Hi Tasia. I see that it has been a couple of years since you posted but we are in the Lehigh Valley and have a Basenji mix who would love a play date. He is only 3 years old though, so you know.
Dog parks in your area
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We goto the dog park in Wheaton Maryland in Wheaton Regional Park. Its close enough that we can walk there during a longer walk.
As far as taking dogs to the dog park, I enjoy letting them walk around and do their own thing as opposed to when we go for walks and they alway have to do what I say on the leash. The funny thing though is that they just stay around me anyway and just watch all of the other dogs. They will go around and sniff other dogs but will not play with them. They prefer to watch all the action near me. If another dog gets too in their face or friendly with them they ether let out a long growl or a hard sniff and hop away. This lets the other dog know that they don't appreciate that, if the dog doesn't get the clue thats when I will step in. So far no problems.
Its also interesting the totally different way they interact with dogs there, totally calm. When they are on leash they go nuts and scuffle with each other if they even seen a dog, so I think its good for them to become more socialised so hopefully I can eventually break them of this habit.
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There are 5, well maintained off leash parks here in Minneapolis-St. Paul and I consider them a God Send. Luxor gets more run time than I could give him in a hundred walks and comes home hungry, happy and tired. He's been beat up a couple times and the rough play is hard to watch sometimes, but the benefits far outweigh the scratches. Lux runs the park, interacting with every dog and running to greet every new arrival. I can't wait for it to get above freezing so we can go romp. We want to come to B heaven in Tampa!
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Ha Ha…I suppose it is basenji heaven. It was 43 this morning in Tampa and Caesar was shivering in his fleece sweater....
Can't wait for it to warm up again...
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-4 this am, moving to a high of +5. It's out, pee-pee, poo-poo and back in very fast!:eek:
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HA HA, it's
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43 degrees would be SUMMER here! We're dealing with 6 and windchills of below zero :eek :eek:
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I say all the basenjis up north come down to visit Tampa and hang out for the winter….snowbird basenjis....
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Nala and I will be on the first flight outta here…
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Great dog park in Groton, CT on Rt 184.
I suppose that I can understand why you might be nervous letting a Basenji off leash around other dogs. That is just not the case for us.
Our 3.5 year old basenji is a rescue that had at least 2 previous owners and was not socialized to other dogs at all. When we first got her she would not let another dog within 25' of her. We had to wait for times at the park when only a few dogs were there. It was very difficult to bring her to the park then because it would literally be an hour or more of growling nonstop. We kept it up because we didn't not want a mean, aggressive, dog.
For the longest time she would not even move farther away than 10 feet from us. Slowly she got used to it though and would venture a bit further away and begin to interact with other dogs. About 6 monthes after we started bringing her (and this was 3 or 4 times a week at least) she got comfortable enough that she would actually play. The first time I saw her play bow at the park was a thing of beauty.
Now (1.5 years after getting her) she plays and runs (some) and interacts. She is still aloof, but she is so much more social than we ever thought whe would be. The only time I hear her growl these days is when it is a puppy that is spastic and doesn't yet understand the body language. Only when she is pushed a bit does she even growl now, where before it was a given if she even caught sight of another dog.
These are social and active animals and it breaks my heart to think of them not being allowed the chance to run and socialize. If you're new to the dog park scene but want to try it, I recommend taking your B when there are only one or two dogs there (try a weekday at lunchtime) and going for very short periods of time. As your B (and you) gets use to it, increase the times that you go. You as the owner can always gauge the mood of the other dogs. If they are too rough then leave and come back some other time. Trust me, with the temperment of our older dog we have to do that all the time!
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that is a great story! If any of you can post pics of your parks that would be great as well!!
the Macpack often visit the Davis Island dog park in Tampa. It is an extra special park because it is on the beach and the fence goes into the water so dogs can swim if they want too!
Caesar loves this dog park in particular because it is different from his usual haunts. He will chace the retrievers into the water, just to run with them. Once he gets in, he realizes he doesnt like water and runs back out!!
