We love being able to bring our dogs places. And we especially love when places offer us an opportunity to bring our dogs with us. One seasonal event that we really enjoy is the dog friendly baseball games at major-league parks.
Knowing that there are actually games set aside for dog owners to bring their pup with them is amazing. It is a chance to get out of the house and do something with your dog and maybe your family. Plus, for a lot of pet parents it’s also a chance to socialize your dog on a larger scale.
However, just because we want to bring our dogs to the dog park, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we always should. In fact, sometimes we have to stop ourselves from doing the wrong thing. And that means realizing that there are situations where we should say no to bringing our dog along with us even to a dog friendly event.
So what are some of the reasons why we should not bring our dog to the ballpark?
5 reasons to leave your dog at home even for those dog friendly game nights
You should absolutely not be bringing a dog under four months old to a ballpark. It’s not safe and it’s not healthy. They are likely unvaccinated, and that’s even worse. In fact, no unvaccinated dog should be in a ballpark with other dogs.
If you have an older dog that struggles with stairs, the ballpark is not the place for them. We already know that there are a lot of stairs that need to be climbed at the ballpark. So if they struggle at home, why would you want to bring them to a ball game where they’re going to struggle even more?
Baseball is a summer game. And summer means heat. If your dog has a tendency to get overheated, you should not bring them to the ballpark. You never know what could happen and even we have gotten overheated at the ballpark before.
This should be a no-brainer, but if your dog is not great around other dogs, do not bring them to a dog friendly event. Reactive dogs are likely to react in a situation like a crowded ballpark with a ton of other dogs and people.
Finally, if your dog is not good with loud noises, the ballpark is the last place you want to bring them. You never know what kind of loud noises they will experience at the game. And it’s already a loud environment. Plus, there could be excessively loud music, sirens going off, potentially fireworks, so many things can happen during the game and after. And you don’t want to set your dog off. It’s not fair to them.
Just as there are reasons, you may not bring your dog to a major-league baseball game, there are plenty of reasons why you might want to. But for now, we’re just talking about the reasons you should be leaving your dog at home.