General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Our 30 lb. poodle mix just survived an attack on a hiking trail [View all]hollysmom
(5,946 posts)past the police station and take her off leash at that park. There was playground nearby that used to get filled with goose poop, but mostly we would go there in the morning before kids were there. If you have never been to a park taken over by Canadian geese, you have no idea how disgusting it can be. I would also walk her off leash on the beach in October and November when there were few people and few dogs there. She liked to dig in the sand for shells and stuff. Not much of a water dog, but she did get to play with a few other dogs in the open.
I was training her to be a therapy dog when I got an opportunity to go to Europe and could not find a sitter, So I put her in a recommended Kennel, where she came back abused and bloody. I trashed them everywhere I could and they are closed now. Anyway, she then had one fear - loud sounds, when she hear them, she would try to come so close to me, she was trying to become a part of me, that was her spook response. Although she did run away a bit when she had an acorn fall on her noise from a large and tall oak one day, but came right back.
So I did trust her beyond all the other dogs I had, and especially the one I have now which is only off the leash in the dog park and home where I follow her around because she has barking issues and will get into a bark fight with cocker spaniels for some unknown reason. She is shy with other dogs