Bingo 1st Dog park experience

phong919phong919
edited July 2009 in General
So i took bingo to the dog park yesterday and he was very passive when he was in there. there was a mix of big dogs and small dogs. I thought he would be super excited but the other dogs didn't want to play with him. When i take him for a walk and when he sees a dog on the street he gets really excited, is there something wrong with him?

Comments

  • tsukitsunetsukitsune
    edited July 2009
    No there isn't something wrong with him, there is something wrong with the whole situation - its an incredibly overwhelming experience for such a young pup to be tossed into the mayhem that is the dog park. Bad experiences can mold his reactions to future situations.

    Read this thread:
    http://www.nihonken.org/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=4453

    I'm not saying you or your dog are necessarily in this scenario, but its worth a read... your pup is still young enough that all of his experiences leave a major impression. Choose those experiences wisely!

    Can you maybe find a puppy socialization group via meetup.com? Or do you know anyone to have smaller playdates with until your dog gets more confident around other dogs of varying age/energy/size/etc.?
  • CaliaCalia
    edited November -1
    Tikaani was the same way with his first dog park romp. There are just so many dogs there that it can get overwhelming at first. All Tikaani would do was hide between our legs or between the legs of the nearest person should we walk away with out him noticing. After a couple of visits, he got more comfortable and eventually started to enjoy beating up the other dogs.

    My advice, for now, make the dog park visits short and as positive as possible. Try to keep in the quieter sections of the park, he will be able to watch the dogs from afar and won't be bombarded by a lot of dogs (just the one or two who are passing by). Eventually he'll get comfortable enough to become curious of what the other dogs are doing and want to check them out.

    Just remember not to force him into playing or interacting with another dog if he doesn't want to. That'll just make him even more scared of other dogs.
  • phong919phong919
    edited November -1
    He just turned 5 months. I wanted to bring him to the dog park again next weekend. Is that a bad idea?
  • phong919phong919
    edited November -1
    Calia - which dog park do you bring tikanni to? i wanted to bingo to meet other shiba to help him socialize.
  • WrylyBrindleWrylyBrindle
    edited November -1
    or puppy kindergarten class? It is more important that his socializing is fun and positive than that you do it every day, too. Don't get caught observing too much- don't be afraid to intervene or leave. you are the only ally bingo has in the big world. Don't trust him completely to figure it out for himself and leave it up to him. Take an active part and teach. Allow him room to find things out, but when the question mark goes over his head, teach before someone else teaches him something you disagree with.

    I have been advised that you put an imaginary bubble on a plastic sheet for every good experience puppy has, all the positive experiences add up to bubble wrap, protecting him from bad experiences affecting him very much. One good = one bubble, but one bad is like grabbing the bubble wrap and wringing it out one hard twist- popping a lot of the bubbles, leaving him vulnerable to the next event. Build up a LOT of bubbles (controlled encounters that end happy) in your bubble wrap before risking exposure to a bad time. That way when a bad thing happens, he is not hurt much (he had good bubble wrap) and he thinks- Wow! THAT's not the way it USUALLY goes- what a freak event! and moves on.

    You probably don't let just any person hold your puppy, don't let just any dog meet him either.
  • CaliaCalia
    edited November -1
    Being that we are out in Suffolk, we take my boys (Tetsu is a Shiba, Tikaani is a Siberian Husky) to blydenburgh park. I co-organize shiba meet up events with Joe and Dawn (Shimaurashibalover92) through a shiba meet up group based in Manhattan. They have a chapter that also has meet ups in Brooklyn and I think Queens. Here's the links:

    http://www.meetup.com/nycshibas/
  • cmmookiecmmookie
    edited July 2009
    When Mookie was a puppy, we would only take him into the <25lb. dog park. This way he was only around dogs that were slightly bigger than he. We also had him enrolled in doggy daycare 3x a week and they too had their facilities divided into a small dog section and a larger one.

    We didn't bring Mookie into the large dog section at the dog park until we realized he was getting a little rough with some of the tiny dogs. He was just playing, but some of the little chihuahua and other small breed owners would get scared that he was going to hurt them. This was at around the 1 year mark. Occasionally we still go in the small section so he can practice being gentile with the tiny dogs.

    Hopefully Bingo can become more comfortable at the dog park, maybe in a smaller area. Just don't rush him into situations that might be too risky for him. Like Jen and Beth said, you want him to have only positive experiences! :)
  • LisaWLisaW
    edited November -1
    You dont have to read the whole of my thread (the link which tsukitsune posted)because its not exactly the same like your little fellow but what wyrly brindle wrote should be in your mind everytime you are meeting other dogs!!!

    And make sure that he learns to play/interact with all kind of dogs (long-haired, short-tailed etc) because there arent only shibas on the street :)
  • phong919phong919
    edited November -1
    tsukitsune - Thank you for your comment. I'm currently are looking for other playdates for bingo on the weekend. Hopefully i can find other shiba playdate.
  • CreamyShibaMomCreamyShibaMom
    edited November -1
    Sorry I forgot to mention Chris Morley Park has only one area...there is another park under the throgs neck bridge that has a small dog area, but it's REALLY small with tiny dogs, and with the fire and the bridge I don't know how easy it is to get to now. Personally I don't like the one under the bridge, I feel most of the owners I met there didnt really care what their dog was doing / harrassing.

    Socialization is great for your dog, but don't forget you are his protector, when the situation looks bad or he's clearly unhappy, take him out, don't wait for him to get hurt b/c that will stick with him for life. And don't forget not all dogs like dog parks, and that's OK too.

    The Bylendburgh park Calia mentioned is really good as well, if you don't mind the drive out there. They have a nice size small dog area, and a HUGE large doggy area.
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