Venezia: Choosing right dog park can be tricky

Are there unforeseen dangers lurking in local dog parks?

I grapple with the issue of how safe it is to take my little rescue dog Stasha to play at them.

We prefer the Bark Park on Arlington Drive in Costa Mesa. It has a fenced-in section for small- to medium-sized dogs, and another for larger dogs.

Stasha has been to both sections. She prefers running the rolling hills with the big dogs and digging in the dirt, but I worry that if, at 30 pounds, she comes in contact with a more aggressive animal she could be in big trouble.

I don’t want Stasha to miss out on socialization so I posed the question to her trainer, “Vladae the Russian Dog Wizard.”

Stasha’s known him since she was 5 months old — she’s almost 4 now — and seems to understand every command he utters, even with his endearing Russian accent.

Vladislav Roiytapel — Vladae for short — is quite a character.

Born in the Soviet Union, Vladae trained animals for the Red Army as border patrol and paratrooper dogs for the special forces.

No doubt his credentials are a bit of an overkill when it comes to teaching Stasha to sit and stay, but she adores him.

As busy as Vladae is with his SoCal Dog Training biz, he stopped by last week for a chat about my dog park concerns and offered some sound advice.

It’s his opinion taking Stasha to Dog Beach in Huntington Beach is much safer than to any dog park.

That surprised me until I heard his reasoning. Because the beach has no barriers, mainly owners with well-trained animals responding to off-leash commands go there.

In a fenced dog park you don’t have that level of trained dog generally, thus behavior is more unpredictable.

Vladae says that when entering, assess the overall energy of the dogs and people.

Introduce dogs side by side so they can smell each other’s butts. Vladae says this is “doggie Google,” as they learn all they need to know about each other with this behavior.

And look for situations to avoid.

Dogs sitting on laps or under the chairs of their owners could exhibit what Vladae calls “possessive aggression,” as your dog approaches.

One of Stasha’s favorite pastimes at the Bark Park is chasing along the fence line separating the small and bigger dog park.

Dogs on both sides of the fence run back and forth and bark at each other.

Vladae says this is unhealthy play as energy turns into a drive, then frustration, and ultimately to aggression.

“All of a sudden they start fighting among themselves, and you don’t want your dog involved in that,” he says.

Bringing balls or toys into the park promotes competition, which could provoke a fight as well since these animals are competitive by nature, he says.

When in the park owners need to pay attention to animal body language, not their electronic devices.

Vladae says dogs communicate via energy and will start to chase a weaker dog. People watch this and think they are playing, but take notice of tail-raising or growling, that’s when things can turn ugly and dangerous.

“Stop the chase before it starts” he warns.

What if a dog fight ensues?

Vladae says that’s where training and commands come into play, and that could be lifesaving.

But not all dogs in the dog park are well-trained so he suggests a product called Pet Convincer Plus. It fits in the palm of your hand and shoots compressed air with a hissing sound. One spray gets the animal’s attention.

Stasha was trained with this device, and it really works.

Another product he recommends is Direct Stop, a citronella-based animal deterrent spray.

Vladae says it’s important to keep the animal moving and stay with the dog while in the park.

If you have an uncertain animal, it’s wise to keep the dog on a leash and take a walk around with him or her. Or even leave them leashed and let them drag it around. You’ll be able to grab or step on it should something bad happen.

“The most important thing is to have control over your dog with command training,” Vladae stressed. “I cannot tell you how many dog lives are saved with a recall command.”

He also warns those with puppies should not bring them to the dog park as disease and aggressive animals could be especially dangerous for them.

My conversation with Vladae about dog-park dangers was enlightening. The bottom line is any time I take Stasha into an environment where there are so many variables of which I have little control over, she could be at risk.

For now I think it’s best her fur buddies visit and play in our yard.

BARBARA VENEZIA lives in Newport Beach. She can be reached at [email protected].