Silly People At Dog Parks.

[kiesha09]

poodlefan - my thoughts exactly!!!!!!

I'm not a fan of dog parks and honestly around where I live they are just filled with people with dogs with no recall and no training and therefore need a fenced in area. The owners have no 'effective control'.

Argh... the ones around here are disasters waiting to happen

[Dogs4Fun]

Oh - exactly the topic I was looking for! I went to my local dog park this morning and ended up in a very bad mood... There was this lady walking her dog off leash and if the dog is off leash I don't see a reason to call my friendly dog back?! So my dog went there and I said "good morning" and got no answer - that should have told me something! So Teal'c run there and her dog was happy to play but as she ignored us completely I decided to move on. When she got to the water-bowel and started filling it for her dog Teal'c run there again to drink and she shouted "NO" at him?! Waving the stick she had for her dog. So both dogs started getting excited about the stick and she kept shouting at me to call my dog back and that she will take it further in case he keeps attacking her... I lost it ;)

Why are people like that? Why couldn't she just have said: Good morning - can you call your dog back my dog is not allowed to play or I'm scared of black dogs!?

I don't think you should ever allow your dog to approach another dog without the permission of that dog's owner.

But that's just me.

They don't know if your dog is friendly or not. Their dog may have issues and not like being rushed - previous aggression by other dogs, and injury that can cause pain if the dog is knocked over, or may have behavioural issues that are controlled as long as the dog is not crowded.

Well - I agree if the other dog is on the leash I would never let my dog approach or if the other owner says something. But in my opinion the dog owner with the issue should react... That would make things so much easier! I mean she saw me and walked past us it was not like that Teal'c came out of nowhere...

The dog in this case may not have an issue, but in my opinion you should not let your dog approach someone elses dog without their explicit permission.

[Tealc's hooman]

Oh - exactly the topic I was looking for! I went to my local dog park this morning and ended up in a very bad mood... There was this lady walking her dog off leash and if the dog is off leash I don't see a reason to call my friendly dog back?! So my dog went there and I said "good morning" and got no answer - that should have told me something! So Teal'c run there and her dog was happy to play but as she ignored us completely I decided to move on. When she got to the water-bowel and started filling it for her dog Teal'c run there again to drink and she shouted "NO" at him?! Waving the stick she had for her dog. So both dogs started getting excited about the stick and she kept shouting at me to call my dog back and that she will take it further in case he keeps attacking her... I lost it ;)

Why are people like that? Why couldn't she just have said: Good morning - can you call your dog back my dog is not allowed to play or I'm scared of black dogs!?

I don't think you should ever allow your dog to approach another dog without the permission of that dog's owner.

But that's just me.

They don't know if your dog is friendly or not. Their dog may have issues and not like being rushed - previous aggression by other dogs, and injury that can cause pain if the dog is knocked over, or may have behavioural issues that are controlled as long as the dog is not crowded.

Well - I agree if the other dog is on the leash I would never let my dog approach or if the other owner says something. But in my opinion the dog owner with the issue should react... That would make things so much easier! I mean she saw me and walked past us it was not like that Teal'c came out of nowhere...

The dog in this case may not have an issue, but in my opinion you should not let your dog approach someone elses dog without their explicit permission.

You don't get my point ... It's about how people, not dogs behave in a public space. And to be honest: "explicit permission" kind of takes the fun away. If your dog needs "explicit permission" to be approached then don't walk it in a park with 200 other happy off leash dogs. Because if it all was about asking for "explicit permission" it would get very noisy... But hey - my first day in the forum... I better shut up.

[SpikesPuppy]

The last time I went to the dog park was a disaster and I'm now the outcast at this park ;)

There were lots of dogs there so I should have known better than go in. We walked in and I unclipped my dogs leads (not before being harassed by probably 10 dogs at once with not one owner even looking our direction mid chat). Immediately my girl was harassed by multiple dogs chasing her and she was uncomfortable so I decided that we should leave!

