Dog parks and doggie socialization

Very interesting reading these posts. I almost started a thread on this topic a few months back, but was so angry at the time I felt I couldn't be objective.

We have a beautiful dog park about 10 minutes from where I live. Part of it is leash only, but the larger area is off-leash. It consists of a huge grassy field and then a wooded area that leads to a lake.

I first took Gus at about 4 months after talking to the vet about whether she felt they were "safe" and a good outlet for socialization. She responded "yes" on both counts, so off we went.

The first visit was great--just a few small dogs and some puppies like Gus. They ran around like crazy and I had a great time talking to the owners. The second time, Gus and I had the place to ourselves until a large pit bull/boxer mix suddenly appeared out of the woods without a human companion. Obviously in aggressive mode, he made a bee-line for Gus and roughed him up pretty badly. No blood, thank God, but lots of screaming on my end and Gussy yelping while I held him and danced around in circles trying to ward off a further attack.

It was about two minutes of total chaos before the owner showed up-- a woman in her 30's who immediately began apologizing and asking if either of us were injured. Well, I lost it.

"Why the he** would you bring a dog like that here to a dog park? How irresponsible to put other dogs and people at risk!"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Look, he was abused when he was a puppy and doesn't like strange dogs or people, OK?"

"No, it's not OK. It's total stupidity on your part. And I'll tell you right now, if either of us had been injured, I would sue your butt off in a New York minute. Please leave with him on a leash NOW before I call the county police and report your dog as a menace."

Anyway... that was that. I brought Gus back two weeks later, but now have him on a long leash until I can scope out who else is around. If I see a dog I don't recognize, I pick Gus up and ask the owner if the dog is friendly or not before I unleash him.

Lesson for me: I think the parks are wonderful, but there are some moronic/clueless owners out there. Having to watch Gus like a hawk at all times takes a bit of the fun out of it for me, but on good days it's a blast. I really wish the county would provide separate space for the large vs smaller breeds. Just be careful out there, people!
 
RetiredProf said:
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I brought Gus back two weeks later, but now have him on a long leash until I can scope out who else is around. If I see a dog I don't recognize, I pick Gus up and ask the owner if the dog is friendly or not before I unleash him.

Lesson for me: I think the parks are wonderful, but there are some moronic/clueless owners out there. Having to watch Gus like a hawk at all times takes a bit of the fun out of it for me, but on good days it's a blast. I really wish the county would provide separate space for the large vs smaller breeds. Just be careful out there, people!
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Be vigilant is definitely the key... and small dog/large dog area would be awesome, but we are not there yet... I am just glad we have a number of off leash areas and parks!

By the way I would NOT pick up my dog, that may increase frustration AND prey drive of the other dogs, as well as teaching your pup he's dominant over the other dogs (elevated position, etc) that may cause him to not submit easy next time he really should... as well puppies do get barreled over at 'my' dogpark here n there ... SO I don't think its the best socialization place, I would recommend puppy classes instead... however for an adult dog and part of exercise and good walk and pack behaviour observation and interactions and simply for allowing a dog to be dog, you can't beat a GOOD dog park...
 
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Phebe was attacked at the dog park this afternoon. I thought she managed to get away unscathed but I just discovered a puncture on her upper jaw. I've been uncomfortable the last few times we went to that park -- there always seems to be at least one clueless person with an ill-mannered dog.

This dog looked like a large Aussie mix or maybe even a Rott mix. His owner was throwing a ball for him and Phebe and several other dogs were joining in. Phebe never goes after the ball in a group like this. She is very happy herding the group. Apparently, this dog misinterpreted her herding as going after his toy. He went right for her throat. She yelped, got loose and ran to the other side of the park. The beast came after her and attacked again. I overheard the owner saying that she was afraid something like this might happen, which leads me to believe that she knew her dog has toy aggression issues. If you know your dog is aggressive over toys, then the dog park is wrong place to play ball. GRRRRRR
 
I'm a new dog parent to Lady, my sable sheltie. I delayed going to our nearby dog park (about a mile down the road) because of warnings from many sources. When Lady was 10 months old, I decided to try it. The first visits were at times/days that were not very busy. I made the first trips short, no more than 1/2 hour in length. Gradually, we became more familiar with the park and the "regulars", most of whom had very well behaved dogs. Our visits became longer and we visited at times when there were more dogs (and people).

