A Few Honest Dog Park Rules Worth Knowing

Every dog park has an unwritten rulebook nobody actually hands you. Here's the version we'd give a friend before their first visit.

Before You Even Get There

• Know your dog's actual social battery. Not every dog wants to play with every dog, and that's fine — a dog that hangs back isn't broken, it's just not in the mood.
• Leave the treats at home. Food in a shared space full of unfamiliar dogs is a fast way to start a problem nobody wanted.
• Double-check the gate. Sounds obvious until you're the reason two dogs met each other five seconds too early.

Once You're In

• Watch body language, not just tails. A wagging tail isn't automatically a green light — stiff, high, and fast reads differently than loose and low.
• Step in early, not late. If something looks like it's about to tip into a real problem, break it up before it does, not after.
• Pick up after your dog. Every time. Not a personality thing, just the baseline.

We're dog people through and through around here — Mocha and Grrly keep us on our toes, and we still think of Charger and Angel — so this is the etiquette we actually try to follow, not just repeat.

— Jorge