Within American society, and probably other cultures as well, there seems to be an overwhelming belief that all dogs are social creatures. Unfortunately, this does not always translate to 'all dogs want to go to the dog park.' In working with hundreds of dogs, I'm constantly amazed by the number of owners who want to believe that their dog is a social animal. "Oh he's just grumpy." "He just doesn't like pushy dogs." Time and time again, I get owners who push and prod their dog and continue to put them in situations that frankly, the dog does not want to be in.

Consider this. How would you feel if someone took you from your home one evening and dumped you in the middle of a Linkin Park mosh pit? And then when you started to freak out, move way, and try and escape, they forced you to stay put and said "all people are social." The more people begin to think about themselves in their animal's place we begin to realize why not every dog wants to be romping around the dog park. Consider that most dogs in dog parks have probably had limited socialization with other dogs. Maybe not all of them are adequately able to to communicate with other dogs through posturing and body language. Often times when dealing with dog aggression, I find that the "aggressive animal" simply lacks basic social skills to communicate with other dogs. They may posture and move frontally with an erect tail...all signs to another dog to be careful. More often than not, we see dogs displaying inappropriate behavior to eachother in play, and quickly it turns into an outright dog fight when one dog misreads another dog and panics.

All this being said, you've now thrown your dog into the mosh pit and are aghast to find that maybe he's not so happy to be there. The lesson to be learned here is that owners need to be understanding of their dogs social needs. Some dogs are honestly more happy to be curled up beside you or fetching a ball in their own yard rather than be subject to the chaos that often ensues in some dog parks. How do you know if your dog fits into this category. Fortunately, its not very hard to read a dog who simply doesn't want to be around other dogs. One of the first signs to look for is whether they spend their time alone or socializing when put into social situations? If you introduce them to a dog on leash, do they avoid or ignore the other dog? Limited interaction is a strong sign that maybe your dog doesn't give a hoot about other animals.

 

Another phenomenon we find in owners is the desire to make their dog more social. How can one make this happen? While I don't believe that all dogs should be forced to be social creatures, there are ways to make your dog happier in social situations. Certainly this doesn't apply for dogs exhibiting severe aggressions or fears towards other dogs, but some social behavior can be taught. For dogs who are not interested in other dogs, you should place them in low-key social situations. Choose to go to the dog park during hours where it is not busy. Leave if too many dogs are in the park.

 

For dogs who act out inappropriately towards other dogs, often you should seek the intervention of an experienced trainer. Owners should be intune to their dogs body language to see why conflict is happening. Are you subjecting your dog to too boisterous of a dog? Are there too many dogs in the pack situation? There are many considerations when placing dogs into proper social situations. Often times conflict can be avoided by choosing the right playmates for your dog and teaching them basic social boundaries.