Meanwhile my boy had run over to the side fence of the park which joins a play ground. There was a child in the playground and his mother was inside the dog park. She proceeded to pick up my dog by his two front paws and throw him over the fence into the playground. I was about 5 meters away from him and he squeeled.

IMO that is just not on and I let her have it - probably could have been somewhat more calm!!! But seriously what if my dog was not good with children and she had just thrown him into a playground full of kids and he bit one of them or he bit her, not to mention what if she had done damage to his legs by picking him up like that or had he landed funny after being thrown.

While dealing with that I was still trying to stop all the other dogs harassing my girl

So finally I get everything together, leads on dogs to get the hell out of that place when I hear all the owners who chat and do not pay any attention to their dogs bitching about me and my over reaction. I lost my temper and let them have it too explaining exactly why I overreacted. They may not mind what happens to their dogs (I'm sure they wouldn't have even noticed) but I sure do I'm definately not a confrontational person at all so I left the park shaking like a leaf and I'll NEVER go back!!! This dog park is evil.

What a rude, stupid woman!!! What if you had picked up her child and thrown it over the fence into the dog area??? Some people seem to think that a dog is public property :shakehead:

[StaceyB]

Oh - exactly the topic I was looking for! I went to my local dog park this morning and ended up in a very bad mood... There was this lady walking her dog off leash and if the dog is off leash I don't see a reason to call my friendly dog back?! So my dog went there and I said "good morning" and got no answer - that should have told me something! So Teal'c run there and her dog was happy to play but as she ignored us completely I decided to move on. When she got to the water-bowel and started filling it for her dog Teal'c run there again to drink and she shouted "NO" at him?! Waving the stick she had for her dog. So both dogs started getting excited about the stick and she kept shouting at me to call my dog back and that she will take it further in case he keeps attacking her... I lost it ;)

Why are people like that? Why couldn't she just have said: Good morning - can you call your dog back my dog is not allowed to play or I'm scared of black dogs!?

I don't think you should ever allow your dog to approach another dog without the permission of that dog's owner.

But that's just me.

They don't know if your dog is friendly or not. Their dog may have issues and not like being rushed - previous aggression by other dogs, and injury that can cause pain if the dog is knocked over, or may have behavioural issues that are controlled as long as the dog is not crowded.

Well - I agree if the other dog is on the leash I would never let my dog approach or if the other owner says something. But in my opinion the dog owner with the issue should react... That would make things so much easier! I mean she saw me and walked past us it was not like that Teal'c came out of nowhere...

The dog in this case may not have an issue, but in my opinion you should not let your dog approach someone elses dog without their explicit permission.

You don't get my point ... It's about how people, not dogs behave in a public space. And to be honest: "explicit permission" kind of takes the fun away. If your dog needs "explicit permission" to be approached then don't walk it in a park with 200 other happy off leash dogs. Because if it all was about asking for "explicit permission" it would get very noisy... But hey - my first day in the forum... I better shut up.

I agree with Teal'c on this one, if you don't want your dog to be approached by other in the park don't take it to an offlead park. It's kind of silly to go to a public area where you know dogs are going to be allowed offlead and expect everyone (and every dog) to keep their distance from you and your dog.

[Pepper and Jax]

I am often disappointed that we can't always enjoy our local dog park as we would like to.

There's a dog named Gordon ( ) who lives on our street, and he's a lovely Boxer, very friendly, and although he always approaches us, he's not too "in your face" - or in Pepper's for that matter. But it annoys me that his owners drive to the park, open the door for Gordon to jump out and then just let him run around like he wants. The owner might be walking on the other side of the park but Gordon will run over to us, run back to his owner, run over to us... it gets Pepper all worked up and excited on the end of the lead, and prevents us from doing any serious training in public with her, particularly off lead recall training (though I suppose we can try to teach her to remain calm in such circumstances).

