What to do after a bad altercation at the dog park?

[Alex & Mattie]

Hi All,

Mattie is 8 months old and pretty well socialized.  She loves other dogs and we've been going to the dog park since she was 5 months old and it's been great.  This evening she had a couple of dogs, who she had been playing with nicely, all of the sudden start to chase after her and bit her ears.  She's fine, there was no blood and I really don't think they bit her hard.  I think she was more just scared than anything else.  I stayed to let her calm down, gave her comfort and encouraged her to go play with another dog who had just arrived.  She did and they played really well together but she was definitely sticking by me a little more than usual.  I let her play for a good 15 minutes with the other dog and then we came home.

My question is what can I do to help this be a non lasting trauma aside from going back to the dog park soon?  I want her to continue to love other dogs and be confident and playful.  Tips?  Thoughts?  Thank you!

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I think you're doing the right thing by not making a big deal of it and encouraging her to play with other dogs. Our Lucy had a bad experience at the dog park when she was about 7-8 mos.old and a large dog came barreling at her and rolled her pretty badly. She was pretty shy/scared after that and we took her to the 'little dog' section of the dog park the next couple times to get her confidence back up. It really worked... she loves little dogs. She was back to her old playful, confident self in no time. To this day at the dog park when she's not running and playing with her little bro, Oscar, she's walking right between my husband and me (while Oscar is off investigating other dogs). Not that she lacks confidence, but that's just where she likes to be.... suits us just fine.

[Alex & Mattie]

Thanks Debb.  It helps to hear others' experiences.  We'll go back for some more play time tomorrow and just let her know we're close by :)

[Oliver & Elizabeth]

I would agree with taking her back and encouraging her to play with dogs. Thankfully puppies seem to be really resilient. By the way I noticed that you live in Seattle, I live in Seattle too, which dog park do you go to? Some of them seem better than others. We like Magnuson and Magnolia Manor the best.

[Alex & Mattie]

Thank you.  You're right, puppies are resilient.  I'm probably more concerned than she is :)  We tend to go to the Genesee park down by Seward and usually it's great.  I like Magnuson too but it can be a long haul.  We try to go for the doodle romps when they come around the second Saturday of the month.  We also get out to Westcrest, which is in the south end of West Seattle.  Sometimes it's great, sometimes there are some domineering dogs, which we just try to avoid.  I've never been to Magnolia Manor, is it close to Discovery?

[Oliver & Elizabeth]

We've been trying to go to the doodle romps but the timing just never works out--hopefully we can make it to the July one. Magnuson is our favorite, but it can get a little dusty (not that Oliver minds). Magnolia Manor isn't that close to Discovery, it's more on the east side of Magnolia. It's a nice park because it's new and seems to have a nice group of dogs (although it's s little small). Woodlawn is minutes from our house, but the dogs can be pretty aggressive.

[Alex & Mattie]

I'll have to check the Magnolia park out.  Thanks!  And, yes, I've heard that Woodlawn has some aggressive dogs who frequent it too.  I won't be at the July romp because I'll be out of town but I'm going to try for August.  Maybe I'll see you there sometime!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I'm guessing that she's already worked through this and will be ready to go back to the park before you are.  The ear biting isn't always aggression....Murph when he gets overly excited will chase Guinness and nip at his ears.  Of course I stop it, but it really isn't aggression.  I'd be a little careful with how much "comfort" you give....you want her to think this is no big deal and sometimes when we get overly comforting we're actually telling them that it IS a big deal.  Sorry if I seem a little "hard hearted".

[Alex & Mattie]

Jane, you don't seem "hard hearted" at all!  I think that's exactly right, to not make a big deal of it to her.  That was the approach I took the other night.  I made sure she was ok and that there was no blood and after a couple of minutes, encouraged her to go back and play a little bit, with the same dogs actually and then a new dog, but keep an extra eye on her.  You might be right about the other dogs getting overly excited but it was definitely rougher than the usual rough play I've seen at the puppy play time we take her to.  Maybe she was just scared but she let out a big cry, tucked her tail, and ran.  I'm sure you're right that she's ready to get back to the dog park already :)  Thank you!

[Cynthia, Elvis & Pink]

I'm in Seattle too - I concur with Magnolia Manor and Magnuson as being the best. I'd stay away from Golden Gardens, too, because there can be some very rough dogs there and the owners don't seem to care.

I also try and go earlier in the day on weekends and avoid the crowds.