Off Lead Park Etiquette

[MuckyPug]

I know! It was a really simple question .... but it had potential to get quite heated.

I got my answers, and that's great. Thanks to everyone who offered advice, and reassurance that he's not a crazed, pug-I gone-wild, attack dog.

I will keep you updated with our progress, or alternatives

By the way welcome to DOL, this has been an entertaining thread! Have you got any pics of your boy?

I do have some pics and when I'm finished rousing on my non-hairy AND hairy child for making messes in every single room of the house while I have been a neglectful parent on here, I shall post them

[huga]

My pug is another that won't tolerate rudeness. She is not afraid of showing that wobbegong mouth if required I try to make sure she's not in that situation, but it has happened before.

[dee lee]

My GR is not interested in playing with most dogs and is generally very passive, but if a dog pesters her enough she will grumble.

Its perfectly normal dog behaviour.

However I will always try and prevent that happening by always keeping walking & intercepting any pushy dogs that approach us. I just stand in between and say firmly - Go-away! or Shoo! It usually works. The majority of dogs arent that persistent.

Stuff the other irresponsible twits who are happy for their dogs to bother yours. Who cares what they think? Your dog is what is important to you.

[Erny]

Max's behaviour is both natural and normal for a dog being intimidated by others - he's telling them to back the hell off. Your job as his owner is to ensure that he doesn't get placed in situations like this. That means actively intervening to stop it happening or preventing it happening.

My first suggestion is that you don't use a ball in a dog park populated by other dogs - it tends to be a magnet for dogs and can create dust ups over possession of one.

This.

[corvus]

Long story short - the woman owner hit my dog because it wouldnt styop chasing the JRT. I got up and abused the s**t out of her. I do NOT in ANY way think max OR I were in the wrong. The dog CLEARLY wasnt scared and Max wasnt being aggressive at all. I went ape s**t at this lady because she asked 'is this your dog' (well duh I was the only one there) and then she hit him... Max came running back to me because I started yelling my head off at her.

Charming.

I swear, half of 'dog park' etiquette is people skills. I spend almost as much time in dog parks reading other owners as I do reading dogs. A lot of problems can be avoided by just watching other people and erring on the side of caution. If someone is holding their dog and won't put them down, d'ya think perhaps they are uncomfortable with your dog's proximity and interest? You can think your dog is doing nothing wrong but still call it away. Particularly seeing as the other owner seems nervous. We call our dogs away if they start following anyone around, even if it's dogs and people we know. I call my dogs away if they are chasing another dog and getting that glassy-eyed, ears-forward look about them. My dogs are very well socialised and generally gentle and polite with other dogs, but intense play can so easily go bad, especially with dogs that aren't very close friends. Dogs that are very aroused in play are IMO less likely to heed signals from the other dog that they want to stop. That's where most of our problems have started.

I'm a fan of viewing every interaction with another dog as a potential training opportunity. If my dog is saying politely (looking away, ears/tail down, moving away) "Please stop that", then that's my chance to reinforce the polite, non-aggressive communication by making sure the behaviour my dog doesn't like does stop before he feels the need to say it more firmly. Most of the time all I need to do is move him away from the other dog.

Edited April 20, 2011 by corvus

[Andisa]

I'd like a dollar for every time I hear "he thinks he's a Rottweiler" followed by

Me too - mine are raised with Rottweilers and have far too much attitude for their own good. I also think many dogs don't seem to know what to do when pugs approach them, think their snorting/snotting confuses some dogs - and people.

[Scarlett Dog]

My first suggestion is that you don't use a ball in a dog park populated by other dogs - it tends to be a magnet for dogs and can create dust ups over possession of one.

My girl likes balls but loves to run with other dogs more. She was pinned down by a very large at the dog park because she was running with another dog who was chasing it's ball- he thought she wanted to steal it. She had no interest at all. Since then we only go to the dog park at quiet times with friends who have well behaved dogs.

[aussielover]

My large breed generally ignores small dogs (though she did zoomies with a mini poodle for 15 mins the other day- they both had heaps of fun, the mini was chasing my dog lol). But I would never let her pester other dogs, especially when it is obvious the owner doesn't feel comfortable.

I think your pug's reaction was normal although when he kept coming back to you- I would have ended the interaction with the other dogs the first time he came back.

My dog is very submissive with other dogs, but is also very playful and friendly, however if there is ever a challenge or incident or she feels the play is getting too rough or not to her liking, she always comes running back to me and goes in between my legs. At this point I would definitely stop the interaction and sometimes I'll remove her or another dog from the play if i feel it is getting too rough or not to my liking.

Though if you use off leash parks you have to accept there are all different types of owners, some are oblivious to the fact their dog is harassing another and some are overly protective.