I suppose I shouldn't whinge, he's not aggressive. And DOL has given me plenty of warning about dog parks! At least it's clean and there's two separate areas so it is possible to avoid people sometimes.

Oh, and then there's the lady with her two dogs off lead who always says to me "don't let your dog near Lulu, she doesn't like other dogs" while Pepper is on lead and we're trying to get this lady's other dog Merlin to stop humping her. She makes me cranky ;) . So yes, we've learnt to avoid them.

[Dogs4Fun]

Oh - exactly the topic I was looking for! I went to my local dog park this morning and ended up in a very bad mood... There was this lady walking her dog off leash and if the dog is off leash I don't see a reason to call my friendly dog back?! So my dog went there and I said "good morning" and got no answer - that should have told me something! So Teal'c run there and her dog was happy to play but as she ignored us completely I decided to move on. When she got to the water-bowel and started filling it for her dog Teal'c run there again to drink and she shouted "NO" at him?! Waving the stick she had for her dog. So both dogs started getting excited about the stick and she kept shouting at me to call my dog back and that she will take it further in case he keeps attacking her... I lost it ;)

Why are people like that? Why couldn't she just have said: Good morning - can you call your dog back my dog is not allowed to play or I'm scared of black dogs!?

I don't think you should ever allow your dog to approach another dog without the permission of that dog's owner.

But that's just me.

They don't know if your dog is friendly or not. Their dog may have issues and not like being rushed - previous aggression by other dogs, and injury that can cause pain if the dog is knocked over, or may have behavioural issues that are controlled as long as the dog is not crowded.

Well - I agree if the other dog is on the leash I would never let my dog approach or if the other owner says something. But in my opinion the dog owner with the issue should react... That would make things so much easier! I mean she saw me and walked past us it was not like that Teal'c came out of nowhere...

The dog in this case may not have an issue, but in my opinion you should not let your dog approach someone elses dog without their explicit permission.

You don't get my point ... It's about how people, not dogs behave in a public space. And to be honest: "explicit permission" kind of takes the fun away. If your dog needs "explicit permission" to be approached then don't walk it in a park with 200 other happy off leash dogs. Because if it all was about asking for "explicit permission" it would get very noisy... But hey - my first day in the forum... I better shut up.

I agree with Teal'c on this one, if you don't want your dog to be approached by other in the park don't take it to an offlead park. It's kind of silly to go to a public area where you know dogs are going to be allowed offlead and expect everyone (and every dog) to keep their distance from you and your dog.

I respect your opinion, but your dog is meant to be under effective control at all times, and that means you can control dog introductions. If my dog is in an on lead dog park, I don't expect evevyone to "keep their distance from me and my dog", but I do expect their dogs to be under control.

I no longer take my dogs to dog parks when other dogs are using them, because too many cowboys with their untrained dogs (of all breeds) were there, and I saw too many nasty situations, including one where one of my dogs was very lucky to escape serious injury. In the latter case, my very dog friendly 6kg dog was bowled over by a completely out of control, friendly large breed dog (I won't name the breed as it is irrellevant) approaching him. His back was injured, and it took many months, a lot of money and considerable discomfort on his part to heal. The larger dog was simply brought from the car and released into the park. My dog was within 1m of me and was still injured.

I still do take my dogs to dog parks, because they are the only local areas I can let my dogs run free in a large area, and I think that free exercise is important to them. However most of their exercise is on lead.

I would be more than happy to have my dogs play with other dogs at such parks, if the introductions were controlled and the other owners could call their dogs out of the play at any time that things became too rough. I do let my dogs play with friend's dogs, but we can all call our dogs back when we need to.

Please don't see this as a little dog / big dog bashing. I also have a large dog. I just gave an example of why uncontrolled dog greetings can be a problem, even without any agression on either side.

