# Dog Park Drama



## rainydaygoods (Oct 13, 2008)

This weekend was my 6-month-old puppy Charlie's first trip to the dog park. Since we live in a suburban-ish part of a city, we don't have a lot of chances for off-leash play (outside of my backyard). He's met - and been very friendly with - lots of other dogs on walks and other times I've taken him out. He's always a hit at the vet's.







I waited till he had finished all his vaccinations and we had worked a lot on the "come" command - I wouldn't have felt right taking him to the park if I didn't think he could come when called. Also, we went to a park across town, to meet with my friend and her dog, who Charlie had met before - her dog is a 3-year-old standard poodle and has a lot of energy, like Charlie, and has been to the dog park lots of times. 

Unfortunately, there was an owner there with a *huge* adult pit bull that basically targeted Charlie and went after him, several times. I don't know if Charlie has just enough dominance in him that "Cujo" felt that he needed to assert himself, or what. It was awful! Now, Charlie reacted as well as I could have ever expected. He tried to defend himself and did a good enough job that he didn't get hurt at all. 

What killed me was the reaction of the other owners!! The city ordinances/dog park rules (not to mention COMMON SENSE) say that at the first sign of aggressive behavior, you are supposed to leash your dog and remove him from the park. Without giving a play-by-play, I will just say that he did leash his pit, for like a minute tops. As I was walking with Charlie to the small dog area (which was empty except for a not-so-small, beautiful girl Weimerraner puppy that Charlie had met and got along with just outside the park) to get him away from the pit and check him out, and play if Charlie seemed up to it (he totally was), the owner let him free again (despite all the other adults yelling at him to remove his dog) and he made another beeline for Charlie. I was able to break up the fight enough for the owner to come over and leash his dog again (yeah, I know it's dumb to get in the middle fo the dogfight but at that moment the only thing I was focused on was protecting my dog).

Excuses the owners had: 

1) They're just playing! _(No, they were not. There are lots of ways to learn about doggie body language. Please check them out for your future reference.)_

2) It's ok - he's a shelter dog - we just got him last week! _(First of all, no, it's not ok. Ever. I applaud dog rescue - Charlie is a shelter dog - but it's not an excuse for bad behavior. Ever. Second, I personally would not bring an adult dog I had just rescued - particularly an aggressive breed - to an off-leash dog park after one week. Does that seem crazy to anyone else? How do you know how your dog will react? He certainly did not come when called, I'll tell you that much.)_

3) He's never done this before - I wonder what it is about your dog? _(Um. I don't care if I smeared Charlie in bacon grease before we came. If a dog is aggressive at a dog park, it's the owner's responsibility to leave. Right away.)_

It was a huge lesson in focus for me. I zoned right in on Charlie and was so proud that he came when called, sat perfectly to let me leash him and get him over to the puppy/small dog area (it was the quickest way to get away from the pit bull and check out Charlie).

Charlie seemed to get over it pretty much right away - I was amazed (I know I sure didn't get over it right away!). When we got into the small dog area, he sat, let me check him out (fine!) and then started sniffing the Weimeraner puppy. The two of them played well together, and then a man that had his big, bouncy Golden came in the small dog area, too - he was there with his daughter and didn't want his child or dog (or himself!) to be around the pit. Yes - the owner still hadn't left. Charlie and the golden played nicely, Charlie sniffed and was friendly with a huge Great Dane puppy through the fence to the big dog area, and he was also friendly to a little







Tzu puppy that came in (the first thing I did was go up to the owner of that little puppy and say "hi - I know that my dog is way over the weight limit for this section and I would be absolutely happy to leave if you aren't comfortable with me and Charlie in here - I know your dog needs a safe place to play." The owner said "oh - I just saw the whole thing and wanted to come up and let you know what a great dog you have! Look, they're fine!" (Sure enough, our dogs were greeting each other and being very friendly.)

