Yorkie Afraid of Local Dog Park

Dear Ollie,

 

Well, I finally made it to a dog park last week. While other dogs were running and jumping and chasing things in the park, I sat in the car with my nose pressed to the window. On the drive over to the park, my owners talked up the dog park as a place that I could exercise and they could spend a couple of hours with other people. Usually, people who go to dog parks are the very same people who like their dogs and they like other people who like their dogs too. Most regional dog parks are established, funded and cared for by dog owners. However, the one that I visited, Canine Country Club on Sturdy Road in Valparaiso, is owned and managed by Valparaiso residents Teri and Bob Gray. Bob is a teacher at Wheeler High School in Union Township and Teri works part time but with her degree in psychology, she is practicing what she knows in the dog park environment and admits that, “People are harder to deal with than dogs.” My owners bought a membership in the park and I was elated. Ollie, you must wonder how I know all these things. Well, I know what I know because I listen to everything that goes on in my house. That is how I learn.  The park is open from 7 a.m. to dark and Bob told my owners that it is a quality place for exercise and socialization. But so what? I didn’t get to exercise because I was in the car and never got out.  Well, maybe that is not entirely true. I was out once but I barked and scooted backwards and I wouldn’t stop barking or scooting no matter what my owner did.  Then, I was put back in the car for what seems like forever. 

Signed,

Twinkie, a very small Yorkshire terrier

 

Dear Twinkie,

In a perfect world, you still would not be perfect. If you were perfect, you would be so well mannered that you would play off leash and return to your owner at the first summons. It’s not a perfect world, and we already know that you are not perfect. So, we have fenced in dog parks and hope that the dogs attending are well mannered. Some dogs will never fit into a dog park environment like my brother Oscar because he barks at everything that moves. Or, my friend Rosie who hates dog parks because she finds the parks to be overwhelming and frightening. Dogs should already be well socialized before they are turned loose in a dog park, Terry said.

Writer Cheryl S. Smith wrote in a book titled, “Visiting the Dog Park,” that every dog owner should know their own dog.  Teri agrees. She has a special fenced in run on her 4.5 acres for very small dogs like you Twinkie, but many dog parks don’t encourage tiny dogs. The risks are many such as; being viewed as prey by a larger dog, being run over by large dogs playing or being tripped or kicked by dog owners who are not looking down at the grass. To enjoy the park experience both dogs and owners need to know the rules and follow them.



 

Remember, rescuing one pet can’t change the world…but the world will change for that one pet