Dog parks may be the best thing to enhance pet ownership since the creation of kibble.
Owners eagerly accompany their pets because they know a rip through the dog park means a healthier and less destructive pooch.
And in dog-loving Colorado, more than 50 parks are open sunrise to sunset, including seven in Denver, with two more scheduled to open downtown and at Lowry.
But don’t be fooled by the idyllic scene of a dog joyfully running in the park, chasing balls and canine cronies. It’s a dog-eat-dog world within those park gates.
As off-leash recreation grows in popularity, what pet owners know about their pet – and themselves – could mean the difference between a fun park experience and a tragic one.
Owners must know the unspoken rules of the dog park, like cleaning up after their pet, being aware of aggressive animal behavior, and keeping their dog vaccinated.
“An etiquette falls into place among owners,” says Dorothy Schepps, 63, who has taken Romeo, her Brittany spaniel, to the park in Stapleton for two years. “The dogs will just be themselves. But it’s up to the owners to control their environment.”
Self-policing by regular visitors often ensures pets being picked up after. Owners are quick to yell for cleanups or hand out bags to wayward owners.
“People who don’t pick up after their dog is my biggest issue,” says Val Allen, 52, who frequents several area parks with his Korean Jindo dog. “If you bring a dog to a public place, you need to respect it, other people and other dogs.”
Dog-park regulars often are on the lookout for aggressive dogs.
For example, pet owners at Berkeley Park near Sheridan Boulevard and Interstate 70 are known to ask owners with difficult or overexuberant dogs to leave, says Doug Kelley, director of Denver Animal Care and Control.
“This kind of peer pressure is one of the most unique phenomenons to develop at a dog park,” Kelley says. “The regulars don’t want to lose the privilege of having the park.”
Like proud parents, many owners want their pets to be the most friendly, well-behaved Lassie on the block.
“But not every dog is capable of playing well with others in that situation,” says Suzanne Hetts, a certified applied animal behaviorist.
Hetts says she does not take her two dogs to the parks much anymore. One is too shy, making it a prime candidate for being bullied, while the other tends to be aggressive with other animals.
She also cites a recent tragic situation at an Aurora dog park. New owners of a Siberian husky took their dog to a park only to have it make an immediate beeline for a toy poodle within seconds of walking into the park.
The husky snatched the smaller dog up and violently shook it, killing it. The husky owners were fined $75. (Owners of the husky and the poodle could not be reached for comment.)
Hetts, who has given testimony in civil suits involving aggressive dog attacks, says the owners had the husky for only two weeks.
That’s not enough time for an owner to know how his or her dog will react in a park where issues of dominance, submission and prey may be strong, depending on a dog’s breed type.
In Boulder dog parks, dogs are required to be under voice control, Kelley says. Rangers will come by and ask owners to call their dogs to them. If the animal doesn’t respond, the owner will be ticketed.
Denver is slightly more lenient, requiring all dogs must be supervised or under a handler’s control at all times.
Owners also should assess whether their dog is a good candidate for an off-leash park before even going there. Although experts agree that the dog has to be socialized, owners should not try to socialize them in the park, they say.
Dogs can be enrolled in a puppy preschool class such as one offered at the Denver Dumb Friends League or pet stores that offer training classes.
“It’s nice to begin with dogs in some small group settings in rising numbers before you take them to the park,” says Laurie Thornton, a veterinarian at Deer Creek Animal Hospital in Littleton who specializes in dog and cat behavior.
“That’s like dropping a wallflower into a monster cocktail party. They probably won’t have a good time.”
And when things do get a little hairy, owners must recognize the signs when their dog is stressed.
“I don’t think most pet owners have any idea what to look for in their dog’s body language and behavior to know when trouble is brewing,” says Hetts, whose business, Animal Behavior Associates, developed a video teaching veterinarians and animal shelter staff how to identify and respond to what dogs communicate through their body postures.
And owners need to know about their own behavior too. Their over-reaction or under-reaction to simple dog behavior could cause more problems than it solves.
“Sometimes it’s the people who need behavior modification,” says Mario Bell, 43, whose 10-year-old rat terrier Digit ran with the big dogs as if she were 50 pounds instead of her actual 13 pounds.
“I saw a woman walk into a park once carrying a small dog. When another animal jumped on her leg to sniff the new dog, the lady kicked it and the owners argued.”
