Dog Community

Dog Parks

Posted : 6/13/2006 9:29:35 AM

Looking for some input here,

There are a few dog parks in my city, explicitly for that purpose and advertised as such. There are also countless other areas that I know dog owners frequent with their pets off the leash.
I wonder, since my pets and I have never attended such places, what your experiences are. I can imagine the problems which may arise; the unsuspecting owner when alone with his or her dogs may feel relatively secure, yet once another owner brings their little ones into the equation things could change dramatically. A completely enclosed apace is a must for me. I'm paranoid and would never take my boys off their leads unless sure they wouldn't tango with a car, yet I wonder if the fences in these designated areas would be sufficient as my oldest can clear a four foot fence with ease and without much of a running start. (My friends say they would brag that attribute up a bit, but it actually is a big stressor for me as I therefore have little use for any barriers in my apartment but only the most expensive tall ones) He is also VERY and fearlessly

rotective of me regardless of what he is up against. I see this as a potential problem as another dog may innocently want to come and just say hi to me and he would almost certainly cause an injury of some sort. My younger one is under a year and only boasts social skills from his older brother; he therefore is pushy with new dogs and coupling that with his size could frighten a smaller older dog into attacking.
    Is there any advice on Doggy-Park strategy anyone can offer? It may be as simple as rounding up my guys as soon as I see another bunch arriving, but that just seems like a crap-shoot. Why go when there is a chance I would have to leave after just a few minutes?
    I was thinking about going on a trial run with my buddy and his dog. His guy is a good mix of my boy's personalities, so maybe we can go test it out a few times with the three of them.

    What do you think?

willowchow

Posted : 6/13/2006 9:53:57 AM

I see this as a potential problem as another dog may innocently want to come and just say hi to me and he would almost certainly cause an injury of some sort.

I think if this is the case then a dog park isn't for your boys.

Lou_Dog

Posted : 6/13/2006 10:00:10 AM

You speak the truth willow. I'd much rather be safe than sorry. He has really impressed me recently with our new pup. At first he would snarl when the pup wanted to get close to me, but I am so suprised at how quickly he let that go. I know that it would be a different story for a stranger dog, but maybe with running around with my friend's dog would help. I have a bunch of pals with dogs so maybe we should all go.
Do you think we should not just stick to one of them? I started to think that if we always go to one that becomes the best fit for us that he may view it as his territory.

MJ

Posted : 6/13/2006 10:01:23 AM

My experiences at our local dog park have been mostly positive ones. Problems sometime arise with possesive dogs and toys. My dog Pogo has gotten in 1 fight over a ball. I always need to be watching very closely. If another dog takes her ball I step in immediately and stop Pogo from overreacting. She is getting better. There are occassional problems with aggressive dogs, but rarely do I see the aggressive dogs come back. There are some dog owners that are too sensitive to what's going on. They will try to intervene when there is any interaction between their dog and another dog. If you take your dog to the dog park you have to realize that dogs will work it out amongst themselves and you must let them.

I would say in your particular case that a dog park would not be a good idea until you work on the over protective issues.

boneyjean

Posted : 6/13/2006 10:28:42 AM

There was recently a really good thread on this.
[linkhttp://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=64463&mpage=1&key=ﳳ]http://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=64463&mpage=1&key=ﳳ[/link]

I personally have had good experiences at the dog park so far but we have a really nice park here. Voted #1 in America. You could always just take one of your dogs at a time to check it out until you feel comfortable taking more. Going with your friend for a trial run to get a feel for the place is also a great idea. It might put all or most of your fears at ease.

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 6/13/2006 11:16:25 AM

My experiences have all been positive also, but it's really essential that any dog visiting a dog park be able to get along with other dogs AND people. If I were you, I would go and check out the park (without the dog) and figure out which times it would be heavily populated and which times it would have just a few people. Go at a time when there are just a few people and see how your dog does. If your dog gets upset however, when another dog or a stranger comes up to you, I agree that maybe a dog park isn't the best place to go. All the dogs that go to our park are very friendly and often come up to complete strangers for a pat or a scratch or to find someone to toss their drooly ball for them.[

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Joyce

labcrab

Posted : 6/13/2006 12:15:26 PM

He is also VERY and fearlessly rotective of me regardless of what he is up against. I see this as a potential problem as another dog may innocently want to come and just say hi to me and he would almost certainly cause an injury of some sort.

