[Pattyemo]

Hey There... Im curious to see if people are still frequenting dog runs. My Vet and trainers tell me to avoid them I've always socialized my dogs in the past and enjoyed the activity for them and myself. They do have monitored play areas in my town with indoor dog activities, once my pup is fixed im going to check it out--hopefully once she gets some good manners i'll be back in the dog park.

 

[Adara]

By dog run do you mean dog park? If so, I'd say use with caution IF you decide to use them. I have used them on and off. I'm very very very careful. If I even THINK there might be a trouble dog that came inside, I leave BEFORE anything happens. I won't risk it. I get to the park and watch to see what kind of dogs and owners are there. Many a time, I've turned around and gone back home.

My youngest Vizsla was attacked (no physical damage done) by an adult male Malamute when he was about 9 weeks old. He was PETRIFIED of dogs and even though I enrolled him in three different puppy school classes, he needed more work. We went 3-4 times a week to dog parks. And again often I ended up leaving. I went to various parks in the area until I found the one that seemed to be the best.

 

[katethegreyt]

I pretty much avoid them.

We have a little one very close to our apartment that is rarely used, so we go to that one from time to time. But there are rarely more than 2-3 other dogs in there at a time (we typically have it all to ourselves), so it's easy to get a feel for the play styles. It's also usually frequented by the same dogs, so we know which ones do well with our dog and which don't. Even there, I always am relatively close to my dog and am ready to remove her/get between her and another dog at the first sign of trouble.

I would never take our girl to a bigger/busier park, honestly. Too many careless owners and poorly behaved dogs. Too risky, in my opinion, though I have a lot of friends that have had great luck with them. Also, with certain breeds (dobes, bully breeds, etc.), you also run the risk of being considered at fault whether it was actually your dog starting the trouble or not.

For people that do like to use them, it's super important to really know your dog and his body language as well as have an excellent recall in place. Dog park dogs should also have a pretty flexible and calm play style. I see so many dogs at dog parks that obviously don't want to be there (nervous or fearful dogs or dogs who just don't enjoy playing with lots of other dogs) or dogs that are downright rude - these types of dogs can cause major problems. Our dog really doesn't enjoy having to deal with rude dogs, so she's usually just as happy to be on a leash exercising with us.