Taking My Dog To The Most 'Aggressive' Dog Park In Ottawa 

Thank you all for your support over the last few days of DOGMAS! Would love to know your thoughts on the uploads and what more you want to see as we need a new idea every day. Frankie is actually a little injured - will update you in the new video tomorrow ❤️ much love, f&j

He reminds me so much of my dog. I work from home so I spend hours every day training and walking him. People are always so impressed and think I got “lucky” and yes I’m lucky I have such a loving perfect dog. But some people don’t understand how much work you need to put in to have a good dog.

“Some people spend lots of time training their dogs, don’t let that get thrown away cuz you didn’t train yours.” I agree with! I never go to the “mosh pit”! Always take the smaller trails.

Okay lol, just a couple minutes in though. I’m dutch and this makes me giggle. We are a highly populated country and what you call an aggressive overcrowded dog park (mosh pit) is the average hiking trail for us. I can’t go anywhere without meeting 10+ dogs. If a dog is managing to cope well in the Netherlands, it will be fine everywhere. When you mentioned a dog park I imagined something much much smaller than this.

Re-call is SO SO important so thank you for putting emphasis on it.

OMG all you said was exactly reading my every thought when I take my pup out. It is great to know there are more responsible owners out there like you!!!

Your suggestion in calming the Aussie before playing anywhere is a plus along with making sure they are leashed up in the parking lot. I hold onto my daughter's Aussie with dear life, protective of her safety and well-being. I am with you, never would I take her to a dog park with so many dogs of many breed's who are not always compatible. Tired of owners always saying, my dog is friendly, maybe to them but not everyone. I so appreciate your informative video's. Frankie is so smart and cute.

I appreciate the shit out of this. It is good to teach people who want to go to dog parks to do it safely. It personally not worth it to me to potentially set my dogs up for a bad situation i just dont trust the other people to care about my dogs well-being. We go on long off leash walks with solid recalls anytime we see other people with or without dogs we recall, sit, and wait. i get the need for dog parks for some people. Just not for me.

A dog park...a veterinarian’s best friend!

Next you should come check out Barkwood Forest, the 'least' aggressive dog park in Ottawa. All dogs screened for socialization, no mosh pits, fully fenced and only 30 parking spots for members to share 100 acres of forest walking. I'm the owner, let me know if you'd like to come on a group tour or do a private one and film it.

It's so great how well trained he is and that he will come right back to you even in situations when he's playing with another dog. I don't have a dog yet, but I hope to be adopting one in the future,but I still love watching others on RU-vid. Frankie is gorgeous. His eyes are so expressive.

Love watching your videos and seeing Frankie. Not a dog trainer either, but alway got comments/compliments about Shadow, my Weimaraner. Shadow was with me for 15 years and 9 months. May 13, 2019, was the hardest day of my life so far. I know the looks you talk about and the relationship/friendship you need with your pooch. I was always surprised with the comments I would get from people about how Shadow would listen and be attentive. To me it was just something normal or routine that I would ask him and he would do. Getting in and out of the truck, coming when I would call, staying when I would ask; but always being a puppy when he wanted. Haven't been able to bring myself to get another pooch, but I've been looking into the mini Aussies because of the personality I see in Frankie. Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays!

My thoughts exactly!! Thanks for your honesty. Also good to keep moving🐾🐾🤗

Wow, that's what I call a dog park! Fab!

I just love everything you & Frankie are about. I know you hear it all the time but your guys' bond is so inspiring. I would love to see a video on any tips on how you perfected your recall with Frankie :)

wow i subscribed very insightful and great tips to apply to my mini aussie and we are still training everyday and he is coming along so nicely! thank you for the calm, wonderful tips

I agree with you 100%. I need to spend more time calming mine before the entry point. My retriever becomes anxious and excited causing her to drool. She doesn't react this way anywhere else I take her. I have noticed when she has more time to prepare she is better. I have always tried to avoid that spot at the beginning of the trail but was forced to take my chances last winter when I sprained my ankle. I was lucky to even make it that far. I notice sometimes there are other people with some mobility issues that stand there 2 and I think that's partly how the chairs arrived. 20 dogs is like forming a pack which is likely to end with bad results. Almost every dog fight I've heard of happens in that exact spot. Unfortunately for me, I don't live close to that park anymore so we only get there on a grocery run into town. Thanks for the video. You have a very well trained dog and very beautiful. You might want to try Kanata trails, they don't seem to be quite so busy.

I have learnt so much from your channel about dogs how to keep them satisfied. Your channel is genuinely incredible. Keep up the good work and I cant wait to get an aussie of my own later in the year.

