Dog Park Etiquette

The dog park should be fun, not a free for all. 

Carlin Lutzer welcomes Sam Burnett from Sheep River Dog Rescue for a practical and honest conversation about dog park etiquette, dog behaviour, and responsible ownership. 

Sam explains why recall is nonnegotiable, how to spot fear based reactivity, why not every growl means aggression, and how owners often create or escalate the problems they blame on dogs. 

From leash habits and gate etiquette to muzzles, e-collars, socialization, and even bald eagles near small dogs, this episode is a must listen for anyone who visits the Okotoks dog park and wants to keep it safer, calmer, and more enjoyable for everyone.

Listen for:

2:20 How Do You Know If Your Dog Is Not Ready For The Dog Park?

4:08 Why Is Recall So Important Before Going Off Leash?

9:43 How Can You Tell If A Growl Is Playful Or A Warning?

15:16 When Is A Dog Correction Not The Same As Aggression?

24:02 What Is The Best Way To Enter And Leave The Dog Park?

Connect with Guest: Sam Burnett, Co-Founder and Training Coordinator, Sheep River Rescue Dog 

Website | Sheep River Dog Rescue Facebook Page

Connect with Carlin

Email | Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

Sheep River Dog Rescue formally know as Moe Dog Rescue.  Passionate about giving Dogs another chance.

Special thanks to Okotoks Nissan for arranging this podcast with Kelly Hrudey.

Transcript

Announcer (00:00):

This is the Okotoks Podcast, proudly sponsored by Carlin Lutzer Real Estate. Thanks for joining us.

Carlin Lutzer (00:19):

Welcome back to the Okotoks podcast. Today we're diving into the Okotoks dog park from playful chaos to the occasional tension. It's a place where dogs and people come together and sometimes things don't always go as planned. Joining me today is Sam Burnett from Sheep River Dog Rescue. Today we're talking about dog park etiquette, how to read your dog, what responsible ownership really looks like, and how we can all make the park a safer and more enjoyable place for everyone. And typically, and for the record, the dogs aren't the biggest problem at the dog park. Let's get into it. Sam, it's good seeing you again.

Sam Burnett (01:07):

Hey, you as well. Thanks for having me.

Carlin Lutzer (01:09):

Yes. The last time we had you on, you were with Mo Dog Rescue. Now you've changed your name to Sheep River Dog Rescue. And even the last time that we chatted, we talked about getting you back on to talk about basically the rules of engagement at the dog park. Now, Okotoks is blessed with an awesome dog park and now there's a new one in Wetterburn, but it's quite regular that I go there and I see some fights and not always just amongst the dogs.

Sam Burnett (01:44):

Yeah. Oh, yes. People. People are the caveat to the problems we run into in the dog world, for sure.

Carlin Lutzer (01:52):

Yeah. So I'm wondering if we can just go over some of the rules. I've seen dogs that should not be at the dog park. And I think the owners get very defensive. If anybody ever says that maybe your dog shouldn't be here, your dog seems a little bit aggressive. What's kind of the signs that you see that maybe this dog is not quite ready for the dog park?

Sam Burnett (02:20):

Oh, any type of fear-based reactivity. And I've seen this too at the dog park where somebody comes in and every time that dog gets approached by another dog, its hackles are up, it's posturing, it's head down. It clearly does not want to be in the space interacting with other dogs. It's very uncomfortable. You'll see this a little bit in puppies, but there's a big difference between timidness. For sure. Timidness in dogs and a dog that really just doesn't want to interact with other dogs. I think it's important to note that ... I mean, dogs are only what we make of them. As someone who works with difficult dog breeds, I shouldn't say difficult dog breeds because I don't believe there's difficult dog breeds, but difficult dogs, dogs that are fear-based, reactivity. Dogs are only what we make of them. So if there's a dog at the dog park that's not acting in an appropriate manner, we need to look to the owners.

