We visited the off leash dog park today, and being a weekend, there were at least 40 dogs there today. Every now and then Kipawa would venture far away from me with the other dogs. Being a bit of a nervous new mom, I called out his name and he came zooming back to me - kind of like reporting back to me about the activities that had just occurred. Hurray! Recall training is starting to work!

Kipawa made friends with everyone, except a barky Cavalier King Charles. Actually, none of the dogs liked it. His favourite friend was a border collie - they ran and ran together. A couple of times Kipawa went so fast, he lost his footing in the sand, and did a few log rolls. He bounced up like nothing happened. I am so glad that he isn't a confrontational dog. It makes taking him to a dog park a fun, relaxing time.

I also saw the biggest dog I have ever seen in my life - an English Mastiff. Tall and bulky, a ginormous head that looked bigger than a human head! I felt like saddling it and taking it for a ride. When Kipawa stood near it, he looked like a teacup sized dog.

I got my new camera (Canon) today, but I need to sit with it and fiddle before I can use it successfully, so no pictures today.

That's really great that he has such good recall, so young. Ayo recall is excellent when he is bored.. He tends to forget his name when he is playing around sometimes, although he does come over every once in a while and checks on me,. I just found out that there is a dog area they have set up at a park here called Mirador, its like the central park of santo Domingo, really big, only its not so central. I might go over there tomorrow and see what its like!!! Any suggestions for someone and some dog who's never been?

What a good basenji mom you are…no surprise to me! Can't wait for the photos.

@dmey:

That's really great that he has such good recall, so young. Ayo recall is excellent when he is bored.. He tends to forget his name when he is playing around sometimes, although he does come over every once in a while and checks on me,. I just found out that there is a dog area they have set up at a park here called Mirador, its like the central park of santo Domingo, really big, only its not so central. I might go over there tomorrow and see what its like!!! Any suggestions for someone and some dog who's never been?

For Kipawa's first time at the unleashed dog park, I brought him in a partial way on his leash. I wanted to see how he was going to act with many dogs approaching him. He initially did a little growl, which I corrected him on. I noticed he greeted each dog with his tail uncurled, which told me he was apprehensive, but was okay with being careful.

I do keep an eye on him all the time when we are there. You may know the temperament of your dog, but you can never be sure about other peoples' dogs. Call Ayo back to you every now and then to let him know you are there for him. I believe this gives a dog a sense of security.

If you have to keep your dog leashed at the park you are mentioning, I find that you will encounter some people and dogs that steer clear of other people and their dogs. As this leads me to believe someone in their pairing is lacking in interaction skills, I leave those folks alone. If I approach someone with a dog, I ask if it is okay for Kipawa to meet their dog. Again, my eyes are right on both dogs, watching their body language for any signs of a potential problem.

It's important though for Ayo to feel that you are calm and confident - it will help him feel comfortable meeting other dogs.. I hope you have a great time - let us know!

Very cool..I bet you are so proud..as well you should be.
Hurray on the new camera..we love our Canon..fiddle away, as we are loving to see new pictures…

We had a friend many years ago that had a English bull mastiff, Maverick...he was ginourmous...slobbery and very loving...he shook his head and slobber would be 5' up the walls...not my kind of dog, I like neat and not so messy dogs..but they are cool to watch...from a distance.:)

Thanks for the advice Kipawa,
we'll see how it goes. I am always alittle apprehensive about that. People here arent as conscious of dog behavior and they unknowingky encourage aggresion sometimes. Also I heard about the dog park because someone was telling me a story of how their dog attacked another dog!! So I am not sure if I want to take Ayo there. I think I might go by myself and check it out first.

I have also seen great improvement taking Mojo to the dog park. When we first started going, I did keep him on the leash- several people there with their dogs told me it would be better if he was off the leash- they said it would keep him more aggressive towards other dogs who came to check us out. I did find there was a lot of truth with that theory. Now that he is off-leash, he socializes very well with the other dogs. He played the greatest game of chase with 2 black labs the other day- Mojo ran them until they couldn't run anymore- it was hilarious and Mojo got to show off his speed and agility!!! I still watch him closely, as some breeds get him more aggressive than others. He seems to growl at Doberman's and pit bulls when they go near him, and for some reason, he tends to gravitate towards them. I think he's trying to play with them like the labs, but then he starts to growl and I'm afraid he is going to push those dogs too far- so I have to keep a close eye on him when certain breeds are around. All in all he has made a lot of progress going to the dog park and is much better with other dogs now! He is also very good about coming when I call him, even when he is playing with the other dogs, and likes to check in with me frequently. Next month he will have his first try at lure coursing- I think he will enjoy that! Wish us luck!!!

Kipawa sounds like he's doing brilliantly and the Dog parks sound like so much fun. I love to see Dogs playing together.
It can be scary too and i understand peoples concerns. Like you Fran i err on the side of caution and tend to keep her on the lead untill i have weighed up the situation as much as i can.
Malaika has realy good recall if there are no other dogs around but if she spots a new dog in the distance she will go, she will come back once she's checked it out but it can be a problem if the other dog isn't friendly.
I like dmey's comment about Ayo having excellent recall when bored

Mojo, good luck with the lure coursing

Ayo and I had our first day at the dog park. Im starting a new thread with some pictures!!!

With the way Kipawa runs, when he is fully grown we are going to take him lure coursing. I want all of his bones to develop fully before putting too much stress on them.