Dog Park Etiquette

One of the RV parks we recently visited offered a beautiful 2-acre dog park which came fully stocked with holes in the ground, plenty of weeds, and the occasional left over poop from previous dogs and faulty owners. It failed to offer toys, water for tired dogs or poop bags to help owners clean up, however, it did provide a trash can and 3-foot fence around the perimeter. Obviously this park was not built to hold large dogs such as my 50 lb Labradoodle who could jump that fence in an instant if he so desired. I’ve never seen so many Shitzhus and miniature everythings in one place before and in my entire dog owning career. It’s no wonder the fence was so short. They don’t expect anyone to be travelling with a dog larger than a purse. I even saw a woman walking her cat on a leash! I wonder what would happen if she let him loose in the dog park (hee hee).


Even though I am currently travelling in the great wilderness of the Southwest and should be able to let my dog run anywhere in a national forest, a dog park provides me comfort. It is a safe haven where I don’t worry about him running into the road when playing with his friends. Before entering the park sometimes other dog owners asked me if my dog is friendly. Am I right in saying if your dog is not friendly then you should not take him to the park? If he can’t play nicely with others, then he gets a time out or no play time for him. Of course my dog is friendly! And he’s playful. If they pose the question, then it’s usually their dogs that aren’t friendly to mine.

RV dog parks do offer the occasional Labrador, Shepherd mix, Border Collie, or Golden Retriever who can handle Sequoia’s size. He tends to jump on their backs trying to display his dominance. I usually let him fight it out with his fellow dogs, but their owners seem so uncomfortable with him atop their dogs. I’m not a seasoned dog park go-er, so I don’t know all the rules. Are you supposed to stop your dog from jumping on other dogs? He’s just being a dog. I can understand the owners of vertically challenged dogs fearing for their dog’s life given that one swat from Sequoia’s paw could topple them over, but he would not hurt them. He just wants the live chew toy to run with him and play.

The RV lifestyle is not always healthy for dogs. Much like semi-truck drivers who stay stationary for long stretches of time and who may eat junk food along their travels resulting in obesity, dogs gain weight on road trips too. I dare not say anything to the owners about their dog’s size, but please, give those poor things exercise and/or stop feeding them table scraps. I read that an extra two pounds on a small dog puts a lot of strain on his heart. I now know that if my dog starts getting fat, then he (and probably me too) is not running around enough. We should all learn a lesson from this story. Owners should run their dog(s) daily, and most importantly run after them so neither being starts to look like a bowling ball. Who needs a scale when we have our dog to tell us whether we are gaining weight? Do me a favor though; if you think my dog looks fat, don’t tell me. I might take it personally.