Dog parks, as mentioned in the last post are great places to exercise your dog. Many dogs get very, very excited when they realize they are headed in the direction of the dog park. Some are so excited that it can be painful and or difficult for the owner to keep a hold on the leash.
If your dog drags you:
a. out the door
b. toward the dog park
c. on you face through the gate into the dog park
You probably need to work on your "dog park approach walk". This is a similar, but different approach than the loose leash walking and will require a lot of time and patience. When your dog goes to take off like he has a rocket on his butt you need to have some salmon or other super stinky treat in hand. Stop walking and wait for your dog to come back to you. He has to come back to you on his own, don't call him back. If you have been working on your loose leash walking your dog will probably come back to you faster.
Keep in mind that his focus is on getting to the park, the treat would be nice, but the park is what he really, really wants. Getting his attention to focus on you could take a little longer than normal. This needs to be repeated for every instance the dog takes off. Doing this on a weekend or day off is a good idea. The idea is for the dog to learn: "If I want to get to the park I need to walk politely."
If your dog only gets excited when you are close to entering the gate you can practice your sit-stay at the gate while you open the gate and walk through first. If the dog breaks the stay, take him back to where he got up and tell him to sit again.
Tip for the Day:
Practicing walking like a sane, obedient dog towards the dog park is a great goal to aim for. Keep in mind that once you start training the 'dog park approach walk' you need to keep the training ongoing. That means every time you go to the park you need to be consistent in the training and behavior you expect from your dog.
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