Social Etiquette & Park Behaviour

Social etiquette for dogs starts with us, their humans. They rely on us for guidance, leadership, confidence, feelings & emotions. If we are stressed, more than likely our dogs will feel stressed. If we are feeling playful, more than likely our dogs feel playful, free and easy. It starts back in the home. If you have good boundaries set at home and have instilled good level of obedience and character into your pooch then you can rest assured knowing you have provided them with a good start to socialising well.

Think of dogs as humans for a moment. Think you are walking through the park, minding your own business and a stranger comes running at you and jumps on your head. How would you react? A person you don’t know, walks up to you and shoves their hand in your face waving and asking questions about your day. How would you react? A person comes up to you and steals your phone right from your hand and then runs off asking you to chase them. How would you feel? A person walks by, stops and says hi, then comes over and asks how you are, gives off such a nice energy and then politely asks if you would like join them for lunch. You’re hungry and really want to, why eat alone. Then another person stands nearby to your table and starts yelling abuse, loud words, not really making much sense. How would this make you feel?

© Image by Dr Sophie Yin

Expectations are important to be aligned with your individual dog or dog/s. Not all dogs are naturally accepting of other dogs. Not all dogs enjoy a rough and tumble with their fellow furry kind. Make sure they are comfortable

Be responsible for your dog. I don’t know how many times I have been to the dog park and the dog’s owner releases the lead, turns and looks the other way. Probably the most common reason dogs get into trouble at the park is that people stand around and ignore them. Behind their back, multiple small altercations or warnings are happening or the dog’s being rude and other dogs are just too polite or friendly to fend him off resulting in yet another reason to be fearful or timid.

© Image by Dr Sophie Yin

Take your time to understand your dog, really get to know them. Get to know their communicators, body language, what experiences trigger positively and negatively with them, what are their favourite things or beings.

And go have fun with your dog today!

Pats to the Doggo's,

The Dog Nanny