A dog’s dream
park!
Having a
dog park like this one in Nashville, Tennessee would be a dream come through
for the dog in your life! I know it’s my
dream – to open a dog park where dogs can run free in a stimulating environment! Just waiting for those prize bonds to do
their thing! At Bark Park in Nashville,
Tennessee, dogs come first, owners second. It has a dog-centred design – built
100% for dogs. See the pic for an
example - the table ‘legs’ are affixed
to the ceiling, not the floor so dogs can wander around more easily. And that’s the beauty of this Park – the dogs
can run and play to their hearts’ content.
According to this article in Forbes, “Bark understands what physical spaces are all about—the social joy and memories of being somewhere and doing
something, whether as humans or as furry animals.”
Dogs can
have daily, monthly or seasonal membership – and can bring along a 2-legged
guest! The humans can enjoy coffee, a
chat with other 2-legged visitors, beer tasting, comedians performing or a
movie while their dogs have a fab time! I just love it!
How much
exercise does your dog need?
Sometimes we assume that the bigger the dog, the more
exercise he/she needs but that’s not the case.
The amount of exercise your dog needs depends on a number of factors
including age, breed and general health.
The guidelines for puppies, for example, is 5 minutes per month of age
so if your pup is 3 months old – 15 minutes a day is plenty at this stage.
Regarding dog size, smaller dogs like poodles, chihuahuas
or Yorkshire terriers don’t need to be too active but nor do some very large
breeds like Great Danes, Newfoundlands or Mastiffs. Flat-nosed breeds such as pugs, bulldogs and
shihtzus don’t need too intense exercise either as their breathing challenges
causes them to slow down and have a more sedentary lifestyle, according to this
article on dogster.com. It also gives
tips on the best places to exercise your four legged pal.
Teaching
your dog to “leave it”
In this article, training your dog to ‘Leave it’ means ‘do
not touch that object’. The author uses
high and low value treats – the high value is the one to be left while the low
value is used as the reward. Over a few
weeks, the gap between the Leave It order and the rewarding lengthens. Blocking is also a suggested technique – blocking
the dog from the high value treat. The
author also gives 7 tips on how to translate the behaviour to the real world
i.e. in different environments, when the dog is excited – though I’m not so
sure about tips 5 and 6 - all I’ll say is dead animals, rabbit poo etc – you’ll
have to read it to find out!!
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