TAKING A PUPPY TO A DOG PARK : 
MAX of MillionDollarPetPix.com interviews Susan Sharpe, professional dog trainer and inventor in late January 2008 - The following is an excerpt from this interview. For the full interview, please download the audio file above.
MAX: Susan, as professional dog trainer, how do you feel about puppies going to dog parks?
SUSAN: Well Max, since all puppies go through 2-known fear periods there is certainly a risk to taking them to a dog park. We recommend not taking a puppy to a dog park until the puppy's owner has done their homework.
Some of this homework may include visiting the dog park without your puppy and documenting who is there and at what times. This way you get to know what times may be more comfortable to introduce your new puppy into the area. When you do find a small group of friendly puppies and/or dogs introduce yourself to their owners. Explain you have a puppy who, is in need of socialization and ask if you might join them.
Dog parks are a great place for people to socialize as well, and often, due to different work schedules, the same people and their dogs will appear at the same approximate time of day. Ideally the group will consist of 3 to 6 puppies and/or dogs.
Once you are confident you’ve found a friendly group of puppies and/or dogs bring your puppy to the dog park and allow your puppy to meet the others by asking the group if they would hold their dogs and allow your puppy to introduce him or herself to one dog at a time, this will help your puppy from feeling overwhelmed by being rushed by the entire group. Do this off-lead to prevent either dog from becoming tangled in the leashes and allow them to sniff each other.
Watch for any form of a play bow from either day, which is, canine body language inviting the other to play. You will likely see a full body shake, similar to when you give your dog a bath and he or her shakes off the water, this body shake can also be a way of releasing stress and informs the other dog he or she is not there to do harm. Other stress signs likely seen will be yawning, turning their head slightly away from the
other dog, instantly sniffing the ground and so on. Another solution would be, if the park had a Puppy Area for puppies, 4.5-months and under.
Puppies need proper socialization there’s no doubt about it and the more the better. However, if a puppy would be attack by a dog-reactive-dog it could do long term damage that may not surface right away. Taking a few months to even a few years. The fear could possibly cause the attacked puppy to eventually become dog reactive himself as he ages. A better scenario would be an attacked puppy would quickly recover on its own or if he himself became reactive it could be worked through using a proper desensitization program coupled with positive reinforcement.
As you can see there is a risk to taking puppies to a dog park, but if the owner does his homework before the puppy goes then those risks can greatly be reduced and the benefits of socialization to other friendly puppies and dogs can be the best thing you can do for your new puppy.
MAX: What should you do if you see an argument develop between two dogs and your puppy in the park?
SUSAN: Immediately pick your puppy up, but do not allow your own nervousness to show. Instead throw it a little puppy party, as you would lighten the air with a child who is startled when they bump themselves slightly, by laughing and acting silly so the puppy will not sense any danger, instead your puppy will think “oh, yet another fun game, I love it here!
MAX: What should you do if another puppy or dog actually snaps at your puppy?
SUSAN: First of all don’t panic. If you’ve done your homework correctly it’s more likely to be a warning snap to educate the puppy his pushiness needs to end. If your puppy is being a typical bouncy “in your face puppy” than the adult dog is probably telling him, in canine language, to back off, enough is enough. He might do this by snapping at the puppy, pinning the puppy to the ground for a few seconds, but there would be no bite. The adult dog would use total and complete bite inhibition.
To someone who has studied canine body language this would not be a big deal. In fact, friendly adult dogs can and do teach younger puppies how to become good adult canines. These dogs may actually be doing you a favor with their education. The problem is how many pet owners truly understand canine body language?
Let’s say you have a friendly adult dog who has just told off a young pushy puppy. The owners who do not correctly understand canine body language usually panic and immediately jump in breaking it up. The puppy owner feels sorry for their scared puppy and coddles him. The dog owner sternly corrects their adult dog. What has both canines learned?
1. The puppy has learned other dogs can be dangerous and his belief is solidified when his owner begins acting abnormal with his or her fussing over him.
2. The adult dog is scolded by his or her owner for giving proper canine correction and therefore may make the association… puppies in my personal space causes my owner to scold me therefore I will take steps to prevent other puppies from getting to close to me. How does one dog prevent anything from getting to close? They begin to give a hard still stare followed by a growl, snap and/or bite. Here is a case where a dog-friendly-dog is unintentionally taught by well meaning owners to become puppy and maybe even adult dog aggressive.
MAX: So what should a new puppy owner do to socialize their puppy if they don’t want to study canine body language in addition to doing their homework prior to taking their dog to the local dog park?
SUSAN: Since puppy socialization is critical to all puppies, every puppy owner should find a positive reinforcement puppy class that includes off leash playtime, regardless if they join the local dog park or not. These classes may teach puppy sits, downs, etc., but their main goal is to socialize the puppies coupled with building their self confidence through positive reinforcement.
Keep in mind, puppy development has a window of opportunity and once it closes it’s closed for ever. Good puppy classes will only allow puppies 16.5 weeks and younger to enroll. There are some puppy classes who may allow puppies up to 5 or 6 months, but after that it will never be available again. So it’s very important to enroll your puppy in a good puppy class as soon as possible.
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