Yikes--Scary Incident With Jack at the Dogpark!!

Yikes! Glad it got handled relatively quickly, and wasn't just someone being an idiot.

Misha been aggressed and mounted by this big lab thing at our dog park, but since it was owners' social time (a phenomena I cannot wrap my brain around), the didn't do anything, and I had to call Misha back to me and body block this dog who simply would not take no for an answer. Luckily, Misha's never been full out attacked before! I hope I'm be as calm as you in a situation like that!

I'm just glad it ended the way it did...without any injuries.

 Poor Jack, and poor you, I'm sure that met your adrenalin rush for they day.  I'm glad to see though that no one got hurt and the people realized that there GSD was not dog park material.

Can't help but think when a very similar thing happened with Kirby at the dog park when a 50 plus pound Australian Shepherd charged and tried to grab him.  Then the owner had the nerve to tell me his dog just likes to chase small fast moving objects... than why would you bring him into the small section of the dog park that clearly states 25 pounds and under...!?!

Sometimes people make me wonder. 

That's very frustrating, both the incident and people getting dogs they can't handle.  I don't bring my GSDs to the dog park.  I'm not sure what they would do but I don't care to find out.  It's not that the breed is dog aggressive, but they are very pack-ish.  Mine get along with all the dogs and humans we know but other than that, they have zero desire to "make friends" with a huge pack of dogs at the park.  I bring Kenya for play dates but even then, we enter the fenced area together.  If she's in there first, she gets very animated at the fence and will bark and carry on at the other dog approaching even though it's her playmate.  But if we walk up together, they have a blast.  Nikon is less tolerant, he wants nothing to do with any dog that isn't already ours (or a baby puppy).  Also my GSDs play really rough and vocal which makes other people nervous.  Coke on the other hand loves the dog park and just prances around trotting and play bowing after other dogs.

Johnny&Tessy

I'm just glad it ended the way it did...without any injuries.

Ditto! How scary!

Yep, the mother is an idiot. 

willowchow

Yep, the mother is an idiot. 

Yeah, I got that impression.  As soon as the GSD was in the car she stayed with the golden and spent the entire rest of the time (about a half hour) on her cell phone, barely bothering to look at the golden.  Lesson for the day--don't bring a dog you're scared to handle to the dog park!

Lies---I have to say that out of all the breeds I see at the park GSDs seem to have the most issues getting along.  I've never seen one that did all that well--they seem to either guard their people or herd/aggressively chase other dogs.

sillysally

Lies---I have to say that out of all the breeds I see at the park GSDs seem to have the most issues getting along.  I've never seen one that did all that well--they seem to either guard their people or herd/aggressively chase other dogs.

IMO the breed in general isn't really dog park material.  It doesn't bother me, what bothers me is people getting dogs and thinking they are something that they are not or trying to force them to be something they are not.  The dogs aren't really "herding" or anything like that, typically those are just excuses or people trying to rationalize the behavior.  The simple answer is that some dogs just do not belong at the dog park and for the most park, I believe GSDs do not belong there.  If I wanted a dog park dog, it is not the breed I would get.  There's nothing "wrong" with the dog, that's just the way they are.  The aggressive chasing is probably normal, that's how my dogs play but they have the same play style and because we are one household/pack, they already understand the rules and the hierarchy so there is no real competition at work.  In a chaotic environment like a dog park, I would expect them to be very edgy and intolerant and would also expect other dogs and dog owners to not appreciate the play style.

Now you can get GSDs that are low drive social butterflies and are fine at a dog park but IMO, these dogs are usually not representative of the breed as far as drive, temperament, play style, etc.

jdata

You don't think some GSDs are actually herding at the park? They're designed to control the perimeter preventing the 'herd' from entering or leaving..... hence the fencing behavior or what some consider aggression. Since they have loose rears, they're type of herding is constantly on the move for rapid changes in direction.

I think the temperament and drive that lends itself to tending large flocks of sheep isn't always compatible with the temperament that lends itself to the dog park, but beyond that I don't see any reason to try to justify or rationalize how a dog behaves at a dog park.  It's either appropriate or it's not.  That's not saying it's bad or good.  My dogs do perfectly well at Schutzhund and herding but they get zero enjoyment out of the dog park so it's futile to try to force it on them as if I have something to prove.  I think the breed in general these days suffers from over popularity and poor breeding, so many dogs lack the proper nerve and are too edgy.  Many GSDs that get kicked out of dog parks would not do well at herding or SchH either.  Just because a dog is biting does not mean it is doing Schutzhund, so I do not see pestering other dogs, resource guarding owners, and fence fighting as herding.  If they were herding at the dog park like they tend sheep out in the open, they would be moving along the perimeter, not interacting with the dogs or pestering them.  Also GSDs do not herd the same way a border collie does.  They move back and forth around a large perimeter creating a virtual fence.  There are times the dog needs to make contact in order to get the flock moving but GSDs are more for tending large flocks (min. 300) out in the open and not so much for moving a handful of sheep around and through obstacles.  A loose rear is not desirable.  I've never seen a loose-reared GSD tending flocks or doing any sort of work day in and day out.