Dog Park Fiasco

[LaviniaHyacynth]

Yesterday, i decided that Bear and i should check out the local dog park.....

I am new to dog parks as Vivi was always too fragile to go.... so Bear and I were both newbies.

We walked in and the first thing I noticed was how large the dogs were in the small dog area. The limit said 25lbs but lets face it....golden retrievers do not weigh 25 lbs. The owner, of course, made it clear that her dog was gentle. I had 2 GRs before Vivi and I know how wonderful they are, but they can get really excited and pouncy and that is not good for a 5 and a half pound dog.

I stood there for a moment with Bear still on his leash and felt like the new kid in the high school lunchroom. Everyone seemed to know each other and were huddled together talking....so awkward.

Next a little chihuaua (sp?) came up and proceeded to snarl and snap at Bear. The owner sauntered over slowly and said I was breaking the rules having a leash on Bear and the other dogs can sense that so they attack. Great.

So I see a little terrier come in with a friendly looking mommie so I walk over to her and introduce myself and Bear. She seems really nice and Bear and her dog hit it off so I decide to let him run around.

He loves it until the Chi comes back over and tries to bite him. THis time the owner tries to blame it on my puppy but I'm not having any of it...Bear was standing there, wagging his tail and had his ears back in submissive puppy mode and the dog attacked. Not cool. Bear ran across the park with his tail tucked in and I ran after him and picked him up to comfort him.

I mentioned to the owner of the chi that the "rules" say to restrain your dog if they get aggressive....this little dog was attacking other dogs, too. She basically gave me the hand and walked off and proceeded to talk about us and point at me for the next 5 minutes.

Mean Girls or should I say Mean Dogs at the Dog Park

AND MEANIE MOMS

I felt like an awkward teenager and also like the overprotective mommie whose baby got picked on by the class bully.

We left and took a nice walk around the real park.
Not going back there anytime soon.

I need to find a 10lb and under dog park. Thanks for letting me rant. Anyone else have dog park stories? or suggestions?

[gidget529]

So sorry to hear you and Bear had that terrible exp! We don't have dog parks in our area but have wondered about trying to find one. I guess the park exp is only as nice as the ppl participating!

[T-Rox]

A dog park with a no leash law? That's just ridiculous.
Rule #10 of our dog park rules.
-- All off-leash dogs must be under voice control of their owners. If you can not control your dog off leash, keep your pet leashed at all times.

[ArmaniMan]

Originally Posted by T-Rox

A dog park with a no leash law? That's just ridiculous.
Rule #10 of our dog park rules.
-- All off-leash dogs must be under voice control of their owners. If you can not control your dog off leash, keep your pet leashed at all times.

Actually many dog parks have this rule, as a general rule it is not good to have a leashed dog around a group of unleashed dogs.

[OwnedByJezebel]

I hear you about the dog park. I love taking mine there, and generally it is a very positive experience and they really enjoy it.

By and large, most of the owners are really nice, but just like anywhere else you will meet some real pieces of work. To wit:
1. Owner of a 3.5 lb Yorkie, bought at a flea market from a broker who got it from a puppy mill. She is going to breed this tiny without knowing the dogs lineage, but is not worried about the size because "it's no problem, we'll just have a c-section."
2. Owner of a heinz-57 male that asks if my girl is fixed, hoping that isn't the case so that our dogs could breed.
3. Owners that bring big dogs into the small dog side, because they "aren't comfortable" with dogs their own size. I take my dogs and leave at that point, not because I am concerned about aggression, but because all it takes is one wrong landing during play and the smaller dog can be severely injured or worse.
4. Owners that come in and make stupid statements about small dogs or small breeds. "I'm just pet sitting for a friend, I HATE small dogs." Overheard one say "I can't stand Yorkies, they're so yappy." Meanwhile, her dog was barking and mine never made a peep (in fact she has never barked even once at the dog park). I did respond to her comment to point that out.
5. Owners bringing dogs that have no business at a dog park, in order to "socialize them." Some poor dogs are just timid and scared to death, but their owner thought it would be a good idea to socialize them, after they were already several years old and set in their ways, but putting them in the middle of 20 dogs -- bad idea for the poor dog. Then there are those that shouldn't be there because they don't play nice. One guy brought in a Dobie pup that wasn't full grown and did look like it was (just barely) below the weight limit. It was muzzled. He took the muzzle off and it was aggressive with the other dogs, which it towered over by a long shot. There were a lot of great little dogs there that day, all having a blast, but when that Dobie got in there the energy changed significantly. He went up to Jezebel, bent her face down towards hers, and did that thing where the gaze "locks on," like he was going to attack. The owner never did a damn thing, just looking at it but not acting. I managed to get her away, picked her up, and decided it was time to leave. Several other owners started mumbling and did the same thing. As I was walking towards the exit, the Dobie ran in between us and the gate and started challenging me, looking at Jezebel and growling. It was not play, I can tell the difference. I told the Dobie, in a loud voice so that the owner was sure to hear "you can't challenge me, get out of my way." The owner saw everything but still did nothing.
6. Owners that don't pick up their dog's poop, even though they see them doing it and the bags are provided free of charge.