We left really soon after that, and evidently, some of the people in the park had called the cops on the owner of the dog. I was proud of Charlie, and his reaction (he was friendly to other dogs on our evening walk later, as well - really, really proud of my boy), but of course I felt horrible that this even happened, and am still steaming at the idiocy of the other owner. Charlie got quite a few compliments on his behavior from the other (responsible) people at the dog park - everyone was so impressed at his reactions, particularly with other dogs after the fact. I was impressed, too, but I think the next time I put him in a situation in which he's around a lot of other dogs like that is going to be obedience class - I think the odds of there being a totally irresponsible owner like that are much more slim.

It just makes me sad that there is no way to keep the jerks out of dog parks.







We exercise Charlie a lot, mentally and physically, but living where we live, we don't have a lot of choices for off-leash play, and in an ideal world, the dog park would be perfect for that. I'm glad this jerk goes to one of the dog parks across town. There's a park very close to us, but I am not exactly itching to take Charlie after this. It's too bad. If I do take him it will be after he's had some more good experiences with other dogs on walks and in class, and I'll go during a weekday when hopefully there will be few-to-no other dogs there (mostly we'd go for the big field to get a good game of fetch/frisbee going).








Sigh. Sorry this is so long! I just really had to vent. Any advice or tips (or sympathy, heh) would be welcomed!


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

Glad Charlie is OK. The above is the reason I will NEVER take a dog of mine to a dog park.


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## moeheg (Oct 16, 2008)

As far as our local dog parks are concerned I will only take Molly to the one by us in the a.m. and only if there are either no dogs there or one of a few that I know. That way I don't have to worry about aggression or stupid owners and she gets some off-leash play. If that's not feasible are there any under used tennis courts in your area. Since most courts are all fenced, it's a place where you can let your dog off-leash and play. There's one by us that I've never seen anybody but dog owners use. And yes they are very polite about not leaving any evidence so to speak. Just an idea


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## NWS_Haven (Mar 24, 2003)

Ditto Tracy. I would hate to see a pup (or adult for that matter) ruined because some idiot can't control his dog at a dog park. I've never like the idea of the things. We're pretty lucky. We live in city limits but have a 40 acre empty field right next to us.


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## ThreeDogs (Mar 16, 2007)

I am sorry you had such a bad experience. I do not frequent dog parks and not because of the dogs but because of their owners.

If you return and you see that dog, go back at a later time. Pit bull rescues advice against dog parks as it is so easy for a fight to break out and as much as I love Pit Bulls they can seriously hurt another dog. And I agree after just getting the dog he should not have brought it to a dog park no matter what breed of dog it is.


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## rainydaygoods (Oct 13, 2008)

Yeah - BlackGSD - I completely understand!!







I'm glad Charlie is ok too - I'm so lucky to have such a happy, loveable puppy, and I don't want to do anything to jeopardize that! At the same time, I want him to be well-socialized with other dogs. I think that classes will have to be key with that.

momtomolly - I'm pretty new to the area but I think there are some tennis courts nearby (within walking distance even). That's a great idea! I also took him to our local elementary school this weekend where we played in a fenced-in field area. Of course I cleaned up after him really well! We'll definitely be back... Charlie liked the slides.







Taking him to parks in off-hours is really easy for me; I work from home and our park is close - I'd rather turn around and come back home if the park is crowded than put him in a heated situation ever again.

edited to add: NWS_Haven and ThreeDogs - thank you as well. So disappointing and I think some more creative thinking on my part about great places to play off-leash are in order. ThreeDogs - I would never go in a park again with that dog/owner, ever. We were at the park way across town so it's not likely I'll go to that park again anyway, or that he would be at my local park (if I do decide to take Charlie there someday). That doesn't mean there won't be an idiot in my area of course. I think that empty dog parks would be the only kind I'd feel comfortable with now!


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## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

glad charlie is ok.
I have to agree I would NEVER take Brady to a dog park
to many idiots out there that don't have common sense. 

I mean I go to a state park and it says ALL DOGS MUST BE LEASHED and I coulld not believe yesterday how many people had their dogs off leash not to mention the little ones Charging Brady.


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## rainydaygoods (Oct 13, 2008)

Thank you for your reply. Yes, as my grandfather says, "common sense just ain't that common anymore."









