Why Do Dog Trainers Hate Dog Parks So Much?

Earlier this week on social media, I posted and shared a graphic (reprinted below) about the many problems of dog parks, including spread of disease, unsuitable & improper social interactions, increased aggression and behavior problems in dogs who frequent these parks regularly and the list goes on.  

This is not a new theme for me (or many other professional dog trainers).

However, in spite of repeated messages and warnings and shared internet articles, etc., I know many of my clients still frequent dog parks - and often admit to doing so sheepishly, when asked about it.

Sharing the graphic resulted in a lot of "Hear! Hear" agreement, and a few dissenters.  

One dissenter in particular, had the essential argument of "Let dogs be dogs."  However, this particular person frequents beautiful, large, unfenced, open dog beaches - a very different proposition than the cramped, often dirty, overpopulated urban dog parks of my area.

When dog parks first began, in 1983 in Berkeley, CA, I probably would have agreed with the idea of letting dogs get out and stretch their legs and be dogs.

However, the dog parks of today are completely different (at least where I live, work and train dogs for a living). There are too many cramped, fenced, well-over-capacity urban dog parks teaming with all of the issues listed in the graphic posted below.

A little history of both myself and my dog park experience: While dog parks may have begun in CA in 1983, they didn't become popular for quite a while (again, at least where I live & train).

I began training dogs professionally in 1990, and the first dog park didn't arrive in my area until 1997 - this seems to be true for most of the middle of the country, with trends starting on the coasts and moving inward.

Even then, the dog park in question was HUGE - multiple acres with hiking trails and side yards - and used by just a few people. The dogs would do exactly as Joe describes - meet, sniff, and generally either ignore each other, or have a short romp and return to interact with their owners or other humans there. There was of course the very limited, occasional scuffle once in a while, but the dogs had ample room to get away from each other if they wanted, and most were busy being dogs - which meant sniffing and exploring, not trying to interact with each other constantly.

Fast forward 27 years to today's urban dog parks: There is an urban dog park 1.6 miles from my dog training facility. This particular park is small, at less than 2 acres, gravel, not grass (hard on the feet), & chain link fenced. There is little-to-no shade, and no benches or seating for the humans - all a far cry from the lush beaches and sprawling, grassy dog parks so many people envision.

Now - if there were only a few dogs who frequented the place occasionally, sure, fine...great place for apartment-dwelling dogs to get out and stretch. But the place is regularly packed - 20 to 40 dogs at a time. It reeks of urine. There have been multiple dog attacks and more than one death due to fighting. It's basically a prison movie-of-the-week for dogs, and the only exciting thing about it is wondering who'll get shanked next.

Ok, perhaps I'm some hysterical, control-freak, as my dissenting commenter would have you believe. But let's again look at some hard & fast numbers:

I have trained dogs professionally for nearly 34 years. I have owned, trained, and raised 36 personal dogs (I say this because anytime someone says they've grown up with dogs and owned a lot, they usually have! But for the average human 'a lot' is often around 10 to 15 dogs over a lifetime), and I have evaluated and trained over 8000 dogs - and the trainers under my guidance have trained another 700+ dogs.

That is a lot of dog experience! I will grant that I am probably more sensitive to the fall out from dog parks and current dog culture than the average pet owner.

In fact, the trainers of Front Range K9 Academy and I just talked about this - discussing that yes, probably 90% of the time when dogs who don't know each other get together, they 'work it out' and things go fine.

BUT my training staff and I (and all of the other professional trainers in the U.S.) see the 10% that don't work it out.

We have seen a steady (400%) increase in dog aggression and reactivity cases in the last 15 years or so. That increased number is not normal, and should be a clear signal that something is wrong.

Dogs don't evolve that fast, so there must be an external factor, or factors.

Dog parks like the one I describe above are very likely one of those factors.

Dogs, as they mature, are like us - their social circles close and they have a desire to be intimate with those they are close to - whether that is humans or other dogs/animals. Dogs are social creatures. Humans are social creatures. But we desire INTIMATE social interactions (like play) with those we know - NOT with strangers. Forced social intimacy with strangers is weird and stressful, and compounds over time.

Does that mean dogs can't meet and get along with new dogs? Of course not, but the dog park is a HUMAN invention, with unnatural, forced social interactions. And tiny, fenced in parks don't allow the room to keep that stress to a minimum Study after study of all sorts of animals tracks how stress rises in overpopulated situations.

Some breeds (hounds, sporting breeds) most likely do fine in more packed social settings - we've selectively bred them for centuries to work and live in large packs. But herding and working breeds, and terriers may be a different bag of snacks all together - we've selectively bred these dogs for centuries to be 'in charge'...

Add to that, when entering a modern urban dog park, an owner has no idea of the level of social etiquette, what breed mixes, what training, nor what health care and immunizations any given dog there has had.

And add to THAT the simple fact that dogs ARE territorial. If frequenting the same dog parks all the time, the likelihood of some territorial instincts kicking is a relevant issue. (Ask any doggy daycare staff what happens when the same dogs come to daycare too often...)

Now - add it all up: We have a mixed bag of breeds and breed mixes, ages, sizes, and temperaments of dogs who are NOT related, are NOT a pack.

And we're simply going to roll the dice, bank on that 90% number I pulled out of my hat, and hope it will all be ok.

No thanks.

Life is full of risks. Every time you get in a car and drive somewhere, you have a chance of a wreck. Every time you take your dog out in public, something *could* happen.

But, there are risks you can choose and those you cannot. Going to the dog park is a risk that can be chosen or not chosen - and one I advise strongly against.

I'd rather my puppy owners and my dog training clients do what people did BEFORE the invention of dog parks...train your dogs. Walk your dogs. Work your dogs. Play with your dogs.

It's not the job of the dog park, or the dogs & people of the dog park to exercise and socially stimulate your dog.

It's yours.

The original Dog Park graphic mentioned above, posted on FB by stateofmind_dogtraining.

Jennifer Hime is the Owner & Training Director at Front Range K9 Academy in Wheat Ridge, CO.  She has been training dogs in Colorado professionally since 1990. Jennifer can be reached through K9counselor.com.