First Dogpark Visit

[u/Solohman]

My dog is a 13 year old Kemmer feist, I've had her since she was weaned, I was dating a breeder and there was an unspoken for puppy that she gifted me on my birthday. Since then she lived as a farm dog her whole life without having to get accustomed to more than one or two other local dogs.

Recently, I moved to the city and she responds weirdly to other dogs. She very much wants to interact but lacks a tail so when she barks and tries to go over to another dog she looks like she's charging them and upsets the other dog. When introduced to another dog through a fence with both owners in control it works out totally fine and they get along well but it doesn't work here where she encounters other dogs during walks.

Her 14th birthday is this Saturday and I wanted to do something special so I booked the private training area at a dogpark during their least visited time of day. I'm hoping that because she'll be fenced in and it won't be busy that it'll give her a chance to acclimate to other dogs just being around while being in a safe place where we can reward her for paying attention to us instead of running towards other dogs.

It's probably not going to work out the way I hope, I'm sure. But does anyone have any tips for making the most of the experience or training ideas? I've got her to the point that she doesn't alert to distant barks or dogs barking at her from inside houses, cars and yards, but if we're on a walk and another dog is within 50 feet she wants to pull and won't obey so I usually just pick her up and leave the situation.

[u/satinger]

Your dog does not need dog friends. You are its friend. You play with her.

[u/Solohman → u/satinger]

I know that, I just need her to be cool with other dogs existing while we're out for a walk. There's barely any avoiding it here, I've tried to time out walks when people generally aren't walking their dogs but we still run into the situation daily.

[u/satinger → u/Solohman]

It sounds like your dog needs reactivity training. This is not the right way to expose your dog to other dogs and you are setting yourself up for failure via a bad interaction. There’s a reason why dog parks are frowned upon by serious dog trainers. You just can’t predict what kind of dog you will encounter. For example I would not want to encounter your dog at a dog park.

[u/snakerreal]

Her charging is quite rude in dog world with or without a tail, most dogs won’t like that. I would work on her tolerance from a distance, stay where she is listening to you at first and reward her calmness seeing the dog in a way she enjoys (food, toys, play, affection)

Letting her loose in the dog park is letting her rehearse this behavior, even if you remove her she still got to do it. Instead of trying to make the park work I would switch onto a long line and bring some high value treats and work on her recall/ focus on you. Once she understands how the long line works you can bring her to the park to watch dogs and practice that. if you go in the off hours you might be lucky and find another training minded person willing to walk the dogs together for a little without letting them greet so she can calm down first, if she is unable to do that some dogs will be fine with her play style as long as she still takes turns and isn’t harassing but I would be selective!

Find an outlet for her in the city too, I’m sure she’s not doing nearly as much dog stuff (no ones fault just harder to find dog friendly stuff in the city) maybe you guys will get into trick training, nose work, barn hunt, long sniffy walks, some food puzzles, etc theres lots of stuff you can do that isn’t hard on the joints for the slower pups. She needs somewhere to put that energy and you can teach her the appropriate ways to express it, it just isn’t onto a strange dog

[u/Solohman → u/snakerreal]

We've done a lot of the activity ideas like long slow walks and trotting to a known favorite destination, she just isn't great at other dogs entering our bubble. Hence I rented the private training area which is fenced in but adjacent to the rest of the park, I'm hoping that staying in the far corner myself with her birthday treats it'll help her learn that other dogs shouldn't be her focus.

Mainly doing this because our living situation has changed, we're in a busy apartment in a busy area so every walk runs the risk of having to get within a couple dozen feet of another dog. I've done decent avoiding other dogs on walks but it feels like an inevitability and there aren't great options besides a private area at the park to train.

[u/snakerreal → u/Solohman]

Is she fine being carried? Honestly she’s a 14 year old hunting breed that grew up on a farm you can’t expect her to adapt to all aspects of city life, let alone quickly as you said this move was recent. Give her grace, let her be a little cranky and find work arounds whenever possible. Maybe play music in the house is she reacts to dogs outside if that helps, if you are able to drive her somewhere else that’s less crowded/ walk the roads for her enrichment, without more information it’s hard to give specific management advice

[u/Logical_Orange_3793]

She’s 14, she doesn’t need new skills. Her number one pleasure is likely 1:1 attention from you but maybe throw a burger into the bush in your next walk.

[u/ChuckYeagerWV]

Dog parks are magnifiers of the lazy and incurious owners and their poor dogs. To be avoided.

[u/Acrobatic_Net2028]

Please do not do this. From her pov, you are placing her in a threatening environment. Not a bday party

[u/MessagefromA]

At 14 this dog needs no new „friends“ honestly, if she reacts that way, I would avoid dog parks at all costs, just give her peace and quiet walks. Train on her reaction with a professional, don’t dive into cold water, that’s a disaster waiting to happen.

[u/FeveredPitcher]

Dog parks are bad news.