Children in dog parks....thoughts?

I'm not particularly keen on young children (say under 10) in the dog park. For one thing, often the parent is watching the child and not their dog, or the opposite occurs and the child is running wild.

 
Ditto.  My dogpark story:
 
I had the 2 boyz (basenjis) and a senior lab.  I'd only go when there wasn't much going on there, generally around 10am.  One day I'm there with my dogs and there are a few other dogs, owners and a young child (maybe 6 or so).  I'm not socializing and am carefully watching my dogs.  I look up from picking up poop and on the other side of the park, there is the child going up to Tri-ing (the tri basenji) and before I can even move she throws her arms around him and puts him in a headlock.  I about had a heart attack.  I don't have kids, my dogs aren't around kids a lot.  Thankfully, the breeder socialized my boyz to little kids before they left her house.  Thankfully my breeder breeds for temperment.  Tri-ing just stood there calmly; my feet were glued to the ground like a bad dream.  Child finally lets him go, he takes a good shake and trots off clearly unphased.  I've never been so proud of Tri-ing in my life.  Later I had to tell this child not to chase my dog around the park, it's okay to pet him if he comes up to you, but don't chase him.  Twice.  Where where the parents?  If I'd wanted to discipline children and keep an eye on them, I'd have had some.  [:@]   Unfortunately, that's what sticks out in my mind when someone mentions kids at the dogpark.

IMO even a young child may or may not be dog savvy.  However, every dog is different and many of us spend a lot of time learning about those differences and how to treat different dogs appropriately.  I think that would be a lot to expect of a young child, not specifying any age because it may be a maturity thing.
Large dogs running around and having the zoomies is dangerous for anyone and eople should be able to make an informed decision for themselves about whether or not to risk it.  If one needs to specify an age to define someone able to make that informed decision then do so - I wish you luck.
I don't think there is any perfect answer but Xerxes is pretty much hitting the nail on the head IMO.  I also love the fact that he has an "age detector", what a smart pup!

I guess to me, banning all children makes about as much sense as banning all pit bulls, or rottweilers, or puppies, or... you get the idea. Ban any man, woman, child or canine who cannot follow proper rules of conduct and let everyone else stay and have fun.

I guess to me, banning all children makes about as much sense as banning all pit bulls, or rottweilers, or puppies, or... you get the idea. Ban any man, woman, child or canine who cannot follow proper rules of conduct and let everyone else stay and have fun.

[sm=bravo.gif] 

I have done many therapy dog visits with children present, and taught many classes where children were present. It has been my experience that kids 7 and under are a huge liability in dog parks, and classes, because they really don't understand the consequences of their actions that well, and parents may have to repeat instructions, etc.  You can tell a child of that age not to pull the dog's ears, and ten seconds later he's pulling the dog's ears.
Children 10+ are way better, but should still be under control. 
Personally, if there are a lot of kids, I wouldn't bring my dogs.  Any encounter with a child that is negative will land your pup in a world of poop.  Not worth it to me.  I want my dog to meet children in a safer, and more controlled environment.

I haven't read the whole thread, but I have my own opinion. If the kids are actually supervised and are walking with their parents or whoever they're with, it's not a big deal, just know that the kid may get knocked down as playing dogs really don't watch where they're going. But if the kids are running all over the place, ahead of their parents or no where around their parents, it's a bad idea. The park I go to has a fenced in pond so if you want your dog can go in but if you don't want it can't. These people had kids in their once and the kids were going in the tall grass and hiding and then when they got up or if the dogs saw them while they were squatting there, the dogs would bark. Rio, my dog, was doing this and he's good with kids. He's a big dog though so if he knocked one down he could hurt them. That is a good way for the kids to get bit.
 
Bottom line for me is supervised kids who behave are okay, unsupervised-parents just being there doesn't count as being supervised- who run around and make noise aren't okay.
 
Shiva

I would go by depending on the child, some at older ages should not be in there, my kids were raised with large and small dogs. I would of taken them at that age but they would not be allowed to yell, run, or approach dogs they don't know. 

Any parent who chooses to bring there child to dog parks, I would hope, has made that decision knowing what those risks are to their child.  Personally I would never do that and take the chance of my child being biten becasue of a decision I made.  I'm extra cautious with my son when visiting people we know and there dogs.  Dogs are dogs and can be unpredictable especially when they are riled up and playing with other dogs they just met.   If I brough my dog to a dog park and saw children running around I would leave.  My dog may not play nice with a bunch of kids present.

I personally will not take children to a dog park. I don't believe they belong there. I think the dogs should be able to run around and act a fool and when you throw a toddler in the mix, guess who's going to get the blame when the kid gets run over by a pack of dogs? While I wouldn't take kids and don't believe they belong there, I don't mind if the kids are kept in the background but when the kids get in on the dog action, that worries me and I feel that's a recipe for disaster.

ORIGINAL: luvmyswissy

Any parent who chooses to bring there child to dog parks, I would hope, has made that decision knowing what those risks are to their child. 

Here is the problem--I would be willing to bet that 99.8% of parents do not *really* have a good concept of what those risks are. 

