Dog park woes - YorkieTalk.com Forums

linz06 · 10-22-2007, 08:24 PM

I have been HOUNDING (no pun intended!) my boyfriend to take me and Layla to the dog park. I'd never been there before, and his border collie goes every weekend! So a couple weeks ago the day finally came where he said "Hey, let's go to the dog park!" Layla hasn't been getting out of the house much lately and I was excited for the chance for us both to get out and get some exercise and for her to socialize and have other dogs to run and play with since she has always been so playful, but none of the dogs she's been around ever wanted to play!
First of all I took her to his house. His older dog, a sheltie, apparently doesn't like other dogs

She growled at poor Layla so she got put outside. K.C., the collie was a little apprehensive, sniffing at Layla's face and then running away. I didn't expect them to play right away so I was glad they were getting to know each other.
Finally, at the dog park, Layla didn't want anything to do with ANY dog. They'd come up and sniff her and she'd run between my legs, or jump up at me for me to pick her up. She completely ignored everything and would wander into the tall grass or sniff along the bottom of the fence and wouldn't come when I called. She wouldn't even run around with the little dogs.
I thought, oh she'll get used to it. We were there for 2 hours and nothing changed. We took her again this past weekend for a couple hours and it was the same. She actually seems SCARED of other dogs. If one comes up behind her she sits down so they can't sniff her butt. If they get closer, she lays down. If they get even closer, she rolls over on her back. This is of course, if I'm not RIGHT there for her to hide behind.
Layla seems to be more interested in the people there than the dogs. How do I reassociate her with dogs? She used to love being around dogs, and now she's just different and I don't know when it happened

I want her to have a good time and run around and play!
I know after just two trips she might still be getting used to it, but is there anything I should be doing to make her feel more comfortable? Maybe it's just overwhelming, but last time there were only 2 or 3 dogs there for about the first hour and we hardly even saw them!

sweetr72 · 10-22-2007, 11:19 PM

Frequent visits will help..when we go to the dog park Reece does the same thing..at first..then what I do is walk the park with the other dogs..throwing balls to the big ones and pet them..soon Reece sees the fun he is missing out on and joins in with them..if I were to pick him up like he wants me to then he would always want up..but I kinda ignore him and interact with the social dogs...he soon gets the hint..dont bring her toys though..she might get jealous if she sees other dogs playing with her toys...see if the park supplies balls..or bring a ball Layla has never seen before..at first though..take a nice stroll around the park..usually all the dogs follow the newbie to see what they are up to lol..

Dawn

kalina82 · 10-23-2007, 03:14 AM

i agree, don't given in to he and pick her up or baby her. Let her walk around and let the other dogs sniff her. keep going back. It may take a while but eventually she'll come around. Sometimes it just takes a persistant puppy to get them in to the game. talk to the other dogs and people there to show her that the other dogs are ok and they just want to play. Morgan is submissive too and rolls over for a lot of the other dogs but after that she plays with them like crazy. i'm hoping she'll eventually stop rolling over and become less submissive.

Ivhana · 10-23-2007, 03:53 AM

We have the exact same problem with Brody. It's a little scary. He doesn't like the other dogs sniffing him. He tries to run away from them. The bigger dogs seem to think it's a game and try to catch him. It freaks him out even more. I'm afraid it will excited the bigger ones too much and he'll get hurt/attacked. He ends up peeing on the run trying to get away from them.

Does something like that get better? He use to love meeting other dogs until some bad experiences in our neighborhood. I was hoping the dog park would help him become more social. It seems to make it worse.

grayxie · 10-23-2007, 05:36 AM

Does your park have a small dog only section? Alot of big dogs running around and sniffing her can be very overwhelming. Eventhough Chip is [I]OK[I] with big dogs, he is allways more comfortable in the small dog side. Also there is a lot less fighting on the small dog side, at least at our park.

TatumsMom · 10-23-2007, 07:18 AM

Tatum has done the same thing at the two Houston meet-ups we've gone too. I was afraid she was just stuck-up!

