# Horrific Dog Park Accident GSD vs Greyhound



## Liffey (Jan 12, 2017)

I was at the dog park with my dog today and I saw this crazy accident... There was a greyhound and a big GSD, the greyhound's owner threw a tennis ball straight up in the air, both dogs jumped up in the air trying to grab the ball at the same time, and their heads smashed into each other and I heard this horrible cracking sound. The dogs hadn't been facing each other and maybe they just didn't really see each other and were so focused on the ball, but it was a crazy jaw-to-jaw collision like full force smashed into each other.

The greyhound's whole mouth was bright red by the time her front feet hit the ground and she took off running and yelping... Her owner caught her after a few seconds and took one look at her mouth dripping blood and yelled to her boyfriend "WE NEED TO GO TO THE ER VET RIGHT NOW" and they ran out of the dog park heading for the emergency vet which is 20 mins away by car. 

It was so crazy.. they just jumped and turned in the air and smashed right into each other. The GSD wasnt fazed at all. He was fine. Just before she threw the ball, the greyhound's owner had been explaining to someone else at the dog park that she puts neoprene "socks" on her dog's front legs because greyhounds are fragile and her dog scrapes up the backs of her front feet while running. And then that happened. I thought I was going to throw up, there was so much blood.

I don't let my dog touch balls at the dog park or run with packs because I worry about the stuff that happens when multiple dogs try to get the same ball. But I've never seen this particular incident, mid-air collision. For my own, I know he's possessive and gets mean to other dogs if he has a ball, so it took me awhile but I finally got him to the point where he knows we ignore balls at the dog park. But these dogs were in no way fighting.. I honestly don't even think they saw each other til it was too late. The owner did the right thing by rushing her dog to the ER. I really hope she is okay!!


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## Femfa (May 29, 2016)

That poor girl... I hope the greyhound is okay and that any injuries that occurred can be swiftly dealt with and heal soon. I feel personally that this is one of the many reasons why bringing toys to a dog park can be a very innocent yet dangerous thing to do.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

That really sucks and I hope the grey hound is not hurt too badly. We've learned the hard way (and very expensive$$$) to play games like fetch one at a time. Our first incident I picked up a flirt pole and both my female and male went for it resulting in a collision, total lapse of foresight on my part. The result, a very audible pop! and a blown out lower left canine on my female requiring a root canal and titanium crown. Despite the pulp being completely exposed she never flinched and in no way wanted to miss out on a potential game.

The second incident, same two dogs. My wife was playing fetch, our male jumped up for the ball and my female came in like a missle and took his rear legs out from under him. The result a blown cruciate ligament and tplo surgery.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

How horrible. Hopefully the dog just got some teeth knocked loose. It really could have been so much worse, and the fact that the greyhound was able to run away is a good sign. Collisions between a GSD and a more delicate boned dog can be fatal. 

Throwing balls up into the air is a bad idea too, there was a GSD here on the board where the owner threw a ball for the dog to chase and it hit a rock and bounced up in the air. The dog leaped up to get it and landed badly, breaking its neck or back, I don't recall which.


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## holland (Jan 11, 2009)

Hope the greyhound is going to be ok


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Nigel said:


> That really sucks and I hope the grey hound is not hurt too badly. We've learned the hard way (and very expensive$$$) to play games like fetch one at a time. Our first incident I picked up a flirt pole and both my female and male went for it resulting in a collision, total lapse of foresight on my part. The result, a very audible pop! and a blown out lower left canine on my female requiring a root canal and titanium crown. Despite the pulp being completely exposed she never flinched and in no way wanted to miss out on a potential game.
> 
> The second incident, same two dogs. My wife was playing fetch, our male jumped up for the ball and my female came in like a missle and took his rear legs out from under him. The result a blown cruciate ligament and tplo surgery.


WOW ... not a "Dog Park" incident but thanks for the heads up!!


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Why would anyone bring toys into a dog park? They are lucky that poor dog wasn't killed.


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## Dracovich (Feb 24, 2017)

Fetch seems to be inevitable at a dog park, people don't realize the risks. This isn't even one of the risks I would think of, sounds like a freak accident almost and it's scary this dog was so fragile!

Toys of any type should be completely avoided at dog parks.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

that's why I avoid our local dog park except on occasional early early mornings when I'm the only one there. People actually provide toys to the park so there are always balls and frisbees EVERYWHERE.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Dainerra said:


> that's why I avoid our local dog park except on occasional early early mornings when I'm the only one there. People actually provide toys to the park so there are always balls and frisbees EVERYWHERE.


Yep yes they do. When I went on a rare occasion to our local "Dog Park" I saw tons of Balls laying around??? 

I was gonna scoop them up and take them to the local thrift store and I was told nope ... those are "Dog Park Toys" they stay here ... Ok then.


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## maxtmill (Dec 28, 2010)

How awful! I wish there was a way you could ask around to see how the greyhound fared!


