Dog Park Class

Today, Cabana and I took a class at the Marin Humane Society called "Dog Park Survival Skills". There were 8 dogs in the class, one of which is Cabana's dog pal Mindy, a tri-colored springer spaniel. It was confusing to Cabana and Mindy to be there with each other but not be allowed to greet or play.

The class was okay, but honestly, I didn't feel like I learned a ton. They talked about body language, group dynamics, human responsibility, and prevention tactics. I would have liked more depth on everything, especially the dog body language component, but it was only a 2-hour class, which isn't much time.

The fun part of the class was for the dogs to actually get to meet and play. I could tell Cabana was interested in this male dog named Darwin from the moment she saw him. She likes those rambunctious male types.

First, Darwin and Cabana had to meet each other on leash politely, where ideally, we want the dogs to arc around each other and sniff each others' bottoms. But Cabana was so amped up and eager to meet Darwin that she kept trying to meet him head on, which is an etiquette no-no. I think Cabana would have been much more polite off leash, plus Darwin was sending definite "let's play" signals so she already knew they would be fast friends.

When they were finally allowed off leash, they had a great time with each other. Cabana's play style would please Twilight fans (which does NOT include me, I am compelled to make perfectly clear)--in vampire style, she loves to have her neck bitten. She always presents her neck to the other dog, encouraging them to grab her scruff. Darwin's owner said that Darwin doesn't usually do that when playing with other dogs, but he definitely did that a lot with Cabana, a confirmation that she's encouraging that behavior.

Finally, Mindy and Cabana got to play, too. Mindy didn't even want to play with the other dog she was supposed to be playing with, but instead came running over to Cabana. It was really sweet!

The instructors encouraged us to call our dogs out of play often, to help keep the play mutual and under control, and to let our dogs know that when we stop them, it doesn't automatically mean it's time to go home. I saw some things that I still need to improve with Cabana--when she was focused on Darwin while on leash, she was totally blowing me off. She couldn't have cared less about me at that moment--dog distraction, it's her nemesis. Other than that, though, I was pretty proud of her.