Spring is in full force now and Summer is comming up fas,t I think it is time to talk about dog behavior in dog parks.
As my puppy grew I would frequently take him to a puppy socialization group. He loves to play with other dogs, he has a passive nature and easily become fearful but with dogs he has always fety comfortable. He is confident around most dogs but does best with dogs that have a similar play style to his and particularly small dogs, his play style can be a bit rough (I am apologising to the Chihuahua he nearly stepped on last week). He likes to body slam other dogs and he enjoys chasing and being chased. He will also stop and have a good wrestle with a willing partner.
Ripley is a year and a half old now, which is certainly not a puppy anymore, well into adolescence really. So why do I continue to bring him to the socialization group? I do, because I have seen a huge benefit to puppies that meet a slightly older dog with manners.
Quite a few times now I have seen a puppy get over aroused or over threshold with the stress of the introduction to a socialization group. That’s my polite way of saying they were scared sh*tless. So I gently encourage their owner to bring them to a quiet area of the park and I bring Ripley along. I have found that when a young dog is showing fear (lunging, screaming, panicking on the lead, or just cowering between legs) it just takes a few minutes of Ripley on his own, inviting them to play, but not being pushy, to turn things around. He offers a play bow, and if they seem scared he immediately turns his side to them and sniffs the grass, a classic calming behavior. This gives the puppy confidence and very soon they are romping and batting at each other!
Not all dogs at a play group can be so easy going as Ripley. Recently a dog about Ripley’s age showed up and started nipping and bullying the other dogs, large or small he didn’t care. He would bark and lunge towards them in a way that made me distinctly uncomfortable. It was obvious this dog had not had enough socialization as a young puppy, and the owner was trying to make up for it at almost a year old. Unfortunately, this means that a bunch of tender, impressionable youngsters are being subjected to what is in essence a bully.
I hear a lot about how dogs should “sort it out” themselves, and maybe sometimes this is true, if the dogs are similar sizes, ages, and socialization level. But more often than not people can’t read dog body language well enough to know when a situation with a playgroup is going from “argument” level to “fist fight”. Even Ripley occasionally will have a moment of “predatory drift” with a smaller dog, and to me, that is inappropriate behavior and I interrupt him.
So please don’t be afraid to interrupt a dog/dog interaction if you are uncertain of what is happening, just because the other owner says “its alright” doesn’t mean you should let your dog be subjected to bullying, or let your dog traumatize a puppy. As smart as many dogs are at reading social cues and body language, there are plenty of dogs out there that wouldn’t know a calming signal if it sat on them! So don’t risk your dog’s well being just because you think it might be OK, if you are even a little unsure, then interrupt and redirect. For more on this subject I recommend reading Off-Leash Dog Play by Robin Bennet and Susan Briggs.
