DOG PARKS CAN BE DANGEROUS!

Prayers for Elvis — **Prayers for Elvis**

Dog parks can be a great deal of fun. My dog and I both love the dog park. It is good exercise and loads of fun. I've met many very nice people and dogs at the park. However, before taking your dog to a dog park, you should also know that dog parks can be dangerous. Injuries can range from minor scratches to serious injury or death. I have seen both dogs and people suffer injuries. Does that mean that you should not take your dog to a dog park? No! You should, however, be aware of the dangers and be watchful and prepared to handle injuries at all times. Things to consider are:

KNOW the dangers and reduce THE RISKS:

What type of injuries can occur at the dog park? Scratches, cuts, bites, contagious diseases, broken bones, death. The odds of your dog being seriously injured are probably quite low. However, there are some things that you can do to reduce the risks.

If you have a puppy, before you take your pup to an off leash dog park, you should take your pup to a structured puppy play/training class with other pups of the same age. This will be a good socialization experience for your pup, plus it will help it build confidence around other dogs. The rules at our local dog park do not permit dogs less than six (6) months of age.

X-ray of my dog, Luna, who required surgery after suffering a torn Cruciate Ligament after a fall at the dog park.  Note the metal plate and screws inserted during surgery. — **X-ray of my dog, Luna, who required surgery after suffering a torn Cruciate Ligament after a fall at the dog park. Note the metal plate and screws inserted during surgery.**

Luna at about four months old at a supervised puppy play group — Luna at about four months old at a supervised puppy play group

Make sure that your dog has all of it's vaccinations , rabies, distemper, parvovirus, and any other vaccines recommended by your veterinarian.
Do not use a choke chain or other chained or slip collar on your dog. There have been incidents of dogs getting their teeth caught in another dogs chain collar, and the dog with the chain collar chocked to death as people tried desperately to unhook the dog from the collar. Additionally, the people trying to separate the dogs are at risk of being bitten by a panicked dog.

Butters grabbing Luna's collar while playing.  It is easy to see how a dogs teeth could get caught in the links of a choke collar — Butters grabbing Luna's collar while playing. It is easy to see how a dogs teeth could get caught in the links of a choke collar

PAY ATTENTION:

It is easy to be knocked over by dogs who are focused on playing with other dogs. I've been knocked down several times, when dogs unexpectedly change direction when running.
Please, please, please, do not bring babies, toddlers, or small children to the dog park. Some dogs may not be socialized to children. Some dogs do not react well to strollers, or dogs can run into a stroller while playing. Babies in back packs or front carriers are also at risk. If the parent or caregiver gets knocked over by a dog, the baby may well suffer a serious injury. Dogs may jump up at the babies, particularly crying babies. Carrying children on your shoulders also place the child at great risk if the adult is knocked over by a dog. A fall from such a height could result in a serious head injury or death to a small child.

Carrying a child in a dog park places the child at risk of injury

KNOW YOUR DOG:

Before you take your dog to the dog park, first make sure that you know your dog, and know that your dog is comfortable around other dogs and people. A frightened dog, an aggressive dog, will not do well at a dog park. If your dog does not have some basic obedience training, don't take your dog to the park. Your dog should at least know to come when you call, and commands such as "sit" and "leave it." Don't take a dog that you just adopted, that may not even know it's name, and is not bonded to you at the dog park, just to see how it interacts with other dogs.

FIRST AID SUPPLIES:

FIRST AID SUPPLIES: Either carry some basic first aid supplies with you, or at least have them in your car. I keep the following supplies with me at the dog park:

Trophy EMT Gel, used to stop bleeding. It is very effective and can be used to stop even serious bleeding. E MT Gel. This is really an amazing product and I recommend it for any first aid kit.
A bottle of sterile saline solution, the kind that is used for soft contact lenses. This is used to clean wounds.
Vet wrap, which is a very flexible bandage roll that is self sticking. It comes in rolls of varying lengths and colors. It is self sticking and can be used as a bandage or to provide support for an injured limb. It does not stick to the dogs hair. You can also use it as a make-shift muzzle to keep an injured dog from biting you as you try to help it. Vet wrap is sold at pet stores, but it usually costs less if you go to a horse supply or tack shop.
I keep a large beach towel in the car, just in case I need to use it to lift and carry an injured dog. A dog suffered a severe injury, when another dog ran into him while playing. (See photo at top of page.) The owner used a large towel as a make-shift stretcher to carry her dog out of the park after the injury.
A pocket knife.

This is not a complete first aid kit, but it is enough to handle a dog park emergency. There are any number of dog first aid kits on the internet. I wear a fishing vest, which is not exactly a fashion statement, but it has a lot of pockets. I can carry all of my dog park supplies in the pockets of the fishing vest, however you could also carry the supplies in a small fanny pack.

VETERINARIAN CONTACT INFORMATION:

Make sure that you have your veterinarian's contact information in your cell phone. If you don't have a cell phone, keep the veterinarian's contact information handy. If your veterinarian's office is far from the dog park, make certain that you know the location and contact information for the nearest emergency veterinary center.

PET INSURANCE:

When Luna tore her ligament at the dog park, we were fortunate to have pet insurance, which covered a significant part of the cost of treating her injury. The surgery alone was almost $5,000.00, plus all of the additional veterinary visits and x-rays to diagnose her injury, a torn CCL. A torn CCL is one of the most common injuries to dogs. There are a lot of insurance companies that offer pet insurance. Based upon a recommendation from our vet, we obtained insurance through Trupanion, as soon as Luna was eligible for coverage. They even covered Luna's leg brace, which was our first treatment effort to try to avoid surgery. Ultimately, Luna needed to have surgery (TPLO) and she is now doing well, and no longer needs the brace. Again, there are certainly other options for insurance, but Trupanion has served Luna well.