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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We adopted a rescue at about 3 years old. He is very reactionary and unpredictable with other dogs. We don’t take him to the dog park because we’re concerned about safety for the other dogs. OP you are very judgy and you don’t know every dog’s story.[/quote]

I'm not OP but I'm another poster who appreciates dog parks. Do you not see that part of your dog's reactivity is likely because he was never socialized properly? [/quote]

Dog trainer: 90% of it is genetics. If you think of reactivity as a continuum, dogs are born at a certain location. You can move 10% towards friendlier/more reactive with training, and you can absolutely jump 50 pegs down with a terrible experience, but in general the dog's temperament is genetics.

Going to a dog park would absolutely not make a scared dog (most reactive dogs are fearful) more confident.[/quote]

What is your medical degree in? [/quote]

Why would I have a medical degree? I have a degree in biology and extensive certifications in animal behavior. I have had hands on over 1000 dogs in my career.  I can look at a litter of 8 weak old puppies and tell you if they’re going to be social or fearful. I am on call with multiple rescues in my city who use me as a volunteer consultant when they have fearful dogs in their care.

You cannot make a fearful dog social by taking it to the dog park 100 times. You absolutely can take a social dog to the dog park and destroy its confidence with a single really bad interaction.

What you can do with a fearful/reactive dog is provide controlled settings where only neutral experiences are possible. When I have nervous puppy clients I take them literally everywhere with me and we do nothing. We sit and observe the world from a safe distance. I want them to think there is 0% chance a strange person or dog is going to engage with them, so there is no reason to respond when they see another dog. Taking a puppy to the dog park does the exact opposite—it tells the puppy every strange dog and human ever is going to approach them and they need to be alert at all times. To an already fearful dog, that’s terrifying and causes reactivity to increase.[/quote]

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