Sadie at Doggy Park

[darkpantherbabe]

I found a dog park in my area that is fully fenced in. yay! Here is a picture of her at it. yes I have her on the leash and its only cause i dont know if she is dog friendly or not. we were the only ones there for awhile then everybody started showing up and with the way she reacts at the groomers is iffy.... she is okay if on a table, but if on the floor she goes a little bonkers but i dont know if its a good bonkers or bad bonkers as i never really let her have a chance. Prior owners didnt tell me if she was dog friendly or not, and they didnt really answer the question when i asked it, just said she was good at the groomers when dogs would pass by, which is true she is....

My boyfriend just got a boxer puppy, but since we live 4 1/2 hrs away, we dont really visit/travel to see each other since he got the puppy(my complex only allows one dog unless have doc note stating other dogs are needed for medical purposes) and my work hours increased. I've never had a dog like her before, all of them have been great with other dogs... Never really tried getting a grown adult dog to become dog friendly if not already and any pointers would be helpful.....

Here's a picture of her at the doggy park. Taken Sept 2nd 2011. She had spotted a great big huge great dane/mastiff mix(i had picked her up and carried her over and inquired with owners, after picture was taken) in the distance(just entering the doggy park). she stayed in the sit until they walked past us thankfully but she never took her eyes off of her(it was a female). lol. I had her supported when carrying her over so she wasn't insecure or like that.... I used to work for a vet clinic and at a casino(when they did live greyhound racings) and learned proper way of lifting and carrying a dog to have them feel secure.

[kjwarnold]

The first time we went to a dog park, we were given the advice that it's best not to have our dog on leash while all the other dogs are off leash. They said it has something to do with the other dogs making fun of them. Actually, they did said it can cause problems. We took their word for it and didn't have any problems. The dogs usually can work things out themselves. And then later I did see people who had their dog on a leash there and the other dogs really did seem to run over more, and the leashed dog seemed to be more nervous.

I will say that the first time we go to a new dog park, I walk the perimeter of the fenced area to be sure it's terrier-proofed. I've seen some that have big holes at the bottom of the fence, easy spots for any Cairn to use for escape!

[darkpantherbabe]

Oh. I know i always walk the perimeter. I used to own a miniature daschund(sp?, i always typed mini doxie), schipperke's, and rat terriers, and of course a Heinz 57 Mutt. So i always made sure it was small doggy safe and secure. If i could fit 5 fingers into a hole that wasnt suppoed to be there(i know chain links are supposed to have holes, but i'm talking about a hole that isn't part of the chain link design) then aint small doggy safe cause mine always managed to escape. this one is 100% small doggy safe 'n secure. I guess there's contervesy cause i was told to keep a new dog in a new environment leashed at least for the very first time, and when you dont know what the dog will do its an added security for you 'n the other owners. We are going back on wednesday and letting her be off leash. I have wednesdays off and My oldest gets out of school at 130 on that day(our school system has 1 day a week that is an early release day and her school in the system is wednesday for it).. So we can go when other ppl are at work. I have put an ad out looking for other small doggy owners in my area to do a playdate for that day 'n time. Will keep her on a leash for at least 10 minutes after the last person shows up. Then its off leash if she is okay. I know the signs of a "grrr, i wanna bite you" vs the "hey, lets play"... but with her... she barks while wagging her tail... but her barking is "hey lets play" bark and her tail wagging is half way between aprehsion 'n friendly.... That is why I am unsure about her being doggy friendly. My boyfriend is thinking of coming up the weekend of october 1st since i'm off then(my oldest daughter's 9th birthday weekend)... so that buddy 'n sadie could meet. Since buddy is at the present moment her size but wont be forever(buddy is a papered pure-bred boxer puppy). I hope wednesday is a success where We can do this every wednesday during the afternoon while everybody else is at work.

[TazTalk]

A trainer we worked with in the past said that many dogs have "leash aggression" - so it's not a good thing to have them on a leash when the dogs around them are off leash. He explained that they feel they don't have control when restricted by a leash in those situations. I can say this holds true for Taz, our 3 year old Cairn. I think it's a great idea to plan to go on a quiet weekday afternoon. Good luck!

[darkpantherbabe]

thanks. She is great at the groomers when on the table and she(groomer) has the tie/leash on her and she doesn't react except a wagging(friendly) tail to dogs who pass by. and she wags her tail when passing by dogs who are on the tables and she has a leash on. they never have a dog off leash unless its getting bathed or in their kennel. I wonder if she is afraid of big dogs cause it only happens when she see's big dogs, on teh barking and the wagging tail... when she see's dogs 40 pounds or less, she wags her tail but no barking. and its the "hey" friendly wag. All the ppl who are meeting up with us on wednesday are owners of small size dogs(under 40 pounds).... So we will see then...

has anybody ever heard of a small size dog being afraid of bigger size dogs, and unable to come around?

We plan to be leash free Wednesday!