I used to think bringing treats to the dog park was fine... until I saw the fights break out

I always brought a bag of training treats for my dog, thinking it was a nice way to reward good behavior. But last Tuesday at Riverside Park, a guy's lab got into a fight with a golden retriever over a dropped piece of jerky. The owner yelled at me for "baiting" the dogs, and honestly, he was right. Three other owners backed him up, saying treats cause resource guarding and jealousy. Now I just keep the kibble in my pocket for training after we leave. Has anyone else had issues with treats causing drama at their park?

2 comments

2 Comments

grantl9427d ago

Gotta say I disagree with the people yelling at you. I bring treats to the dog park all the time and never had a fight break out. It's more about how you handle them than the treats themselves. Keep em hidden in your pocket and only pull one out when your dog is right next to you. Also pick up any dropped ones immediately so no other dog sniffs them out. The key is keeping your dog focused on you not on sharing with strangers. If your dog is a resource guarder then yeah don't bring treats but most dogs are fine with some basic management.

gavinhunt26d ago

I mean, I get what you're saying but I've seen it go wrong too many times. I was at the park last week and someone dropped a single kibble and two dogs went at it before anyone could even move. It's not just about resource guarding either, some dogs get weird about high value stuff even if they're normally fine. Maybe it's just me but I'd rather just use a tug toy or a ball for training at the park. Treats add a whole layer of risk that's not really worth it when you could just use a flirt pole or something.