(03:26):

Accountability needs to start becoming the norm for dog owners. If your dog is reacting poorly at the dog park, it's on the owner. It's on the owner for not socializing that dog properly, not training that dog properly, not building proper recall with that dog. Again, they only know what we teach them.

(03:46):

So if we don't take the steps to teach them what isn't inappropriate, how to behave, we can't expect them to show up at a place like a dog park and expect them to know what to do.

Carlin Lutzer (03:55):

Right. So when it does come to recall, what are some things, what are some tips that you can give the listeners to? Because I would say it's a very high percentage of dogs out there that do not have any recall whatsoever.

Sam Burnett (04:08):

Yep. If your dog doesn't have recall, don't take your dog to the dog park. That's the kind of first and foremost. It's an easy training methodology. You can train your dogs at home. It's just a matter of constantly calling your dog everywhere you are. And when I'm in the house, if I call my dog and they run over, I give them a treat. It's a reward. Reward-based training, we're training our dogs to build recall. If you're uncertain in the dog park, you can get a long line. You can go to the pet store and they can sell you a leash that's 20 feet, 50 feet, a hundred feet. Leave that attached, take your dog to the park, build on recall, or just take that out to a field somewhere with a hundred foot leash and work on your dog's recall before you put them in a distracting environment, because the dog park is distracting.

(04:50):

So you want to be able to build a good amount of recall with your dog before ever stepping foot into the dog park, for sure.

Carlin Lutzer (04:58):

Right. There's some dogs that are very aggressive. Well, aggressive at the start, when they're approaching another dog, they sometimes come running in. Is that just a way that a dog showing dominance is the way that they come in with their chest up and the speed they come in to greet the other dog?

Sam Burnett (05:18):

Probably lack of socialization, I would say. A dog that's had good socialization typically has pretty good dog manners. And if a dog's flying in hot like that, coming in, bumping right off the hop is probably overexcitement combined with poor social skills.

(05:37):

So you see a dog that's really excited, comes flying in, runs into another dog. Don't get me wrong, there are some dogs I've seen at the dog park that it is a dominance aggressive issue. They're attempting to control the environment that they're in. They're attempting to push their position of hierarchy on every dog they see. That's not as common as dogs that just lack social skills. I see it all the time. A lot of times you'll see something too where dogs do, I like to call it a drive-by, but they'll see a dog, they'll run right at the dog and the last second they'll hang right or a left and they'll look over their shoulder and they're basically trying to convince that other dog to play chase. My dogs do this often and it freaks people out because they see dogs come running at them and they panic.

(06:30):

If you're at the dog park, dogs running should not be something that causes you to be panicked. And if you're panicked, you probably shouldn't be at the dog park.

Carlin Lutzer (06:37):

Right, for sure. Well, that's a very good point because you do see that all the time where dogs do pick up the traits of their owners. Whether you do see some people that are aggressive and their dogs are aggressive, you see some people that are timid out there and their dogs pick up that sense from their owners as well, which makes it ... Yeah, certainly you're bringing these dogs together, people together, and everybody has different set of rules, it seems like.

Sam Burnett (07:08):

Which is interesting because the dog park in and of itself has its own rules and they're posted at the dog park. And there's constant violations of those rules. I mean, a common one, I'm just looking at the list here in front of me, but all dogs must be under the control of and visible to their handler. And I can't tell you how many times I've seen people walking around the park when their dog's 400 meters ahead of them, 200 meters behind them or a hundred meters off to the left, and they're not even looking at their dog. They're not paying attention. That also tells me they're not picking up after their dog and they don't really don't know what their dog's doing. I know how many times I've been at the dog park where I've walked my two dogs and I get a third one all of a sudden and they spend the duration walking around the park with me and I have no idea where their owner is.

Carlin Lutzer (07:53):

Right. Yeah. I actually ran into a couple that they would leave their dog there and they would swap each other out. The husband would go let the wife know, "Hey, just at the dog park." And then they couldn't figure out why one time their dog panicked and escaped from the dog park. They were shocked. And they're like, "Wow, my gosh, what are you doing people? Come on, let's not do that. " Yeah. And that's obviously a big problem is people not picking up after their dogs. I think you see people do that a lot of times. And even to approach them and mention that, I'm afraid to do it because I feel like it's going to get escalated very, very quickly. People are very sensitive about that.