I think it is respectful to consider the wishes of other users- no matter how silly or irrational or misinformed they seem.

I always ask the owner to tell me if my dog is playing with a new dog, to tell me if they think its getting too rough. Some people seem to think that dogs making noises during play is aggressive, when to me, it is clearly playful- but i still respect their view and would remove my dog.

If I think play is getting too rough and the other person thinks its ok- I just make an excuse to leave and move to another area.

[fuzzy82]

If the other dogs are being rude, it's perfectly acceptable for your dog to tell them off. Standing over another dog is rude, and so it following it around and not backing off when obviously told to. It's unfair to expect your dog to accept everything other dogs do all the time without letting them know they are being rude.

I mostly stay away from other dogs at dog parks, as we are just there for the off leash walk. If a bigger dog was bugging my dogs I would remove my dogs, go to a different area and keep my distance. If it followed us around I would take my dogs and leave, or if the owner is nearby ask him to call his dog over as it was intimidating my dogs. That's good manners, letting your dog run wild and be rude and a bully is not good dog park manners.

In NSW, at Baulkham Hills, the Council was sensible enough to have two cmpletely separate areas that are nfeced off. One for small dogs and one for large. I have never heard of any other parks like this though.

There is a large dog park at Clontarf near here which also has separate areas.

[aussielover]

In NSW, at Baulkham Hills, the Council was sensible enough to have two cmpletely separate areas that are nfeced off. One for small dogs and one for large. I have never heard of any other parks like this though.

There is a large dog park at Clontarf near here which also has separate areas.

Do people actually obey the rules though?

All the times I have been, the small dogs have been in the big dog area (which is larger so understandable I guess).

[corvus]

Our local fenced dog park has three separate fenced areas. One for large dogs, one for small dogs, and one for puppies. We don't go very often because IMO the place is not big or interesting enough, and seems to attract people that just let their dogs do whatever without paying much attention. I swear the dogs that frequent that park behave weirdly. Given we have a small dog and a large dog, the separate areas is not all that useful for us. Every time I've been, the dogs in the large dogs section have been odd and my dogs didn't want to mix with them, so we moved to the small dog section. But if there's someone using it with a small dog, our large dog stays on leash.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Long story short - the woman owner hit my dog because it wouldnt styop chasing the JRT. I got up and abused the s**t out of her. I do NOT in ANY way think max OR I were in the wrong. The dog CLEARLY wasnt scared and Max wasnt being aggressive at all. I went ape s**t at this lady because she asked 'is this your dog' (well duh I was the only one there) and then she hit him... Max came running back to me because I started yelling my head off at her.

Charming.

I swear, half of 'dog park' etiquette is people skills. I spend almost as much time in dog parks reading other owners as I do reading dogs. A lot of problems can be avoided by just watching other people and erring on the side of caution. If someone is holding their dog and won't put them down, d'ya think perhaps they are uncomfortable with your dog's proximity and interest? You can think your dog is doing nothing wrong but still call it away. Particularly seeing as the other owner seems nervous. We call our dogs away if they start following anyone around, even if it's dogs and people we know. I call my dogs away if they are chasing another dog and getting that glassy-eyed, ears-forward look about them. My dogs are very well socialised and generally gentle and polite with other dogs, but intense play can so easily go bad, especially with dogs that aren't very close friends. Dogs that are very aroused in play are IMO less likely to heed signals from the other dog that they want to stop. That's where most of our problems have started.

I'm a fan of viewing every interaction with another dog as a potential training opportunity. If my dog is saying politely (looking away, ears/tail down, moving away) "Please stop that", then that's my chance to reinforce the polite, non-aggressive communication by making sure the behaviour my dog doesn't like does stop before he feels the need to say it more firmly. Most of the time all I need to do is move him away from the other dog.

Well said. No dog, no matter what size it is, should be allowed to harass another dog but PARTICULARLY when it is a large dog harassing a smaller one.

Dog parks are dangerous places FULL STOP. But especially for small dogs. They are also dangerous for people sometimes. There have been a couple of serious assaults around this area, presumably in situations described above.

If a GSD was chasing my small dog relentlessly then I would do something. I wouldn't expect a mouthful of abuse from the irresponsible owner, or perhaps I would. Noone these days accepts liability for anything it seems. I was chased by a large German Shepherd whilst walking along the road with my tiny dogs. I put my foot out to stop it getting too close to mine who were panicking. Owners were shouting at me to stop kicking their dog - which I wasn't doing. Did they apologise? No. Apparently it was all my fault for walking 3 tiny dogs on lead. Enough said? That is the mentality of far too many people these days.