At home around our big Australian Shepherd, she's the alpha! She also plays with my husband's uncle's dog from next door - she's a Border Collie. I just chalk it up to the fact that she's so used to big dogs and seems to be scared of the small ones. She's done that at the ballpark too..... wants to play with the huge ones but is scared of the little ones. My advise is to just keep trying.

linz06 · 10-23-2007, 07:18 AM

We don't have a small dogs only section, but even when we're in one corner of the park and only small dogs are around, she seems scared of them. Last time I went, I took treats with me. Every once in awhile if there were no other dogs, I'd start running and get all excited for her to come with me and she did actually run for a little while. Then I'd stop and praise her and give her treats. But, if we were running and another dog came by, I'd look back and she'd be stopped and cowering on the ground

I do play with K.C. a lot because he always has his ball there, he picks up sticks and runs around, he plays with other dogs. I think maybe she should spend some more time with just K.C. since he's okay with her and maybe if she becomes more "friends" with him, she might go play like he does.
Actually, after the last time we went, K.C. came back to my house while my boyfriend and I had lunch. We were sitting there eating and Layla approached K.C. They sniffed at each other, and her tail started wagging. She ran away and he followed her until she went under the couch. But it seemed like that might be a start. She's not terrified of him.
Thanks for everyone's advice. I'm not going to give in to her anymore and pick her up when she wants me to!

shelbell77 · 10-23-2007, 10:58 AM

Sometimes its just a matter of what they are used to. When I had my lab mix, she'd never been to a dog park until we moved to California and she was like 10 years old then. I was so excited to have someplace like that to go, but she could care less about the other dogs. She did enjoy running around and visiting the people...but had no interest in the dogs. I kept taking her...it was about 3 years after we moved there before she passed on...but she never showed any interest in the other dogs.

10-22-2007, 08:24 PM	#1
linz06 Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,154	Dog park woes I have been HOUNDING (no pun intended!) my boyfriend to take me and Layla to the dog park. I'd never been there before, and his border collie goes every weekend! So a couple weeks ago the day finally came where he said "Hey, let's go to the dog park!" Layla hasn't been getting out of the house much lately and I was excited for the chance for us both to get out and get some exercise and for her to socialize and have other dogs to run and play with since she has always been so playful, but none of the dogs she's been around ever wanted to play! First of all I took her to his house. His older dog, a sheltie, apparently doesn't like other dogs She growled at poor Layla so she got put outside. K.C., the collie was a little apprehensive, sniffing at Layla's face and then running away. I didn't expect them to play right away so I was glad they were getting to know each other. Finally, at the dog park, Layla didn't want anything to do with ANY dog. They'd come up and sniff her and she'd run between my legs, or jump up at me for me to pick her up. She completely ignored everything and would wander into the tall grass or sniff along the bottom of the fence and wouldn't come when I called. She wouldn't even run around with the little dogs. I thought, oh she'll get used to it. We were there for 2 hours and nothing changed. We took her again this past weekend for a couple hours and it was the same. She actually seems SCARED of other dogs. If one comes up behind her she sits down so they can't sniff her butt. If they get closer, she lays down. If they get even closer, she rolls over on her back. This is of course, if I'm not RIGHT there for her to hide behind. Layla seems to be more interested in the people there than the dogs. How do I reassociate her with dogs? She used to love being around dogs, and now she's just different and I don't know when it happened I want her to have a good time and run around and play! I know after just two trips she might still be getting used to it, but is there anything I should be doing to make her feel more comfortable? Maybe it's just overwhelming, but last time there were only 2 or 3 dogs there for about the first hour and we hardly even saw them! __________________ Lindsey and Layla, Lucy, and Kash

10-23-2007, 03:14 AM	#3
kalina82 Phantom Queen Morrigan Donating Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: with my yorkie baby Posts: 10,141 Blog Entries: 1	i agree, don't given in to he and pick her up or baby her. Let her walk around and let the other dogs sniff her. keep going back. It may take a while but eventually she'll come around. Sometimes it just takes a persistant puppy to get them in to the game. talk to the other dogs and people there to show her that the other dogs are ok and they just want to play. Morgan is submissive too and rolls over for a lot of the other dogs but after that she plays with them like crazy. i'm hoping she'll eventually stop rolling over and become less submissive. __________________ Kellie and Morgan

