Kylie and the black Lab Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Jedda is now 4 months old and quite big (12kgs). She finished puppy pre school and is now at junior school. She is quite headstrong, but not aggressive at all. She just loves playing with other dogs whether they are puppies or not. She even played with an old cattle dog on our walk thismorning. I was wondering if she is too young to go to the off leash park in our area. What age do you think that dogs are ready for this?? She has just about mastered the command of "come" from a distance with distractions (she does it at Jnr school) Thanks!! Kylie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 If she doesn't have a reliable recall with distractions, don't take her. If you are prepared for the fact that some dog park users have absolutely no control over their dogs and yours could be subject to rough play, aggression or other unwanted behaviour then maybe when she's about 7 months old. I never take my dogs to public offlead parks. I prefer them to socialise with dogs they know and with owners that know enough to be able to read what's going on and control their dogs accordingly. Do a search here on "off leash parks" - they are not always the doggie wonderlands we'd like them to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 If i was you i would go down without your pup first to see what the other owners and dogs are like- how much control they have, how good the dogs are etc. We have an excellent off lead park that we used to go to but i'm hesitant to go to any that i don't know. You should also have a good understanding of dog body language and how to prevent problems when going to an off lead park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poodle wrangler Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 We have a local off-leash beach which my dog loves. Mostly, it's great, but I've seen a few fights between dogs who should obviously not be let off leash e.g. a staffy left bloody after she refused a larger dog that was trying to mount her . A bulldog had a go at my dog, but was quickly restrained by it's owner (thankyou!). Neither of us saw it coming. I've had to kick a dog in the head who had mine belly-up attacking him when I've been out elsewhere. Other dog was offleash with no-one in sight + mini poodle vs kelpie X wasn't a fair match. Other times I've distracted a larger dog that's come up with hackles raised by brightly saying "hello, pup" (even if it's a boofhead) and throwing a stick for them while calling my dog to my side. I don't want to be too negative, but just be careful and have treats with you in case your dog doesn't want to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 I don't take my dogs to dog parks much at all anymore. Our local one had gotten too nasty and bitchy and the control of their dogs was poor if not minimal. I set up puppy play dates with my dogs now instead so I know who they are interacting and socialising with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 I wouldn't take a puppy there....too many people with unsocialised dogs with no control who could seriously scar your puppy emotionaly. There are other ways of socialising Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidoney Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Especially when a puppy, you can set your dog up for a lifetime of fearfulness if your pup gets attacked by an out of control dog. It's nice to let the dog run off the leash, but the suggestion that you set up play dates with known dogs is a good one, and I'd be avoiding any dog I don't know. Or owner for that matter, we've had people come on here having had their dog kicked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsrules Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 I had to burried my pup after it got attacked in an off leash park. Definitely not recommended for a small breed pup. A mistake I will never make again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted March 2, 2007 Share Posted March 2, 2007 I take my dogs to a park, but it's not specifically for dogs, we don't have leash free parks in this shire, dogs can be off lead anywhere providing they're under effective voice control. Anyway it's a huge park, probably about 50 acres and if you don't want to meet another dog you can easily avoid them, in fact during the week there aren't many dogs there at all. I would never take my dog to any of the smaller off leash parks in other suburbs, as others have already said there are too many morons and too many out of control dogs and in a small area all the dogs are right on top of one another, an accident waiting to happen IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seapig Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 (edited) We are very lucky to have an off-leash park down the road from us. Most dogs are very well socialised. It's usually not the dogs that are the problem, its their owners - they are a clique and if new, you feel odd because they never ask for your name; just the dog's. I found that the owners are extremely snobby towards xbreeds. And they hate white fluffy dogs. The off-leash park gets muddy, dusty etc so not good for little white fluffy things. Certainly not a reason to hate them though. Our little staffy loves going there. She is 6 months old and she is very playful, however the other day a visiting dog - someone was looking after it for her daughter along with two other dogs ours is used to playing with, bit her ears. She yelped of course and I have never seen her walk so fast towards me for comfort, but I thought it was just a scare. When I got home, my shirt and my neck was all bloody after all the hugs. I cant believe the woman didnt tell me mine was bleeding because I carried on talking to her. No wonder why she left shortly after that! Despite this experience - only two weeks ago and has left her with a few scars on her ears (I am hoping the hairs come back), we cannot bear not taking her back. She loves it there. Good luck, make sure yours has been fully vaccinated and always keep an eye out for your dog's safety! 