You are so right about all of this! I really wish more people were like you. I always keep moving with my two although I may stop for a few minutes but I move on when more dogs arrive.

your dog is so beautiful i enjoy watching you and frankie it brings me back to the good times i had with my husky we were a great team lost her 4 years ago with that said watching these post helps me in the way of feeling maybe im ready to get another dog these post give me inspiration it helps me feel like i can do it again basically watching you and frankie gives me hope to start again thank you

Im u guys biggest fan ever I’m getting an Aussie in 2021 🥺🥺🥺🐶🐶🐶

Totally agree. The problem with dog parks, scientifically, relates to the studies on wolves we did YEARS ago. We thought there was a hierarchy with wolves because the study showed that they displayed dominance. But really it showed that wolves forced to interact (like in a habitat for study) showed more violence because they couldn't run away. Dog parks are very similar. They are often too small and unlike you, people jump right into the the busiest sections. It's sad.

It's so important to maintain that calmness both entering and leaving the park - we are incredibly fortunate in Ottawa to have so many trailed off-leash parks - most in other cities are of the smaller fenced-in variety, much as the mosh pits here. I concur with pretty much all you are saying here - thank you!

Great information thank you for sharing. Beautiful park.

The herder instinct! My boy does the same thing. Very quiet dog but the minute the herding instinct kicks in he becomes very vocal!

I absolutely support this video - excellent message, spot on! 👏 👏👏

i love what yu guys share ❤️

This is a really great lesson for dog owners. For those who have reactive, aggressive, selective or dogs needing more training in a controlled setting, Country Canines Play Park is a safe alternative.

It's official -- I'm getting a red merle boy in January. These videos have been so helpful in my decision to get an Aussie. Thank you for sharing your journey with Frankie!

Great video! I'm impressed with Frankie's off leash skills

Thank you for your tips on being a responsible dog owner

I have a Border Heeler and I used to go to the 'Mosh Pit'. I regret it so much, it has only had bad outcomes. Beautiful pup & great video, have a subscribe!

Great video... I soon will be back hiking with a dog again... getting a pup mid January.. its a golden

I have watched a lot of your videos lately I’m so excited to get my pup Aussie in a couple of weeks 🙂

Omg! I have a Aussie named Frankie too :) He’s a brown Aussie and he came with a black miniature Aussie name Loki We were actually going to foster them but they were just so perfect! We’ve had them for around 4-5 years now :) I love my fluffs

Love these! I’m really hoping to get a white shepherd or border collie some day, and I really love watching you take care of your high-energy dog! It really gives a good insight into what is needed to take care of such a wonderful friend. I used to ”babysit” an australian shepherd who was waaay under-stimulated with her owner💔 She was the most lovely dog but was often so anxious and reactive due to not getting to use her body and brain properly. She would get loads better after a couple of days with the right exercise though! 💕 Wish I could’ve kept her💔

I always go to Bruce Pit early mornings and never take the outer loop that everyone uses. At most we’ll walk by 10 owners within a half hour walk. I find the most responsible owners also use inner paths and use it for the same reason as myself.

When he (Obi) was 12 weeks we took our aussie to the big park and he was pulling a lot like really a lot! (exided) i was a bit scare to put him off the leach. but i just gave him the trust. he stayed by us the wooole walk! i think he saw 25 dogs in total. he just say hello to all the dogs and walked further with us for 2 hours. now he dint change. Happy:D (proud owners :D )

I’m getting my Aussie on Saturday and I can’t wait 😁

Totally agree.

We always takes ours through the forest paths at Conroy and avoid people. We seldom go to Bruce since it's a bit further. We also like the fenced in parks if there are just a couple of people in them

you should try the blanket trick on him its like when you hold a blanket in front of you in a doorway and then drop it and you're gone

Great informative video! Thank you so much! I've been guilty of letting my dog charge into the mosh pit thinking that's normal behavior for dogs and people at dog parks. Thank you for the reality check! Will be avoiding that now.

Great video! I live in Ottawa as well. I do the same thing at Bruce Pit, stick to the unpopulated areas.

Great video. I go to the Experimental Farm where I can have space for my GSD. He's made a lot of progress with dog reactivity and more neutral to dogs but he still doesn't like dogs charging him and coming up to his face.

Every park in my country has such a spot as well. I always avoid them...😂😂😂

I love your videos so much and I really want a australian shepherd and also some ideas are morning routine night routine what he dose all day

Great video. Lots of good advice. I don’t own a dog and when I did we didn’t have things like dog parks and such. I’m thinking of getting a dog Shiva Inu actually but I know those dogs are difficult to train and you have to be very careful because they are very independent. So I’m thinking hard before I get a dog like that. But I really like that type of dog that personality but I’m going to continue doing research. Thanks for the hint I’ll keep looking at your videos. Your dog is so well trained and happy and healthy great to see.

Funny I just found your channel, my Aussie is turning 1 in a few days. Throwing a covid in party for him 🥳

What a beautiful place. Wish we had anything even a tenth of the size. Around here, the mosh pit is the whole dog park.

