Dog Community

Bad Dog Park Experience

inne

Posted : 8/17/2006 8:14:41 PM

My husband and I like to take Louise to different dog parks around Toronto to see different neighbourhoods and parks. Tonight my husband and I drove with Louise (our puppy) to a dog park in Scarborough that we thought sounded nice.

I've heard a lot of horror stories about dog parks and not identified with them at all, but this place was just awful.   The park itself was beautiful.    There were about 15 dogs there and nearly every single one of them kept jumping up on us, biting my bag (none of the owners seemed to care about this) and the dogs *smelled* something awful.    None of the people were playing with their dogs and we were the only ones who had any toys with us. But she was playing well with a few dogs, so we decided to give it a chance. After a while we decided to go down a small hill to the water to see what it was like and play fetch.   There were already two other dogs down there.

This is where things went terribly wrong.   Louise ran down to the water, which was fine with us, and then about 5 dogs started following her and the other two dogs already there down the hill while some of the owners started screaming for them to stop.    None of the dogs listened and suddenly a big dog slammed its whole body into my leg from behind.   It hurt and spilled the drink I had with me.   I decided that this was not cool and called Louise to come back, which she did immediately.   When we were walking away one of the guys whose dogs had run down there said 'You shouldn't bring the dogs down there' in a way that obviously implied it was somehow our fault that all the dogs had gone running.   Meanwhile, Louise, who was by far the youngest dog there, was the only one who obeyed when called back.    The owner of the dog that practically knocked me down didn't apologize or say anything to me at all.

We started walking back to the car and a labradoodle started playing with Louise, which was fine - they were playing really well together, but I did want to get going because I was a bit upset.    Anyway, I told Louise to come with me and she did, but this labradoodle just wouldn't leave her alone.   His owner kept screaming at him to come and he didn't even glance at her.   Finally she had to come over and haul him away.     As we walked across the parking lot we saw him on a leash, lunging at an Airedale Terrier while the lady just stood there.   Meanwhile, Louise glanced over and kept doing her new and improved 'heel'.

Obviously this is not the end of the world, but I can't believe these people.   How can you bring dogs out and not pay any attention to them until they do something "bad" and then you scream out commands they completely ignore?   Also, I smell so bad right now from those dogs.

I was impressed with Louise, though.   She's a really amazing little dog and I was so proud of her.   And I'm not going to complain so much about people in my regular dog parks anymore - they're saints by comparison.

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 8/17/2006 9:51:18 PM

What's their problem with the dogs going down to the water? If the dogs shouldn't be there, wouldn't someone have put up a fence to keep them out of that area?

Joyce

Jan

Posted : 8/18/2006 12:27:13 AM

Sorry you had such a bad experience. I'm always amazed at how many poorly trained (or completely untrained) dogs end up at dog parks. I can't decide whether it's getting worse and worse, or whether I have less patience because I'm so used to being around well trained dogs. Unfortunately, the only way to ensure you and your dog only end up around well trained dogs is to set up your own doggie play group, or train someplace that has social activities for the dogs who are all trained together.

Getting knocked over isn't so uncommon -- they're dogs, they're there to run and so they're going to run -- and when dogs are running in packs, they don't always pay close attention to who's in the way. So for safety's sake, it might behoove you to place yourself someplace with your back to a wall, or off the main "playing area," or at least keep your knees bent so if you get hit, you don't end up taking a dive and breaking anything. More dogs tends to equal more wildness, more running, and more potential for someone getting knocked on their butt, though you can sometimes prevent this by going to dog parks during off hours when they're less crowded.

But just as an FYI, I would strongly advise you to think twice before bringing toys to a dog park. Many perfectly nice dogs get into fights when toys come out. You know, Max the lab has a tennis ball at home, and therefore he deeply truly believes that every tennis ball in the universe must be his. So when Maggie the Golden shows up with HER tennis ball, Max just KNOWS that it's really HIS because after all, he has a ball at home, so all balls are his. And then someone throws said tennis ball, and both dogs truly deeply believe that they got their first, any anyway, it's THEIRS, and then you get into this snarling snapping thing, while both owners shake their head, thinking it's the other dog's fault because THEIR dog is NICE.

And that's not even getting into dogs that are truly toy aggressive, or dominant dogs that will try to steal toys from submissive dogs because they can, or dominant dogs that try to steal toys from other dominant dogs, which ends up leading to something not so pretty. And if people don't have control over their dogs, it can end up with a major dog fight.

When you're in a place with a lot of dogs running loose, think seriously about leaving the toys home and letting the dogs play with each other.

Jan

corvus

Posted : 8/18/2006 4:01:16 AM

Rude owners raise rude dogs?

inne

Posted : 8/18/2006 7:57:14 AM

Thanks for your advice, Jan, but I live right by very busy dog beaches and we have very different norms. Nearly everyone brings toys, mostly for playing fetch when swimming and in months of visiting several times a day I have never seen a problem, maybe because owners don't let it escalate to that point or because these dogs have been raised to share toys in public spaces. A lot of people aren't primarily there to play with other dogs; because we live in a city where people live in apartments or houses with no yards, and this is the only place to play fetch or run around with your dog at all. Having one of those Wip-it throwing things is practically part of the uniform

And if someone formed a playgroup, it would have to meet in the dog park anyway. Dogs rarely run straight into you and, more importantly, if they do, the owners apologize and ask if you're okay.

inne

Posted : 8/18/2006 7:58:21 AM

ORIGINAL: fuzzy_dogs_mom

What's their problem with the dogs going down to the water? If the dogs shouldn't be there, wouldn't someone have put up a fence to keep them out of that area?

