[nagdu] Dog Parks

[Tami Jarvis]

Elise,

The first thing you would want to check is if your school has a policy 
against dog parks, or if your contract has a prohibition. Some of the 
programs are absolutely against their dogs going to dog parks for a long 
list of reasons about how they are perilous death traps.

As an owner-trainer, I think dog parks are a good thing, so long as one 
is aware of the hazards and has strategies to deal with them. If you are 
new to going to dog parks, it can really help to have a sighted person 
while you're getting the lay of the land and learning what is what...If 
the sighted person is aware and can describe what you need to know. In 
my experience, most of the hazards of the dog park are to the blind 
person fool enough to go wandering around in one, but I've managed to 
survive being such a fool for a number of years now, roaming picnic 
tables, random water buckets, torn toys, holes and running packs of 
yearlings and all! I believe the best way to mitigate a number of the 
hazards to one's dog is to stay near the dog and interact, so wander I 
do. /smile/

Off leash training is another big safety factor, as is the ability to 
socialize with strange dogs. A lot of program dogs don'g get a lot of 
that growing up, so they can get themselves in trouble. Puppies and 
young dogs get themselves schooled by older dogs in an age appropriate 
way, but an adult dog without that schooling can get itself into real 
trouble. If I had a program dog, I would approach dog parks cautiously 
at first, and only after finding more controlled settings in which to 
find out how well the dog could handle itself.

Dog parks seem to have cultures, so if I'm thinking of going to a new 
one, I always check things out as much as possible before going in and 
turning my dog loose. When Mitzi grew up, she was pretty aware and would 
check things out herself, so that was handy. If we got to the gate and 
she was suddenly not interested, we would just slope off somewhere else, 
where we would be joined by other people avoiding the problem in that 
park. Whew! I've found that listening to the people reveals the most 
about the atmosphere and the socialability of the dogs. I also pay 
attention to who is coming in and how others react, and if there are 
warning signs of possible trouble, we meander out. I trained Mitzi to 
come to me if there was a real scuffle, and as she grew up she learned 
to avoid trouble before it started and herd me away from it. Good girl!

I lived in an apartment when she was young, so the exercise was 
important for her, as was the socialization. We had a great park nearby 
with a good crowd. We don't have a specified dog park here, and I miss that.

Tami

On 06/19/2015 04:08 PM, Elise Berkley via nagdu wrote:
> Hey, everyone.  I have heard yes and no on dog parks from different ones.  I trust all of you because you have guide dogs.  Do you think they are good for our guides or should Becky and I stay away?  My husband would go with us, if you think they are alright.  He is sighted.  Tell me what you think.
>
> Elise and the Beckster
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