Dog parks can be a great way to socialize your dog, but can also be unsafe if proper measures aren’t taken. The following tips will help you keep your dog safe and happy at the park.

1) Know your dog. Not all dogs enjoy meeting new dogs. Don’t let your dog get overwhelmed by meeting too many dogs at once. If your dog has not interacted regularly with other dogs, find out how he will react. You can perform a test by introducing your dog to a friend’s dog that you know interacts well with other dogs. Testing your dog in a controlled environment is ideal before you go into the dog park.

2) Keep your dog healthy. Be sure your dog isn’t vulnerable to picking up infections from other dogs by keeping him up to date on his vaccinations and worming medications.

3) Observe. Consider visiting the park without your dog for the first time to familiarize yourself with the park itself and the dogs that play there. Before bringing your dog inside the park, spend a few minutes watching the other dogs and how they interact. If the dogs seem too rough for your dog, come back at another time or try a different dog park. On your next visit you may want to bring your dog and sit quietly with him outside the park. Having your dog with you to observe from outside the park enables you to watch how he reacts to seeing the other dogs.

4) Start out slow. The first few visits to the dog park should be short, no longer than 15 minutes. Slowly increase the length of your stays as your dog becomes more comfortable with the dog park atmosphere.

5) Choose a time that is less busy for your first few visits to the park. Weekday evenings are peak, high-traffic times at dog parks, and weekends and holidays tend to be busy all day long. Acquaint your dog with the dog park when the park isn’t as crowded.

6) Closely supervise your dog. Don’t get distracted while talking to other owners. Keep an eye on your dog at all times to make sure his interactions with other dogs are safe. Watch his body language to help you avoid any trouble before it begins. Watching his actions also enables you to quickly clean up after your pet.

7) Let your dog off leash as soon as you enter unleashed areas. Mixing leashed and unleashed dogs can create a hostile situation. Leashed dogs, and their owners, often display body language and behavior that is threatening to the unleashed dogs and may encourage them to be aggressive and defensive in return. A leashed dog cannot make the choice his natural instinct tells him of “fight or flight”-if he cannot take flight, he may have to fight.

8) Watch for potential hazards. Be aware of potential hazards that may be in the park, such as toxic chemicals, garbage or noxious plants. Be sure to wash any chemicals, such as fertilizer or pesticides, off of your dog’s feet and legs to ensure they aren’t licked and ingested.

9) Leave children at home. Don’t bring children with you to the dog park. You will not safely be able to watch your kids and your dog at the same time. Many dogs have not been socialized to children. Both frighten and excite easily-and react differently-creating a dangerous atmosphere. It’s simply too easy for a child to get hurt at a dog park.

10) Leave small puppies at home. Puppies less than four months old aren’t fully immunized yet and are at higher risk for contracting diseases. They are also very vulnerable to being traumatized by another dog’s aggressive behavior.

11) Do not bring toys or food. Most parks are already littered with balls and toys that other people have brought. Rewarding your dog with treats or giving him toys in front of other dogs can create jealousy and aggression.

12) Interpret canine body language. Educate yourself about dog body language and communication signals so you can tell the difference between fear, play and anger. Your local Bark Busters trainer can help you learn to “read” your dog’s body language.

13) Know when to leave. You should remove your dog from the park if he is being threatened or bullied and seems fearful; begins to display aggressive behavior by becoming overexcited or threatening toward other dogs; is panting heavily; or seems overly tired. Keep your dog’s welfare a top priority.

14) DO NOT physically intervene in a dogfight. Never reach in to break up fighting dogs. Squirt the dogs in the face with a water bottle or try to distract them by throwing something near them, but never physically intervene.

15) Prevent injuries. Be aware of the signs of a possible dogfight before it might happen. Don’t allow a dog’s overexcitement turn into a fight. If your dog injures a person or dog, give your name and phone number to the injured party. Report to law enforcement authorities any handlers who refuse to take liability for damages or injuries and who are endangering the safety of others.

