At the Dog Park

JacqueZ said:
I enjoy visiting dog parks with Honey. She's had one or two bad experiences, but so long as we monitor the activity level and who she's interacting with, we're able to disengage her and leave before it becomes a situation where she could get hurt.

Most of the parks near us are really large though, and the owners are pretty respectful and interact with their dogs a lot. In fact, most of the time the owners are playing with thier dogs more than the dogs are playing with each other.

I do wish owners would listen to the posted signs about not bringing dogs that are in heat, however. Ugh!
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sheesh, I wish it was like that at our park... I go with my dogs and play, then all THEIR dogs want to play with me too... then I have to tell owners ¨your dogs does not want to play with my dogs, he wants to play with me, can you please play with your dog so I can play with mine?¨:no:
 
SheltieChe said:
sheesh, I wish it was like that at our park... I go with my dogs and play, then all THEIR dogs want to play with me too... then I have to tell owners ¨your dogs does not want to play with my dogs, he wants to play with me, can you please play with your dog so I can play with mine?¨:no:
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The main one we go to is right on a large lake, and there it is set up so that owners can practice dock jumping with the dogs. In our case we use it so we can train Honey to swim. The other one has a few agility toys set up, a concrete construction tube stands in for the tunnel, and large tires, an A frame. I think having those things set up helps encourage owners to work with the dogs.
 
I had a nice time Sunday when I took both boys to the closest park. I did go in the large dog side. I went in the small dog side on other trips with Fillion and found it more of a coffee klatch for the ladies while chihuahuas ran around your ankles than a dog park. On the large dog side, people walked and threw balls and some of us talked, but no one let their dog get out of hand. Guess I got lucky!
 
That was really interesting. I usually do what they lady advises, so it was good to know I am doing right.
 
I just wanted to knock the idiot lady off the bench. How could she not see what was happening? You definitely don't have to be a student of dog behaviour to be aware of the dog's plight. I certainly wouldn't have been able to film this myself but would have felt compelled to jump in.
There is a dog park in Milton Ontario that has a number of intact males. At least 2 rotties, 3 golden/poodle crosses - you know what I mean, a shepherd, a black lab and a collie were there the day I was. Now factor in that a lot of people are being advised to keep their dogs intact without any knowledge of what a bitch looks like when it starts to come into season. You got it. A big recipe for disaster. Couple that with my noticing all the chit chat going on without anyone even looking up to see what the dogs were doing. One of the rotties tried to lift it's leg on me. That got a couple of people's attention when I yelled at it but no one came over. There were a couple of kids there too- yuck really healthy.
All I could think of, while seeing all those testicles dangling, was the woman that called into the clinic one day in a panic because her dog was "bleeding from the rear". I told her to bring it in immediately. It was in season. Before you think this was one dumb arse hick, let me tell you that she was a high school teacher. Picture her taking her girl to that park. Then there is the matter of toys. Rose, a friend of mine, has a dog that gets along really well as long as there are no toys involved. She took her dog to the dog park. Big signs stating NO TOYS but of course, people had brought balls and Frisbees. It wouldn't have mattered much because of all the sticks that had fallen from the surrounding trees. Fortunately, she left but had she stayed her JR would have ended up mobbed because for sure she would have started something.
I get calls all the time from people that have puppies. I stopped being amazed at the questions. Today was my dentist's receptionist calling for a friend with a new 9 week old dachshund. The puppy howls when put in a crate. Is that normal? This is not their first dog, but it is the first time they are going to use a crate. This is a typical inquiry too. Don't think because the people on this site are continuously educating themselves that most of the average public does the same. Just another reason that I am not a fan of dog parks.
 
Dog park play time

I can't say that I am a huge fan of dog parks, but there are few places I can take Mac to run off steam. I do admit to screening the park prior to parking. If there are any Huskies, we will keep going and not stop to play. Just too much drama. Mac won't start a fight, but he sure isn't going to back down if another dog starts something.

Interesting to see he has appointed himself the "play police". He is constantly monitoring the others to make sure no one is harassing anyone else. If so, he will get in between the two and push off the aggressor with some warning barks. Once things are settled, he comes back to resume play. That's a side to him that I would never experience at home by ourselves. Also, we have leash laws for our beaches, so there is no room to stretch legs there. Neighbors are pretty vigilant about monitoring for violators.
 
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