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Originally Posted by maggiefromnj  Our park has one section fenced in for off-leash so we don't go in there because of the big dogs. Did you notice that owners of big dogs get offended when we pick up out babies? They all say how friendly their dog is etc. I try to tell them I'm sure he is, but if he just jumps and lands on my baby by accident she will get injured. They don't get it. I will let her down, but I get down with her. If it's in my neighborhood I am more willing to let them get to know each other, but usually only if it's a very calm dog.
So, we were in the regualr part of the park, which by common sense is on-leash because it is not the fenced in "dog park." Some people must think the whole thing is off-leash...though the rules do say on leash... We decide to walk the trails in the woods and spot a medium sized black dog coming from our left, headed our way off leash. I picked Maggie up and called to the owner who was lagging behind, "are you going to put the leash on?" This way I know whether I can put her down, and then they can say hello....She retorts that if I had kept on walking it would have been fine and her dog would never have noticed. Really? I should have taken that chance? So I mention that this is not the off -leash section and she was very nasty and says how nice her dog is (like I should know?). She was just nasty and argumentive so we went on our way with husband telling me what a bit## she was loud enough for her to hear.
My point was (I often lose my way..) that big dog owners just don't get the damage that can happen in a blink, so I keep her out of the dog park. Sometime I will take her to a neighboring town that has a separate small dog park.
Also, Maggie has all her shots, but I don't know if the other dogs do. |
I know many of the bigger dog owners do not have a clue that their dog just might decide that my little dog is a toy to pick up and shake. I agree with them that their big dog may be very friendly and then ask them if they have ever seen a dog as small as Gracie. None of them have. So how could they possibly know how how their dog would react?
I just tell them that I don't want to take the chance of my dog being stepped on by accident. They don't know how frightening it is to have a 50 to 100 pound dog bounding toward your 5 pound dog. Gracie isn't afraid but I sure am. I'm not going to take a chance just to keep them from being offended.
