On October 15, several dog park visitors and their people gathered at the Mad River Valley Dog Park in Warren to attend a primer on dog park safety. Led by Janine Manninen of Green Mountain Dog Camp, this session was the first of a three-part free series held at the park. With the topic of “How to Introduce Dogs at the Park,” attendees learned many useful strategies for introducing dogs to the park and managing them while there.
Eve Silverman, chair of the Mad River Valley Dog Park committee listed a few of them.
- Motion is magic! If things are getting tense, take the dog for a walk within the park.
- Keep a leash with to separate a dog, or let the leash drag for the easiest access.
- Where people gather, so do their dogs. If tensions rise with dogs crowding each other, move away from each other. Start walking with the dog to defuse the situation.
- When introducing dogs, nose to nose contact for three seconds should be the limit.
- The more often people come to the park, even for short times, the more opportunity dogs will have to get used to the dog park environment, and the calmer dogs and their humans will be.
- Spend some time training or walking dogs prior to arrival at the park to encourage dogs to be as calm as possible when they arrive. People can also walk their dogs outside of the park along the path to help them relax. Maninen’s rule of thumb is, “If you can’t eat you can’t meet” – if a dog is too excited to take food from the owner, they’re probably too excited to meet other dogs.
- Use treats for distraction and to reinforce positive behavior. Bring lots (kibble is a great option). The dogs will refocus attention on the treats rather than each other. Treat all dogs (ask the other owners first, as some dogs have food allergies).
- Try to discourage the welcome wagon at the gate. When a new dog enters the park, try to call other dogs away to give the newcomer a chance to get acclimated without being overwhelmed. Call out “Treats! Treats! Treats!” to get greeting dogs to leave the gate area.
- Use the “Small Dog” area as needed. This area is not just for small dogs. Use this zone to separate dogs out from each other to help manage the doggie chaos, or to let a dog of any size get acclimated to the energy of the park.
- Don’t hesitate to use a muzzle if in doubt. Dog owners can take it off after a dog settles in. Muzzles of all sizes will be available at the park’s welcome center for use while at the park.
- Take responsibility for the dog and make sure to always supervise them.
There are two more training sessions scheduled at the park for October 22 and October 29 at 10 a.m. They are free, and no pre-registration is required. Bring a leash, dog treats, and dogs.
Green Mountain Dog Camp will be holding additional training events in the future at the Dog Park. Stay tuned to the dog park’s website, www.mrvdogpark.com for more details.
The MRV Dog Park is located behind Brooks Field near Warren Elementary School. Take School Road to the top of the hill. Turn right onto the dirt road, pass the tennis courts and the skate park. The Dog Park is near the solar panels at the entrance to the Eaton Forest Trails.
