5 Tips to Keep Your Dog Safe at the Dog Park
1. Never Bring Food With You
Many owners make a huge mistake of keeping treats in a pouch and bringing them into the dog park. Not only is this against the rules at most parks, it's also highly dangerous and creates the perfect atmosphere for a fight.
No matter how well behaved your dog is, that doesn't necessarily mean that other pets in the park will have the same manners. Feeding one dog could create jealously and competition, which leads to conflict over food resources.
Do your part and keep everyone safe, leave food, treats, and snacks in your car.
2. Stay Within Reach of Your Dog
If you're used to hanging out in the shade while your dog is running around on the opposite side of the park, you'll want to stop doing this. Wherever your dog goes, you need to be following along and watching them at all times.
Some pet owners come with a newspaper, a laptop, and a whole breakfast to stay entertained at the dog park. This is both unsafe, and highly irritating to other owners who have to break things up on their own if your dog starts a fight.
Be polite and courteous to those around you, keep an eye on your pup.
Pools Can Be a Hazard
If your dog park includes a swimming pool, you'll need to be extra cautious. Bully breeds and flat faced dogs don't fair well in deep water.
3. Keep a Small First Aid Kit on Hand
You be thinking that a first aid kit is a bit much, but it really comes in handy when or if your pup is injured. This is one item that most pet owners completely regret not having when their dog is hurt. Keep it in your car or in a backpack.
What to Keep in Your Kit
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- 2 rolls of gauze
- styptic powder
- Cotton balls
4. Stay in the Correct Section of the Park
Not all parks have them, but some places offer two separate sections for large and small dogs.
If you have a larger dog who is a senior or arthritic, it’s usually fine to bring them into the small dog area. However, larger dogs who are more active could injure smaller dogs by accident while running and playing.
Additionally, smaller dogs in the large section need to be more cautious as well.
5. Spay and Neuter Your Pets
Generally, it is against the rules to bring females in heat to the dog park. However, the best way to prevent conflict is to spay females and neuter males. More often than not, fights happen because one dog is trying to be dominant over the other.
Removing excessive levels of testosterone and estrogen help to reduce aggression, your dog should get along better with others after the procedure. Spaying and neutering also helps to reduce the risk of cancer in both male and female pets.
