Hello All,

I have a 6 month old Sib named Kenai. We had plenty of puppy parent issues in the past 4 months, but we wouldn't trade him for anything. This is my first post, and I am glad to have found such an awesome community!

We started taking Kenai to dog parks when he was about 4 months old, just to accurately socialize him with other dogs and we never had any real behavioral issues. About 3 weeks ago, he was fixed so we had to take a break from the dog park. He is healed up and ready to go, now, so we decided this week to take him to the dog park. However, we have had more behavior problems with him in the past week than ever before.

Kenai refuses to leave other dogs alone, constantly trying to get them to play with him. Even older dogs that ignore him consistently, he will gnaw at their cheeks and try to body check them around until they acknowledge him. Other owners obviously see their dogs being upset so I have to step in and corral Kenai. When I try to get him to calm down, it is literally impossible. He tries to flip, bite, roll, and do anything you can imagine to escape my grasp to get back to annoying the other dogs.

Kenai is very sweet at home (other than the playful biting, which we're working on), but when he gets into these fits at the dog park, it's like he is a completely different dog and doesn't care what I say or do. We take him for several long walks a day and he loves to sit outside and get the occasional "zoomies" but I have never seen this side of him. I'm afraid he's going to get us kicked out of the dog park. Not for attacking other dogs, but for being so hyped up that he brings the attacks onto himself.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I don't have any advice...you are describing my son's dog as a pup to a "T" The only solution I found when Archer was too much for Ami was to either bring one or the other inside or tether them both with a bone.

Puppies will be puppies

Thanks for the thought! Yes, I've started taking him out immediately but i'm not sure if he's associating the reasons why we have to leave or not.

It sounds like typical husky puppy play, which can be overwhelming and confusing to other dogs (and more importantly, their owners). Huskies have a totally unique play style that can come off as aggressive to those unfamiliar with it.

You are just going to have to learn how to read other people and their dogs. Some dogs will eventually get into it after realizing it's just play and some will become more defensive. Then there's the whole other problem of the super sensitive owner who think "Oh, he's growling at Mr. Fluffypants!" Trust me, you will get good at learning when to just take Kenai to a different area or wait and see if play will happen.

You need to get him to play with other huskies! There is a nationwide group called Husky Huddle Malamute Mingle (H2M2) that has local groups to organize monthly get togethers. Here is a link to the Indiana FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/H2M2.Indiana/ and the nation wide one https://www.facebook.com/groups/183721131803722/

Welcome and good luck!