Sam Burnett (08:33):

People are incredibly sensitive about their dogs. I know that from both working in rescue and because I was a peace officer and I had to often talk to people with regards to their dogs and dog behaviors. And people get their hackles up really quick when you talk to them about their dogs. I think too, a part of the problem is in the dog park is a lot of people have lots to say, but a lot of the people who are doing a lot of the saying don't know what they're talking about. And I've experienced this. I've had people tell me my dogs are aggressive because they're vocal when they play. And I looked at them and went, "Okay, thanks for your input." And I've had people scream at me, "Get your dogs out of the park. They're aggressive." And there they are off, running in the field, being loud and playing together.

(09:20):

If you don't understand dog body language and dog behaviors, you probably shouldn't be at the

Carlin Lutzer (09:25):

Dog park. Yeah. Okay. Let's stay there for a bit because there are times that you do have an encounter with a dog you don't know and the dog comes in and they're growling, right? Is there a way that you can sense the growl as to what this dog's intention is?

Sam Burnett (09:43):

Well, look at the body language, right? I mean, if their body is stiff, their tail's rigid, they're not moving, their eyes are solid and fixated, that is a dog who's extremely uncomfortable. And if that is also accompanied by some sort of vocalness, that's usually that dog telling other dogs it's uncomfortable. Big difference versus dogs running and jumping on each other while growling. Tails are up, body parts are all over the place, two dogs flopping around all over the park, that's a big difference. So rigidity, stiffness, hyper fixation, mouth closed and tight, tail rigid and firm in any position, even fast sweeping tailwags is all indications that a dog is uncomfortable. And that's okay too. There's lots of times my dogs have gone up to a dog that are uncomfortable and that dog might give them a little low growl and they move on because my dogs are socialized and they understand that that dog's comfortable.

(10:46):

Now, should that person be bringing a dog that that's uncomfortable to the park? Probably not.

Carlin Lutzer (10:53):

Do you think most people know that their dogs should not be at the dog park?

Sam Burnett (10:59):

No. I think most people don't have the first understanding of what dog body language and dog behaviors look like, unfortunately. There's a really great book out there, and the name has escaped me, but for ... I'm just going to pull it up here. For anyone that's looking, and I'll see if I can find that book name later. If anybody's looking for good books, there's tons of books and just documents on the internet on dog body language with pictures, with videos. Go do a little bit of research and understand what you're looking at. Another good way to tell is, do things feel tense? Dogs communicate with body language and energy. If you're with a bunch of dogs and you're walking up to a dog and all of a sudden you feel that tension in the room, maybe listen to that and go, "Hmm, there's some tension over here.

(11:54):

That dog's stressed. Maybe I will not necessarily encourage my dogs to go say hi. Maybe we'll just move on.

Carlin Lutzer (12:01):

" Yeah, no. And I feel like our dog park's big enough that we can avoid other people. And I do that, not because I don't ... I trust my ... I have a golden retriever. She's very good with other dogs. However, I don't know what kind of situation she's entering into getting close to other dogs. There's a lot. Obviously, there's a high percentage of dogs that are great at the dog park, but it takes just one because you hear stories a few months ago now, a lady was distraught in the parking lot because her dog was attacked by another dog. And the people of the dog that did the attacking, they said, "Oh, our dog's never done this before." And it seemed like new behavior to them, but I would think that you should probably know your dog and the dog's behavior before you enter.

