How To Have The Best Visit to Sepulveda Basin Off-Leash Dog Park

This is part two of an introduction to a nice, reasonable-sized dog park with some shade, fountains, porta potties for Mom and Dad, plastic chairs and some picnic benches for Grandpa. These parks are a value to the community, and helpful planning went into this park's design and layout.

What's with the dog training discussion?

Simple. Dog parks have been a frequent source of veterinary visits, including emergency surgeries. Lack of effective training (pets and owners), and an astounding lack of appropriate concern on the part of pet owners make dog parks a slight gamble for dogs and owners. Sometimes dog parks feel like canine bumper cars, dogs flying into one another, bumping into us, peeing on everything. And sometimes these same places take a turn worse than chaotic, becoming a hazard.

Sepluveda Basin Off-Leash Dog Park does marvelous things for safety. Besides dividing the park by the size of the dog, the planners knew that entrances and exits are trigger points for aggression, and each section at this park has two entrances. That is smart and helpful.

But, anybody can go to this park. There is no license for dog obedience. You can check for rabies vaccination tags. But the owners have no tags, so you don't know who is a good handler and who has no control of their dog. It's a real issue because a dog can be a powerful force, as dangerous as many weapons. A big dog like a Rottweiller has a bite with thousands of pounds per-square-inch of pressure. That is a lot of power under the supervision of unlicensed owners. Think about this: If there were a stretch of Interstate 405 where nobody needed a license, how often would you want to drive that stretch?

Occasionally someone rescues a dog with a violent past, without knowing what they're doing, they unleash this un-socialized predator upon a park of companion animals who are docile and harmless. How should you feel about that? How would you feel if someone wanted to bring their barracuda to your pool party? What if it happened to look like the other kids? What if you couldn't tell the barracuda kid from the rest of the kids by looking? Suddenly, triggered by something seemingly innocuous, it begins biting and trying to kill the children, including yours. It is very human to hope the dog would cure itself, to hope that magically the context of just being in a pack of friendly neighborhood dogs would magically give Fido the social skills he lacks.

Dog Adoptions and Rescues Require Some Caution Before Socializing Off Leash: 

Know your dog before joining a park community without a leash. Train your dog before it meets groups of innocent strange dogs. Socialization training should begin prior to arriving at off-leash communities. If you know your dog is un-socialized, or that it has overtly aggressive instincts, work on those in a safe place. If you don't know how to stop it, please hire a trainer and work hard to achieve control of your relationship with the dog. If you don't want to hire a trainer, please, please, please keep him away from the rest of us! You can exercise your dog in the cool of morning and evening, using a muzzle to protect the community. (Don't muzzle a dog in hot weather for more than 30 minutes at a time. They cool themselves with their tongues and muzzles prohibit maximum cooling action needed for California prime heat.)

Dog Parks are an unfair place to experiment with a dog with a questionable nature.

It's the owner's responsibility to spend time and learn a pet's traits. All dogs are capable of growth and happiness, but only if we step up and help shape their development prior to off-leash freedom. The community should not be unsuspecting victims in an experiment some amateur is running to see if his nasty animal will bite in a big field the way it just bit the dog next door.

(Socialize your dog with puppy classes, starting very young. Make sure -- if you have a choice -- you acquire a puppy that had 8 weeks in the crib to learn socialization. Use positive, reward-based training methods which allow you to begin training immediately. Leash-based negative methods had to wait for a puppy's neck to strengthen, but nature and desire are always ready to be rewarded, and puppies are ready to learn how to get more love and treats!)

Work with your dog one-on-one. Have a trainer teach you the basics of obedience, the positive incentives to use to keep Fido motivated. Teach him to balance a biscuit on his nose to learn more obedience and restraint with you.

Have you see signs of dog-on-dog aggression? Please find out if your dog lacks social skills before letting him loose! If he's genuinely dangerous, please take this seriously and decide how committed you are to changing the behaviors. There are so many amazing trainers in the Encino area now. And the field has become more knowledgeable and effective. Ask for help.