Dogs die in dog parks all the time - I've heard of several cases in the last few months in this area. Don't take your small dog into places that are high risk, ie dog parks.

[MuckyPug]

The more I read about peoples experiences, the more I'm inclined to find another off lead place to take Max. He is social ... like I said, our Pugwood meets he loves and has never had any issues there - but it's a group of diligent and responsible and tuned in owners - and ones who care about your pugs safety and well being nearly as much as theirs it almost seems.

That's our social side, I think we want somewhere that he can get offlead and have a good chase of the ball so I need to find somewhere big, away from roads, and quiet

My search is on.

[~Anne~]

In NSW, at Baulkham Hills, the Council was sensible enough to have two cmpletely separate areas that are nfeced off. One for small dogs and one for large. I have never heard of any other parks like this though.

There is a large dog park at Clontarf near here which also has separate areas.

Do people actually obey the rules though?

All the times I have been, the small dogs have been in the big dog area (which is larger so understandable I guess).

I can't really say for sure, but on the times I have ben to the local one, they did.

I did take my Pugs into the large dog one once. There were no other dogs in there and it was only for a short while. I would have moved them straight away if need be. The area was huge and my Pugs thought it was fabulous. The small dog one is also large, but only half that of the large dog area.

[sas]

In NSW, at Baulkham Hills, the Council was sensible enough to have two cmpletely separate areas that are nfeced off. One for small dogs and one for large. I have never heard of any other parks like this though.

Lane Cove do too

[Fatsofatsoman]

There is a large dog park at Clontarf near here which also has separate areas.

I dislike that Clontarf park - just didn't have the same feel to it as our local one. Possible too big for it's own good.

[Leelaa17]

Long story short - the woman owner hit my dog because it wouldnt styop chasing the JRT. I got up and abused the s**t out of her. I do NOT in ANY way think max OR I were in the wrong. The dog CLEARLY wasnt scared and Max wasnt being aggressive at all. I went ape s**t at this lady because she asked 'is this your dog' (well duh I was the only one there) and then she hit him... Max came running back to me because I started yelling my head off at her.

Charming.

I swear, half of 'dog park' etiquette is people skills. I spend almost as much time in dog parks reading other owners as I do reading dogs. A lot of problems can be avoided by just watching other people and erring on the side of caution. If someone is holding their dog and won't put them down, d'ya think perhaps they are uncomfortable with your dog's proximity and interest? You can think your dog is doing nothing wrong but still call it away. Particularly seeing as the other owner seems nervous. We call our dogs away if they start following anyone around, even if it's dogs and people we know. I call my dogs away if they are chasing another dog and getting that glassy-eyed, ears-forward look about them. My dogs are very well socialised and generally gentle and polite with other dogs, but intense play can so easily go bad, especially with dogs that aren't very close friends. Dogs that are very aroused in play are IMO less likely to heed signals from the other dog that they want to stop. That's where most of our problems have started.

I'm a fan of viewing every interaction with another dog as a potential training opportunity. If my dog is saying politely (looking away, ears/tail down, moving away) "Please stop that", then that's my chance to reinforce the polite, non-aggressive communication by making sure the behaviour my dog doesn't like does stop before he feels the need to say it more firmly. Most of the time all I need to do is move him away from the other dog.

Well said. No dog, no matter what size it is, should be allowed to harass another dog but PARTICULARLY when it is a large dog harassing a smaller one.

Dog parks are dangerous places FULL STOP. But especially for small dogs. They are also dangerous for people sometimes. There have been a couple of serious assaults around this area, presumably in situations described above.

If a GSD was chasing my small dog relentlessly then I would do something. I wouldn't expect a mouthful of abuse from the irresponsible owner, or perhaps I would. Noone these days accepts liability for anything it seems. I was chased by a large German Shepherd whilst walking along the road with my tiny dogs. I put my foot out to stop it getting too close to mine who were panicking. Owners were shouting at me to stop kicking their dog - which I wasn't doing. Did they apologise? No. Apparently it was all my fault for walking 3 tiny dogs on lead. Enough said? That is the mentality of far too many people these days.

Dogs die in dog parks all the time - I've heard of several cases in the last few months in this area. Don't take your small dog into places that are high risk, ie dog parks.

I dont think its fair at all to call me an irresponsible owner. I gavent been to a dog park in a long time because of my aggressive young gsd. And i have learnt a lot of good things and taken on good advice since being an active member of dolforms. I might have done things differently back when that situation occured and i DEFINITELY wouldve done it differently given my time again - but i tried my best at all times to try to make sure people understood what max was trying to do etc... i would never have called myself irresponsible. Maybe misinformed. But i always took responsibility for my dogs actions and i always will.

Edited April 24, 2011 by Leelaa17