Dog parks and doggie socialization

lol, ok, right forgot where you live! Even the human parks aren't as nice, lol
In that case yes, DEFINITELY burn off energy BEFORE you let her 'loose' in that arena, hahaha
I also find that the more often your dogs go to a dog park the better they get at the interaction with others, and what is polite and what is not, aka not everyone wants to get herded, go figure? Toffee can't help it when the big Oafs (big Pits, large Rotties and a bazillion crazy labs) are wrestling and running all across the fields in one big ball of mayhem ... lol he HAS to herd them, and they don't really notice he is doing it, I swear they laugh and roll their eyes at him being FUN POLICE again ... and they keep going, SO a very good recall is a MUST so that if Bailey is impolite you can redirect her to you, and make her sit/stay be on leash for a half a minute if she is being in obnoxious puppy mode ;)

Also I would never pick up my dog at a dogpark, that's usually a reward for being obnoxious and also elevates her dominance because of her now elevated status in your arms... could make her more aggressive? I totally think redirect and good obedience will be key :)
Good luck, and keep doing it, a dog needs exercise daily! Especially a little cutie ball of energy like her :)
 
Toffee's Mom said:
lol, ok, right forgot where you live! Even the human parks aren't as nice, lol
In that case yes, DEFINITELY burn off energy BEFORE you let her 'loose' in that arena, hahaha
I also find that the more often your dogs go to a dog park the better they get at the interaction with others, and what is polite and what is not, aka not everyone wants to get herded, go figure? Toffee can't help it when the big Oafs (big Pits, large Rotties and a bazillion crazy labs) are wrestling and running all across the fields in one big ball of mayhem ... lol he HAS to herd them, and they don't really notice he is doing it, I swear they laugh and roll their eyes at him being FUN POLICE again ... and they keep going, SO a very good recall is a MUST so that if Bailey is impolite you can redirect her to you, and make her sit/stay be on leash for a half a minute if she is being in obnoxious puppy mode ;)

Also I would never pick up my dog at a dogpark, that's usually a reward for being obnoxious and also elevates her dominance because of her now elevated status in your arms... could make her more aggressive? I totally think redirect and good obedience will be key :)
Good luck, and keep doing it, a dog needs exercise daily! Especially a little cutie ball of energy like her :)
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hmmm good point about picking her up. She usually wiggles and squirms to get out of my arms. She has a decent recall, so I'll call her over and put on her leash for a little time out.

Yea she definitely needs the dog park. If I didn't take her then I know she would have a fear of dogs. She was afraid of dogs before she went to the park. It took her about 5 times before she got over her fear and now she's just crazy lol
 
If her recall is good, then work on "settle" once she's come back to you. There's another thread on "settle in the forum.

"Settle" is "take a deep breath and calm down, and then you can go play again". I use it on my boys when their play has gone over the top!
 
Okay, new question. I've noticed Buffy does this showing her teeth/snappy thing sometimes when she plays. She was doing it with her doggie friend in our building just now... she often was doing it with the play bow or while sitting. What does this mean? Is this bad behavior that I should stop?
 
It's Sheltie play. But not necessarily ALL dog play.

You need to be able to settle her down if the other dog does not want to play her games.

There are many times when Bacca wants to play and Indy doesn't. So I redirect Bacca to me. And put him into a settle.
 
Diana,

A lot of Shelties will do "alligator teeth" when playing... they make a very loud snapping sound and you see the teeth, but the rest of the dog's body language/behavior is saying "come on, let's PLAY!" Sometimes they seem to do it out of mild frustration ("you're not playing enough with me", "you're not giving me a cookie fast enough"). If this sounds like what your pup is doing, it's no cause for concern, though she might grow out of it.
 
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