What a joy! Sounds like you reintroduced Lincoln to the park in a calm, casual, step by step manner and he has gained his confidence back. YAHOO. Glad to hear Maggie got to visit for a little too.
so we've been keeping Lincoln away from the dog park for about 8 months now, since he had a bad experience and then suddenly started being Mr scary noises, hackles raised, unpredictable not dog park worthy dog. it's been a bummer but it is what it is.
every few of weeks we'll take them there and Maggie will go into the park with my husband while I take Lincoln for a hike. Then i come back and let him smell everyone through the fence while he's tired he always has awesome interactions through the fence. He truly loves everyone, i think he just developed some fear agression after his experience.
so we've alternated between that and going to the lake. he'll sniff other dogs there and does well too, with the exception of one or two dogs he just doesn't like. in which case he'll bark or walk away, no snapping.
yesterday we decided to bring them to the park and i was going to walk Lincoln. but we got there at such a quiet time that there was only a handful of dogs. there was a Boston (lincoln always seems to do well with dogs that are smaller than him) a goofy poodle, a golden retriever puppy and a lab mix puppy. after lots of great interactions through the fence we went in.
he did AWESOME. i followed closely behind with his leash at all times but he really did fantastic. totally appropriate interactions, play bowing and running like a maniac, greeting all the people. a couple dogs came in afterward and he did great with them too, even the little min pin who didn't want to be his friend. i was so, so excited. i don't think we will ever be regular dog park people with him... it will always be the exception and not the rule. but it's nice to know that it is possible for us to all have a good experience!
oh, and my sweet maggie. i was worried about taking her because of newly diagnosed hip dysplasia. so we kept the visit fairly short and kept an eye on her but she did great. no limping, and she looks great today too. (thank goodness for Cosequin!!)
my puppy family had such a great weekend!!!
Last edited by krysten; 07-27-2014 at 08:05 PM.
What a joy! Sounds like you reintroduced Lincoln to the park in a calm, casual, step by step manner and he has gained his confidence back. YAHOO. Glad to hear Maggie got to visit for a little too.
Awww......nice!
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Cornerstone's Lady Cassandra , CGC (Cassie)Cornerstone's Lady Rebecca, CGC (Reba)
Awesome!! Way to go, Lincoln!!
Shiloh 12/24/12
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Yay Lincoln. For every rule of thumb there seems to be a counter rule. I don't know for sure exactly what it is in this case but giving Lincoln a good vacation from the dog park sure seems to have worked better than that "getting right back on the horse" one might have. I remember you posting about a bad experience at the dog park.
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