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I have an odd situation that I am hoping that people can give me advice on.
I have been taking Trink back out to a dog park once a week to burn off excess energy. (I have recently moved and don't have a yard right now, which is where I used to let her do this.) She is fine on the trip to the park, but to get to the actual dog park, we need to walk past two playing fields. And during that part of the walk, you would swear that I was dragging her off to a fate worse than death She stops, her tail's tucked down between her legs, she will actually lean against me trembling. But when we get into the dog park, she does ok. She'll hang back at first, and doesn't really "play" with the other dogs, but she will eventually start wandering around greeting the other dogs and getting pets. Her tail will be back at normal position, ears up, and she will hang out with other dogs, either following them around or sometimes leading them. She just doesn't understand the swirling-around type of play that dogs do, and doesn't chase balls, so when the other dogs do that she wanders off to say hello to other dogs. And she will eventually go for a run, where last night she even had a few of the younger large dogs trying to keep up with her. And she is not at all keen to leave!
So... do I believe the initial impression that she hates going there, or how she acts when she is actually there? And is there any way of making the walk to the park entrance less of an ordeal?
The one thing I am thinking is that getting to the park, the way I go, involves shortcutting across a wide bed of wood chips. And that she may not like being on those. And that there is a lot of activity going on in the multi-use fields, which may be upsetting her. So... thoughts?
It sounds like the journey to the park is upsetting her, not the actual park itself. What breed is she? Some breeds are just more sensitive than others, sounds like you have a sensitive little girl on your hands. If she has fun at the park then I say keep taking her, maybe find a different route to get there and see if that works to help allay her fears.
froggy I would talk to her in an excited voice while exiting the car and all the way thru the park. I would also have a nice smelly treat in my hand closest to her nose and give her a nibble of it here and there.
I have an odd situation that I am hoping that people can give me advice on.
I have been taking Trink back out to a dog park once a week to burn off excess energy. (I have recently moved and don't have a yard right now, which is where I used to let her do this.) She is fine on the trip to the park, but to get to the actual dog park, we need to walk past two playing fields. And during that part of the walk, you would swear that I was dragging her off to a fate worse than death She stops, her tail's tucked down between her legs, she will actually lean against me trembling. But when we get into the dog park, she does ok. She'll hang back at first, and doesn't really "play" with the other dogs, but she will eventually start wandering around greeting the other dogs and getting pets. Her tail will be back at normal position, ears up, and she will hang out with other dogs, either following them around or sometimes leading them. She just doesn't understand the swirling-around type of play that dogs do, and doesn't chase balls, so when the other dogs do that she wanders off to say hello to other dogs. And she will eventually go for a run, where last night she even had a few of the younger large dogs trying to keep up with her. And she is not at all keen to leave!
So... do I believe the initial impression that she hates going there, or how she acts when she is actually there? And is there any way of making the walk to the park entrance less of an ordeal?
The one thing I am thinking is that getting to the park, the way I go, involves shortcutting across a wide bed of wood chips. And that she may not like being on those. And that there is a lot of activity going on in the multi-use fields, which may be upsetting her. So... thoughts?
Try taking her to the dog park at a different time of day when the playing fields are not busy and see if she is less worried. If so, then the source of her worry is the activity on the playing fields. One way to help her with this is to give her treats (as bushg suggests) as you walk thru this area. Then she will associate this area with "good things" and stop being so apprehensive.
I don't think the wood chips are a problem - I've never seen a dog exhibit any problems walking on wood chips. You can test for this by avoiding the "shortcut" and see if she is any different if you take the long way around.
The noise and commotion from the playing fields upset her. If there is another way into the dog park find and use that instead. Could help her reluctance to go.
Unfortunately, the dog park is in the very back rear corner of the park, so there is no way to get to it without going past the playing fields. And it may be that seeing other dogs on leashes bothers her as well.
But I will try the happy talk and smelly treats and see how that goes. If I can keep her distracted and moving I think I will have a better time.
I thought I would come on your thread instead of talking to you on the other. I saw your question yesterday, and I knew I had seen something on another site I go to. It's strictly an animal site, by quite simialar to AMHD. I tried to go on there to see if I could find the info that I saw about animals getting afraid when on walks. Unfortunately, their page was down, or I would've looked to try and help you out with Trinks problem.
What kind of a prob does Trink have with her neck? Poor baby!
Here's the link if you'd like to check it out! They actually have some awesome info on it and a forum also, so you can ask questions, and there are vets and experts on there too. Not to say that there aren't good experts on here too of course, but like I said it's strickly a pet site and they deal mostly with dogs.
Good Luck, and when I have time I will look for that particular Q&A I saw. I'm new to that site, so I haven't quite figured out how to navigate around myself.
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