[Tealc's hooman]

Oh - exactly the topic I was looking for! I went to my local dog park this morning and ended up in a very bad mood... There was this lady walking her dog off leash and if the dog is off leash I don't see a reason to call my friendly dog back?! So my dog went there and I said "good morning" and got no answer - that should have told me something! So Teal'c run there and her dog was happy to play but as she ignored us completely I decided to move on. When she got to the water-bowel and started filling it for her dog Teal'c run there again to drink and she shouted "NO" at him?! Waving the stick she had for her dog. So both dogs started getting excited about the stick and she kept shouting at me to call my dog back and that she will take it further in case he keeps attacking her... I lost it ;)

Why are people like that? Why couldn't she just have said: Good morning - can you call your dog back my dog is not allowed to play or I'm scared of black dogs!?

I don't think you should ever allow your dog to approach another dog without the permission of that dog's owner.

But that's just me.

They don't know if your dog is friendly or not. Their dog may have issues and not like being rushed - previous aggression by other dogs, and injury that can cause pain if the dog is knocked over, or may have behavioural issues that are controlled as long as the dog is not crowded.

Well - I agree if the other dog is on the leash I would never let my dog approach or if the other owner says something. But in my opinion the dog owner with the issue should react... That would make things so much easier! I mean she saw me and walked past us it was not like that Teal'c came out of nowhere...

The dog in this case may not have an issue, but in my opinion you should not let your dog approach someone elses dog without their explicit permission.

You don't get my point ... It's about how people, not dogs behave in a public space. And to be honest: "explicit permission" kind of takes the fun away. If your dog needs "explicit permission" to be approached then don't walk it in a park with 200 other happy off leash dogs. Because if it all was about asking for "explicit permission" it would get very noisy... But hey - my first day in the forum... I better shut up.

I agree with Teal'c on this one, if you don't want your dog to be approached by other in the park don't take it to an offlead park. It's kind of silly to go to a public area where you know dogs are going to be allowed offlead and expect everyone (and every dog) to keep their distance from you and your dog.

I respect your opinion, but your dog is meant to be under effective control at all times, and that means you can control dog introductions. If my dog is in an on lead dog park, I don't expect evevyone to "keep their distance from me and my dog", but I do expect their dogs to be under control.

I no longer take my dogs to dog parks when other dogs are using them, because too many cowboys with their untrained dogs (of all breeds) were there, and I saw too many nasty situations, including one where one of my dogs was very lucky to escape serious injury. In the latter case, my very dog friendly 6kg dog was bowled over by a completely out of control, friendly large breed dog (I won't name the breed as it is irrellevant) approaching him. His back was injured, and it took many months, a lot of money and considerable discomfort on his part to heal. The larger dog was simply brought from the car and released into the park. My dog was within 1m of me and was still injured.

I still do take my dogs to dog parks, because they are the only local areas I can let my dogs run free in a large area, and I think that free exercise is important to them. However most of their exercise is on lead.

I would be more than happy to have my dogs play with other dogs at such parks, if the introductions were controlled and the other owners could call their dogs out of the play at any time that things became too rough. I do let my dogs play with friend's dogs, but we can all call our dogs back when we need to.

Please don't see this as a little dog / big dog bashing. I also have a large dog. I just gave an example of why uncontrolled dog greetings can be a problem, even without any agression on either side.

Ok, I'm back! Sorry ... I really get your point now if you explain it this way... I would NEVER! let my dog run, let's call it "full speed", towards a little dog exactly because of what you just wrote. But that is another story... My first post about the topic was about 2 dogs the same size and 2 owners in talking distance from each other and both dogs off leash AND both dogs happily playing until the owner of the other dog started to have a go at my dog. Of course I can call my dog back if needed...

Hi StaceyB - thanks for your support!

[poodlefan]

We took Boss to a dog beach on the weekend for the first time.. We live in the country so dont have any dogs parks/beaches near us...

people gave us bad looks cos of Boss. Boss is a pure bred blue heeler that isnt fixed yet. People that had small dogs would call their dog away from Boss. But on a good note, a lady with a huge dog ( i dont know the breed) said that boss was a good looking dog and he can play with her dog anytime, also dont worry about the small dog owners...