Because self-policing is such an important part of dog park etiquette, another unspoken rule is owners keep their pets vaccinated before they visit.
A recent bout of kennel cough, which broke out at dog parks, has many area veterinarian offices and doggie day care services on alert, underscoring the fact that owners should keep pet vaccinations current. The same holds true when it comes to ensuring your pet is spayed or neutered.
When Roc Lowry, 28, got his 4- month-old border collie Karma, he waited until the veterinarian said it was OK.
“You have to be aware of what illnesses are prevalent in your area,” Lowry says. “The vet said parvo is a big deal in Colorado, so I wanted to make sure Karma had all of her shots.”
Dog owner Merri Mullennix, 34, equates the ideal dog park experience with dating. “First, you have to meet a guy and get to know him a little better each day,” Bissell says. “You don’t just take off to Morocco the first day you meet him.”
Staff writer Sheba R. Wheeler can be reached at 303-820-1283 or swheeler@denverpost.com.
Tips on safety, etiquette at dog parks
Suzanne Hetts, animal behaviorist and co-owner of Animal Behavior Associates, shares five tips on etiquette and safety at dog parks. See all 20 of her tips at
animalbehaviorassociates.com/dog_park_etiquette.htm.
“Recognize that by taking your dog to a dog park, you are accepting a degree of risk that your dog may be injured or may injure another dog,” Hetts says.
1. Be knowledgeable about dog body postures, communication signals and social behavior. You should be able to recognize stress, tension, fear, play, threats and aggression. Know the difference between play (which can be very active and sound violent) and real threats. Know when to intervene and when to stay out of an interaction among dogs. If you feel uninformed about canine behavior, learn more before taking your dog to a park. Harm can come to your dog if you underreact as well as over-react.
2. Have realistic expectations about your dog’s suitability for going to a dog park. If he isn’t polite or friendly with others, get help to change his behavior before you take him to a dog park. Dog parks are not a place to rehabilitate fearful or aggressive dogs or those that just don’t know how to play well with others.
3. If your dog has never been around other dogs before, don’t go to a dog park until he’s had a chance to be around other dogs in other situations so you have a better idea of how he reacts to other dogs. If you aren’t sure how your dog will behave, don’t be ashamed or embarrassed to muzzle your dog the first few times he goes to a dog park. Better safe than sorry.
4. Supervise your dog. This is not the time for you to be distracted talking with other owners or burying yourself in a book. You must monitor your dog’s activities and other dogs’ behavior toward your dog. Do not take your small children or babies in strollers to a dog park. You cannot adequately supervise both dogs and kids at the same time.
5. Know how to break up a dog fight. Direct Stop, a harmless but effective citronella spray or a small hand-held air horn are your best bets. Don’t scream and yell at your dog, try to pull her off by the collar, or get in the middle of the fight. This only adds to the general arousal and greatly increases either the dogs’, or your, chances of injury.
Know signs of your dog’s behavior
Laurie Thornton, a veterinarian at the Deer Creek Animal Hospital in Littleton, says owners must be able to detect teltale signs of dog behavior. Here’s a few indicators she often tells her clients to be aware of:
“Basically body language-wise, you will see the same things going on in canine greetings as you would see during a human greeting,” Thornton says. “Humans stand up at a comfortable distance, make eye contact, break eye contact, smile and reach hands out to touch each other. That’s what dogs do too. They don’t stare directly at each other, they don’t loom or encroach and they don’t show weapons.”
1. A wagging tail indicates a willingness to interact for good or for evil. A fast wagging, happy tail is a good sign, especially if it’s accompanied by play gestures such as bowing, where the dog’s head goes down while his rear end goes up. The dog may paw at his own face or at the other dog’s face, bounce sideways and dash away to solicit a chase. A slow, deliberate wag accompanied by a stiff body posture and a glare does not portend well.
2. If you see another dog approach your dog and it does not show play gestures, you need to watch that interaction more closely. Dogs normally will sniff each other under their tail because there scent markings are located there.
3. Usually dogs who have their ears forward with a relaxed happy look (slack jawed, lips are relaxed and pulled back into a smile) are in a good place. But if their hackles are up and they are staring in a tight-mouthed, intense way, things could be about to get out of hand.
4. Showing weapons (or growling with teeth exposed) requires immediate intervention.