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## GatorBytes (Jul 16, 2012)

The dog parks in area's I had visited had a Rules and regulations for using park visibly posted, and on the sign balls and toys were not allowed. 
People did anyways


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

If I see anyone with toys I ask them to put them away or I leave. Too many chances for fights or accidents like this one.


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## katdog5911 (Sep 24, 2011)

My Newfie x was playing fetch with a GSD and wound up cracking 3 of his front teeth when they both went for a stick at the same time and collided face to face. This happened many years ago and we never had an issue toothwise after that. My boy loved to fetch and would basically tune out the rest of the world. 
Hope it is just tooth injury for the greyhound. Mouth injuries tend to bleed a lot. Hoping it looked worse than it was....


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## Julian G (Apr 4, 2016)

Avoid all dog parks and all dogs.


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

I only take my dog to proof her when no dogs are on one side and the chaos is on the other side. That in IMHO is all dog parks are good for. To ignore fence fighters, etc. And she cannot get hurt.


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

Poor greyhound - hope she is ok and it is just a minor injury......



I hate dog parks....



Lee


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## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

That sounds awful! And very upsetting to see. But keep in mind mouth injuries do bleed a lot more than anything else.

On Sunday after our training lesson I let Kaiser and his best buddy Harley have a bit of a game with each other for 20 minutes. During the game one of Kaiser's baby teeth got knocked out... poor Harley was covered in blood. If we hadn't worked out that it was from a baby tooth then Harley's owner would have ended up extremely worried that Harley had hurt herself somehow.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Liffey, if you hear any news about the greyhound, please give us an update. Sending good thoughts and prayers for the dog and owners. Very sad.


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## Liffey (Jan 12, 2017)

There is so much bad training and un-training that goes on at the dog park. I have enough verbal control over my dog to reliably call him away from anything I don't want him involved in, but the vast majority of people don't. Toys and balls are better left in places where they don't drastically increase the risk of incidents like this. Unfortunately people seem to keep bringing them, or they pop out of the ground...


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

Holy cow. That's awful. Nobody's fault per se, but awful nonetheless. I've worried about fights over balls (luckily mine isn't at all possessive, but I don't want to witness that fight) or choking (I vaguely recall a member here sharing a terribly sad story of her dog choking on a tennis ball), but injury via collision over toy had not occurred to me.

I swear my GSD has an anvil inside her head. That thing HURTS. She's plowed into my knees and nearly taken me out more times than I can count. I don't wonder that a GSD skull could seriously injure a greyhound.


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## lindsaybev (Mar 7, 2017)

That is soo terribly sad. Poor baby. Thank goodness he/she had good owners that were taking care to get to the ER right away. I would be a bit traumatized, too. I hate to see animals injured. 

I would be just a bit cautious about dog parks in general. Not all owners are conscientious owners...and the pack mentality can be something to behold. 

We took Sadie to the dog park, trying to get her socialized. There was one lady with a pack of cute little Beagles running inside the fence. Sadie, happy-go-lucky-Sadie, couldn't wait to get in to visit. We opened the gate, and the Beagles went straight into aggressive pack-mode. There was about 8 or 10 of them, all of a sudden vicious. They were attacking Sadie from all sides, and the lady was just waltzing at the other end of the park. My husband, unfortunately, had to get in between them and our dog and kick them away. Of course, that sent the woman into a tirade. 

We got Sadie out safely, thank goodness. But it was so bad, people came running from all around. Cute little Beagles...who'd a thought? Sadie is leary now and will not let another dog behind her. I don't blame her. But we don't force interaction at the dog park anymore either.


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

This is one major reason to avoid dog 'parks'. Sadie might be dog reactive for the rest of her life from this.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

my two just had this happen. Usually they have preferred toys so I can play fetch with both of them at the same time...well, I used to be able to until this week. This time my big boy decided he was going to catch my she-pup's toy and they both reached it at the same time. My poor gal broke a tooth. It couldn't be saved and my pocket book took a big hit. Thank God the other teeth are fine. 

I'll tell you, when I heard the teeth of both dogs hitting each other, I thought of this dog park accident.


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## Kyrielle (Jun 28, 2016)

Nurse Bishop said:


> This is one major reason to avoid dog 'parks'. Sadie might be dog reactive for the rest of her life from this.


I doubt that. It was an accidental collision, and there was no aggression involved. If she were to simply not go back for a while, and then show up again much later, I'm fairly certain she wouldn't even remember the incident. If a dog had attacked her, then yeah, I'd share your same concerns. But a collision? Nah. Probably not.


That said, as much as I like dog parks, I've heard of a lot of injuries suffered by greyhounds simply because they're so very fragile (perhaps it's time for breeders to make greyhounds a shade more robust). 

One got scalped during a friendly tussle with another dog. Another broke a leg. Another got their side ripped open by a stray branch/paw.

Just...maybe not the best place to take one. Physically they seem to have great difficulty handling any intense contact.


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