I'd love to see how you trained your recall

Can you remember when Frankie started to do good with recall. And I don't mean at home or outside without major distractions, but with other dogs and people?

I thoroughly enjoy these videos! Can you do a day in the life vlog, focusing on you? Lol. As a new Aussie owner I find myself not being able to manage my time with working from home while also taking care of an Aussie!

Damn, I'm so jealous. I wish we had nice spacious dog parks like this in New Jersey. Everything in a 1 hour radius is just the size of a backyard. I try my best to stay away from other dogs when I go, but there isn't much room to truly get away from the chaos. Many people won't even let you enter the park without getting pounced on (they let their dogs guard the gate). I miss being able to just take my dogs for relaxed off-leash walks.

I live in California, between Sacramento and San Francisco and if we had a huge dog park like this one, I'd take him often. Our local dog parks are maybe ½ an acre on each side (small and large) many are smaller. And none have much in trees, grass, or trails.

Could you make a video (or at least explain a bit) how you made your dog obidient off leash? How did you make him stick to your side even though there's 20 dogs close to you? Mine would just rush there :(

I go to bruce pit almost everyday with my dogs, I get why people think it’s “aggressive” since a lot of smaller dogs don’t play like the dogs in the open area do. My 2 border collies love running around and playing with the other dogs. They get run over once in a while or mouthed but they just get right back up and start chasing them again. In my opinion it’s a really fun place for dogs and a nice place to walk around for humans

Frankies grooming routine video soon please? Also our dogs literally have the same features in the face it's crazy

Excellent video ❤️🐾❤️🐾❤️🐾

Hi! I have an aussie named Romeo and he’s bad with other dogs, could you do a video on off leash training and listening to you no matter what? It would really help us out🥰

I have a 4 month mini Aussie. I am currently training him to take on walks, as well as to parks. Your videos have helped so much and are so reassuring and calming.

Wow, I didn’t know dog parks are ever this big and pretty. I’ve never brought my pup because i don’t trust her off leash yet, we have a very long way to go with recall

Question for you - so I have a mini Aussie too and he LOVES snow. The only problem is when there's frozen slush/icy bits mixed in with the snow he sometimes gets little cuts on his paws that bleed from running and playing in it. Is there anything you do to protect against that? Paw salve? Doggie booties? Would love to know your thoughts! Frankie is amazing

If all the people would just at least move around with the dogs, I feel fine if they were, but just standing there is asking for trouble in my opinion, I used to work at a doggy daycare and I know that every time a new dog was added to our pack when we took them to the offleash area it caused a bit of tension, but when we moved around they relaxed, and we could be up to 20 dogs some days, but we also made sure they work well together BEFORE going there 👌🏼

Hi there, thanks for the video! We enjoy it a lot. Can you pls explain why do you avoid a moshpit? I assume its coz of Covid but is there anything else? Thanks! :)

Wow what a beautiful park! I live in Toronto and am wondering if there is any dog park like this one. I’ve taken my husky puppy to the dog parks in the past and he always had a great time, but once he hits an adolescent, he started to assert himself over a few younger intact males(mine is nearly 11 month and still intact). He just growls, but I started to feel so anxious so I stopped going to the park and focus on a structured walk and teach him to pay more attention to me than other dogs. I do feel bad that he doesn’t get to run in a big space and I wonder his reaction towards other males will change after he gets neutered, and also his recall and ability to ignore the distractions and stay with me will improve after months of training and building relationships. I’d appreciate any opinion and advice. Thank you 😊

I wish we had big parks like this around us (Cincinnati Ohio) - all of our off leash dog parks are small enough that the whole thing is a the mosh pit, we stopped going because kahvi started picking up bad behaviors, he was attacked to the point of broken skin once , and then almost attacked two more times (in one week, at two different parks) where I stepped in and defended him and no owners came to remove their dog

Great vid and info. I find the moshpits are more for human socialising than dog! Moshpit is the new Tinder.

Frankie is the most popular kid on the block. I’m not joking. His temperament is a joy to watch Are they similar to Border Collies ? If so, it explains their intelligence

Agree with this. My friend had her dog jumped on by a big heavy dog, at a dog park. dislocated his hip injuring him. In a busy area where it was just full of dogs and didn’t see it coming. The owner didn’t give a shit, not even a sorry. The little dog was screaming in agony. Weeks in traction and pain and the dollars involved! And the stress! He’s good now, but my friend never lets him off the lead now and is very vigilant. Some owners of dogs are complete assholes, ignorant and without any empathy.

should check out Kemptville dog park...

Ey I discovered this amazing channel a few days ago. My dog is a border collie called Pango and remainds me so much to Frankie. I think they will be a good friends 😂 You are doing a great job, hi from Spain.

Just wondering, did you crate train Frankie? Also, I love your videos so much.