Hey - I just noticed that part of my original post got censored, but I was just writing out the honest-to-goodness name of the dog breed!







That's funny.


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## DancingCavy (Feb 19, 2001)

That's exactly why I'm not a huge fan of dog parks. I liked the one in Montana we went to because it was almost always vacant! And, even when it wasn't, we generally didn't have any problems.

But the one here in Syracuse is almost always full. And, with Ris not being 100% comfortable with other dogs, I don't take her in it. Not to mention there are toys EVERYWHERE (stupid!) and she is a resource guarder.

For socializing, I think it's best to find a couple people and their dogs who you are comfortable with and start up a play group. Obedience classes are also excellent ways to socialize your dog as most puppy classes involve some puppy playtime as well. Not to mention it is supervised by a (hopefully) knowledgeable trainer that won't let any dog become a bully.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: rainydaygoods
> Hey - I just noticed that part of my original post got censored, but I was just writing out the honest-to-goodness name of the dog breed!
> 
> 
> ...


You must have spelled it wrong. It is Shih Tzu.


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## GunnerJones (Jul 30, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: BlackGSDGlad Charlie is OK. The above is the reason I will NEVER take a dog of mine to a dog park.


taking them to a leash park is bad enough, I don't don't know those other dogs nor thier Vac records and I'm suppose to turn loose my $3000 plus dog(s) so some thug/******* bred pit and ruin them? aint gonna happen


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## rainydaygoods (Oct 13, 2008)

Ahem. So I did!!










I totally got Google results including pictures when I looked up the spelling I used before posting, too, so I thought it was right.







How embarrassing!!


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## rainydaygoods (Oct 13, 2008)

Yeah.









I truly had the best of intentions but I learned a really hard lesson here and am so grateful it wasn't worse. I got my Charlie from the shelter, and he didn't cost a lot of money but he's worth more than his weight in _platinum_ to me. I count myself really lucky that he was OK physically and his reaction to other, friendly dogs in the few minutes we were there in the puppy section, and later on our walks, were great. Like I said, I don't want to put him in _any_ bad situation ever again, and I really appreciate all the other ideas for socializing that have been suggested here so that I can add them to the list of what I've been doing already!


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## Nikkoli110 (Sep 9, 2008)

So sorry you had such a bad experience. Hope Charlie is ok. I've had nothing but good experiences with our dogs there. I have seen some issues, but usually its with a newcomer and a totally unsocialized dog. There is one lady that has been asked multiple times not to bring her Golden back, her female has attacked 4-5 different times, is unspayed (she takes her WHILE SHE'S IN HEAT!) but she still returns. We just leave when she gets there because she's totally nuts. We took both dogs this weekend both days and they had a blast. There is a tight knit group of people that are usually at ours, and they are a great group. No one is afraid to tell someone they should leave if their dog(s) seem to be starting trouble. There are a few very well behaved pits that are there, too. Lots of Shepherd owners that I've met there. Katie loves to go and "herd" the other dogs, she runs almost the whole time we're there. We do have the occasional idiot who comes in and doens't read the rules, clean up after their dog, bring an unsocialized dog in, or bring food in, but all together, its a great park. We have no places around that we can let our dogs off leash (except for our backyard). There are some ball fields, but signs posted everywhere that dogs are not allowed, and since there is a leash law, we don't do that. And the cops do enforce it.


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## VectorSketcher (Jul 20, 2008)

I am another one who is not a fan of dog parks, I had a very similiar situation happen to us at our dog park with my oldest GSD when he was 5 months old. It was an adult pit that the owner couldn't control, it took three people to get the dog off me and my puppy. It was horrible, Riddick still has a scar on his muzzle from it. I will never go back, just too many bad mannered dogs walking about there. I am really glad your Charlie is ok, it sounds like a very dramatic experience for you and Charlie.


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## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

I have heard many bad comments about dog parks and it always seems to be one dog/owner is a problem. Your experience was pretty scary. I don't understand why the owner didn't leave. If my dog was aggressive to another dog I'd be so embarrassed and couldn't get out of there fast enough.