The post Dog Park Safety Tips first appeared on Puppy Blog.

We’ve all seen them. Those carefree dog food commercials that feature adorable, furry puppy’s jumping on the laps of children, licking their faces and, for the most part, being on their best behavior. Unable to resist the allure of this loveable scene played out on television, many children ask their parents for a dog of their own.

Many parents submit to the requests. After all, a puppy would make a great companion, it might distract the youngster from the PlayStation gaming console for a while, and it just might teach him or her some responsibility. But buying the dog is easy. The hard part is training it to act like the dog in the commercial. And that task becomes even trickier when there are kids involved. Most kids don’t know the first thing about being with and training a dog, and many parents could use some remedial training as well.

Whenever a parent makes the important decision to purchase a dog for the kids, they should also make the commitment to enroll the dog (and its adolescent companion) in formal training classes. I have found that Bark Busters, the only international dog training company that offers a lifetime guarantee, to be one of the most effective, proven dog training companies around. Bark Busters uses a dog’s own innate pack mentality, voice commands and body language to teach most dogs the basics in roughly two hours.

“Dogs are pack animals,” says Liam Crowe, Bark Busters president, CEO and master trainer. “They have a specific way of interacting, which includes an instinctual manner of communication. Learning how to communicate effectively with your dog in a language he understands is the first step toward establishing leadership and control.”

First and foremost, never buy a dog as a toy substitute. Dogs are living, breathing creatures with feelings. Children should be taught this fact from an early age and should be shown how to treat dogs with respect. By adopting a new dog for the right reasons and instilling the right mindset within the child, a parent takes the first step in avoiding undesired consequences, such as mistreatment and neglect.

After you have adopted a dog for the right reasons, go out and find a local trainer immediately before you become “dogged” with bad canine habits. In the meantime, here are a few safety tips to make sure your new pet and your child make it together safely to their first training class.

Never leave a child or baby alone with a dog. When visiting friends or relatives who have a dog, do not allow your child to play in the yard unsupervised. If that is not possible, ask the owners to put the dog away.

Do not allow your child to feed a dog unsupervised, as some dogs can be very protective of food. Also, never allow your dog to snatch food from your child. It not only teaches the dog bad manners, but it endangers the hand that feeds it.

Do not allow your child to pull on the dog’s collar to lead it outside the house, as it could bite them. Children without adult supervision should not be allowed to walk a dog, as the child could be dragged unwittingly into a fight with another dog. The dog should be taught to respond to a verbal command. However, if the dog does not respond to a verbal command given by the child, correction should be given by the parent, not the child. In fact, under no circumstances should a child ever discipline a dog. That is the parents’ job.

In addition to the above tips to help parents create a safe environment for their children and their new dog, here are some additional tips that parents should teach their children for when they are not around to directly supervise them. Children should be instructed to:

1) Never pet a strange dog, even if his owner is present.
2) Stay away from a dog while he is eating and sleeping.
3) Stop your bike if chased while riding.
4) Never retrieve a ball from someone else’s yard.
5) If visiting friends who have dogs, ask them to put their dogs away if you want to play.
6) Stay away from a dog that has puppies.
7) Stay away from a dog that is tied up.
8) Never pull a dog’s tails or ears; dogs feel pain, too.
9) Never tease a dog or make it angry.
10) Stand totally still if a dog runs at you barking. Cover your face with your hands. If knocked to the ground by a dog, roll into a ball, cover your face with your arms and stay as still as you possibly can. Do not try to get up.

Adopting a dog can be fun-both for the parent and the child. A dog can provide one of the best forms of companionship possible, it teaches the children some responsibility and it brings smiles to all. By following the above tips and enrolling your dog in a local training course, you may soon have the dog food companies calling you for a TV spot.

The post Dog Safety Tips For Children And Parents first appeared on Puppy Blog.