Sam Burnett (12:55):

Yeah. I've been at the dog park a few times where people have a brand new dog, whether it's a foster dog or a dog they just adopted, and they're in the park off leash with it on the second day they've owned that dog. And normally I've been there to help them catch the dog because that's usually the issue is the dog won't come back, but we shouldn't be taking a dog into an off-leash park that we don't know, that we don't have a good firm understanding of what they're like with other dogs. If people are nervous about what their dog's going to be like with other dogs, take them to a board and train program or even a dog daycare with people whose job it is to help your dog learn to socialize and get them socialized before you start going to the off leash park.

(13:39):

That's an easy solution, but you do need to know your dog and you need to have a firm understanding of dog body language and behavior, for sure. I've had very few incidences of being around in the dog park for a dog fight. A lot of what people think is a dog fight is dogs correcting other dogs.

(14:05):

And usually it sounds like a snap and a bark at the same time. I call it snipping, right? Dog snaps at another dog with a bark and a growl at the same time. That's dog's just saying, "Hey, I'm uncomfortable. Don't do that. " And you'll often see it with a younger dog and an older dog. A puppy comes over and they're pouncing on the older dog, they're smacking it on the head with their front paws and they get a correction. There's nothing wrong with that. As long as the correction doesn't cause injury and the dog that's being corrected responds well to it, good. That's the equivalent of a kid at the park saying, "Don't push me.

Carlin Lutzer (14:42):

" Yeah. Yeah, no, I'm laughing because we have two dogs, my Bijan, was he a Maltese Bijan? He thinks he's the king of the dog park when he goes. And actually, a lot of times I end up keeping him on the leash just because I feel he's going to break his back or something because he goes after the biggest dogs. He'll take on anything. I feel he needs a bit of a correction, a little bit of brought into his place inside of the pecking order in the dog park. But I don't know, what do you think of that?

Sam Burnett (15:16):

Yeah, I mean, the problem is relying on other people's dogs that you don't know to provide a good correction, an appropriate correction. Not a game I'd want to play just because we don't know what their dog is like. But if your dog does get corrected and it is an appropriate correction, then move on with your day. That is not an aggressive dog. People don't need to be screaming and yelling at each other over an interaction like that. And I think that's the big difference is I've seen lots of that happen at the park and it results in one person screaming, "Get your dog out of here. It's aggressive." And I'm looking at that going, "No, your dog was being a jerk and that dog corrected your dog and let's all move on with our day."

Carlin Lutzer (15:57):

So when the humans get involved in the correction, that escalates things a little bit because the dog's sensing that anger in its owner. Dogs

Sam Burnett (16:10):

Kept our energy for sure.

Carlin Lutzer (16:12):

So

Sam Burnett (16:12):

If we walk into the dog park nervous, our dogs can be nervous. If we walk into the dog park, we're having an angry and aggressive day and we've got that energy, we can't be surprised when our dogs are acting weird and they're standoffish. I see it all the time. One of the biggest issues I run into when I'm helping people learn how to deal with their reactive dogs is teaching them to be calm. And people think it's magic. I'll take the leash from them, we'll see a dog, their dog will go to lunch, I'll give it a correction and it'll immediately stop. They'll try and do the same thing and the dog won't stop. And it's because they're not calm. They're not in control because dogs, they do. They feed off of our energy. So if we're in a state of mind that's not good when we enter that park, well, we can't expect our dogs to be in a good state of mind either.

Carlin Lutzer (17:00):

For sure. So what are some other tools? Obviously we got the recall, but if we have a dog that has potential of snapping, maybe going above just a correction, I do see dogs going around with Zap callers-

Sam Burnett (17:22):

E-callers, yep.

Carlin Lutzer (17:23):

What are they called? E-callers?

Sam Burnett (17:24):

E-callers.

Carlin Lutzer (17:25):

Yeah. E-collars. Is that beneficial to a dog's behavior?

Sam Burnett (17:30):

It can be if it's a tool, right? An e-collar is essentially like a leash without a line attached. It gives you the ability to do certain things. I think if you're uncertain about your ability to control your dog at the dog park, an e-collar is a good tool. So as a muzzle, right?