I wasn't there at the time, but I actually had a neighbor with a not-so-friendly border collie. She was telling me that she visited the park and she insisted that the dog be allowed on the small dog side because he would actually pick fights on the large dog side, "but he was OK with the smaller dogs." I tried to gently tell her about the rule, and she became indignant and said something on the order of "who cares about the rules, how would they even be enforced anyway?" I just dropped it. Then she admitted less than 5 minutes later that PetsMart will not allow her dog in daycare any longer because of his aggression. Some people! Couldn't she even see the problem in her logic? I didn't call her on it, I just decided that if we were there at the same time that I would call animal control. She moved out of state, so it isn't an issue any longer.

Regardless of what I've said above, I will continue to visit the park because my dogs LOVE it. And, I have met some really nice people and some great dogs there. I won't let the 1% of the crap keep them from enjoying the other fun 99%, I will just keep a close eye on my dogs so that I can protect them from that 1%.

[gemy]

I'm really divided about dog parks for several reasons; one owners having no clue what is aggressive behaviour and or how to control it; two the risk of disease spread, and three the increased opportunity for dog spats in the unleashed environment.

If I go to a dog park I try to select a time that lots of other folks won't be around. Mid day Mid wk; early mornings, or sometimes I take a chance and go to a park around 8 or 1/2 past and if it is not too busy, I will enter, otherwise I take my dogs for a walk in the park.

Often times I do fly under the radar and go to isolated areas to train my dogs off leash, and because we all love swimming soon we will be at the water at least 3x per wk. It is easier there as all the dogs are really intent on retreiving their water toys, and not so much in playing with each other. Also the folks seem to have some semblance of obedience training in their dogs; de facto the dog retreives from the water.

[Sandysbabies]

Sorry that happened to you and Bear. That would be my last trip to one. I have just never liked the idea of doggie parks. There have been so many dogs hurt and even died from injuries. Nope! I will just keep mine home. I guess I am over protective but it makes me nervious to even go to the vet and people bring in their dogs that weigh 10 times what mine weigh. And as far as the leash law, she was telling you about...I would NEVER put mine down around dogs they didn't know to run free and possibly be hurt bad or killed. That is just plain crazy. Sounds like to me they did you a favor to let you know what that place was like. Poor little Bear. He needs friends his own size and mommies that will be nice to his mommy. lol!!!

[T-Rox]

Originally Posted by ArmaniMan

Actually many dog parks have this rule, as a general rule it is not good to have a leashed dog around a group of unleashed dogs.

I guess I've never run into this problem before. Good to know I guess..don't wanna commit any doggie faux pas.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by ArmaniMan

Actually many dog parks have this rule, as a general rule it is not good to have a leashed dog around a group of unleashed dogs.

^this.

I always cringe when an owner walks in and keeps their dog on a leash while all the dogs surround it... it makes the leashed dog feel very vulnerable thus often creating other dogs that want to attack, or check them out too much, etc. It usually just isn't smart, but live and learn, you did not know!!

The Chi sounds like a real hellion. We have a little Yorkie at our dog park that I always tend to leave when I see coming in... all he does is hump all the dogs and growl at them. Jackson is very tolerant of his behavior but it's still annoying when my dog wants to run around and play and he's got this little 4lb thing on his leg.

Overall, we love our dog park, maybe you hit it on a bad day. There have been some days like that where it just seems the people are snots and the dogs aren't friendly but 99% of the time we have a great time!! I'd give it another shot, maybe try a different day, or a different time.

[My lil friend]

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience like that. Not all owner and dogs are alike,but in this instance it does seem so.
I dont go to dog parks. Ive been in National parks (leash rules) and been attacked while walking two toy dogs. The StBernard was not on a leash,because their dog was sweet and well trained and wouldnt hurt a fly. That is why the couple ended up paying several hundred dollars for a vet visit for one of my dogs.
Dont get me wrong, I love all dogs,but I dont wish to put my littleones at risk.
We have six dogs,so its kind of like having our own park in the backyard.
I have friends with little dogs and am hoping to have some of them over.
We did go to the TX meetup for YT and had a blast. All of the babies were very well behaved.