It seems like a great place to socialize your dog. I took my 4 month old pup to one and she had a great time. I did observe the dogs before I entered and they were all playing nicely together. The dogs were well behaved and the owers were watchful.


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## new_wind (Oct 24, 2008)

I was reading this and I felt upset, my girl don’t have chance to socialize in many places or with people along the week, I live alone and we are out only mornings and evenings for walks, so weekends in the park is a must and required for us.
My poor girl has to walk all the time on the sidewalks around the parks and she really loves the grass.
It is because of this kind of people that we have less and less spaces for our dogs.
In my area, there is only one beach where dogs are allowed, rocky, stinky and full of ticks, in my radius only 3 parks allow dogs one of them is closed for repairs or renovation and for the other 2 parks I have to drive 45 minutes.
I wish somebody could do something about it.


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## weber1b (Nov 30, 2008)

I haven't joined our local dog park yet but have considered it. We couldn't with our last mix as she would NOT come when called. Clover would be fine there. I am fortunate to have a local group of large dog owners that gets together informally in a local park. We are able to have our dogs off leash as they are all responsive to recall and we all leash our dogs at the first sign of a potential issue like a small dog being walked by that might attractive members of our "pack". While we are in violation of local leash laws, the behavior of the group and the manner we manage them allows us to continue. We also clean up after our dogs religiously, which is more than we can say about all of the dog owners who use the park. It's fun to watch the dogs interact and play since they all get along so well.


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## cmurrell (Dec 19, 2008)

Sorry about your horrible experience - poor Charlie! I also have heard horrible things about dog parks and doggy daycares, as well. All it takes is for some dogs to be attacked once and they may become dog aggressive - a horrible trait to have and a horrible fear for the dog! I have worked extensively with socializing my dog in the "correct", controlled way, as you have with Charlie. Avoid those places!!


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## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

Wow that sucks, thank goodness your boy is ok. I also had a similar thing happen to Isa at a dog park and since then, she has not been back. Instead of a pit, it was two labs that charged at Isa and were biting her to the point where she yelped and tried to flee. Of course the owners were just staring while I ran and kicked the labs off my poor girl. This was before Isa turned 2. I haven't brought Isa back to a dog park because she doesn't like dogs to run straight to her face now because of that. She's fine with dogs as long as they don't rush into her face. Cody still goes to dog parks but only every few months and even then I hardly take him, to many stupid dog owners...
I'm just amazed that that guy let his dog run loose again, he didn't even leave? That just amazes me at how dumb people are...


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## Riley's Mom (Jun 7, 2007)

Dog parks used to be one of our favorite places to go, but we don't go anymore which really breaks my heart. Irresponsible owners are to blame for the bad things that happen at the parks. We have trillions and millions of dog owners in this country but if even half of them understood dog behavior and the meaning of being a responsible owner, it would surprise me. They can't read signs big as life in front of their faces either. "Big dogs here." "Little dogs here." Big red letters on white background, a different gate for each size dog and still they they don't have to obey the rules. You can bet if anything ever happened to their dog, it wouldn't be their dog's or their own fault. Unfortunately, even if it's the little guy who causes the biggest problem, it's going to be blamed on the big dog with the "not the best" breed reputation closest to or involved in the incident.

I'm happy your little guy is ok and I hope that goes farther than just physically. What I mean by that is I hope he didn't suffer any emotional trauma.


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## trudy (Aug 25, 2008)

My daughter walks her shepherd in the dog park regularly so one day I decided to take Ty, he was 6 months old then. We were walking to the gate, still outside when a lab jumped the fence and attacked him, the owner came out and said it was cause my dog was on leash. What?? I said well we are outside. She took her dog back I waited then went in. She let her dog go, he attacked again. She pulled him off, an australian shepherd then attacked him. That dog was also pulled off and a border then went after him. The owners were all apologetic and blamed Ty, who hadn't made it past the gate. 

Now all these attacks I got in the middle and stopped them before he was hurt, but he was scared. It is the only time I have seen him nervous.