I have no idea. I agree that there should be signs or a fence or something, but I'm kind of guessing the owners just didn't want their dogs getting wet. Who knows?

sillysally

Posted : 8/18/2006 9:59:45 AM

ORIGINAL: inne

Thanks for your advice, Jan, but I live right by very busy dog beaches and we have very different norms. Nearly everyone brings toys, mostly for playing fetch when swimming and in months of visiting several times a day I have never seen a problem, maybe because owners don't let it escalate to that point or because these dogs have been raised to share toys in public spaces. A lot of people aren't primarily there to play with other dogs; because we live in a city where people live in apartments or houses with no yards, and this is the only place to play fetch or run around with your dog at all. Having one of those Wip-it throwing things is practically part of the uniform And if someone formed a playgroup, it would have to meet in the dog park anyway. Dogs rarely run straight into you and, more importantly, if they do, the owners apologize and ask if you're okay.

Even so, I'd still keep an eye out. I have met a dog at the park that was guardy with her ball, and would growl everytime another dog got near it, and I've also met dogs that are possessive over water. One of Sally's favorite dogs to play with is a huge shepard/collie/akita? named Rocky, and the first time Rocky's owner poured water for him he was extremely impressed that Rocky let Sally drink it too--he said he guards it from other dogs (of course, this information might have been nice to know BEFORE I let her drink with him, but it turned out OK).

Just be careful is all. [

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Xerxes

Posted : 8/18/2006 10:37:46 AM

Sorry for your bad experience.

IMO Owners that bring their dog to the dog park for exercise only are missing the point. The dog park is more for socialization. Sure the dogs may run around a bit and act crazy and play, but that is part of the socialization process. The dogs that I see come in and run around like lunatics for 10 or 15 minutes are dogs that I see leave soon after they are done. Those dogs stir up the rest of the dogs and then the owners take them away.

Another side to this is the fact that if you bring toys to the park, be prepared to share. If your dog is enjoying a toy, that will attract other dogs to that toy. Sometimes a pleasant game of "keep away" ensues. Other times it's a game of tug. Sometimes they lose interest in the toy altogether. Always though, watch for the signs that the "play" might be going too far. A 30 second timeout will do wonders to calm dogs down.

I don't understand the "you shouldn't go down there" comment from the other owner though, it just sounds strange to me.

Terri

Posted : 8/18/2006 10:58:03 AM

It's too bad that you had that experience--but at least you know one park to avoid in the future!

Just like Xerxes said, people who bring toys into dog park should expect other dogs to share them. It really bothers me when people get mad at Loki for chasing their dog's ball. What did you expect him to do?

The other thing that really bothers me is the people who bring their picnic lunch in and then get upset when the dogs clobber them. It is clearly stated in the rules that you're not allowed to bring in food, but people still do. Last week there was a whole family eating Taco Bell on a blanket in the middle of the park. They yelled at all of the dogs who came over.

And one last pet peeve is the children who run screaming through the park. Most of the dogs are pretty well socialized, but you can never tell what will set them off. I'm sorry, but it's dog park not kid park. Anyway, I know this doesn't really relate to the OP's situation I just had to rant. [

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sillysally

Posted : 8/18/2006 11:02:42 AM

ORIGINAL: lokis_mom

It's too bad that you had that experience--but at least you know one park to avoid in the future!

Just like Xerxes said, people who bring toys into dog park should expect other dogs to share them. It really bothers me when people get mad at Loki for chasing their dog's ball. What did you expect him to do?

The other thing that really bothers me is the people who bring their picnic lunch in and then get upset when the dogs clobber them. It is clearly stated in the rules that you're not allowed to bring in food, but people still do. Last week there was a whole family eating Taco Bell on a blanket in the middle of the park. They yelled at all of the dogs who came over.

And one last pet peeve is the children who run screaming through the park. Most of the dogs are pretty well socialized, but you can never tell what will set them off. I'm sorry, but it's dog park not kid park. Anyway, I know this doesn't really relate to the OP's situation I just had to rant. []

I had Sally at the park once, and there were no less than 8 or 9 other dogs there, and Sally, at 50 some lbs, was the smallest. A woman brought her 18 month old child into the dog park and just put her on the ground. Then, as everyone is rushing to call their dogs back (because the whole group was running up toward the kid) she acted shocked and said "what, aren't they friendly with children?" Never mind the big, red lettered sign that prohibits small children in the dog park.

jones

Posted : 8/18/2006 11:11:56 AM

Your story reminds me of a time last summer when we used to go to the dog park almost every day... Our park is basically open to other areas like tennis courts, baseball diamonds, etc, with only the children's area enclosed. For about one week last summer (maybe it was a full moon?) one dog would run over to this big swampy puddley area on the far side of the tennis courts and the whole dog pack would excitedly follow... few of the dogs had any recall at all and so then all the humans would run in a herd after their dogs... Russell was still in the clingy puppy stage so (not through any virtue of my own) I'd be back with the well-behaved dogs and their owners who were laughing at the spectacle.

I used to love the dog park when Russell was a little puppy and the darling of the park. All the people there loved him and the dogs generally ignored him. But as he reached adolescence everything changed. Our trips there became fraught with conflict. As I've talked about here, everyone at our park is really rigid about no barking or growling or acting up... people started to yell at my dog for barking or mistaking his play for fighting and I started to dread taking him there like we were going to the dentist or something. He started to not get along with dogs as well because every interaction turned into this tense affair, and I know I was part of the problem too. Eventually I had to realize it wasn't doing either of us any good. Now we would much rather go to an empty park and play fetch for a while. If one dog shows up, that's cool... but the pack dynamics were not good at our dog park so we have for the most part stopped going. It's weird how, like you said inne, some parks just have a better dynamic going on than others.