Yes, there are some dogs who cause trouble for most of the other dogs, big or small. Lady has some fear of small children, and starts to herd them, which scares some of them. Otherwise, Lady loves the dog park. She must have been a Labrador Retriever in a prior life, because her favorite activity is running around and jumping into the small creeks in the park.

As it is with anything I try myself or with my dog, I have to use my judgment to determine the level of risk versus opportunity for growth. I feel that Lady has benefited greatly from her experiences at the dog park. She is better with kids. She is listening to me when she is off leash, even when there are distractions. Mostly, she delights in the joys of just being a dog. It is hard to find other experiences that meet that need within the restrictions of leashes and confined spaces. Yesterday, I drove home from the dog park with a wet, muddy, stinky, panting, smiling sheltie who gave three black labs a run for their money. I felt like she was telling me "thanks, Mom, for letting me be a dog!"
 
Poor little phebe! Put some betadine on the puncture mark to make sure she doesnt get an infection.

What a moron! if the dog is resource aggressive the owner shouldn't be bringing that resource into the dog park, the stupidity of some dog owners still astounds me. I will only let Tully play ball with a pack of dogs she knows now - too many dogs spoil things and Idon't want to risk Tully becoming fearful again. But it can be done, we have a very large group of dogs that all happily play ball together. There are never fights over the ball and any dog that shows bad manners (like running off with the ball) is reprimanded straight away by its owner and usually put on lead. Occassionally a resource aggressive interloper may join in - but the rest of the pack makes short shrift of that, and they happily accept friendly newcomers.
 
Wow, some scary stories, Phebe and RetiredProf!

Lesson for me: I think the parks are wonderful, but there are some moronic/clueless owners out there. Having to watch Gus like a hawk at all times takes a bit of the fun out of it for me, but on good days it's a blast. I really wish the county would provide separate space for the large vs smaller breeds. Just be careful out there, people!
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From the sound of it, there should be separate dog parks for smart dog owners and dumb dog owners. Perhaps a Sheltie-only park?

I do appreciate Toffee and Ania sticking up for dog parks, though. I do think they can be okay, especially if there are separate small dog areas.

I'm going to try and hunt down that other dog park thread. If anyone has a link to it, that would be helpful.
 
Here is a video I took not even a month ago of Maia and Chinook at the dog park. Maia still had her cone on her head (post eye surgery) and that did not even stop her from playing fetch and playing with Chinook. Near the end of the video, you can see how my two react to meeting other dogs. I laugh all the time at Maia - silly girl.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jai5nIjn0z8
 
Ania said:
Here is a video I took not even a month ago of Maia and Chinook at the dog park. Maia still had her cone on her head (post eye surgery) and that did not even stop her from playing fetch and playing with Chinook. Near the end of the video, you can see how my two react to meeting other dogs. I laugh all the time at Maia - silly girl.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jai5nIjn0z8
Click to expand...

That looks like 2 happy dogs.:smile2: I love to watch shelties run.

Thats how mine greet dogs too. I ve just had problems with too many dogs with poor social skills.
 
So cute, Ania! Thank you for posting the video. I wish I lived near your dog park. It's beautiful!

You know, Buffy's kind of a mini version of that when she greets other dogs, so that makes me feel better. She usually goes up to them and does the doggy sniff with a waggy tail. Now I just need to get her "come" better and eventually get her to listen in the dog park.

Also, great that you have two Shelties--they are perfect playmates for each other! They do look happy there, I can see why they talk you into going there often...
 
Fantastic video, Ania!

Your babies are obviously extremely well trained! I wish my boys would play ball like your two together!

When we play ball, they both start out to chase, but Indy always quits half way and trots back, leaving Bacca with the prize. And then Bacca takes off with it and usually drops it about 30 feet from where I am.

They used to love the game, but something in their team dynamics has changed in the last couple of months.

Must find a way to get them playing like your babies play again!
 
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