Peta if you took a toddler to a park and a bunch of big teenagers wanted to play footy with him, would you be happy with that?

Boss is only 12 months old and doesnt play rough..

Do you think small dog owners who've never met him would know that?

[Law]

I must have it pretty good, where I walk Trixie is off lead along a river across the road from me and most of the time there are no problems.

But Trixie, in her younger days, had some DA issues so I would always have her on the lead unless I could see that there was no one around. Whenever I saw an offlead dog coming I would bring her in very close to me so she was up against my leg, thinking this makes it pretty obvious to the approaching person that I do not want their dog coming near her or I'd actually say shes not good with dogs, yet sometimes people would ignore me or they couldnt get their dog back, it'd come rushing up and Trixie would start a bit of a scuffle then I would get yelled at!! What the hell is wrong with people?!?!?! They would say horrible things to me and tell me that I shouldnt be walking her in public, like I had done something wrong yes lets just leave her in the backyard thats gonna help her issues!!!!

Anyway she's great now and happily walks offlead and quietly says hello to some dogs but just ignores most although if a dogs starts up at her she wont back down, this happened the other week when a couple had two maltese x on lead but were sitting behind a tree so I didnt see them, one started going nuts at Trix and she did the same back I put her onlead straight away and was very embarrassed said sorry to the couple who not only didnt say anything they didnt even look at me, later on in our walk we came across two older ladies with two pekingese who saw what happened earlier, they saw Trix and started going oh no fluffy oh no come back, I grabbed Trix even though she couldnt care less about these dogs ;) and I said its ok she wont eat them and the old lady says oh yes but they have a reputation those dogs of well you know and I said well they shouldnt, she's a friendly dog but she will fight back if another dog has a go at her then the lady changed her tune and agreed with me and even said she thinks the 'little fluffy' dogs start it most of the time

Edited January 13, 2010 by Law

[RL1]

I think i would have said something to the woman who was spreading the accusations...

Why bother ?

[StaceyB]

I agree with Teal'c on this one, if you don't want your dog to be approached by other in the park don't take it to an offlead park. It's kind of silly to go to a public area where you know dogs are going to be allowed offlead and expect everyone (and every dog) to keep their distance from you and your dog.

I respect your opinion, but your dog is meant to be under effective control at all times, and that means you can control dog introductions. If my dog is in an on lead dog park, I don't expect evevyone to "keep their distance from me and my dog", but I do expect their dogs to be under control.

I no longer take my dogs to dog parks when other dogs are using them, because too many cowboys with their untrained dogs (of all breeds) were there, and I saw too many nasty situations, including one where one of my dogs was very lucky to escape serious injury. In the latter case, my very dog friendly 6kg dog was bowled over by a completely out of control, friendly large breed dog (I won't name the breed as it is irrellevant) approaching him. His back was injured, and it took many months, a lot of money and considerable discomfort on his part to heal. The larger dog was simply brought from the car and released into the park. My dog was within 1m of me and was still injured.

I still do take my dogs to dog parks, because they are the only local areas I can let my dogs run free in a large area, and I think that free exercise is important to them. However most of their exercise is on lead.

I would be more than happy to have my dogs play with other dogs at such parks, if the introductions were controlled and the other owners could call their dogs out of the play at any time that things became too rough. I do let my dogs play with friend's dogs, but we can all call our dogs back when we need to.

Please don't see this as a little dog / big dog bashing. I also have a large dog. I just gave an example of why uncontrolled dog greetings can be a problem, even without any agression on either side.

I don't take my girl to off-lead parks when other dogs are around for exactly that reason D4F, she is about 30kg, generally well trained and usually has good recall, but she goes stupid when other dogs are around and she is offlead. Sometimes she is over friendly and sometimes she gets aggressive. It's not fair on her and not fair on the other dogs & their owners. I'm just lucky that my local park if fairly small, fully fenced and rarely used; if someone else is using the park we just don't go in.

