# Faolan's First Dog Park Trip



## Daenerys (Jul 30, 2011)

I took Faolan to a dog park today since he has finally gotten his last shots! 

Just before we left, eating a bully stick:


















When we arrived at the dog park I expected Faolan to be so excited to finally be able to run and play with other dogs because he is always so desperate to do that when we are out walking or something and he sees other dogs. But actually he was really unsure of what to do when all the other dogs came up to greet him. And then this big lab came running up and actually ran him over and he yelped and ran off to hide under a picnic table, poor thing. But we figured out the problem: all these dogs are bigger than him! When a dog came in that was smaller, look what happened:














































A St. Bernard tried to join in and Faolan didn't know what to do at first:









Then he decided: go hide!









St. Bernard lost interest, back out again!









*continued in next post*


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## Daenerys (Jul 30, 2011)

Now he is all tired out


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## Daenerys (Jul 30, 2011)

Here is a little bump for some comments, and the addition of a video of him learning to play with a ball! This was taken at work, on his first day coming to work with me


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

The photo of him on the picnic table bench is like its posed. very cute and its great that he found someone his size to have some fun with.


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## eliza (Jun 6, 2011)

he may have the prettiest eyes i've ever seen.. such a handsome boy


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## Daenerys (Jul 30, 2011)

Yay finally some comments! 

We didn't pose the bench picture at all, he just threw his front legs up there and hung out for a few minutes, hahah!

And his eyes are what drew me in and made me choose to get him!


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

Looks like he had a blast! Many dogs are uncertain at first. The more you take him, the better he'll be at socializing with dogs of all sizes. Denali used to scream for her life before a bigger dog would even touch her lol. But now she knows just how to handle it. She also had to learn how to not run over the dogs that are smaller than her. When they'd yelp and snap at her, that taught her real quick.


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## Daenerys (Jul 30, 2011)

Yeah the dog park is less than 5 minutes from where I work so I figured I will bring him to work with me frequently and on breaks (I have a 2-3 hour long break in the afternoon usually depending on how many dogs we have in) we'll go hang out at the dog park! I am actually taking him again today before work, too. Not sure how busy they are on Wednesdays but we'll see.


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## stacey101 (Sep 20, 2010)

How old is he?

He is absolutly beautiful! looks like he had bundles of fun with that collie


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## Daenerys (Jul 30, 2011)

Coming up on 4 months old


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

I love the photos. You have a beautiful photogenic little pup.


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## TravelingKoolie (Jan 4, 2011)

That one with his front half on the bench chilling is so awesome. That's going to be a picture you'll treasure for a good long while, it's just so perfect. Looks like everything ended on a high note with a happy tired puppy!

I know when I first went to the dog park with Traveler he would shriek bloody murder if another dog ran near him and then high tail it to the picnic table and sit on some random persons lap. Now he's the annoying one running in circles barking at all the dogs. They get used to it fast!


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## Daenerys (Jul 30, 2011)

Yes I took him again today, it was his third time there. He did much better and even made a friend with a dog that was bigger than him! It was an all black German shepherd, so they looked like total opposites of each other, hahah. The shepherd must have been young too because he was only a little bigger than Faolan. I have noticed though that he has started a new thing of hiding behind my legs when I have him at work (since there are no picnic tables). Its like a child hiding behind his mother's skirt. He will just sit there and peek around/between my legs. Should I allow him to use me as his "safe zone" or will this lead to him becoming a little over-attached to me?


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## Sarahshadows (Sep 18, 2011)

He is gorgeous  i love his eyes


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

Daenerys said:


> Yes I took him again today, it was his third time there. He did much better and even made a friend with a dog that was bigger than him! It was an all black German shepherd, so they looked like total opposites of each other, hahah. The shepherd must have been young too because he was only a little bigger than Faolan. I have noticed though that he has started a new thing of hiding behind my legs when I have him at work (since there are no picnic tables). Its like a child hiding behind his mother's skirt. He will just sit there and peek around/between my legs. Should I allow him to use me as his "safe zone" or will this lead to him becoming a little over-attached to me?


