Grrrr...idiots At Off Leash Dog Only Parks

[Juddabug Whippets]

Hi there,

I'm here to vent, also to find out if this is commonplace in new dog off leash only parks.

I'll apologise now if it gets a bit long.

We adopted our second whippet yesterday, she's still settling in and still a bit wary and shy. She's 13mths. So this afternoon my partner and I decided to go to a brand new off leash dog park that's just opened in our estate - just so we could observe pup and see if the dogs would interact.

We got to the park and it's not massive, you can see right across it. Maybe 60m diameter, tis a circle. But we could hear all this yelling and screaming and yelping. So we get to the fence and see a woman holding a cocker spaniel up whilst a large mastiff/boxer x was jumping up at it. The owners were 40m just screaming the dogs name.... No response at all from the dog. The kid holding the cocker was scared. The mastiff x owner got within 15m told the dog to back off (after a few mins of snarling, jumping and snapping). The dog ran wide around his owner then chased the cocker and then the cycle was repeated for the next 10mins. The owner could not get close enough to his dog to touch it, let alone leash it. His partner was hysterically screaming for the mastiff x from the other side of the park. My partner and I repeatedly yelled out to the guy to grab the mastiff and leash it. He took no notice of us.

We decided not to go in, as it was not a good situation and continued to walk around the parklands, hoping they'd be gone on the way back. On our way past 10mins later we saw a guy with three similar large mastiff x dogs (all male, all entire) walk up to the park and go in. The two blokes knew each other and stood at one end of the park and watched the 4 dogs in a pack round up the small dogs. Lots of screaming from their owners and NO recall at all on any of the dogs. I looked and saw the cocker owners trying to leave only to be run down by two of the dogs. The child holding the cocker had the dog ripped out of her arms while she was trying to open the gate. I left our dogs with my partner and raced over. We got that cocker to safety, kid and dog badly shaken. Two more of their dockers yelping in the park being attacked by the pack of 4. I raced into the park yelling at the mastiff owners to grab their effing dogs. Nothing! The just screamed for the dogs who weren't listening.

I managed to get the three cockers into the double gated safety area where the owners were understandably shaken. I was so angry.

The owner of the cockers said they were in the park for ages on their own and the people let the mastiff off at the gate and when it made a beeline for them, they just yelled 'watch out'.

Just because the mastiff owners also had a JRT with them, does not mean it is ok with all little dogs! They had NO recall or control of their dog and just didn't seem to care.

Fortunately 20mins later the park was empty and we got our run... But I couldn't help but think what if we were in the park and were subject to them!

Sorry for the rant! But I was so angry at the complete lack of control they had over their large dog! And all 4 had NO recall so were like wrecking balls. It was just really scary pulling dogs off dogs! Does this happen everywhere? RULE NUMBER 1 at the park... You must have complete control over your dog and good recall.

I know now we are constantly on the lookout for who's nearby coming in. If it's breeds our dogs don't like or do well with, we leash up and leave!

Sigh! Still a lil shaken!

MnDM

[Staff'n'Toller]

In a word, yes, that sort of scenario is reported quite often on this board (varying States and parks of course).

What you must do, anytime you witness this, is to call your council ranger immediately and report it. All dogs must still be under effective voice control (i.e. have a recall) and if they don't, they can be fined.

It may be worth reporting the incident anyway, and very kindly requesting the rangers do some patrols down there on a regular basis.

You will find a lot of experienced members on this board avoid dog parks entirely for this reason.

Be very careful where you go whilst your 13m.o. Whippet settles in.

[Atanquin]

Omg poor cockers I have one if that happened to him I don't think he would recover!! Some people are idiots I'm glad everyone was okay and it was good that you where there to help well done!!

[Juddabug Whippets]

Thanks SnT, I was thinking of calling someone and will put the local council ranger into my phone for in future.

The issue here is it's brand new, the rules signs haven't gone up yet... So I couldn't even raise that with the owner.

We've had many close calls in the past at the only other off leash dog park in our area, our lil guy has been attacked by huskies and a mastiff while he's chasing the ball, so we have avoided them for a long time! But with one now only 2 blocks from home it's a safe place for whippet zoomies.

We are very particular about who's in the park and will avoid it if certain dogs are there, and yes I'm particularly concerned about our new pup. Wanting all experiences to be positive. They did get the park to themselves for a good run in the end.

Just scary for the kids involved.

MnDM

[fuzzy82]

I woulda left the park with the dog in my arms. I wouldn't care if the other dogs ran out the gate too, not my problem at that point. Maybe that would get the owners' attention.

And yes, that's a very common occurrence at dog parks, and the main reason why I don't use dog parks anymore.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I don't think I know what a "dog off leash only park" is.