16 weeks and I'd say plus 2 weeks just to make sure she is able to fight all the silent nasties. Edited March 3, 2007 by seapig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 (edited) As others have said, depends on the dog and the park and the time of day and the weather and . . . . If you can find some other people with similar age pups in the neighborhood, and make a habit of showing up at a certain time, an off lead park can be a FANTASTIC place for a pup. As a Lab breeder, I generally advise puppy buyers to seek out a good dog park . . . or even better, a beach. Most Labs are naturally social and have good doggie manners . . . ie, they play well with all but aggressive dogs. And many experienced dog owners with social dogs will go toward you when they see you have a Lab. If you can protect the pup against over-rough / aggressive dogs, social life can and should begin when the vaccinations are fully active (usually two weeks after the last required vaccination . . .but consult your vet on that). In general, I'd say, bring a lead. Keep your eyes and ears open. Use the lead if you need to. And try various parks until you find one that is ok. Edited March 5, 2007 by sandgrubber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie and the black Lab Posted March 5, 2007 Author Share Posted March 5, 2007 Thanks everyone for your feedback. The reason I ask is that Jedda is at Junior school at the moment and she is definately a social butterfly, just loves playing with other dogs.... Can definately see that some owners are morons - even see that just walking her in our neighbourhood. I think doggy play dates are definately a better idea. She already has a "boyfriend" at Jnr school whose owner is keen for them to continue socialising once school finishes. Can you believe that the other morning a guy was walking a retriever and a cattle dog and was carrying a large pole. When they tried to lunge at Jedda on the other side of the road, he started hitting them to control them!! I was gobsmaked and yelled out to him how wrong he was to do that. I have a fair mind to follow him next time I see him, note where he lives and report him. As for Jedda, she wagged her tail, sat on command and I rewarded her with a piece of cheese. Positive reinforcement hey!! Cheers, Kylie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Don't take this the wrong way, but Labs are one of the breeds I am careful with with my guys, especially Kaos. Simply because they can be the run over jump on you lets wrestle now type of dog, and Kaos especially likes to get the know the other dog first. Diesel also prefers to wait til he says hi to play, but he tolerates being jumped on better than Kaos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reddii Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 Don't take this the wrong way, but Labs are one of the breeds I am careful with with my guys, especially Kaos. Simply because they can be the run over jump on you lets wrestle now type of dog, and Kaos especially likes to get the know the other dog first. Diesel also prefers to wait til he says hi to play, but he tolerates being jumped on better than Kaos. Agreed. We had a bad experience with Xena in the dog park ther other week. (Before we stopped taking her because CK came along - only two more weeks and they can both go back.) There is a young lab that shows up in the park where we go a couple of mornings a week. Gorgeous friendly dog, but out of control and likes to jump on the other dogs and wrestle - all good fun and Xena was having a ball until he caught her unawares. lesson learned for us - keep an eye out and as soon as anything untoward or an unknown dog shows up it's time to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mum 2 Bailey n Chelsea Posted March 6, 2007 Share Posted March 6, 2007 I would never take my pups to an off leash park.............some owners just can not control their dogs and I won't risk mine! I'm lucky that my parents have fully fenced property so they can run their. They also have play dates at least once a week with our neighbour. Mel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerpuff Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Yep, the only time I would go is if I knew that noone else was in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poodle wrangler Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 I've met a few pups who've had nasty scares when other dogs have played aggressively, or even bitten them, at our local dog off-leash beach. I don't think it's a good experience for them at a younger age. I've taken our new pup there only once when there were no other dogs there. Kept him close by at all times. I took a friend's labX to the same beach at 7 months of age, his recall seemed good prior to this, but could I get him to give up chasing someone else's ball? Noooo! Also, any kids at high risk of being bowled over. Regretted taking him off leash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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