Socialization Spots

[Cass C]

I am currently working with my dog Lyka, who has issues with getting over excited while greeting dogs and people. I have broken her completely of jumping on my and my DH. The trainer suggested we take her to places like a dog park to help her learn when being excited is appropriate.

 

I am not a big fan of local dog parks as they tend to be full of untrained dogs and disrespectful people. So my question is where, other than the dog park, can I go to work on Lyka's greetings of other people and dogs?

[d112358]

Pet store? On-leash park?

[Camden's Mom]

Pet store? On-leash park?

^^ These. Also dog friendly stores like Home Depot/Lowes, downtown areas and outdoor malls. Honestly, I'd try to take her anywhere you are legally allowed to. All of the places listed would be great for reinforcing good on leash greeting behavior.

 

But I think what you are getting at is a little bit different. If I understand your question correctly you are looking for a place in which she is *allowed* to be excited, not tethered to you and on her best "on leash" behavior, but still able to practice appropriate off leash greetings.

 

I'm not the biggest fans of dog parks either, but it might be worth checking out a few local ones during off hours. If I go to a nearby dog park in the middle of the day and there are only 2 or 3 dogs there I'm happy to stop and give it a go. I feel that's a situation I can manage. If I see a dozen or so dogs I just keep on driving, no way I could keep up with all of the variables with that many dogs/people.

 

I don't know where you live, but in Utah we have a couple of really awesome off leash hiking areas. These are great for socializing because everyone is heading down the trail at their own pace. There are tons of opportunities for greeting/meeting dogs and people but rarely is there time to just play like at a dog park. If there's anything like this near you (and you have confidence in Lyka's recall) I'd highly recommend it.

 

You may also want to see of you could find an organized local doggy play group. It would be much like a dog park environment but at least you would get to know the owners and dogs and hopefully they would be attentive to the dogs interactions.

 

I'm sure others will have more ideas. I'm headed out the door but wanted to throw those suggestions out there before I ran out!

[Cass C]

Thanks both of you. On leash greeting is the big thing, but with Lyka being super dog and attention motivated the trainer thinks Lyka will catch on faster if once she is well behaved she can go say hello without a leash.

 

I take her to pet stores all the time, but I've found the people there to be way to eager to meet her as she is a very friendly dog. Just yesterday I was working on training Lyka and had found someone who was willing to help me by ignoring Lyka. Then some lady and her kids walked by an just started petting her without asking, so I asked them to please stop and they left. However that kind of defeated the point of waiting for her to calm down before she got attention.

 

There is one really great local pet store about half an hour away, where the employees, customers, and even the owners, always respect other peoples requests while training their dog. They are a little more expensive on near everything, but they are such a great store I feel guilty just going there to train without buying anything. So I only go there once a month or so.

 

A little OT, but do any of you own or know someone who owns a little local pet store and would it be frowned upon to just use their store for training when I can't always afford a purchase?

 

I will definitely look into an off leash hiking area. I live in Idaho and there are great hiking trails about an hour away.

[RemsMom]

Do you have any state parks close to where you live? Tourist season is over but I would think that the park would be busy on weekends when the weather is nice. Also, our parks will give free guided talks on the weekends and lots of families and people with dogs show up.

[kingfisher7151]

Depending on where you live, college campuses can be fantastic. (I'm in college training a puppy, I can certainly vouch). There are always people going to and from classes, giving lots of opportunities for training. I also frequent our local outdoor mall, it's pet friendly and it's easy to find a bench and hang out all day. I also find that designated pet places to be full of well intended dog lovers that are even harder to train than the dog.

[JohnC]

Maybe I'm not understanding correctly, but most dog parks don't allow people to bring a leashed dog into them. I'd suggest checking on meetup.com for dog friendly hiking groups. In my area, they do on-leash hikes to the state parks and other areas. This way she can be around other leashed dogs and learn to socialize and be calm around them.

[Camden's Mom]

I also find that designated pet places to be full of well intended dog lovers that are even harder to train than the dog.

 

^^ This! I have much better luck avoiding people who (however well intended) end up setting back my training at a Home Depot then at a pet store. At Home Depot people don't expect to see dogs and I've rarely been asked if someone can pet Camden. It *does* happen, but nowhere near as often as at a pet store and the people are generally much more well behaved.