We have parks that are dedicated dog exercise areas where dogs are allowed off leash but * under effective control * ie owners stay reasonalby close and dogs come back when they're called. Just because it is a dogs allowed off leash - doesn't make the dogs or owners exempt from the dog and cat management law in that state. Ie most of them say something like dog must be on lead unless in a designated (has signs up) area for off lead exercise and then must be under effective control. I think one council states not more than 20m from owner - tho I'm a bit slack about this given my dog will recall from across a football oval.

I don't like the fully fenced dog parks with double gates - because they just trap the nice dogs in with the nasty ones. And they're most popular with owners who cannot control their dogs. Most dog exercise areas I use - do not quite have complete fencing, so dog owners must pay attention to their dogs. Even so at my fav morning oval - I made a formal report to our council animal management officer about a husky that attacked and drew blood on two small dogs (neither owner has reported it yet) and in between it went after my dog and when I grabbed it by the collar it turned and put its teeth on me. No damage but completely unacceptable. After the second dog was attacked the owner finally came and got his dog and left. He hasn't been back and he won't be welcome unless he keeps that dog on lead and muzzled ie he may as well not bother with areas that allow dogs off lead (and under effective control).

If I saw a situation like OP's, I'd be on to the council ranger (or police depending what time of day) very quickly. And if I was feeling really brave I'd get the rego tag numbers of the aggressive dogs (ie if they were human friendly) .

[cannibalgoldfish]

We adopted our second whippet yesterday, she's still settling in and still a bit wary and shy. She's 13mths.

Just curious and totally off topic, but why wouldn't you let your dog settle in for a few more days before taking her out and about?

[Gayle.]

We adopted our second whippet yesterday, she's still settling in and still a bit wary and shy. She's 13mths.

Just curious and totally off topic, but why wouldn't you let your dog settle in for a few more days before taking her out and about?

I wouldn't. The day after I got Shae off a plane from WA, she came to the obedience club with me. Nothing like bonding with a new adult dog than by taking it out and about with you.

[juice]

Dog parks have too many idiots in, don't use them.

What a child was doing in one with a dog is also stupid.

We have a new one being proposed here, i rang council to see where it is, far too small an area as usual, the coucil guy even said he thought they were a bad idea as poeple didn't control their dogs in them

[twodoggies2001]

I woulda left the park with the dog in my arms. I wouldn't care if the other dogs ran out the gate too, not my problem at that point. Maybe that would get the owners' attention.

And yes, that's a very common occurrence at dog parks, and the main reason why I don't use dog parks anymore.

Not a good idea if the other dogs ran out too. What if they menaced you or your dog/s outside the enclosed area.

[Steve]

Dog parks have too many idiots in, don't use them.

What a child was doing in one with a dog is also stupid.

We have a new one being proposed here, i rang council to see where it is, far too small an area as usual, the coucil guy even said he thought they were a bad idea as poeple didn't control their dogs in them

Then who is responsible for making sure that people control their dogs in them? They provide the parks , set the rules, know people dont follow them but do bugger all about it . Its time they saw their role in all of the issues rather than just accepting the fact that some people dont do the right thing. Its up to them to ensure peopel do the right thing to protect everyone else's rights - why arent they? Why should the good guys stay home because there are too many bad guys. If they dont have as part of their planning something built in to enure people will follow the rules its time we made sure they do.

[poodlefan]

I'd say that sort of thing is fairly common and the fact that none of the Cockers ended up seriously injured tells me that the larger dogs didn't mean business. The sad fact is that fenced offlead dog parks draw owners that can't control their dogs ON lead like bees to honey. You saw a fairly predictable outcome.

I'd be making a call to the ranger anyway... tell them that its out of control and that some periodic visits to monitor users wouldn't be a bad thing. Sadly, its not really big enough to divide into big and small dog areas.

[Steve]

I'd say that sort of thing is fairly common and the fact that none of the Cockers ended up seriously injured tells me that the larger dogs didn't mean business. The sad fact is that fenced offlead dog parks draw owners that can't control their dogs ON lead like bees to honey. You saw a fairly predictable outcome.

I'd be making a call to the ranger anyway... tell them that its out of control and that some periodic visits to monitor users wouldn't be a bad thing. Sadly, its not really big enough to divide into big and small dog areas.

Not practical to divide into idiot and non idiot owner either I guess.

[Scarlet]

Unfortunately my dogs are not as dog socialised as I might like - I've fostered and they're happy with other dogs here, on walks etc

I've had and seen bad experiences in dog parks so I only go to dog parks when they're empty. If I see another dog coming I leave.

Unfortunately we can't trust people.

[hilaryo]

After a few bad experiences, I don't go to off leash parks anymore.

