08/19/2026
The dog park is where good dogs go to become reactive.
You show up with the best intentions. Let him run, let him finally just be a normal dog off leash.
But you don’t get to pick who else is there. One dog that was never taught manners, one owner glued to their phone — that’s all it takes. Your happy, social dog gets pinned to a fence once, and he spends the next two years lunging at every dog he sees.
I’ve rehabbed too many “he was fine until the dog park” dogs to ever send one back to one.
Real socialization is controlled exposure to dogs you actually trust — not thirty strangers and crossed fingers. Quality over chaos.
Am I wrong? Has your dog ever come home from a dog park worse than he went in?