Interesting information

How to behave at dog playgrounds

It's no longer a strange thing when a municipality sets up a dog park or a dog playground. Due to frequent regulation of off-leash movement of dogs, this should, however, often be obligatory. Do you know how to behave in such places so that you wouldn’t bother other visitors and you’d avoid unnecessary conflicts?

On fences or gates of dog parks and playgrounds, rules of visit might be usually listed, but there are certain principles of good conduct - dog owner's etiquette - that should always be followed:

  1. You are responsible for your dog for the whole time of a visit to the            park or to the playground. The dog must be socialised and it mustn’t be aggressive towards people or other dogs. If you’ve come here to socialise, don’t let the dog run free.
  2. The dog visiting a dog park or a playground must have all the vaccinations             valid and it should also be regularly de-wormed.
  3. Clean up after your dog. As well as anywhere in the public space, even here,       always clean up after your fluffy friend.
  4. Definitely don’t take a bitch in heat into these areas. Her presence could     distract other dogs and she could even be a reason for a dog fight.
  5. Don’t carry your snack along. That could again distract other dogs and make them behave undesirably. They could steal it from you in an unguarded moment, which could set off their health issues (e.g. in allergic dogs, diabetic dogs).        
  6. Don’t take any small children with you. Other dogs in the park may not be used to children, they can manifest fear or aggression towards them. In the heat of the game, the dogs could easily knock the child over or otherwise injure it.
  7. Always have a leash            at hand. You never know when two dogs won’t get along and you will have to quickly take control of your dog and take it out of the park. Not mentioning possible situations when a non-socialised or an uncontrollable dog comes to the park.
  8. If you can see that someone is practising obedience with their dog or doing           some other sport, don’t let your dog bother them.
  9. The same applies if you’re at the playground and somebody is practising on an obstacle. Wait until they finish the track or the obstacle before you start using it yourself. And don’t let your dog disturb them during the training.

Dog parks and playgrounds are a great place to let off steam and let go of excessive energy. Unfortunately, this will only work, if we’ll be tolerant towards each other and if we behave well.

Do you visit dog parks or playgrounds? And do you meet ill-behaved dogs or dog owners there?

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