There have been a couple of instances of small dogs being mauled and killed at parks around the area

Also my dogs contracted canine cough twice after people brought their dogs to the park with "just a cold"

Not worth the hassle.

[cannibalgoldfish]

I wouldn't. The day after I got Shae off a plane from WA, she came to the obedience club with me. Nothing like bonding with a new adult dog than by taking it out and about with you.

Ah, thanks. I wasn't sure if they were like cats, you know, give them a quiet space to feel settled in first.

[corvus]

I haven't found it to be common. But we rarely go to fenced dog parks. We go to unfenced dog parks most days. We have tried several different ones and go to several different dog beaches quite regularly.

IME, uncommonly a dog (small or large, but usually small) will come into the park that is uncertain and will suddenly turn around and bolt. Dogs that are normally great at the dog park and don't cause any trouble will chase them. The faster they chase, the less likely they are to respond to a recall, even if they normally have excellent recalls. Invariably, they catch up and sooner or later the dog turns around and then the other dogs pull up and the spell is broken. Occasionally I've seen it a bit more serious and the dog gets bowled once or twice. I've never seen a dog injured. My dogs both went to dog parks as puppies and they stayed on a short leash until I was confident they weren't going to bolt. In my view, we have a responsibility both to keep our dogs under control and to avoid putting other dogs in situations where voice control is extremely difficult if we can. Not that we always can.

Not saying that the behaviour of the owners and dogs in the original post is remotely acceptable or dismissable. Sometimes we get people like that visiting with their dogs. We hear about them because everybody warns everyone else. They never last long. You hear about them once or twice but never see them. No one ever knows who they are. They never come with puppies. They come with unruly dogs and soon realise they are not appreciated and get tired of screaming at their dogs all the time.

[Elise+Hudson]

I have been taking my pup to dog parks this week, just to give us a bigger area to play fetch in, and he loves going out for a walk to get there.

He is only 14 weeks and his recall is not yet 100%, so if there are other dogs in there, I make sure they are ok before I go in, and he does not come off leash, we just have a play around. If there is nobody there we go to the far corner, and he goes straight back on lead if someone goes to come in with another dog.

[Juddabug Whippets]

I don't think I know what a "dog off leash only park" is.

We have parks that are dedicated dog exercise areas where dogs are allowed off leash but * under effective control * ie owners stay reasonalby close and dogs come back when they're called. Just because it is a dogs allowed off leash - doesn't make the dogs or owners exempt from the dog and cat management law in that state. Ie most of them say something like dog must be on lead unless in a designated (has signs up) area for off lead exercise and then must be under effective control. I think one council states not more than 20m from owner - tho I'm a bit slack about this given my dog will recall from across a football oval.

I don't like the fully fenced dog parks with double gates - because they just trap the nice dogs in with the nasty ones. And they're most popular with owners who cannot control their dogs. Most dog exercise areas I use - do not quite have complete fencing, so dog owners must pay attention to their dogs. Even so at my fav morning oval - I made a formal report to our council animal management officer about a husky that attacked and drew blood on two small dogs (neither owner has reported it yet) and in between it went after my dog and when I grabbed it by the collar it turned and put its teeth on me. No damage but completely unacceptable. After the second dog was attacked the owner finally came and got his dog and left. He hasn't been back and he won't be welcome unless he keeps that dog on lead and muzzled ie he may as well not bother with areas that allow dogs off lead (and under effective control).

If I saw a situation like OP's, I'd be on to the council ranger (or police depending what time of day) very quickly. And if I was feeling really brave

I'd get the rego tag numbers of the aggressive dogs (ie if they were human friendly) .

Sorry, I should have clarified it was a fully fenced off leash dog area with agility in a brand new housing estate!

As we have whippets who run fast, and there are bunnies in the area from time to time, it is too dangerous to let them off in an unfenced area. With our newly adopted pup she wanted to run around and the fenced park provides that the safety barrier to do so (and they did run themselves ragged). We have always been very wary due to bad experiences, but I've never seen an owner with so little control before. We always look before we go in, and only go in if it's preferably empty or just has small dogs, or if we see other big dogs coming we leash up and get ready to leave.

As for why didn't I just open the gates and let his dog out.... My three were not in the park and were being held about 20m away while I was helping retrieve the cockers. I would not have wanted it near my guys. Besides, that's irresponsible. Double gates are there for a reason.

I have written to my local council and now have the rangers number.

MnMD

[snippet]

We do not go to the offlead dog park any more, it is in the next suburb and the size of a large suburban house block with pool fence around it. Unfortunately it has four entry points, none of which have double gates. It was a great place for the dogs to at least have a stretch out and run but no one besides us seemed to pick up the poop so it was literally everywhere!!! We have come across a few idiots as well.