Taking your dog out without training can be dangerous: Here’s what to know

All Dogs Great and Small owner and trainer Adam Jones said that having a docile dog is a great start, but is not equivalent to proper training.

Jones said that recall training, with an effectiveness of 90 to 100 per cent, is paramount to the safety of owners and pets alike.

“It’s awesome when you have that dog with a calm demeanor and don’t need a lot of extra training, but being able to recall your dog is something that is absolutely critical,” Jones said.

“If something dangerous comes along that path, you need your dog to come back to you, so even though your dog is nice and calm, having the ability to recall your dog is super important.”

Veterinarian Dr. Sarah Latimer agreed with the importance of proper training.

Latimer said that some injuries, like sprains and strains, are fairly common at dog parks, but other outside factors could be deadly to our pets.

“Your common muscle sprains, strains from running too hard, dogs can recover from those quite easily and and usually pretty quickly, within a week or two,” Latimer told CHAT News.

“We’ve seen dogs with life threatening wounds that have passed away from or had to be euthanized from, especially dog fights where one dog attacks another and deer gorings.”

Another alternative that pet owners might be looking at are private parks.

Desirae Kinahan from True North K9 said that private parks aren’t meant just to protect dogs from other animals.

Kinahan said that a common complaint from her clients is the lack of maintenance at public parks.

“Our area is better maintained because we don’t have the gopher holes and things like that because those are things that we’ll take care of and make sure that your dog is safe,” Kinahan said.

“I know that with gopher holes and cacti and whatnot, I’ve heard about them at public parks and we just don’t have those issues here,” she said.

Mitigation of issues begins with training but ends with trainers, according to Jones.

Lifeontheside/Dreamstime.com

“One thing that’s really important at the park is to be aware of your surroundings. You have to know who’s coming and going. Put your phones down, pay attention to your dogs, follow your dogs around, don’t just sit at the gate and drink your coffee,” Jones said.

“Make sure you know what’s going on with your dog, make sure you know what’s going on with the other dogs at the parks. If you see a big dog who comes in and looks like they want to pick a fight, maybe it’s time to take off,” he said.

Both Jones and Latimer gave tips for knowing when your dog is feeling uneasy.

Common signs, other than growling and showing their teeth, is if your dog stops interacting with other dogs, if you notice them getting extremely tense and their tails are between their legs.

At the end of the day, it’s about training around stimulants and distractions.

“We have our indoor facility here, but we don’t teach indoor training and the reason why is the real world is where it matters the most,” Jones said.

“I don’t care if your dog listens to you in your house. I care if it listens to you when there’s a rabbit across the road with a van coming. That’s the moment is matter the most and that’s why we teach outdoors in those situations.”

by Adrian St.Onge

Taking your dog out without training can be dangerous: Here’s what to know

Our Community