I am looking forward to getting Cairo to the park. His puppy energy level wears me out!! Our dog parks allow pups at 12 weeks, but I will wait until he gets that final series of shots just to be extra cautious.
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Guy doing? Luxor is digging the snow and all that is winter. His new best friend is a 7 mo Great Dane named Sammie. I know the puppy energy is intense, but I do miss those precious early days. Enjoy! Mark n' Lux
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Great dog park in Groton, CT on Rt 184.
UnluckyDB-I'm not too far from your area…in NJ to be exact.
I LOVED your story. Our two dogs have serious issues with other dogs (mostly resulting from an attack) but I'm so happy there's hope & I'm going to give your idea a try. Maybe first just hanging out in a dog park to see & just keeping it up consistently until they relax.
Thanks for giving us fearful doggie owners some HOPE
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Well I have to admit once again I'm new to the doggies park area but this weekend I took my B to a small park and discovered a small area enclosed I'm assuming for dogs although my B's head fits through the bars. Anyway someone was inside with what looked like a pit bull and champ seemed like he wanted to play so after the other owner's invite we proceeded to enter. I was nervouse(you know the whole pit bull thing and of course going off the leash but I decieded to let them mingle) The owner assured me his pit was friendly) Well they sniffed and then the other dog started chasing champ in circles. I couldn't tell if he was enjoying it or not but then the other dog just kept on barking in poor champs ears so I decided it was time to go. Well champ kept looking around and trying to find the dog so I don't know does that mean he was enjoying the play. Honestly my heart was beating a mile a minute and it was honetly to much for me but I don't want my own fears to step into champs natural environment that he might me craving. I take him to a bigger park now always on a leash and let him interact with other dogs and he absolutly loves this. I do wonder thought if another dog barks does this mean it's happy or yelling, kind of a dominance thing? I wonder what champ feels like when he hears barking and he can't bark back?
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well a pit bull is a challenge for a first time at the dog park….i probably would have done the same and it is always wise to be cautious when dogs are off the leash.
usually a good dog park (fenced, I mean) will have two areas distinguished by dog size.
start with the small dog pens and if you feel comfortable try the large.
i have found in my experience with dog parks that there are different types of play. i am not sure if it is based on size or breed.....
typically I feel that the large dogs tend to be more mouthy in play and are a bit rougher.
basenjis will box during play which I have seen in the smaller breeds.....
if you are unsure, dont risk it.
barking can be talking....watch your basenji for the signs....hair standing up on their back and neck means they are showing they are a larger dog, scared, excited.....tense.....if their ears go down.....you may want to try a different form of socialization first
just stay in control...use your mommy eyes, stick with your instinct....caution is always best....
basenjis are capable of being with large breeds, but start small and work to your comfort level....
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Yeah it's funny though because other dogs don't seem to get him. He sniffs then waits to be sniffed and kind of plays the staring game and then the boxing gloves comes on. He's so cute I love when he plays like that
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I find that Caesar loves bird dogs and labs because they will chase him.
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My experiences with the nearest dog park (in Des Moines, IA) have been wonderful. Jenny is good with everyone, and I was worried because she was a little leash aggressive when we first got her (7/06), and she is a play biter. There were 20 dogs at the park the first time we went, and she was excellent. She likes to tear around as if to say "try and catch me" and so far no one has. She does this roll-on-the-ground maneuver when she wants to chase the chaser, and the chaser runs over her as she picks up in hot pursuit. We were just there last weekend and there is mud and standing water everywhere and she LOVED it. She chased Betty (lab-mix) in and out of the water…
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Any in Colorado that anyone knows about? I've never actually seen one.
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Dogster.com had two listings for Colorado. I don't know if they are close to you or not.
Grandview Dog Park
17500 E. Quincy Ave.
1/4 mile east of Buckly Rd off Quincy
Aurora, CO 80013Dog Park at Tony Grampsas
44th Avenue & Salvia
Golden, CO 80401 -
Thanks jensilson! That provoked me to do a google search (since neither of those are very close and there's a website dedicated to dog parks (coloradodogparks.com) and apparently there's TONS of them around here. I'll have to check one out…maybe (I'm still a little scared).
