05-04-2012, 09:14 PM
Jerry, cute dog, looks a bit more Scot than Westie to me (I am a lifetime Scottie owner). My wife is working on becoming a dog trainer under the Tellington Touch rubric. I asked her about this and she said your dog needs structure, and it needs exercise...as in on-leash walking. Do you walk her regularly on leash, in a structured, disciplined manner?
It needs to be "aware" of itself. Dog going from calm house to crazy dog park is causing dog to act imbalanced...which is why she's acting out.
Wife said it's a good idea to make the dog think...before entering the park, walk the dog along a curb, then off the curb...switch directions, etc. Make it think. Make it aware of its surroundings. Maybe put her on leash at the dog park for a while...so there is also structure inside the dog park.
Calmly put her on leash especially whenever she starts barking (disrupts the barking, now I have to think about something else!), and calmly walk her around, do some figure 8's (change of direction). So she's aware of her surroundings, and aware she's now on a leash. Don't yell at her, you'll just sound like you're barking and make her more agitated/excited. Just be calm and collected.
Your fellow dog park mavens will respect you for doing this. Maybe also talk to a local dog trainer and see what they say. Good luck and let us know your progress!
It needs to be "aware" of itself. Dog going from calm house to crazy dog park is causing dog to act imbalanced...which is why she's acting out.
Wife said it's a good idea to make the dog think...before entering the park, walk the dog along a curb, then off the curb...switch directions, etc. Make it think. Make it aware of its surroundings. Maybe put her on leash at the dog park for a while...so there is also structure inside the dog park.
Calmly put her on leash especially whenever she starts barking (disrupts the barking, now I have to think about something else!), and calmly walk her around, do some figure 8's (change of direction). So she's aware of her surroundings, and aware she's now on a leash. Don't yell at her, you'll just sound like you're barking and make her more agitated/excited. Just be calm and collected.
Your fellow dog park mavens will respect you for doing this. Maybe also talk to a local dog trainer and see what they say. Good luck and let us know your progress!