[RileyDC]

I'm sorry about your experience in the doggie park.
We have one, here in the city not too far from my place....but I
don't think I will ever be taking Riley to it.

We also have several different meet-up groups.... I have just stuck
to them.....or getting together with other friends pups.

On our walk, last night an older Jack Russell Terrier Snapped at Riley
and Riley yelped soooooo Loud!! I wasn't sure if the Jack Russell
actually nipped him, or if he screamed that loud cause it scared
the crap out of him!! LOL!! He seemed to be fine.
I don't let Riley just walk up to any dog.... and when we do, he is
sooooo submissive... He gets very wigglie, but then Immediately goes onto his back... it is kind of embarrassing....

[MaddiesMommie]

I consider you all so lucky who have pet friendly places such as dog parks near you. That is just part of living in the boonies I guess. We go to the regular park occasionaly but strays, irresponsible owners, and no pet rules makes it too risky usually for the little girls.

[Lil Sis]

I used to love to go to dog parks, but the last two times has not been so nice.
I guess talking to people about how to handle their dogs is like telling people how to raise their kids-- both will get you hated!

One experience was a small dog park in key west, like the op I felt like the new kid or outsider! My dh was holding Remy and about 6 dogs (mostly doxies) ran up to us and were jumping to get to Remy. DH did not put Remy down, she started growling and one of the owners told me I needed to socialize my dog. I said, and your dogs jumping on us is socialized? We left

The second.. oh my.. well I took all three dogs. This was not the first time so I thought I had it under control. It was muddy in the parking area. So I had the bright idea of caring my white shih tuz over the puddles. Bailey is shy. When we got inside about 4 large dogs ran up to us, Bailey (I had put him down) got between us and tried to "protect" me. One owner ran up and got her dog, and said sorry. The other 3 .. don't even know where they were. Bailey got really --not aggressive but defensive -- after the dogs ran away he took a big dump .. we tried to go to the small part but there was a lady with about 6 little guys and they ran up to Bailey.. and he kind of freaked. So we went home-- the other two were fine and had a good time.

Bailey is the sweetest dog on earth, we have had him at 8 weeks. We are social people and he is walked two to three times a day. BUT he won't let people pet him. If someone walks up behind me he groans... he will block and posture -- growl if he think I am being threaten. So.. dog parks are out for us.

Also... I think some parks are just not worth it. The park near us has had several dog fights (thank heavens not the day I was there). I take the pack to meet ups and play groups... that works better for me Even Bailey does well at small play groups

[ArmaniMan]

People do tend to be very cliquish at dog parks- very weird. Many of the people tend to go every day. The dog parks around here are both about 30 minutes away- so I only get there a few times a month- so I always feel like an outsider. I try to go with someone else- my parents have two toy poodles, so usually I will convince them to go with me and we will just kind of hang out ourselves with our dogs. I haven't been in a long time, seems like a lot of uneducated dog owners frequent them which always leads to issues.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by Lil Sis

One experience was a small dog park in key west, like the op I felt like the new kid or outsider! My dh was holding Remy and about 6 dogs (mostly doxies) ran up to us and were jumping to get to Remy. DH did not put Remy down, she started growling and one of the owners told me I needed to socialize my dog. I said, and your dogs jumping on us is socialized? We left

The second.. oh my.. well I took all three dogs. This was not the first time so I thought I had it under control. It was muddy in the parking area. So I had the bright idea of caring my white shih tuz over the puddles. Bailey is shy. When we got inside about 4 large dogs ran up to us, Bailey (I had put him down) got between us and tried to "protect" me. One owner ran up and got her dog, and said sorry. The other 3 .. don't even know where they were. Bailey got really --not aggressive but defensive -- after the dogs ran away he took a big dump .. we tried to go to the small part but there was a lady with about 6 little guys and they ran up to Bailey.. and he kind of freaked. So we went home-- the other two were fine and had a good time.

Not trying to say you were wrong... but picking up a dog will usually cause all the other dogs to be curious and want them down... I don't think the other dogs are at fault for that. Jackson does not like to be picked up when another dog is jumping at him, it also makes him feel very vulernable and he will growl. Obviously if they are truly in harms way, that is a different story... I will pick Jackson up if I have to protect him. But it's a very normal behavior for all the dogs to go up and check out the new dog and you have to just the new guy 'integrate' into the 'pack'. I do not stop Jackson from going up when the door is opening and a new dog is coming in... it's just what the dogs do.