The dog park can be a controversial topic in the dog world. Read our take on why we think it’s best to skip it all together.

1. Your dog doesn’t want to be friends with every dog

Trust me. Your dog is probably content with you, your partner, your kids, your other dog, cat, etc., in his or her life. Most dogs do not want to welcome in other dogs or strangers into their “pack.”

Eeesh, I said it. Pack.

They like their social structure the way it is, so why add to it?

Your dog really only wants valuable time with you, so go play fetch or go for a nice stroll instead.

2. Your dog is not a child

There. I said it. Your dog is not a child.

Playgrounds are great! We take kids there to play, have fun, learn to share and be kind, and hopefully grow into caring, sharing adults. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way in the dog world. We can’t just take dogs to dog parks so they can make friends and learn to share their ball with others.

You see, dogs are hierarchal animals. There’s no reason to dive down the dominance theory or start discussing wolf packs or anything, but we have to be aware of this fact. There is a hierarchy in the dog world. So, when you throw a bunch of dogs together who don’t know each other and force them to coexist, there will most likely be some conflict as they try and figure out the social hierarchy structure of that area.

Imagine the hierarchy as a ladder. Each being (and humans are included in this!) can only occupy one rung on that ladder, and there’s not an unlimited number of spots available. Some dogs are lower ranking dogs, and are happy to occupy those lower rungs. Just tell them which one, and hope there isn’t another dog vying for theirs, and they’re good! Others, like the middle ranking dogs, always want to occupy a higher rung, so imagine

3. Dog fights happen

Let’s piggy back off that last topic, hierarchy, and the fact that dog parks are not the same concept as our children's playground.

There are a myriad of reasons dogs may fight, and rank is absolutely one of them. Imbalanced dogs without any guidance from the humans might also fight over toys, balls, the water bowl, you, and even space.

Dogs aren’t “reasoning” beings. They won’t just talk about their feelings and ask for forgiveness either. They’ll fight it out if there’s not a dog or human telling them otherwise, so why would you want to submit your own dog to that potentially dangerous scenario?

4. Your dog’s an ahole**

Your dog is causing all the problems. He’s a bully.

Have you ever been yelled at by other dog owners because your dog was caught pestering another dog? Chasing another dog while it’s playing fetch? Humping another dog? Starting drama and causing fights?

Hello! Remember we talked about the middle-ranking dogs. You’ve got one, and he’s an a-hole, so stop taking him to the dog park. You might understand why after reading the next point.

5. Behavior fallout

I hear this story weekly when discussing problem behaviors with potential clients.

“We’ve had our dog since she was a puppy. We’ve done all the right things. We went to puppy socialization class (more on that topic another time), the dog park; she was so great with dogs!

When she turned about a year and a half old, she started lunging and barking every time she saw another dog on our walks. We stopped taking her to the dog park because she can’t behave there anymore, and now we can’t even take her for a simple walk in the neighborhood. HELP!”

So here’s what’s usually happened. That puppy was pressured. A lot. By people, other dogs, pressured by life! Some puppies are resilient enough to overcome this. Those well-balanced, bomb-proof dogs that can be affected by nothing (lucky you, if you’ve got one of those). But most do not have the nerves to handle all that pressure. So one day, when she’s beginning to hit sexual maturity, she growls or snaps at the dog who went too far - and the dog backs off, or maybe the owner pulls the dog away. She thinks, in much simpler dog think, “aha. I just figured out how to control my environment. And now when I see a dog, any dog, I’ll be as big and loud as possible to keep all the dogs in the environment that bother me, at an even greater distance away.” Insert whatever else that bothers your dog and you’ve got the same situation.

It’s like fireworks are going off in your mind, I can see it. Makes sense, right!?

Now, that dog moves through life trying their best to control their own environment, all because of a few bad moments at the dog park...

Now, it’s not to say that the dog park (or puppy socialization class) is the only place this can happen, but the correlation between the rise in dog park attendance, and the rise in “leash aggression” is pretty astounding, right?

So, if you don’t want to deal with the behavior fallout later, or if your dog is the a-hole of the party, steer clear of the dog park before it’s too late.

We promise, you’ll thank us at some point.

5 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Bring Your Dog to a Dog Park - EVER