(17:49):

Yeah. I'm the guy that'll be in the dog park working with a dog with an e-collar and a muzzle. And it's hilarious how many people I've seen literally turn tail and run because I'm walking a dog off leash with a muzzle. And the few times people have stopped me and asked me, as usually I'm working with a dog that's a little bit dog reactive, we're in a process of we're learning to have good dog matters. So I'm ensuring that the dog I'm working with is safe and keeping everybody else's dog safe. So I have an e-collar on, I have a muzzle on, but I laugh because my dog's the safest dog in the park. My dog is a muzzle and an e-collar. I have it under complete and total control. It cannot physically harm your dog because it cannot get that muzzle off. My dog's a safety dog in the park, yet everybody turns around and runs away from me because my dog has a muzzle on it.

(18:40):

Right, for

Carlin Lutzer (18:42):

Sure.

Sam Burnett (18:42):

So the perspective of people, the stigmas around muzzles and stuff like that, just understand that people are doing their due diligence and don't hate on those people who are trying to ensure that they're socializing their dog while keeping everybody else's dog safe.

Carlin Lutzer (18:58):

Right, right. So what are some other things that you can leave people with? Some things, maybe some tools that they can do so that there's proper etiquette at the dog park. Is there anything else you can think of?

Sam Burnett (19:12):

I mean, there's lots. And usually when it comes to the dog park, people are the problem. One I see constantly is people having more dogs than they can handle. I've seen people in there with five, six, seven, eight dogs, and they can't keep track of all of them. That's not appropriate.

Carlin Lutzer (19:29):

But there's a limit to how many dogs you can have in there as well for one owner, isn't there?

Sam Burnett (19:35):

There used to be. And I'm just looking at the dog park

Carlin Lutzer (19:38):

Rules

Sam Burnett (19:38):

That were updated as of I think 2025.

Carlin Lutzer (19:43):

I see point number 11. It says handlers are limited to a maximum of three dogs. Registered dog handlers are limited to a maximum of six dogs and must be identifiable while in the Okotoks Dog Park. And that's the rules that are posted. Are they the old ones?

Sam Burnett (19:59):

Yeah. And so I'm on the town of Okotoks Dog's website. And so those were the old rules, but I'm looking at the current rules on the town's website and that one's now gone.

Carlin Lutzer (20:10):

That one's now gone.

Sam Burnett (20:11):

Yeah.

Carlin Lutzer (20:12):

Oh, interesting.

Sam Burnett (20:13):

Yes. And I'm sure the resulting reason was because there's a lot of dog walkers that like to take multiple dogs to the dog park and enforcing that rule would've stopped their business from being able to

Carlin Lutzer (20:24):

Operate. But those dog walkers are registered, aren't they? Do they not need to be registered with the town or no?

Sam Burnett (20:30):

I mean, technically in order to run a business in this town, you have to be licensed. Dog walkers, as far as I'm aware, there's no specific bylaws that require you to register or license to be a dog walker, aside from obtaining a business license within the town of Okotoks for operating a business.

Carlin Lutzer (20:49):

Right, right.

Sam Burnett (20:50):

And I've seen there's some great dog walkers that go to the park with nine, 10 dogs who do a phenomenal job. And I've seen other dog walkers with three or four who are doing a terrible job. So it's all relative, but yeah, not having more dogs than you can handle or keep track of is important. I think a big one that's important is for people to remember, this is a park for dogs. So I've seen altercations transpire because someone brought in a stroller with a baby in it and was surprised when dogs were constantly going up to the stroller and sniffing it and screaming and yelling at other dog owners to keep their dogs away. This is a dog for park. This is a park for dogs.

Carlin Lutzer (21:27):

Yes.

Sam Burnett (21:28):

Right?

