"The answer to 'How do I make my dog be comfortable in a dog park?' is you don’t. You honor your dog's feelings on this, and you realize that not every dog was meant to be a party animal.
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Unfortunately, the real damage that is done there is not so much to the confident dog. Clearly, it was confident enough to deal with it, but to the small dog that walks away thinking, Aha, see how this works, right? See how tough I am. Because it's only a matter of time. My famous phrase tick tock. It's only a matter of time. Every time something happens to a dog that was kind of predictable behavior, that's what I say. Oh, well, tick tock. The clock was on that one because it was going to happen. When you have a dog that does that over and over again, they're going to end up that's somebody barking. They're going to end up running into the dog that won't take that crap off of them.
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Interrupting play might feel counterintuitive, but it's a vital skill for any dog owner. Kim highlighted the need to stop play when a dog starts targeting another dog instead of the toy. Laura echoed this, mentioning her positive reinforcement strategy of rewarding dogs for staying close and not engaging in unwanted chasing. Kim further elaborated on teaching a "stay" command during ball play, ensuring all dogs get a turn without triggering unwanted chases.
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Ever watched your dog gleefully wrestling with a furry friend and wondered, "Is this fun, or is it about to turn into a rumble?" You're not alone! In a fascinating episode of the "Doggie Dish" podcast, expert dog trainers Laura Bourhenne from Animal Attraction Unlimited and Kim Reinhart from Your Canine Educator dive deep into the nuanced world of dog play, particularly the often-misunderstood realm of roughhousing.
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