What if your dog doesn’t like the dog park? Free Montreal workshops might help

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News flash: Your dog probably doesn’t like the dog park. And that’s OK. 

“Only five per cent of the canine population is made for dog parks,” Roxanne Nantais told a loose huddle of dog owners at the Beaubien Park dog run Wednesday afternoon. “Dogs are selective. They like to choose their friends, be in symbiosis and develop relationships over time. 

“Dog parks are exuberant places with all kinds of dogs and everyone jumping on each other; not all dogs like that. That can bother a lot of dogs. So don’t feel bad if your dog isn’t having fun. That’s alright. There are other things in your dog’s life it can enjoy.” 

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Nantais shared this and other pearls of dog wisdom as part of a pop-up workshop organized by the city to help people better understand and interact with their dogs in and outside dog parks. Approximately 300 dog owners took part in her workshops this spring, and a similar number is expected to participate in those offered at parks around the city until Sept. 18. 

Nantais hopes to impart basic guidelines that help instill a modicum of order amid the dog park chaos. “I want people to understand what is acceptable dog play, what is less acceptable, and what to do when the play is not going well — what to avoid so there are less altercations in dog parks. There are rules to follow, and sometimes we see that people don’t know the rules.” 

Nantais was explaining the above concepts at the beginning of her workshop when the nearby interaction between a husky and a Labrador provided a perfect case in point. 

The two were rolling in the mud, exchanging playful bites. 

“The husky lay on its side right away to make itself less menacing so its friend can play along,” Nantais noted. “There’s even mouth play. They’re lying on each other, biting at each other. It’s a nice exchange, a kind of game. We see the husky making itself less strong so its friend can dominate him. It’s nice. That’s what we like.” 

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Play becomes less fun when it’s less playful, when one dog is bullying another or getting pushed around and feeling demonstrably uncomfortable. 

“When people see their dog misbehave, I ask them to remove their dog for a time out,” Nantais said, “so that the dog understands that when its behaviour is less good, the play will be stopped. If it wants to play, it has to modify its behaviour. Usually that can help change things.” 

After a 15-minute presentation, she took questions for 45 minutes. 

Jocelyne Bélanger, the lab owner, was enrapt. She has had her dog Pipa for just four and a half months. 

“She’s my retirement project,” said Bélanger, who says the city’s dog workshops are a great idea. 

“They’re answering the needs of dog-owners. We all pay taxes. A lot of people don’t like dogs, or are afraid of dogs. It’s super important to learn to live together. We have to learn the rules, and remind people.” 

Unlike the other dogs rampaging around the dog run, Paloma Carrera’s pint-sized pup Coco didn’t stray far from her side during the workshop. Nantais remarked that Coco might be one of the 95 per cent of dogs who are not fans of dog parks. 

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“It was very interesting,” Carrera said after the workshop. “I brought her here to socialize, but I think this might not be the best way to do it. I learned a lot.” 

That’s the kind of feedback Philippe Sabourin likes to hear.  

“We’ve changed the paradigm at the city of Montreal,” said Sabourin, an administrative spokesperson for the dog behaviour workshops. “Instead of banning pit bulls, we’re working on educating dog owners, whatever the (dog’s) race. We want a better coexistence between dogs and people in the city: 95 per cent of problems can be fixed by giving good advice to owners.” 

Montreal’s dog population has increased by nearly 40 per cent since the beginning of the pandemic, Sabourin explained. “We’ve gone from 115,000 dogs in Montreal to over 150,000 dogs. There are a lot of new dog owners who have to learn how to take care of their dog.” 

AT A GLANCE

For more information on the city of Montreal’s dog behaviour workshops, visit montreal.ca/en/articles/dog-behaviour-free-tips-experts-28715.

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