10-23-2007, 03:53 AM	#4
Ivhana Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: VA Posts: 286	We have the exact same problem with Brody. It's a little scary. He doesn't like the other dogs sniffing him. He tries to run away from them. The bigger dogs seem to think it's a game and try to catch him. It freaks him out even more. I'm afraid it will excited the bigger ones too much and he'll get hurt/attacked. He ends up peeing on the run trying to get away from them. Does something like that get better? He use to love meeting other dogs until some bad experiences in our neighborhood. I was hoping the dog park would help him become more social. It seems to make it worse. __________________ Ivy, Mommy to Brody!

10-23-2007, 07:18 AM	#6
TatumsMom Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: TX Posts: 2,799	Tatum has done the same thing at the two Houston meet-ups we've gone too. I was afraid she was just stuck-up! At home around our big Australian Shepherd, she's the alpha! She also plays with my husband's uncle's dog from next door - she's a Border Collie. I just chalk it up to the fact that she's so used to big dogs and seems to be scared of the small ones. She's done that at the ballpark too..... wants to play with the huge ones but is scared of the little ones. My advise is to just keep trying. __________________ ~ Angie

10-23-2007, 07:18 AM	#7
linz06 Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,154	We don't have a small dogs only section, but even when we're in one corner of the park and only small dogs are around, she seems scared of them. Last time I went, I took treats with me. Every once in awhile if there were no other dogs, I'd start running and get all excited for her to come with me and she did actually run for a little while. Then I'd stop and praise her and give her treats. But, if we were running and another dog came by, I'd look back and she'd be stopped and cowering on the ground I do play with K.C. a lot because he always has his ball there, he picks up sticks and runs around, he plays with other dogs. I think maybe she should spend some more time with just K.C. since he's okay with her and maybe if she becomes more "friends" with him, she might go play like he does. Actually, after the last time we went, K.C. came back to my house while my boyfriend and I had lunch. We were sitting there eating and Layla approached K.C. They sniffed at each other, and her tail started wagging. She ran away and he followed her until she went under the couch. But it seemed like that might be a start. She's not terrified of him. Thanks for everyone's advice. I'm not going to give in to her anymore and pick her up when she wants me to! __________________ Lindsey and Layla, Lucy, and Kash

10-22-2007, 11:19 PM	#2
sweetr72 No Longer a Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 6,111	Frequent visits will help..when we go to the dog park Reece does the same thing..at first..then what I do is walk the park with the other dogs..throwing balls to the big ones and pet them..soon Reece sees the fun he is missing out on and joins in with them..if I were to pick him up like he wants me to then he would always want up..but I kinda ignore him and interact with the social dogs...he soon gets the hint..dont bring her toys though..she might get jealous if she sees other dogs playing with her toys...see if the park supplies balls..or bring a ball Layla has never seen before..at first though..take a nice stroll around the park..usually all the dogs follow the newbie to see what they are up to lol.. Dawn

10-23-2007, 05:36 AM	#5
grayxie Donating YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Dresher, PA Posts: 2,779	Does your park have a small dog only section? Alot of big dogs running around and sniffing her can be very overwhelming. Eventhough Chip is [I]OK[I] with big dogs, he is allways more comfortable in the small dog side. Also there is a lot less fighting on the small dog side, at least at our park.

10-23-2007, 10:58 AM	#8
shelbell77 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Normal, IL Posts: 157	Sometimes its just a matter of what they are used to. When I had my lab mix, she'd never been to a dog park until we moved to California and she was like 10 years old then. I was so excited to have someplace like that to go, but she could care less about the other dogs. She did enjoy running around and visiting the people...but had no interest in the dogs. I kept taking her...it was about 3 years after we moved there before she passed on...but she never showed any interest in the other dogs.