They all leashed their dogs and left, they were all together. I would have left except a man suggested I walk with him and his female pit. She was great. She walked with us and let Ty relax and follow her. When other dogs came she was social and friendly. When near the end of our walk another German Shepherd charged Ty she got between them and just stood her ground and he left.

Now why didn't I leave at the first sign of trouble? I hoped to make it pleasant so if ever we were somewhere with lots of dogs he would be OK. We've never been back. i do run him in the school playground and park behind my home. Often we have lots of dogs there with us, I have counted 7 at a time. No fights. We are neighbours and we chat briefly before continuing our walks. 

I am so thankful for the female pit bull who took a frightened pup under her wing that afternoon. He forgot the problems adn is himself so no lasting problems. We have even walked to the dog park without going in and he is fine.


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## marksteven (Aug 2, 2008)

I dont think a trained, well disciplined GSD needs to go to a Dog Park. around here, its an outlet for lazy pet owners. you wont catch me with my dog at one. ive never heard a good story about dog parks.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

As has been said repeatedly: dogs parks are only as good as the people who frequent them. If you have had a bad experience then don't go back! I enjoy socializing my dogs and socializing with dog people so I do go to dog parks. The unofficial dog park I go to is frequented by a very aggressive gsd and everyone runs out of the park when he arrives because his owner walks him on a flexilead.







However, I continue to go there because Rafi and I both enjoy playing at the park. 

I lived in Wisconsin for 9 years and enjoyed many hours at the dog park with my dogs with my well behaved dogs. We walked 1.5 miles there and 1.5 miles back so I don't think I would constitute one of those "lazy owners" of which you speak. Lots of other people walked there too and many of us walked around the park while we were there.







It was a godsend for my gsd, Basu, who was undersocialized and extremely fearful when I adopted him. He loved playing with the other dogs and sometimes even allowed their owners to sneak in a pat. If Basu got obsessed with another dog (which did happen from time to time because he was a humpty-dumpty dog) then we either left or I redirected him elsewhere. 

And 2 of my dogs have been attacked and bitten and one time was on a walk in my neighborhood (and it was a german shepherd who attacked my german shepherd) and the other time was at my mother's house when her dog attacked Chama. So things can happen anywhere!


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## rainydaygoods (Oct 13, 2008)

> Quote: As has been said repeatedly: dogs parks are only as good as the people who frequent them.


This is 100% true. I have, since I first posted this, taken Charlie to a different dog park - the park near me. I posted about it in another thread, but just to recap, it was a great experience. The reason I felt safe going was because it was a freezing cold, somewhat rainy weekday at lunchtime. I figured we'd be alone at the park, and when we first got there, we were!

As we played, other dogs came, with two different owners. They were unaltered males (a Malinois with the city's K-9 squad and an Akita) and, while all three of our boys sniffed each other well for a bit, the second the other two males started to show any signs of not being comfortable with each other, all three of us leashed our dogs and took them to different ends of the dog park. Noone really talked about it even - we were just all in tune with our dogs and there for the same reasons - to make sure our dogs had a good time. We all played/did obedience with the dogs; for me, it was a very good chance to proof Charlie's behaviors in a new place. When the Mal left, I moved to his end of the park - it was quite far from the Akita (and Charlie had been fine with that dog) and took Charlie off-leash to play with the Chuckit. We had a great time, he got to play off-leash for a bit, and it goes to show that it's really all about the owners and *watching* your dogs!

I would still not feel comfortable taking Charlie to the park when it was packed with dogs on the weekend, but I'll definitely take him back during the week or at a time when I see there aren't many others in the park. I'm glad we tried this park - it's about a mile and a half away from us, so definitely within walking distance (or a very, very quick drive), and I know that if I ever walked Charlie there and it was crowded, or any dogs showed signs of aggression (or owners showed signs of cluelessness) I could just turn around and walk back home and know that we'd still had a nice outing and walk. Charlie really seems to enjoy meeting other dogs - so I'm hopeful that the occasional dog park visit will give him a good chance to play.


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