Are dog parks the most DANGEROUS place for your dog?

Dog parks are some of the most popular places to take a dog, and for good reason! The idea is reasonable: a place for dogs to run off-leash, safely, without bothering people, and where owners can socialize together too? Sounds perfect! But the reality is far from that.

First, what kinds of dogs are going to dog parks?

I did a training session with a client at a park one time, in which one section was an open field of grass, and the other was a fenced dog park area. There were ten or so dogs inside the park, and in the grass area outside there were a couple dogs sniffing around calmly or playing ball with their owner.

I pointed to the dogs inside the dog park, and I asked my client, “Why do you think those dogs are in the park when there’s a bunch of empty grass outside of it?”

She considered the question, and then answered, “Because they have to be in a fenced area?”

Exactly. Dog parks are home to the LEAST trained dogs, the LEAST well-behaved dogs, the LEAST dog-savvy owners, the LEAST reliable canines and people. There is a reason they cannot be running freely with their owner outside the fence. There is a reason they cannot be trusted.

Second, gross.

How often have you seen a dog park sanitized? Not just cleaned, which is already rare enough, but sanitized, sprayed down with a disinfectant specifically for dog-related diseases? Because I train around dog parks (around, not inside) all the time, and I have NEVER seen that happen.

How many times have you seen a dog park have someone stand at the entrance and require all dogs show proof of vaccinations and a clean bill of health? Because I’ve never seen that…

Third, and this is the most important, but in what universe are dog parks NATURAL or HEALTHY environments for a dog to be in?

We’re going to get a little bit off-topic here, but stay with me, and I promise it will all come back around.

In the late 1940’s, a man named Rudolph Schenkel studied wolves in captivity to try to learn more about wolves as well as the domesticated dog. He found that when tensions grow inside of a wolf pack, or when there is a discrepancy about who is “in charge,” the wolves will fight it out to determine who is the strongest, the alpha. At this time, there was no isolation between wild wolves and captive wolves: it was all the same.

But a few decades later, a man named David Mech did his own studies. This time, he studied wolves in the wild.

What he found was the COMPLETE opposite. Wolves don’t fight each other. They don’t kill each other. They avoid conflict at all costs. Why on Earth would it be beneficial to a species trying to survive for them to start hurting each other any time anything went wrong?

Well, it wouldn’t. And Mech’s findings supported this.

Mech discovered that wolf packs generally consist of a family unit, and when the children grow enough to create tension inside the pack, they just… leave. They walk away. They separate, and create their own family unit, their own pack. And on and on. Any time there is an issue within wolf-to-wolf dynamics, the FIRST thing they try is LEAVING.

Based on this, Mech concluded that Schenkel’s studies were not incorrect, but could not be applied to wild wolves. His studies were done exclusively on wolves in captivity, and should not be applied to the natural order of wolves, or their natural temperament.

How does this apply to dog parks?

Well, there is a reason why dogs that are part of a “family unit” or a “pack” can play in ways that dogs that don’t know each other cannot. They can be more rough in their play, they can play in close quarters, they can play with resources. Why? Because they know each other. They know each other’s body language, how they respond to certain things. They trust that the other won’t hurt them, they know what to expect. That’s normal.

Put one of those dogs in a 20x20 box with nine other random dogs, and now you have ten dogs that DON’T know each other, that DON’T live together, that DON’T trust each other. Now they have to figure out their dynamic in that situation, and they have to do it quickly. That’s going to cause tension.

And in an open space, when there’s tension, what do they want to do? LEAVE. They want to avoid conflict. They want to take themselves out of uncomfortable situations.

But if they can’t? If they try to, and are faced with another dog, a fence, a wall, a corner. Well, then they’re going to fight.

You cannot stand outside of a dog park for more than thirty minutes without witnessing at least one scuffle. I promise. And it’s not their fault. It’s not even that the dogs are aggressive, or that they don’t do well with other dogs. Most of those dogs would have no issue with dogs they know or in a more natural setting. But lock them together, and you’ve got a ticking time bomb.

There are no “dog park dogs” because NO dog is a “dog park” dog. Science, nature, instinct tells them not to be. Please listen to them!

Questions?

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Happy training!

— The Foundation Canine team