Dog Park aggression

[Stronghart]

Hi all,

I started taking our male GSD to dog park when he was nine months old. Now he is about 13 months old. Yesterday when I took him to the dog park another GSD (female) 4 years old, kind of was aggressive with him - to the point that he hid behind me and would kind of cower whenever he would see her in the dog park. And funny coincidence, today when I took him to the dog park, one particular aggressive Lab who first kind of attacked a Dobermann, came charging to him while barking very aggressively. He again got scared and ran behind me and I gave out a loud growling 'Hey Stop That' to that Lab; that made him stop right there and then the Lab ran back.

I am not sure what to do next; should I give the dog park visits a break for a week? Or should I keep on taking him there and probably stop defending him? Any advice/suggestions, please.

Thanks,

[sagelfn]

This is why most of us avoid the dog park or only go when it is empty/few people there.

Protect your dog. Don't coddle him but show him he can trust you when he's scared. You do not want him to become reactive - thinking he needs to protect himself from any dog that comes near him. Find some friendly dogs and let him have some good experiences with them. When you're at the park and you see other dogs acting badly and they don't leave, you need to.

[spidermilk]

That is why I avoid the dog park. Additionally, people bring puppies who are too young (and probably other unvaccinated dogs), people bring toys, people bring MANY dogs and can't watch them all, and the dog parks here are way too crowded to ever be peaceful.

If you want some nice, friendly dogs for your dog to interact with- a dog training place is an awesome place to meet them. There are plenty of very friendly, well socialized dogs at the training place we go to (maybe not the dogs in the beginner class, but at least things are under control). You can find a suitable playmate and meet up with them to walk or hike, some training places have play areas.

And remember that even though the dog park is nice for doggie exercise, your dog's favorite playmate is most likely YOU. If you have nothing but scary experiences for your dog at the park you are better off playing somewhere else.

[rblanshan]

Is it good to take them during the week and during business hours? If it's not so crowded? Unfortunately, this is the only place I can go (besides Petsmart) where my dog will come across other dogs. However, I do not feel comfortable taking my dog off of the leash...not only because I am still working on trusting her, but because I do not trust other dogs. So if it's not busy, and I have her on a leash, would it be ok to go so she could see a couple dogs but also smell TONS of new smells?