Taking Your Puppy to a Dog Park

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     Dog parks are becoming quite popular and in fact, many people in cities around the world take their dogs regularly to dog parks. However, you should not take an unvaccinated puppy with you to a dog park, their immune systems are not strong enough to fight off viruses that they may come into contact with while in the park. Serious dog diseases such as parvovirus can spread from one dog to the next, especially when with puppies that are not vaccinated. Therefore, wait until your puppy has been fully vaccinated before you bring him or her to a dog park.

As soon as your puppy is vaccinated completely, and has all their puppy shots, you can begin taking the puppy to the dog park because it is a great way to socialize the pooch to other dogs. You will want to choose a dog park with a safe and secure fence and private dog parks are even better because most of these parks are kept cleaner and do not allow aggressive dogs. Therefore, choose the dog park you want to introduce your puppy to carefully.

It is best for your very first visit to the dog park with your puppy to go during off-peak house, such as mid-mornings during the week. Keep the first visit to about 15 minutes, which is long enough to introduce the puppy to a few other dogs while at the park. On your first visit, keep the pup on his or her leash, just to make sure there are no conflicts with any of the other dogs in the park. Dogs are like people, some of them bond well and others do not, therefore, keeping your dog leashed at the dog park initially is essential for their safety.

You need to make sure your puppy is fully trained to come when called, that way when you are at the dog park, you can let him or her off the leash and know that they will come when called. If your puppy does not always come when called, then you need to practice this until you know that regardless of the distractions, he or she will always come when you call them. This is very important in a dog park when your dog is off the leash because if there is an aggressive dog in the park, you can call your dog and get him or her on the leash or leave the park entirely.

A dog park is a wonderful social opportunity for your puppy, but only brings the pup when he or she is fully vaccinated. Keep in mind that while people are supposed to pick up after their dogs in the dog parks, they do not always do so, therefore, young puppies freshly vaccinated need to be kept away from dropping from other dogs in case there is any possibility of possible diseases that could be spread to a puppy with a weaker immune system. By introducing your puppy to a dog park, you are helping them to grow into a well-rounded and social adult dog.