Dog Park....

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DutchieSummit
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Dog Park....

Post by DutchieSummit »

Hello everyone!

I haven't seen any posts about dog parks yet so I thought I would start my own topic. Hopefully you all could share a bit of advice as to what I should do to solve my problem. Summit is just about 5 months old, and I felt like I hadn't been socializing him enough. he went to the dog park his first time at about 3 months and was just a bit scared of everything. Now he minds his own business, but he is so protective of me that if a dog comes near me, he starts barking like crazy and even snaps. I have found that if I take him off his leash he does a lot better, but it is still a concern. As far as my attitude goes, I stay very calm. And just say no, no, it's okay summit, but it hasn't seemed to help. Everyone I talk to there just says to keep coming, but for some reason that doesn't seem like it's the solution. It's his instinct to protect! I was thinking about getting a shock collar and giving him a light shock every time he gets agressive. he is so smart and well behaved. This is literally my only concern with him. Any advice would help. unless it is just don't take him to the dog park. I want it to be a rewarding, and fun place for him to burn off some energy.
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Re: Dog Park....

Post by k9lexi »

If you search "dog parks" under active topics, yiu will find my sept post abiut dog parks... but might not be what yiu want to read.
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Owned-By-Hendrix
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Re: Dog Park....

Post by Owned-By-Hendrix »

Ah, dog parks. Generally most on the forum advise against dog parks. Some who have a good group of people there or a certain schedule that works attend them but I believe majority do not for various reasons. If you do a search you'll see some threads on it.

I'll quickly ask what do you think of when you say socialization? We've come to realize on the board many have different interpretations of it. Was there something before that made you think lack of socialization was a cause?

As far as being on lead yes you dog will be more "protective" of you and yes they will do better off lead. However, I would advise against going to the dog park at all. At five months it's not too early for an ecollar - DEPENDING on if the dog can handle that level or correction that early (as in how hard/soft it is) - however you are the one putting your dog in a position that its defense drive is triggered and it feels it must react violently. I would stop before you create a pattern behavior - you dog is telling you something, whether that it's uncomfortable with dogs approaching while on lead or confidence issues or that fact that it's five months old and drives are starting to blossom, and you need to figure out what it is and how/if it needs addressing and do so. I would also say voice is not enough to stop a serious reaction - mainly because if the dog is in defense drive or scared, it's not listening to you. What lines are you dog from, if you know?
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Re: Dog Park....

Post by Raven »

There's a very recent thread (initiated on 09/02/15) in "Whatever" about dog parks.

What experience do you have with shock, and how well can you read your dog, and where are you in training?

There are recent posts addressing socialization, knowing your dog/reading it before applying corrections, etc.

What Kira said about your dog is telling you something and you could be creating a pattern of behavior you don't want---very wise (and often repeated on this forum).

I don't just assume that a behavior from a protection breed is about protecting. And aggressive behavior isn't always about protecting.

Have you been working on distractions, building up to them, and setting him up for success? Off-hand, I'm thinking his confidence needs building, but that's based only on what I gleaned from your post.

And are you telling him it's okay when he lunges and snaps? (Did I read that right?) If that's, indeed, what you're doing, you've given him the green light, telling him he's correct in displaying that behavior, reinforcing it-----or telling him he has read the situation correctly: he should be fearful of the approaching threat, if he is, in fact, actually fearful and showing fear-aggression.
Though I can only hope to become the person who my animals believe I am, the things that they have taught me have made me a better human being. ~~~Sharon~~~
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Owned-By-Hendrix
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Re: Dog Park....

Post by Owned-By-Hendrix »

Sharon - I think OP meant she was telling him it was okay that another dog was approaching in a comforting way... but you're on the right track that it could be he's hearing "no... no... ok..." especially if ok is used as a release/reward word. Sadly, as much as I like to think H speaks English, truth is he speaks "words I know" and strings together context based on that, which usually isn't always what I meant... case in point "H you want black ball? Get black ball. No! Black ball! Get it!" was said as he went to retrieve his red ball. He stops and comes over and sits. He heard "Black ball... get black ball... no black ball get..." and was like "why you are denying me a toy mom?" I'm not very careful of what I say while correcting and immediately after (also why people usually say not to correct then immediately reward, confuses the dog).
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Re: Dog Park....

Post by Dutchringgirl »

Yes, please search for "DOG PARK" we have had many discussions about them. I NEVER go.

Also, what do you mean by Not socialized enough? he is only 5 months old, you dont want to overwhelm him.

No and Its okay, are very contradicting, try not to say them together.

Schock collar is not the way to go, you will be punishing him for doing what he is supposed to do, thats like punishing you for breathing.

Take him on a quiet path, or a place where only a few people and dogs are, just get him used to the surroundings

you want to teach him to ignore things, not get used to them and accept things coming at him. He wont, teach him " LOOK" so he looks at you until you tell him to stop. so when a dog comes by he will look at you until the dog is passed.
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Re: Dog Park....

Post by racingiron1 »

Just to throw in a few more cents... I'm not TOTALLY against dog parks, and we used to go to one when we had few other options for getting some good exercise. However, we really avoid them now. My main concern is irresponsible owners. There are WAAAAY too many people who toss the dog in, then just turn their back and ignore the dogs while they chat with their human friends, or better yet, some will actually LEAVE the park and come pick up Fido later! Some people bring food and try to eat while being bombarded by dogs. Some bring the dog to poop, don't clean it up, and immediately leave. Some people bring toddlers and let them roam freely among the dogs. My biggest concern is disease. I once actually heard someone at a park say, "The vet told me just yesterday he has worms," as they watched him poop (dire-rear) in several spots (no intention of cleaning it up). The person they were talking to had brought a very young puppy which was trying to play with the wormy dog. There are some good parks out there, but Hilde and I are happier on a hiking trail or alone in a big empty park.
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