A few questions related to puppies and dog parks

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

I enjoy taking my 5 month old puppy to the dog park. It is great socialization and exercise for both of us. I have a couple of random questions about stuff that goes on in dog parks.

 

1. Dirt.  It gets really dirty and muddy in our park. Which means she always comes home a mucky mess and needs to be bathed. I often just rinse her and/or use conditioner, but I will use shampoo if I have too. If this is happening about 1-2 times a week, is it too much for her? (i.e. will her fur/sking dry out?)

 

2. Running. There is a lot of running in the dog park. Sophie loves to play fetch and to run around chasing other dogs. She runs like crazy, wild eyed, ears flapping. It's adorable. But I know that puppies aren't supposed to run too much, so how much is too much? Today she came home panting, it's been 30 minutes and she is panting like crazy still. Did I over do it? Should we have left sooner/not thrown the ball as much?

 

3. Communal dog toys. There are tons of left-behind balls lying around, a couple of frisbees, and a hula hoop (??). Apart from the fact that they are muddy and gross, can germs and disease be spread through old yucky tennis balls that other dogs play with? I'm not really a germaphobe, and am not usually bothered by getting my hands dirty, but should I be worried that Sophie or I will catch something?

 

4. Jealousy. Sophie gets jealous when I play with other dogs. Nothing agressive but she runs over and intervenes to try to get my attention to her. It's kind of endearing/annoying. This happens with the cat at home sometimes too. Should I just ignore it and expect it will go away, or should I do something to stop this now in case it gets worse?

 

5. Rough play.  Yep, that's right. Sophie likes it rough. How do I know when it's too rough, and how do I teach her to calm down and be gentle with other dogs (especially smaller ones that are less clumbsy)?

 

Sorry for all the questions, I just figured it would be easier than to start 5 different discussions

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

1 - just rinse her off with water. Or wait for the mud to dry then brush it out. Bathing with too much shampoo can dry the skin/fur out (though some people here bath often with no problems). How big is Sophie? If shes a standard then giving her a bath every week will become a big chore

 

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Yea, she is standard (32 lbs @ 5months) - it is a big chore. I'm thinking of having her shaved down to make it easier. I really like going to the park so it's worth it. This week I just wiped her down with a wet cloth and did some brushing. Not perfect but better than nothing.

[Nina Vantschip]

yikes, Finnegan is 26 lbs. at 14 weeks!!!

[Adina P]

Probably a shampoo bath more than once a week is too much, but weekly shouldn't really hurt and just a rinse with water is probably fine when it's really bad between baths.

 

As to communal dog toys, I would think that IF there was something to be caught at the dog park...it would be caught regardless of dog toys.  It would get caught during play and wrestling and sniffing and just pawing through the mud/dirt/remnants of poo that might be there on the ground.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Question 4 - When either one of mine attempts to get between me and doodle love, I use my arm to gently push away and say 'away'. Doodle love is great but it must be on your terms. Start that now so Sophie will understand that even love must be 'worked' for.

Question 5 - most dog parks I have seen has a big and little side. If that is the case with yours, soon enough Sophie will have to go to the big dog side and she will learn by other dogs if she is being too rough. BUT I assume she won't attempt that kind of play with a bigger, adult dog. There are some things that only another dog can teach - this is one of them. My Charli greets several, but not all, doodle friends inappropriately by constantly being in their face trying to give kisses - like a puppy does to their Momma. They correct her by a quiet growl which gets louder when she doesn't stop. The growl gets louder until it ends in an air snap. She then submissive pees and lies on her back. You would think she would learn not to do this but she hasn't. She still does it to same 4 friends! I cannot teach her not to do, only they can. Guess she knows they won't hurt her but it is obnoxious!

 

[Lindsey]

hmmm, I'm not much help to any of these questions, I kind of share the same concerns :-)
-though I do know too much bathing is hard on their skin.
-also, the over running thing, I really have no clue what is too much, my pup will run herself silly and then crash for a good couple of hours....I kind of let her determine when enoug is enough, maybe that's wrong.

[Nina Vantschip]

Let her dry and brush out. I found a pretty good product for "spot" cleaning. It's "Pet Head" dry shampoo. It sprays on and kind of lathers a bit, then you towel dry and brush out after. It seems to work and smells nice, too.

[Camilla and Darwin]

The only suggestion I have is to rinse her off, then let her completely dry. Then brush out the rest of the mud and dirt. If you let them dry it really does come out easier with a brush!

 

Also, we try to have Darwin drink a lot of water at home before going, so he's less drawn to the communal water bowl. Those things are probably full of germs.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

I thought dog parks were supposed to get you all dirty and tired out?? LOL Rinsing her or using doggie wipes on her feet should be fine. As far as the left behind toys, we think those are gross!! The water bowl is another thing we don't like them to use.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Thanks for your responses everyone! Very helpful as always!