(21:29):

Yeah. I've seen people come unglued because a dog bumped into them or a dog jumped up on them. Now, again, this can be managed with training, but let's go back to the fact that this is a park for dogs. So if you are going to a dog park, do not wear your suit, do not wear your Sunday best. Dogs are going to drool, dogs are going to kick dirt, dogs are going to be muddy. I was at a dog park not long ago. One of my guys, I've been working with relentlessly on this, but he loves people. He's at the park for people and he wants to lick everyone's face. And so he has a tendency to jump up. And I see him going for people and I usually just say, "Hey, just give him a shove. He's friendly, but he's going to try and lick your face." And most people are good.

(22:15):

They're like, "Yeah, no worries. If he tries to jump up, they stick his hand out, he sits, they get some love, he moves on with his day." But I've had the odd person scream and yell at me for my dog being too friendly at the dog park. And yeah, it is a me problem and yeah, I got to work on it. But when other people's dogs come over and they're snuffling my pockets for the treats I've got or they jump up to say hi, if you don't love dogs, don't go to the dog park. I love my dogs and I'm there to exercise them, but I also love everybody else's dogs.

Carlin Lutzer (22:41):

Yeah, that is an interesting point because you do see other ... My dog, my golden figures, everybody's there to see her. And she's kind of surprised when people don't like, "Well, why don't you pet me? " She creeps up nicely and slowly and kind of reads the room really well. But yeah, there's people that are just like, "Oh, get out of here. What are you doing?" But yeah, one thing that I would like to see happen at the dog park is if there was some kind of radius inside the fence where people didn't ... As soon as they walk in like, "Okay, I'm going to take my dog off the leash right here." Because it's two worlds colliding in my mind. It's dogs that are coming into the dog park that are so excited to be there. And there are other ones that are tired, they're ready to go home.

(23:29):

And you get these excited dogs meeting these grumpy dogs that are hot, especially in the summertime, they're hot and they're ready to go home. And there's collisions there just because you have these two worlds coming together, dogs coming off the leash, dogs on the leash. And I wish there was a little buffer area kind of mapped out where it's just like, get away from the entrance and let's free up the entrance a little bit and leash your dog up before you get to the gate and well after you get away from the gate as well.

Sam Burnett (24:02):

Yeah. A good protocol, and this is one I've always used bringing my dogs into the park or leaving. If I'm coming into the park, the dogs coming into the park are excited. They're amped up, they know where they are, they know where they're going to get to run and play, they're ready to go. So you see those people open the gate and snap their leash off and they take off like little rockets, right? Yeah.

Carlin Lutzer (24:20):

And

Sam Burnett (24:20):

Which dogs are they going to say hi to? The dogs that are near the entrance, which are usually people leaving. So a good rule of thumb I always try and stick to is come in with your dogs on leash, walk 20, 30, 40 feet to the right or the left. Take your dogs where there's no other dogs, then unleash them. Once they're settled too, if your dog is looking at other dogs ready to go and you're yanking on your dog trying to get that leash off, your dog is way too excited to be off leash. If your dog needs to take a breath, maybe you need to walk half the park or a quarter of the park with your dog on leash till they settle down before you let them on the leash.

Carlin Lutzer (24:55):

Yeah, good point.

Sam Burnett (24:56):

You're basically firing a gun out of a bullet at that point, right?

Carlin Lutzer (24:59):

Yeah.

Sam Burnett (24:59):

They're ready to go. And they may be friendly, but that means they're probably going to go fly up at the nearest dog they see at 100 miles an hour and that dog might not like it. Those people might not like it. So avoid conflict and just do your due diligence, get your dogs in, move them off to the side, find a little space where there's no other dogs and wait till they're calm and then let them off leash.

Carlin Lutzer (25:22):

Yeah, for sure. Sam, that's a lot of great information. And I do think that my biggest takeaway from our conversation today is the whole recall part. If your dog doesn't have a recall, you shouldn't be in the park and it's pretty simple. We're all, well, geez, I'm even motivated by treats, right? I'm trying to lose weight. I look forward to the weekend when I can have my day off. Those are treats while dogs, even more so, most dogs are motivated by a treat, a reward for good behavior. And you just imagine what kind of world you could be in if you could ... There's times, even my golden retriever, I'm trying to call her off and she won't because she wants to go say hi. So it's a good reminder that I need to work on that with her too every once in a while, because I haven't done that in a while.

