Fist time at dog park

[AJs Human]

I agree with reanultf1. Muzzling at a dog park would not allow her to defend herself or open her mouth to pant when she needs to. Panting is their air conditioning system.

[nobarkus]

Agree with all on this, forget that muzzle! Part of the fun dogs have too is mouthing each other. I have seen some people try to keep their dog on a leash and it's terrible. I tell them get that leash off quick or you better leave the park.

[Quercus]

Agree with all of the above. If Kit Kat doesn't like dog parks, she doesn't like them…a muzzle won't help. IME, most dog parks are a nightmare for most Basenjis. Out of control dogs, behaving badly, .....not good for our little orderly, structured thinkers

[Basenjimamma]

I would try to take her or both of them on a day where you know a lot of people won't be there, like in the middle of the day during the week..that way she gets the feel for it without a lot of stress.
If it doesn't seem to be her cup of tea, oh well, she won't even miss out when you take Eli.
It is fun to take them to dogparks, but unless they enjoy it, why even do it.

[Kananga]

@Basenjimamma:

I would try to take her or both of them on a day where you know a lot of people won't be there, like in the middle of the day during the week..that way she gets the feel for it without a lot of stress.
If it doesn't seem to be her cup of tea, oh well, she won't even miss out when you take Eli.
It is fun to take them to dogparks, but unless they enjoy it, why even do it.

+1

I've taken Kananga to the dog park a few times. It seems to be a bit overwhelming for him and he doesn't seem to be happy while he's there.

He's much more happy around the property here at home, socializing with his doggy friends that he has met before.

Not all dogs will enjoy themselves in such a high volume environment.

[KitKat]

Thanks for all the advise,it is helping. Im not sure if I want to take her there, she kind of gets stressed out when we go to the pet store. She seems to like staying at home. Eli on the other hand really likes to go there. He has let me know when he is ready to go home. I think I will keep taking him as long as he like it. It will help keep him social. My daughter has taken Kit kat out for leashed runs on the hiking trails aound here she has enjoyed that so we will keep doing that with her.

[Kananga]

@KitKat:

Thanks for all the advise,it is helping. Im not sure if I want to take her there, she kind of gets stressed out when we go to the pet store. She seems to like staying at home. Eli on the other hand really likes to go there. He has let me know when he is ready to go home. I think I will keep taking him as long as he like it. It will help keep him social. My daughter has taken Kit kat out for leashed runs on the hiking trails aound here she has enjoyed that so we will keep doing that with her.

The key, similar to how humans are treated for phobias, is to gradually expose them to their phobia. This is why I'm a big fan of play dates. It allows those dogs that have social phobias to gain social exposure slowly by having supervised time with another dog that he/she might not be as familiar with.

[Loki_Freya]

We go to a large local dog park about once a week. Loki loves to play with all the other dogs and he will flit about from dog group to dog group, instigating wrestling matches and chases. In the mean time, we will walk or run laps around the park with Freya, who is really not into the whole dog thing. She is much more human oriented and will approach just about everyone for pets and cuddles. So Loki enjoys the park for the rough-housing, while Freya enjoys vising with all the humans that have been abandoned by their dogs.

Loki & Freya's Mom

[cruzinszn]

I would say, stay away from dog parks! I took my dog the first time, and because an owner of another dog pet my dog. The dog got jealous and started a fight. Their were three dogs in the fight and the dog that caused the damage to her dog disappeared, and the result was I was sued. Thank God, we won because we didn't have a "chow mix" which the other owner had said we had! Anyway, you never know what the dogs are going to do, and just like children, they will get out of line sometimes.

[torchsong]

She-Ra goes to our local park at least twice a week. It's a nice area with a sectioned-off area for smaller dogs or if a dog is having "behavior issues" you can take it in there if there's no other dogs. A lot of "regulars" maintain law and order if a dog owner is getting out of line (allowing their dog to bully, etc.). She enjoys it.

1. Runs in to do her business really quick.
2. Sniffs everyone, but hates it when other sniff her. There'll be the occasional "give me space" growl if too many dogs get around her at once and sniff.
3. Spends most of the time sniffing and standing in the middle of the park staring like a statue at something. Then you get the eventual chase going - those are always fun because the other owners are like 'Oh, She-Ra's gonna get caught!' and I grin and say 'No she's not.' as she runs circles around all the other dogs. I love watching my dog run…it's poetry in motion.
4. After about an hour she's pooped and ready to go back home. We've had very few incidents with her that haven't been swiftly fixed. She seems to enjoy going quite a bit, and we're making friends with some of the regulars...I guess we're fairly regular now by this point as well.