Swimming in Humidity

Hi all....  given the humidity and heat, I just wanted to post a quick reminder about the possibilities for dog-swimming at Prospect Park. Don't keep your dogs indoors! Just give them lots of water, sit in the shade a lot, gallivant in fountains and go swimming!

To reach Prospect Park Lake's paddling area, head to
the northwestern tip of the large body of water indicated by the map.
Dog Beach is at the northwestern (upper) tip
of the little body of water at the top of the map.

So, easiest to reach from Prospect Heights and Park Slope is Dog Beach. To get there, start at what is called the Tennis House, off of the 9th St. entrance, and walk to the foot of the path leading downhill. It's just a tiny little cove in which to take a dip and play a wee bit of fetch, and there are lots of other dogs there too. 

However, for real swimming, and plenty of room for full-on fetching, and without competition for space with other dogs - I really like bringing my pups a little further into the park, to Prospect Park Lake, which has a less dog-visited beach. 

The Dominance Debate

Dominance training is not en vogue. Twenty years ago it was, and positive reinforcement was a foreign concept in some circles. I'm not a fan of fads. My view is that it's best to err on the positive side, but an occasional dominance maneuver is not a terrible thing. There is no reason that you cannot mix and match positive reinforcement with dominance maneuvers - just be sure to use great care as you turn to dominating your dog - as a last resort, and only when you understand his/her character extremely well.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that dogs are profoundly sensitive creatures that pick up on the slightest gestures, cues, vibrations. Being alert and sensitive to their cues in turn is vital to becoming leaders they respect and adore and want to follow.

This pic by one of my favorite clients is entitled "mean-lookin softies". She uses positive reinforcement all the way, and she's definitely boss with her once-aggressive pit-lab mix.

First and foremost, being sensitive means paying attention to subtle body language. Theirs, ours, and that of the person passing by on the street. When we want to train a dog to follow specific commands, we tend to use sounds such as words and clicks. But when we want to communicate our general relationship to our dog, we use physical communication.