Your dog already has dog friends, and gets plenty of exercise. So what sets dog camp apart?

In my years of working with dogs, I’ve noticed an interesting pattern. The vast majority of dogs don’t have good social skills. Most dogs spend almost all their time with people, and only sometimes hang out with other dogs. The result of this is that they’re not good at reading other dogs’ cues and signals. Even friendly dogs can be terrible at this - especially dogs who get excited when they see another dog.

Dogs don’t speak, so they communicate with each other using subtle body language. Something as innocuous as licking their lips can be a sign that they’re extremely uncomfortable. If the friendly dog they’re interacting with doesn’t understand this and keeps trying to play, they can feel like they need to escalate their communication, maybe by growling, barking, or snapping. Over time, if a dog’s signals are ignored, they become reactive as a way to keep other dogs from violating their space. They learn that subtle signals don’t work, so they start using “louder” signals like barking or showing their teeth.

The skill I spend by far the most time on at dog camp is teaching the dogs to read each other’s signals. They learn to respect other dogs’ space, even when they’re excited! This can be really hard for some dogs, but they come out of it with much better relationships with other dogs. For sensitive or insecure dogs, it is absolutely essential for them to learn that other dogs WILL listen to their signals. Through these experiences, they gain confidence and become more comfortable interacting with other dogs. This helps them stay happy, well-adjusted dogs who behave appropriately when seeing or meeting a new dog.