Also as someone who lives in Ottawa I feel like there are a lot of spaces/parks where dogs are not welcome - which I find super frustrating. It'd be nice to have more dog friendly areas and leash free areas so the existing ones aren't so congested

I’ve never heard Frankie bark before this

Can u please address what the dangers of the most pit are? Will there be a rumble? I am a new Aussie Sheppard owner and sometimes take him to crowded dog parks. He is very non agressive and backs off at any sign of agression and I keep a close eye on interactions. Where I live the dog parks are smaller.

can we also address that some people let their young kids run like crazy in the dog park? and blame dog parents when their dogs jump on the kids. I mean I love kids, but its not a good idea to let kids out of control while they are around so many dogs

Maybe this is a dumb question, but i’m planning on teaching my dog to walk off leash to go hiking. Are these trails that you go on inside the fenced area? If my dog were to mess up and book it I don’t want her to run off too far.

Wow! I wish we had parks like this near me. I have to take my dogs hiking in the desert/mountains to get anything near that. I don't like the dog parks here very much, they're too small, people don't pay attention to their dogs, and the worst part is the kids running around that my aussie loves to herd. I try to go early in the day to avoid much of that. Your dog is beautiful!

I have a question. How can I get my dog to be social to other dogs? Because when she was a puppy the family who had my dog before us didn't socialize her. So now she's more aggressive to other dogs. Is there anyway I can take her there with any tips on how to train her to be nice to other dogs?

I know this isn't completely related to this video's topic, and you've probably talked about it in one of your other videos specifically about this, but I'm getting my Aussie puppy this weekend. She won't be going to public places like this until she's fully vaccinated, but I'm wondering how to teach her to be really good off leash. There is a park really close to my house with a huge field, but it doesn't have a fence around it. She will be my service dog, so she's going to be highly trained as it is, but how do I build the trust to keep her in that field in order to exercise her? I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask this specific question, but I figured I would give it a shot!

Joey- I need some help, my 3.5 y/o red tri girl LOVES people and was raised in a country setting but I moved to an apartment complex that is dog friendly with tons of green space, dog park near by, beach, trails ,ect. I. am trying to socialize her with more dogs, but she tends avoids other dogs. If a dog comes by her she hides behind me or will moan or groan a little. I know this is going to take some time for her to get comfortable with other dogs, any advice? Much appreciated, great video!

My dog is anti social sometimes he is a hound mix. We were at the dog park earlier today and now he is sleep. Mushu mission is to mark almost every tree then play. I’m working on his social skills he will play with smaller dogs after 5 minutes of being shy. He doesn’t chase after toys I just have an old soul dog and he is only 2. I do have a question I noticed his mood will switch quick when an intact dog will smell him. How can I help the situation before it escalate?

Hey love the content you make and a follower of both the main channel and vlog channel for you personally. Just a question that maybe you have an answer to. My dog will be 12 years old this coming April. We didn't train him very well and we are fully aware of that. We didn't bring him to socialize because we noticed he was a super reactive dog that wasn't trained the best but we also don't want him to be closed off to the rest of the dog world. We constantly have our eye on him which probably makes him feel even more anxious but that is because we know he is a very reactive dog that most dogs don't like because of his super "aggressive" approach. My question to you is how can we either bring him to dog parks to socialize or even just meet other dogs if we know he is super reactive?

your dog is beautiful

How many acres is that park?

So is that ENTIRE park offleash?? I wish we had them like that where i live

There is literally no parks like this near me (Brampton) :(((((

I have the world’s most energized toy poodle puppy and he will get excited anytime he sees another dog. He is not reactive, he wont bark or growl. He just wants to play with them. But since there are a lot of dogs who might be reactive at the parks, I dont like going there often. Plus, we should definetly work more on recall. I have an instagram for my puppy that helped me find playmates for him. He is still very young and I want to have as much control as I can over the dogs that he is playing with and their surroundings.

I want to get a mini Australian Shepherd puppy but I can’t find a good website does anyone know where I can get a perfect one?

I’m picking my new Aussie baby tommorrow.. he’s 8weeks old and I’m clueless.. 😂. Any advice you can give? He’s a full sized Aussie and he looks just like Frankie!

💝🐶🐾

Where did u get you assie

What if ur dog do end up calming down in the car but then get too excited taking ur dog out of the car ?

what if your dog whines and acts excited when shes anxious? (she hates the car... i think its equal amounts anxiety and excitement to be honest! also not technically my dog, my parents!) xx

What type of car he have?

As soon as I read the title I instantly thought why would you do that? Then I thought it’s Joey he defiantly has a reason behind it let’s see what the reason is

he's gorgeous ;(

You should do some of the challenges that SypherPK does with his dogs on the channel Life With Aussies.

EASY 300+ dogs on weekends at Zilker Park in downtown Austin, TX