Hi! This is my first post but I was really concerned with our husky boy's first trip to the dog park and looking for a little guidance.

Just a little background: Our husky boy is a little over a year old, and neutered. He lives with some smaller dogs and a cat and has never had any aggressive issues. We've done puppy and intermediate training where he never showed aggression, nor has he ever shown aggression at the vet or petco. In fact he always wags his tail and eagerly sniffs any dog he meets of any size. So today I thought I would take my sweet man to a husky event at the dog park. We got in the first gate where you unleash and before I even got his harness off he was snarling and snapping at the group of dogs that had come up to the gate to greet him. I was so shocked I just quickly took him back to the car. I never expected such a reaction from my sweet baby. He always wants to play with any dog he meets, so any ideas about why he had that reaction? How can we help him adjust? Or should we just give up? I'm open to any suggestions!! I just don't want him or any other dogs to get hurt, but doggy parks can be so fun I hate for him to miss out if there is someway I can help him to be better adjusted.

I appreciate any help or guidance anyone can offer!!

There is the difference between dog park aggressions and gate or door aggressions. I don't think he was being aggressive, to be honest my malamute gets like that sometimes at the gates. I like owners to call their dogs away from the gate. That's just what I think was the only issue.

I agree with Erica. Most male Huskies I know or know of get overwhelmed at the entrance of dog parks when they are greeted in a swarm. My male is not aggressive whatsoever but he curls his lip and his hackles are up when we enter dog parks. He is simply communicating to the dogs that he needs space and time and then he proceeds to set his own pace in greeting who he wants. Male Huskies seem to like to be in control and set the tone and pace.

I don't know how much experience or familiarity you have with dog body language and communication but very often what we perceive as aggression ("bites", "growls", "attacks", etc) is really just normal husky communication: It's very assertive and confident and direct and whatever-the-opposite-of-subtle is.

Chances are good that if he has space at the entrance he will be fine of he is as friendly and.socialized as you say.

Thank you to both of you!! Perhaps because I've never seen my husky even growl, let alone snap at another dog, I was just so shocked and scared I didn't consider that perhaps he was letting " the pack" know he needed a little space. I think my fiancée and I are going to try taking him on a less busy day a few times to let him adjust and see the dog park is a good place to go.

Good luck. It's ok for them to set boundaries. Just be close by for a true fight in any case.

When they play with other dogs it looks and sounds like war. Too much so for some folks . Definitely takes some getting use to.

You could try to take him during off hours when there are less people so he would have more space less dogs to make him feel crowded. Also then he would have a positive experience with dog parks that might help him in the future.

My alpha female cannot stand when dogs swarm the fence and she too will snarl and puff herself up to these dogs. I will call their owners to call them off and if that doesn't work, I body block until Sheba gets out of the gate, then she's fine. It can be very overwhelming, especially on a first trip, to be bombarded by all those strange dogs.

Take your pup during the off hours at first. Not only will it help with his nerves, for the first couple times you never want to go at peak times. You have no idea how your dog will react, and the more dogs the more chance there is for significant injury.