In Teal'c case though, the dogs had already been playing well together so I really don't know what the other owners problem was...

Edited January 13, 2010 by StaceyB

[SmoothieGirl]

I'm with Law, I have some good dog parks around here. Admittedly Bronte has a good recall and so far, touch wood, the people and dogs I have met at the dog parks have been good sorts. There are quite a few in my area though, so plenty for people to choose from so less congestion, perhaps this is a bit of an issue is some areas.

My only frustration is when I see 'evidence' that people haven't picked up after their dogs, I mean really, how hard is it.

[Tealc's hooman]

I don't take my girl to off-lead parks when other dogs are around for exactly that reason D4F, she is about 30kg, generally well trained and usually has good recall, but she goes stupid when other dogs are around and she is offlead. Sometimes she is over friendly and sometimes she gets aggressive. It's not fair on her and not fair on the other dogs & their owners. I'm just lucky that my local park if fairly small, fully fenced and rarely used; if someone else is using the park we just don't go in.

In Teal'c case though, the dogs had already been playing well together so I really don't know what the other owners problem was...

That is in my opinion the right attitude. And I'm not one of those dog owners that have never had a difficult dog and complain about everyone. I actually had a grumpy one for 8 years and it all started when he got attacked. So for 8 years I left the park when the "happy" dogs came. I never expected anyone to get out of their way because of us. Now, back home, it was a lot easier as we have huge forests where you can walk your dog as well and not just parks. But still - the owner with the issue should say something and react appropriately.

[Bully]

My dog is entire and I've been told many times how dangerous he looks because he is a bull terrier. Now my boy has had two dogs attack him, one a chi and the other a big black hairy dog lol, and both times he just wanted to get out of there. He's never retalliated or had a 'go' at any dog. I think the old 'you can't judge a book by it's cover' is very telling.

I will fess up and say Bull Terriers are some of the only dogs that do frighten me due to having one have a go at me as a kid - that said was i ever to meet a nice freindly one and be able to sit and have some pats and cuddles, i would probably then be fine. Silly isn't it how I feel like that, yet don't understand people thinking my GSD is scary though she's twice the size of a Bully!

C'mon Brisbane, someone introduce me to their Bully!

If we lived in Brisbane you could meet Pele, and she'd love to give you kisses and cuddles. Pele is a very well behaved Bull Terrier who gets on with everyone. We go to the Adelaide DOL meets and Pele charms everyone. Pele and I do obedience are will be trying for our CDX title this year

Yes, I get people taking a wide berth of Pele. I tend to avoid the off-leash dog park for many of the reasons mentioned. We go to the beach every morning and our local park at night. The local park is great because it's not fully fenced so it tends to not attract people who can't control their dogs. Most of those that go to the park also attend the obedience club that uses the grounds

[corrie]

I am lucky with my local leash free. Occasionally you get the idiots but most are polite, responsible owners with common sense and their dogs are mostly well behaved.

I met the loveliest, most well balanced SWF there today that I have ever had the pleasure to meet. My guys towered over him but he was totally up for it and goaded them for a game of chasey and they constantly changed who was it. All got along like old friends, staying close enough to make it fun but giving each other enough space to run.

I must admit I pay attention to the body language of the dogs and check in with the other dogs owners but probably wouldn't tend to notice if their dog is entire or not. I probably annoy the crap out of the owners, though, when I call their male dog a she or vice versa.

[MelissaS]

My dog is entire and I've been told many times how dangerous he looks because he is a bull terrier. Now my boy has had two dogs attack him, one a chi and the other a big black hairy dog lol, and both times he just wanted to get out of there. He's never retalliated or had a 'go' at any dog. I think the old 'you can't judge a book by it's cover' is very telling.