[geonni banner]

Maybe I'm not understanding correctly, but most dog parks don't allow people to bring a leashed dog into them. I'd suggest checking on meetup.com for dog friendly hiking groups. In my area, they do on-leash hikes to the state parks and other areas. This way she can be around other leashed dogs and learn to socialize and be calm around them.

It may be different rules in different places. The dog park my dog sometimes goes to allows leashed dogs, in fact most people carry leashes, and if your dog annoys someone they are allowed to ask you to leash it. If a person will not leash a dog that is being aggressive to other dogs or people, or is climbing all over other dog owners, it is not uncommon for people to call the park police (ours is a Regional Park) and the owner will be asked to leash and remove the troublesome dog.

 

That said, I would be wary of taking a bumptious dog to a dog park for manners lessons. There are too many dogs who will resent such behavior with their teeth, and too many clueless owners who will actively encourage bad behavior even when you ask them not to.

[Camden's Mom]

If you live in or near Boise this sounds like a really cool option! http://www.ridgetorivers.org/hikes-rides/dog-on-off-leash-trails/

 

I also found this, Hulls Gulch sounds a LOT like a spot I frequent in Utah that's a dog park/hiking area hybrid (i.e lots of room to roam but also a bit of room to play). http://www.northend.org/content1.asp?id=192

 

Also a google search for "hiking off leash Idaho" yielded results in other parts of the state too. Seems like Idaho is fairly dog friendly!

 

I usually go up to Boise about twice a year... wish the in-laws liked dogs more... I'd love to take Camden with me and hit some of those trails!

[Donald McCaig]

Dear Doggers,

Take her to a sheepdog trial. She'll flourish among dog savvy people. Once she's stopped being a confused dope, ask a kid if they'd mind taking her around on leash.

 

Donald McCaig

[Blackdawgs]

It is not a good idea to let on-leash dogs greet. Leashes create too much potential for mixed signals.

One of the best places for socialization is some type of dog class. Your dog should be attentive to you in the presence of distractions (dogs and people). Some classes will allow you to practice dog-human greetings (in a controlled environment).

[Cass C]

The point of the exercise for her is NOT to let on leash dogs greet, but to train my dog who is way too excited by people and dogs to focus on me even in the presence of dogs and people. Right now she has very little focus.

 

She is in a dog class and I am working on this in class. However, just working on it in class isn't going to fix the problem. She needs to practice outside of that environment as well, which is why my trainer suggested I try dog parks and her reward would have been to get a chance to greet dogs off leash.

 

I will look into sheepdog trials in the local area and see if I can use them as a training area.

[Blackdawgs]

Now I understand. Work your dog on the outside of the fenced dog park area. Start far away and gradually move closer as your dog learns to deal with distractions.

[urge to herd]

If there are any vaccination clinics in your area those might be great. There are lines of people with their dogs, waiting to get shots, flea treatments, etc. You can approach/retreat as needed, training Lyka to keep her attention on you.

 

Google vaccination clinics for dogs and see if anything comes up in your area. Good luck!

 

Ruth and SuperGibbs

[CMP]

When I lived in a city and had puppies, I got together a group of other puppy owners and we used an old school playground (fenced) with permission in the evenings. It was awesome. Can you do something like that in your area?

[Lizabeth]

Dog parks are something that I have never had to deal with tell I moved to WA, I have learned many things about these kind of parks. First Avoid them on the weekends, Second, Avoid them at all hours of the day the first 2 weeks of summer, Third, Evenings are awesome, so are early mornings, And here for some reason mid day is good on Tuesday through Thursday, Mondays are sketchy, Fridays are bad news.

 

Another thing that I have learned, its not the brightest idea to walk rite up into the area where the dogs are all congregating when you first get there, I like to take the back way once i get through the gate. That way I am not greeted and jumped on by a pack of large dogs, I would be in a bad bind if I were to get knocked over, and it also makes it less stressful for my elderly beagle, and my young bc when we first arrive.

 

Bring a chuckit or a toy with you and let the dogs all have fun, they get tired out, but do keep a close watch, many of these dogs are not well behaved.