I have worked at a barn with public riding for 10 years.  I have witnessed thousands upon thousands of parents reading and signing waver forms for horseback riding, and I can count on 2 hands those individuals that did *not* seem surprised that putting their 70 lb child onto the back of a 1200 lb animal might possibly be risky.  You would *hope* that someone would look at the sheer size of a horse and think "Hmmm, that animal just might be able to injure someone," but no.  You would also *hope* that they would read the HUGE sign that was posted right in our entry way that stated that it is State Law that equine activies are "inherintly dangorous," but no.

I have literally had people YELL at me because the waver states that what their kids are doing is dangorous and that they can't sue if something happens.  I have had people try to argue with me that the waver would never hold up in court (it has, by the way[]).

As a result of these experiences, I no longer trust that people would know the risks of anything, especially activities involving animals.  The *only* way I would feel comfortable about kids being in a dog park is if the parents had to sign a waver so that I knew that if my dog accidentally knocks a 2 year old over and causes her to split her head open on the picnic table, I won't lose my house in the legal battle that is sure to follow.

[sm=wink2.gif][sm=bravo.gif]  
 
SillySally,
I agree with what you said and you phrased it much better than I could.
 
Thanks!

ORIGINAL: jenhuedepohl
I guess to me, banning all children makes about as much sense as banning all pit bulls, or rottweilers, or puppies, or... you get the idea.

Well, loose dogs are banned at most parks for children. If we let children into dog parks, what's the differnce of letting dogs into children's parks?  There's a very good reason to keep kids (sometimes uncontrollable, screaming, unpredictable little creatures) apart from dogs (sometimes uncontrollable, unpredictable, unsocialized little creatures with big teeth).

Ban any man, woman, child or canine who cannot follow proper rules of conduct and let everyone else stay and have fun.

That sounds good on paper. Unfortunately, by the time we know who can and cannot follow proper rules of conduct, a child screams or hugs a dog or an aggressive dog is running across the park and a child's face is permanently disfigured, or worse. If the parent wants to take the risk, fine. I just think it's a really bad idea.

If we could trust that all dogs in dog parks are well-socialized and love children, there'd be no need for dog parks. We could take them to the regular park. But that's a HUGE "if". As we all know from hanging out on a dog board, many dogs aren't properly socialized. And many dogs love adults but DON'T like children.

Small children that will wander away, not good. Older children, such as 10+ (if they're mature) are fine. As long as they don't go up and pat any dogs - unless the owner gives explicit permission - and they're well behaved, it's fine, isn't it? It's really not their fault is the dog is afraid of children. I know when I was ten I wanted to take Asia to a dog park and I was certainly well behaved, so I don't see the problem here. 

Usually dogs who are afraid of little kids (I've got one) tend to loose that fear round about the child turning 9 or 10, when they begin to move and act more like an adolescent than a child. What dogs fear about children usually is the way they move (jerky, oversized, unpredictable motions), the way they smell, the high-pitched nature of their voices and lack of volume control. All those things tend to get a bit more under control as the child nears adolescence. Our 10 year old nephew does just fine with Conrad because he's getting to be about the size and shape of an adult, and can take and understand insructions on how to behave with Conrad very well.

I agree though, that by the time someone realizes that X person is not doing well in the dog park, it's usually too late. And if you have a sign that says "Well-behaved children only" that's just a recipe for fisticuffs I think. I can see it now: "Your child is not being well-behaved, you have to leave." "Who are YOU to say if my child is or is not being well-behaved? I think your dog is a child-eating menace and YOU should have to leave!"

There's a lot of people out there who seem to think that dogs have to be 100% bomb-proof for them to be allowed out of the house, or who assume that any dog they see outside actually IS 100% bomb-proof, and a situation where the dogs are not on leashes or restrained in any way is really not the best place for anyone to learn that they're wrong in that assumption.

I would prefer that kids not be allowed in dog parks. From previous experiences, I have came to the conclusion that children & loose dogs cannot coexist in a dog park situation.
 
Bevo loves kids. We participate in a summer reading program, & Bev loves nothing more than to go in & lounge around with the kids, while I am reading. He is very gentle with the children & he is much more tolerant of the things that these kids do, than I could ever be.
 
Bevo is a very prey driven dog. While he does have a dead on recall, I do not see why I should be forced to constantly use this recall to avoid a potential knockdown of a child. Every child in a dog park that I have came in contact with, has caused a problem. I had a child try to chase Bev, even though I had asked him to stop on more than one occasion. Unfortunately, Bev wants to be the chaser, not the chasee. Bev turned around and went to chase the child, who froze in his tracks. I had to quickly call Bev back to me. Bev made absolutely no contact with the child, but this child#%92s parent felt that she needed to come & “speak” with me about how my “killer” dog tried to attack her child. I quickly pointed out that her child was not touched by my dog, & then I gently urged her to the gates, to show her that the sign outside did, indeed, say “dog park” not kid#%92s park.
 
I guess that I just don#%92t like the fact that a majority of the dog owners in my area, do not pay enough attention to what their children are doing. *If* I came across a well behaved, dog smart, child in the dog park, then my opinion might change. Until then I am totally opposed to kids in dog parks.