I will fess up and say Bull Terriers are some of the only dogs that do frighten me due to having one have a go at me as a kid - that said was i ever to meet a nice freindly one and be able to sit and have some pats and cuddles, i would probably then be fine. Silly isn't it how I feel like that, yet don't understand people thinking my GSD is scary though she's twice the size of a Bully!

C'mon Brisbane, someone introduce me to their Bully!

It is very funny because I'm always looking to protect him now and I sometimes forget that others are frightened by my boy!

I am the same.Always wanting to protect my doggies.

I stupidly asked a woman in dog park once if her dog was OK and friendly as it approached my rotty.Her dog had been playing with a big group of other dogs.

I felt bad judging her dog on his looks.I think being careful is sensible.

I hate it when people do that to me or assume ALL rottys are unsafe. I understand being careful and responsible and asking but that is different to bias.

Her dog was lovely and gentle he LOOKED scary. It taught me a lesson.He was a very friendly calm boofhead.

So I try to read each individual situation differently and be careful but not biased.

I always worry and protect my dogs also forgetting that a lot of people are scared of the way they look.

I had one woman who had an offlead puppy come running over to us one day and the woman just started screaming in fear.

My dog was on lead and it wasn't an off lead area and rather than come get the pup she stood screaming in fear.

Luckliy, my boy licked the pup and was friendly but she didn't know that and to stand there and just scream was no help.

She said when I saw your dog I was scared he may kill my puppy.She told me she assumed he wasn't friendly as he was on lead.

I was being careful and responsible as it was not an off lead area and I know people can freak out so I keep him on lead-he is friendly.

I understand people being cautious about certain breeds but she had her puppy offlead run to us and made no attempt to get him back other than scream from 30 feet!

I told her it was OK as he wasn't a puppy killing rotty but one of the good guys. He is mates with the giant gentle dobe there who people are also scared of.

Dobes owner has been hurt several times by peoples nasty comments on her mean looking dog.He is a giant gentle sweetheart.

Edited January 13, 2010 by MelissaS

[hortfurball]

Oh - exactly the topic I was looking for! I went to my local dog park this morning and ended up in a very bad mood... There was this lady walking her dog off leash and if the dog is off leash I don't see a reason to call my friendly dog back?! So my dog went there and I said "good morning" and got no answer - that should have told me something! So Teal'c run there and her dog was happy to play but as she ignored us completely I decided to move on. When she got to the water-bowel and started filling it for her dog Teal'c run there again to drink and she shouted "NO" at him?! Waving the stick she had for her dog. So both dogs started getting excited about the stick and she kept shouting at me to call my dog back and that she will take it further in case he keeps attacking her... I lost it

Why are people like that? Why couldn't she just have said: Good morning - can you call your dog back my dog is not allowed to play or I'm scared of black dogs!?

I don't think you should ever allow your dog to approach another dog without the permission of that dog's owner.

But that's just me.

They don't know if your dog is friendly or not. Their dog may have issues and not like being rushed - previous aggression by other dogs, and injury that can cause pain if the dog is knocked over, or may have behavioural issues that are controlled as long as the dog is not crowded.

Sounds like the dogs got on fine but the owner was the one with 'issues' - thought a dog trying to have a drink constituted an 'attack' on her.

If you have a dog with issues, it shouldn't be off leash at an off leash park anyway unless there's nobody around, and if someone comes, you should leash it and go, so it's a moot point if others should or shouldn't approach - you shouldn't be in that situation in the first place.

I have a dog reactive dog. I only go to ON leash parks, where I expect other dogs to be ON leash as she is. In that situation, yes I get shitty when an off leash dog approaches because by law, it should be leashed. (my main park is a bird sanctuary and there are signs everywhere saying dogs are to be on leash only)

Meanwhile my boy had run over to the side fence of the park which joins a play ground. There was a child in the playground and his mother was inside the dog park. She proceeded to pick up my dog by his two front paws and throw :p ;) him over the fence into the playground. I was about 5 meters away from him and he squeeled.

