Dog Park Etiquette

I had a client ask me recently if I'd go to the dog park with her.  She knew that I don't take my own dogs to the dog park, nor am I a big fan of them in general.  You see, the few times I've been to the dog park with clients and their dogs, I have had the discomfort of seeing a lot of bad human behavior on display, as well as both questionable and bad dog behavior.  Turns out, the reason this client wanted me to go with her is that she was experiencing both (bad human behavior AND bad dog behavior)!  I joked that I'd likely need a glass of wine (or a shot of tequila!) afterward, but that I'd be happy to go to the park with her and be her "wingman." 

So, here's what's been happening:  There are between 3 and 8 dogs that regularly visit this dog park.  The owners all know one another and the dogs get along well. There is, however, one couple that comes to the park with their dog that has become an issue.  One of the owners is oblivious to the dog's behavior and the other is embarrassed by it.  It's gotten to the point where the owner who is embarrassed by the dog's behavior, doesn't come very often anymore, sending the oblivious partner and dog to the park alone instead!  This dog owner stands off alone, talking on the phone or looking at it, completely ignoring the dogs.  So what does the dog do?  This dog is a mounter, and a repeat offender at that.  Anytime another dog goes to sniff or play bow, he races over and mounts them.  Most of the dogs sit down, roll over, or try to scoot away, none of them ever even growl at him. The final straw for the dog park regulars was the day a dog was trying to relieve himself and this dog raced over and mounted him mid-squat!  Several of the dogs have gotten to the point where they hide in the bushes to toilet as if they know that if they do it where this dog can see, he'll jump them.  Now, none of these dog owners feel that this dog is malicious, or bullying their dogs per se.  He just doesn't seem to know how to initiate play or interaction and he's never been corrected by the owners or the other dogs for his constant mounting behavior.  The behavior is, however, creating friction at the park and several of the regulars have indicated that they won't be going into the park if this dog (and owner) are there.

I truly understand their frustration.  Years ago when I first started working with Furry Friends, the pet assisted therapy organization I've been with since 1998, there was a dog on one of our off leash visits who constantly mounted other dogs all throughout the visit.  This particular visit was at a local children's shelter, so his over-the-top mounting behavior usually left the kids snickering and in stitches, creating embarrassment and dismay on the part of the other team members.  The owner of the mounting dog wrote off her dog's behavior with a shrug and a "dogs mount all the time, it's not a big deal."  That's when I was asked to come in and resolve this issue for the pet therapy team.  

Yes, mounting IS part of normal dog behavior.  And, yes, dogs do mount each other during play and that's normal.  What isn't normal, however, is the constant mounting of other dogs. To spend an entire hour of off leash time going from dog to dog, mounting them, isn't appropriate.  And believe it or not, it IS possible to get a dog to stop this behavior, even an intact male dog.  

I know I've talked about consequences many times before, but here we go again.  Dogs need to learn that their behavior has consequences. If one of these dogs getting mounted all the time had turned around and growled or snapped at the mounter, the behavior might have stopped, at least with that dog.  The thing is, most repeat offender mounting dogs don't mount dogs that correct them, they go for the more subordinate, go-along-to-get-along-type of dogs. This means that the humans at the dog park need to step in on their dogs' behalf and administer the consequences, if the owner of the mounting dog won't do it themselves.  

The consequence is so easy to do!  Simply go over to the mounter, put them on leash, and walk them away from the other dogs for a 2-3 minute break/time out.  Don't engage the dog during the time out, rather go ahead, stand on their leash, and look at your phone!  When the break is up, unceremoniously unhook the leash and see what happens.  If the dog runs off to mount another dog again, repeat the consequence of a leashed time out, but make the time out period longer for each offense. This routine decreases the pressure felt by the other dogs as they now see that the mounter isn't disrupting their socializing (or toileting!), and it decreases the pressure felt by the humans there as well.  While it truly should be the dog's owner doing the leashing and time outs, I told my client that I wouldn't hesitate to do them myself if that other dog owner was too distracted (or too disinterested) to do so themselves.  And if the owner noticed this and took offense, then I'd let them know that yes, it's true, they should be doing the time outs themselves!  

Circling back to that pet therapy visit where this was happening: When I attended the visit where this occurred regularly, I marched out and leashed the dog for the time outs myself, much to the surprise and dismay of the dog's owner.  She tried to school me, saying this was just normal behavior, to which I schooled her on questionable dog behavior.  Yes, mounting is normal, but in the context of a pet therapy visit, a repeat offender needs consequences, either from the other dogs or the owner.  I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn that the dog owner on those visits apologized for being misinformed and began leashing her dog herself for time outs.  This only happened for 3 visits total before the dog quit doing the behavior all by himself, causing everyone on the team at the children's shelter to heave a huge sigh of relief!

So, back to my client's experience at the dog park.  I briefed her on everything above, including explaining what she can say to this other dog owner, if she can get them to take their earbuds out long enough to listen! I don't think she should confront this dog owner alone; my guess is that they will be defensive if she does so.  If the other owner were to come, it would likely be easier to have the conversation with them since they've been embarrassed by the dog's behavior themselves.  Bottom line is this: If I go to the park with my client, I will be bringing an extra leash and I won't hesitate to march over and leash that dog.  And then educate the owner should they mistakenly think that confronting me and calling me out as "ignorant" with regard to dog behavior is a good idea. LOL.  I'll definitely need that glass of wine should that occur!

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

Ozzie is a pretty mellow dog with other dogs.  I have him work with me quite frequently, helping clients with their dogs' behavior.  As such, he's been shoved, aggressively sniffed, and even mounted a couple of times.  Usually, Ozzie just walks away from questionable behavior by other dogs, quickly diffusing the situation.  Recently, however, he verbally corrected an adolescent dog for repeatedly trying to mount him during our appointment. Needless to say, the dog backed off after the growl and with Ozzie moving away from him. I told Ozzie that I couldn't have said it to the other dog any better myself!