Sam Burnett (26:11):

Yep. Yeah. And just remember for everybody, I mean, training is a continuous concept, right? We don't train our dogs. They have good recall and then we stop training them. We just keep working on it. So even if you're at the dog park when you're around, when no one else is around, recall them, call them back to you, give them a reward and send them back out and keep building up that consistency with your dogs. And it's tough under a distracted environment, especially if there's a dog they really want to play with or a friend they normally see at the park, it's going to be tough to recall them off, but that's something you just keep working at and working at and working at, right?

Carlin Lutzer (26:47):

Yeah. Okay. Really random off the top. I was out there the other day and I have a small little dog as well, like I mentioned, and the bald eagles are flying over. Should that ever be a concern?

Sam Burnett (27:01):

Yes. Depending on the size of your dog. When I lived in Edmonton, my parents had about a 12 pound dog and an owl actually picked him up and carried him about 20 feet before he broke loose. He only got about four feet off the ground, but yeah, he got picked up by an owl in the middle of the day.

Carlin Lutzer (27:20):

Middle of the day.

Sam Burnett (27:21):

Middle of the day. Yeah, it was a really weird occurrence. I shouldn't say middle of the day. It was early day, but still a really weird occurrence to see during the day. But he got picked up by an owl. And I mean, I grew up on Vancouver Island Nanaimo and I've seen those big eagles and hawks coming in and picking stuff up off the beach. They're huge. So yeah, I would be cognizant of that for sure. If there's a lot of dogs around, you probably don't have a concern, but if you're the only dog in the dog park with a six pound dog and the hawks and the eagles are circling, yeah, maybe a good time to put your dog on leash and find another

Carlin Lutzer (27:56):

Thing

Sam Burnett (27:56):

To come back to.

Carlin Lutzer (27:57):

Well, yeah, because you do see that. You do see that at times where people do hang their leashes up and that's, I guess, whatever. I do think that's one of the rules you're supposed to have a leash on your person at all times, but yeah, I guess you just never know what kind of situations you're going to run into. And that day that I did see the eagles, I didn't for the golden. I wasn't too worried about her, but the Maltese Shih Tzu might have been a nice snack for an eagle that day.

Sam Burnett (28:25):

Yeah, absolutely. And a good point of people hanging up their leashes, you should carry your leash with you. What if something happens? What if something happens that's not even the fault of your own dog? What if your dog gets attacked and they're scared and they're panicked and what are you going to do? How are you going to put them on leash and get them out of that park? People need to carry their leashes on them just like people need to carry poop bags on them and people need to pay attention to their dogs when they're in the park, right? Oh yeah. The whole point.

Carlin Lutzer (28:54):

Yeah, absolutely. Sam, I appreciate you. I appreciate everything you guys do at Sheep River Dog Rescue and look forward to having you back.

Sam Burnett (29:05):

Yeah, absolutely. Looking forward to it. Thanks for having me.

Carlin Lutzer (29:07):

Have a good one.

Sam Burnett (29:07):

malteThanks. Take care.

Carlin Lutzer (29:17):

A big thank you to Sam Burnett from Sheep River Dog Rescue for coming on and sharing his insights today. If there's one thing to take away from this conversation, it's this. Our dogs are only as prepared as we make them. Whether it's recall, socialization, or just being aware of their behavior, it all starts with us as owners. Sheep River Dog Rescue is always doing incredible work in our community, helping dogs find homes and giving them a second chance. If you're looking to adopt, foster, or even volunteer, they're always looking for great people to step up. You can find more information and get involved by reaching out to Sheep River Dog Rescue directly. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to follow, leave a review, and share it with someone who spends time at the dog park. You might just help prevent the next incident. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time.

Announcer (30:17):

This has been the Okotoks Podcast, proudly sponsored by Carlin Lutzer Real Estate. Until next time, take care.