WTF??????????? ;)

My thoughts exactly! Who picks up a stranger's dog anyway? By the feet? And throws it? :p What bloody idiot would throw a dog out of a dog park? Especially into a playground? That woman deserved more than a piece of your tongue, Kiesha. I would have threatened all sorts of legal action, starting with animal cruelty.

What a rude, stupid woman!!! What if you had picked up her child and thrown it over the fence into the dog area???

Exactly! And it makes about as much sense...

I stupidly asked a woman in dog park once if her dog was OK and friendly as it approached my rotty.Her dog had been playing with a big group of other dogs.

I felt bad judging her dog on his looks.I think being careful is sensible.

I hate it when people do that to me or assume ALL rottys are unsafe. I understand being careful and responsible and asking but that is different to bias.

Her dog was lovely and gentle he LOOKED scary. It taught me a lesson.He was a very friendly calm boofhead.

Oh come on, spill! I'm dying to know what breed or crossbreed of dog looks scary to a rottie owner!

It's not like you're badmouthing the breed or doing the media assumption thingo, you've already said he was harmless so please tell.

*prepares to fall off chair laughing*

[ncarter]

I think i would have said something to the woman who was spreading the accusations...

Why bother ?

Maybe if she had a word to the woman spreading the accusations it might make the woman re-assess her attitute towards big brown entire dogs. she might be able to be educated a little

[Odin-Genie]

Oh - exactly the topic I was looking for! I went to my local dog park this morning and ended up in a very bad mood... There was this lady walking her dog off leash and if the dog is off leash I don't see a reason to call my friendly dog back?! So my dog went there and I said "good morning" and got no answer - that should have told me something! So Teal'c run there and her dog was happy to play but as she ignored us completely I decided to move on. When she got to the water-bowel and started filling it for her dog Teal'c run there again to drink and she shouted "NO" at him?! Waving the stick she had for her dog. So both dogs started getting excited about the stick and she kept shouting at me to call my dog back and that she will take it further in case he keeps attacking her... I lost it

Why are people like that? Why couldn't she just have said: Good morning - can you call your dog back my dog is not allowed to play or I'm scared of black dogs!?

I don't think you should ever allow your dog to approach another dog without the permission of that dog's owner.

But that's just me.

They don't know if your dog is friendly or not. Their dog may have issues and not like being rushed - previous aggression by other dogs, and injury that can cause pain if the dog is knocked over, or may have behavioural issues that are controlled as long as the dog is not crowded.

Well - I agree if the other dog is on the leash I would never let my dog approach or if the other owner says something. But in my opinion the dog owner with the issue should react... That would make things so much easier! I mean she saw me and walked past us it was not like that Teal'c came out of nowhere...

The dog in this case may not have an issue, but in my opinion you should not let your dog approach someone elses dog without their explicit permission.

You don't get my point :p ... It's about how people, not dogs behave in a public space. And to be honest: "explicit permission" kind of takes the fun away. If your dog needs "explicit permission" to be approached then don't walk it in a park with 200 other happy off leash dogs. Because if it all was about asking for "explicit permission" it would get very noisy... But hey - my first day in the forum... I better shut up.

I agree with Teal'c on this one, if you don't want your dog to be approached by other in the park don't take it to an offlead park. It's kind of silly to go to a public area where you know dogs are going to be allowed offlead and expect everyone (and every dog) to keep their distance from you and your dog.

I believe in controlled introductions at the dog park. I never let my dogs crowd other dogs coming in or rush at other dogs. If after general introductions my dog starts to chase another dog, I always ask the owner if their dog is ok with it. My dogs are non-reactive and give plenty of space to other dogs. They would do the play bow thing before they actually start to play and if the other dog doesn't respond, they would walk away.

But then my dogs mostly like playing with each other and one or two other dogs at the dog park.