Points of view and opinions vary greatly on dog parks. Let me walk the plank and take a middle ground. I think they're great fun, and this park is a community treasure for Encino dog owners. Animals become a key component of family life, and here is a well-kept spot with room to romp and a smart community of owners with whom you can bond and share the enjoyment.

Dog parks are most fun as after-exercise spots. They are best for trained, companion dogs, who have already had their serious run on the trails.

• Know that parks are magnets for dog owners who use the park as their sole source for training, socialization, exercise, and their own social life.
• Warning signs of poor dog leadership: leaving poop on the ground, ignoring what their dog is doing or where, not watching signs of impending trouble like raising of fur, rigid postures, circling, shooting into pack formation in a frenzy, all of which are solved by paying attention, calling your dog to come, breaking up wilding before it starts.

When I was a father of three small girls, getting out of the house was a treat. My two, big dogs were always ready for adventure, and they never got quite enough exercise, at that time.

(Sporting breed dogs need two, good, full-on runs each day, combined with a half-hour to an hour of walking twice a day. There are professional services who do this when you can't. Rethink getting  a hunting breed if what you want to hear is that a bag of Cheetos and good recliner are your real best friends. Retrievers, pointers, and other energetic breeds need to work off their energy before it becomes mounting tension. If we help them use their energy constructively, we are helping ourselves, too.  Most of my "problem" Weimaraner, Labrador, Pointer, and Dalmatian clients had an owner commitment problem, not a dog problem. These dogs are designed for motion, not suntan lotion.)

Dog parks are ideal secondary destinations for exercise. They are a terrific wind-down place.  

When I was a young father, escaping my duties to exercise the dogs, I was starved for adult conversation. I usually paid attention to my pack, but it was a conscious effort. Several times, I got so involved in talking with another owner, I lost sight of my dogs. Being a dog trainer, I had control, though they were off leash, which is very handy. I could stop both my dogs, in the middle of a full-on gallop, by yelling, "Poco! Stop!" To which Poco would jam on his skid machines and halt, look directly at me, sit, and wait for my follow-up command. "Sammy, stop!" Sammy, no matter what he was doing, would stop, sit, look at me for direction. This way I rediscovered where they were, I got them back into my communication, and I kept their invisible leashes taut.

Now, I don't expect you to be a dog trainer, if you come to Sepulveda Basin Off-Leash Dog Park, located in the northwest puzzle piece of Lake Balboa Park.  I only ask you to pay attention.

1.    Talk to your new friends, but keep your eyes on the dog.

2.    Stay off your cell phone, if you can, for most of this visit.

3.    You lose points if you don't notice when your dog poops.

4.    You lose half your points if you notice, but you realize you forgot a bag, yet you struggle to find a solution.

5.    No points, if you notice your dog poops and pretend to not notice.

6.    Full points, if you have off-leash control of your dogs so that Fido will, at least, come when he is called.

7.    If you watch your dog, staying with or near Fido (calling him to come to you regularly and giving him a little parade for doing it), and you require your dog to look up at you regularly, as a reminder you're in charge and watching, then thank you!

This park is in good shape, it's designed nicely, and it is well attended. A community is only as good as it behaves.

This relationship is such a gift to us, but like all worthwhile relationships it requires work and practice. The rewards are priceless. Imagine taking your dog to Sepulveda Basin Off Leash Park, and you see your dog joining a group of hopped up dogs, growling and snarling and heading for another dog in a moment of aggression. Imagine calling your dog, and she stops, she looks to you, she sees your hand signal, and she runs to you happily anticipating the love she gets every time she is called. Because you took the time to train, and you treat the park as a working owner time, not a lasy visiting time for humans to socialize and check out, your dog is probably safe and happy on every visit. There are baracudas out there, but your training will help you stay clear of most of them. (If you see a baracuda dog, prowling and looking for prey, just leave. Better to change plans about where to hike instead of where to get stiches.)