The dog park is considered to be the paradise of all dogs. It is a place where all dogs can enjoy their freedom in max. At the dog park dogs can run free, sniff anything they want, make new friends, and enjoy fun games with their mommy or daddy. But unfortunately, the dog part is not always the paradise for your dog. Sometimes dogs get in serious fights, and these fights can end up really bad if someone does not intervene. There have been cases when dogs had to be taken to the vet for immediate treatment.
The International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC), a professional association for the field of animal behavior consulting, launched their Dog Park Safety Project.
“Dr. Jessica Hekman approached the IAABC with the idea for a series of dog park posters promoting healthy interactions between dogs,” Marjie Alonso, executive director for the IAABC told iHeartDogs. “The idea was to have, with Lili Chin as the artist, extremely simple renderings of basic best practices and body language awareness. Simple is key so that people can get the message in a single, even subliminal glance.”
The IAABC wanted the posters to contain a positive message for all dog owners.
“We wanted no judgement involved, no shaming or scolding,” Alonso added. “We’re simply trying to help animals and their owners have better experiences.”
The four posters, shown below, are available to members in high-definition PDFS, but they are delighted to share the jpegs free of charge to whomever might benefit them. So before you take your dog to the dog park next time, make sure you can truly read their body language in order to prevent any injuries.
The first post will teach you how to understand when your dog is Scared, and what you should do in such cases.
