barks at dogs who come too close to our front door or if they catch him off guard, but he is great about just looking and not barking now compared to how he was even just a few weeks ago.

 

[slzander]

@divined I was thinking I could try with that at some point. I just wasn't sure what the rules of my local dog parks are since it's an enclosed fence in a larger park, but I couldn't find a website that explains their rules

 

[ericastewart]

@slzander Yes! I had the exact same thought. That’s why I was so surprised

 

[pollinnna230]

@ericastewart The biting and overall better behavior is probably a result of her being tired which is great! I like to change up routines for exercise and mental stimulation as every day can become problematic as it may become a routine and she will expect it. This will make it harder to keep her calm in the house on days you are unable to get that energy out through dog parks.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@ericastewart Good for you.