No offense - really... but this is exactly the kind of dog that should NOT be in a dog park. It would be irresponsible and dangerous for you to ignore what you know (a fearlessly protective dog that would almost certainly cause injury).

cakana

Posted : 6/13/2006 12:26:12 PM

I totally agree with Christine. If you already know that there's a potential for problems, why even take a chance? My two labs have had several serious scraps with each other and I can't imagine ever taking them someplace like a dog park. Not that I wouldn't love to be able to, but the possibility of them getting hurt or hurting another dog, is enough to deter me from even trying.

labcrab

Posted : 6/13/2006 12:31:19 PM

On the other side of that - my puppy (at 4 months old) had his ear ripped in half by a dog that had no business in a dog park... Please don't do it just because your curious or you think he might enjoy it. Dog Parks simply are not for ALL dogs.

jensw

Posted : 6/13/2006 12:38:06 PM

I started to think that if we always go to one that becomes the best fit for us that he may view it as his territory.

Along with what the others are telling you, this is actually what you don't want for a possessive dog. We had to limit our trips to the dog park because our dog started to view it as his territory. He became very jealous of it and semi-aggressively "policed" the other dogs. He had to take a break for several weeks and now only goes once or twice a week instead of 4-5 times.

Steve Malanga

Posted : 6/13/2006 2:27:26 PM

ORIGINAL: labcrab

Please don't do it just because your curious or you think he might enjoy it. Dog Parks simply are not for ALL dogs.

Yes, this is a big problem with OWNERS. A few weeks ago I was at our local dogpark and a woman walked by the fence with a pit mix on a leash and watched the other dogs playing in the park. I spoke to her over the fence and she said, I really would like to bring him in, but he doesn't get along with other dogs. A few minutes later she did bring him in, and though she was watching him carefully he got in a big spat almost immediately with a mastiff. She knew better but let her curiosity or whatever get the best of her.

Xerxes

Posted : 6/15/2006 1:40:26 PM

About 99% of my dog park experiences have been good. But as most of the posters say, there are dogs that don't belong at the park.

Case in point: A lady brought her two 10 month old Neos to the park at 110lbs plus. They'd never been around other dogs before and were nervous. They didn't know how to be social so they reverted to "defensive drive." No one got hurt but the trip lasted about 60 seconds. Another guy brought in a Tosa Inu, the owner was on top of him and the dog was generally good, but he did become a bit aggressive with some of the other dogs.

IMO dogs that could potentially cause problems in a mixed population of non-restrained dogs should not be given the opportunity to cause problems. It's not fun for the owners and it's not fun for the dogs.

Seth Ruffer

Posted : 6/15/2006 3:02:17 PM

Lou Dog--

You should not take your dogs to a dog park--doing so would be asking for trouble that you just don't need.

I just want to say thanks, though. I wish more people who had dogs that might not be appropriate for dog-park settings would have the integrity to ask first before showing up.

I think dog parks are ok. It's great to let your dogs socialize and also, probably like most of us here, I really prefer hanging out with dog people rather than non-dog people.

What I'm not crazy about is the potential for (inadvertent) spread of disease or the possibility for injury.

We go to dog parks once in a while, but not as often as we used to.

cavowner

Posted : 6/15/2006 4:17:12 PM

I wouldn't take any dog to an off lead park unless it had an instant 100% recall and drop. You will meet dogs who are not under control and who have brainless owners, be careful.

You are liable & responsible for your dog's behaviour 100% of the time, off lead area or not so ~ If in doubt, don't [

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Best

Lou_Dog

Posted : 6/15/2006 6:32:33 PM

I think that what I'll do is this:

    I have been talking with a few friends whom frequent a few parks and tend to go when there isn't anyone there. Odd times of day when most others are at work. I'll go a few times with my two and my best friend's dog, my youngest and his are both under a year and my 3 year old will never grow up so they are all a good fit together and don't see any problems there.
    Then assuming schedules allow, increase the number of friend's dogs who I know untill we have a nice group. Conservatively we will end up with 5 or 6 that will by a couple of months hopefully have some sort of groove they are in regarding a leashless park. Then not take just my two, but the whole group during a normal time when it has a fair amount of stranger dogs there. Then back off the friend's dogs, they will be happy to help and be curious to see what comes of it.
    Seems like a lot, but I'm the type to take the time. I don't think there is any problem that when carefully and creatively approached cannot be solved. After all, we have the dogs we want. Their failure is ours.