Personally I didn't allow this for Denali in most situations. I wanted her to figure it out herself and be confident. If there was a larger dog trying to play roughly then yes, I'd let her hide a moment. In new situations I would just have her sit and let her look around for a minute or two on the sideline to get the sights and sounds. She's not the type that wants to charge into things, and if I bring her in too quickly she often seems overwhelmed. If she tries to hide, I feel like I'm pushing her too fast. I encourage her a lot and don't make a big deal out of "scary" things, but would let her take things slow at first.


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## Spicy_99 (Sep 6, 2010)

He look very happy to play with his friend


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## Sloth (Jul 29, 2008)

Very fun pictures!


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## Daenerys (Jul 30, 2011)

Well he has been 4 more times since these pictures were taken and already he is more confident! Still wary of bigger dogs but he will sniff them and let them sniff him, he just still gets a bit scared if they run after him or at him or something. He is playing with dogs his size still and in fact all but two of the 7 or 8 dogs there today were his size so he got out from under the picnic table and had a lot of fun playing! Some lady brought in a small poodle thing and he tried to rip the fur off him (he does this with small hairy dogs, I don't know why) but I made him "leave it" and he did. He is very good with leave it now in most situations, not all, but its still a great improvement since we started teaching it. The training instructor at his puppy class tonight used him for a demo and was quite impressed lol. Also one of the two dogs that was bigger than him at the dog park was also a pure white husky (adult). I squealed when he came in cause it made me happy XD Unfortunately her owner kinda sat in a corner by herself so I didn't want to annoy her by starting up some chit-chat.

Oh, another issue we are having with him is he likes to hump small dogs?? Isn't he kind of young for that or no? I scheduled him to get neutered on November 17 (at 5 months 3 weeks old) but anything I can do to minimize humping till then?


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## TravelingKoolie (Jan 4, 2011)

Daenerys said:


> Oh, another issue we are having with him is he likes to hump small dogs?? Isn't he kind of young for that or no? I scheduled him to get neutered on November 17 (at 5 months 3 weeks old) but anything I can do to minimize humping till then?


Interrupt and redirect would be my approach. 

I would also not assume that castration will stop it. In fact the only humpers I ever encounter are castrated males (especially ones done young like you're planning with him). I know my own intact dog doesn't hump nor do any other intact males I know. A couple attempts when younger than hormones were allowed to straighten out and they came into themselves. That's one of the reasons I think the chronic humpers I encounter are so OCD about it. They don't understand what they are doing or why and never were able to grow up and out of it. But, that's just from unscientific observation from being around a lot of dogs. 

ETA: A command for all four feet on the ground might also be useful, but that would take a little while to be proofed in a setting like that. But something to look into!

I'm really glad he's becoming more secure at the dog park!!


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## +two (Jul 12, 2011)

Humping is natural behavior, but I don't allow it from my dogs and I won't allow it from other peoples dog. If Faolan is doing the humping, remove him off of the other dog and have him leave it. Give him a few seconds to calm down and then release him. Don't be surprised if he goes right back to it though; it takes persistence. If another dog mounts him, remove the other dog.


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## Daenerys (Jul 30, 2011)

TravelingKoolie said:


> Interrupt and redirect would be my approach.
> 
> I would also not assume that castration will stop it. In fact the only humpers I ever encounter are castrated males (especially ones done young like you're planning with him). I know my own intact dog doesn't hump nor do any other intact males I know. A couple attempts when younger than hormones were allowed to straighten out and they came into themselves. That's one of the reasons I think the chronic humpers I encounter are so OCD about it. They don't understand what they are doing or why and never were able to grow up and out of it. But, that's just from unscientific observation from being around a lot of dogs.
> 
> ...


So if he hasn't calmed down by the time his neuter appointment comes around we'll end up just cementing the behavior? Damn, I don't want that...I've met several obsessive humpers at work and its SO annoying!


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## TravelingKoolie (Jan 4, 2011)

Daenerys said:


> So if he hasn't calmed down by the time his neuter appointment comes around we'll end up just cementing the behavior? Damn, I don't want that...I've met several obsessive humpers at work and its SO annoying!


Well, I didn't say that. 

I just know that from personal experience that a humper before castration has come out a humper after. And that I've yet to meet an intact dog that could rival the castrated humpers I've met. My own intact dog gets humped more in a day at the dog park than he's ever humped another dog.

I've never bought that "fixing" what isn't broken has the magical cure all properties that many people like to push. From the behavioral to the medical.


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