Dog Parks Vent / Discussion / Etiquette Thread

[Canisbellum]

For the record Jonah was extremely reactive to dogs which I toned down untill he was almost normal till he got chomped again by 2 dogs at the dog park so now I walk in the bush or very early or at unpopular parks when they are empty but I still have dramas as the dog owners of Kalgoorlie are special kind of dumb.

Had a tense discussion with a buffoon on Saturday because his husky ran about 80m to get to us. The fact that i put Jonah on his lead the instant I saw it headed our way and then grabbed it and loudly shouted for him to get his dog were ignored until I pushed it away with my leg then stormed over performing because I kicked his dog. All this while Jonah was trying to grab hold of it as he has been mauled by a Husky in the past and hates them. Luckily the buffoon developed some common sense when he got about 10m away and had a good look at me and the state I was in and grabbed his dog and left. The excuse was its only a 5 month old pup.

Then last night I am walking at the only On leash place in town and here comes another idiot with his swf of lead and not listening to him. I had a discussion with him, Jonah lunged at his dog a few times and he grabbed it and left mumbling some smartarse comment to me telling him there are lots of off leash areas in town.

Walking out in the bush a few weeks ago and I see a car appear so I call the dogs up Jonah was luckily right by me and didn't see the car. Car is driving slowly and a bull arab type is trotting next to the car along the track. I had a serious WTF moment

[Two Best Dogs!]

One of the other owners I'd been talking to over the fence said someone had brought their dog in to the park the night before and it was leashed and not happy about other dogs going up to it (and this is a busy, dedicated dog park where most people can't call their dogs off) and it attacked one of the dogs that approached it.

I...can't imagine what the person was thinking taking it IN to the park? Outside on the other side of the fence to work on training and desensitisation etc sure, but IN the park?!

Side note, I wish more parks would have a divided small dog and big dog area. I get so worried watching people's little dogs run around, especially in the busier parks where it can go from running around to everyone fighting and little ones could get trod on or squashed

Myself, I have not been going to any onlead areas (or even most streets) because no matter what time of day someone is breaking the law with their offlead dog and ruining it for the rest of us

Edited October 13, 2015 by Thistle the dog

[denali]

One of the other owners I'd been talking to over the fence said someone had brought their dog in to the park the night before and it was leashed and not happy about other dogs going up to it (and this is a busy, dedicated dog park where most people can't call their dogs off) and it attacked one of the dogs that approached it.

I...can't imagine what the person was thinking taking it IN to the park? Outside on the other side of the fence to work on training and desensitisation etc sure, but IN the park?!

Side note, I wish more parks would have a divided small dog and big dog area. I get so worried watching people's little dogs run around, especially in the busier parks where it can go from running around to everyone fighting and little ones could get trod on or squashed

Myself, I have not been going to any onlead areas (or even most streets) because no matter what time of day someone is breaking the law with their offlead dog and ruining it for the rest of us

I agree with this to a point. But having little dogs, the little dog areas are TINY! Just because the dogs are small doesnt mean they dont want a large area to sniff nd run around in

[Simply Grand]

In principle I don't like parks having separate areas for big and small dogs because I think dogs in dog parks should only be there if they can recognize that dogs are dogs and behave appropriately with all of them regardless of size. I think it can add to owners' attitudes about the divide between big and small dogs (ie the other is automatically to blame) and lets people use the excuse of "oh my dog just doesn't like big/small dogs" for poor behavior.

Having said all that though, in the real world I do like them and I worry when small dogs run free amongst much bigger ones too. My little ones are pretty good at judging for themselves now when they are best to just keep out of the way but I still keep an eye one them.

I think often people don't realize their small dog or puppy is distressed too, you can often see the moment the little one goes from "yay fun chase game" to "oh crap I'm actually scared and don't know how to get out of this" and owners don't realize

At my local park there are two tiny little Chi puppies, 4 mths plus but they are sooo small, like 1kg. They walk around amongst all the other dogs, including the really big ones, and I always worry that a person will accidentally step on them and I think it is inevitable that a dog will accidentally injure them at some point. I think it's actually quite traumatic for them too, being down there amongst all the big feet. They are great little dogs attitude wise but I just think size wise they are really to small to be on the ground with random dogs.

[Simply Grand]

Re aggression for whatever reason, I think a lot of people don't take it seriously. They see their dog as their harmless family pet or companion that they know so well and are in total control of and don't realize that they are still dogs with animal instincts and behaviors.

There are a few regular dogs at our park that resource guard really quite seriously, like you can see that if they come up against another dog that doesn't back down there WILL be a fight (and there have been) but the owners will just say "oh yes s/he doesn't let other people near his/her ball/stick/whatever hahaha" without realising what the consequences could be.

The other thing that really worries me is when dogs are giving very clear signals, if you have some idea about dog behavior, that they are pissed off and the owners are just oblivious. Especially when, like Snook says, they are big powerful dogs.

We had an almost fight the other day between two adolescent dogs, one guarding "his" stick, the other, a GSD, getting increasingly annoyed at him trying to guard the stick from her, even though she hadn't initially been that interested in it. The GSD was giving beautiful increasingly serious warnings with lip lifts, teeth baring and growls and the other dog was reading her and licking at her mouth appeasingly but still wasn't willing to back off the stick. Everyone stood around actually watching them, with me focussing in keeping my three out of the way but also saying um, watch out. The dogs eventually erupted, no harm done but the owners were surprised it had happened!

The owners are both nice people, responsible and not dumb but just obviously completely ignorant about dog behavior

[YippeeGirl]

I think the majority of dog owners have never witnessed (in person) a fight where dogs are seriously trying to cause harm to each other. Our two bitches have got into several scuffles in the past, and it's an incredibly terrifying experience. It's not just a matter of yelling at them or smacking them and they'll stop. We're lucky in that our bitches have never redirected, but some dogs are going to turn around and bite at whatever's within reach when they are in such an agitated state.

I wonder if this is why so many owners have a very blase attitude when it comes to letting their dogs run up to strange dogs. They simply don't understand just what it's like to have to pull apart two or more fighting dogs.

[Stressmagnet]

I had some woman try and call Ernie from across the park the other day. Lucky his recall word isn't 'come'. I leashed him and began to walk over to her and she got in her car and took off.

Scared me badly. I may have to uglify him a bit.

[Staffyluv]

I had some woman try and call Ernie from across the park the other day. Lucky his recall word isn't 'come'. I leashed him and began to walk over to her and she got in her car and took off.

Scared me badly. I may have to uglify him a bit.

I had a guy actually try and take Ziggy off me at the local leash free park. He claimed that Ziggy was his dog and I stole him back in September last year (I've had Zig since 2011)..

He tried to take the lead off me and pull Zig out of my car window.

When he left, I went home (another route) and dropped Zig at home and then went to the police and reported the matter.

The guy turned up back at the park with 3 other men (about 20 minutes after I left), according to the people that were still there after I left that day.

Police had to tell him to back off and I had to produce paperwork to prove Zig was mine and I had purchased him back in 2011..

You have to be vigilant with your dogs when out and about - you never know what sort of crazy is around the corner.

[The Spotted Devil]

Crikey!

I'd say people see me working my @r$e off running and training the crazy out of my 3 and would much rather I keep them...

[Stressmagnet]

Yikes Staffyluv.

Ernie has morphed into a very handsome boy and of course he's chocolate which is flavour of the month. The thing is, he's neutered so he's of no use to anyone wanted to make bucks. He's not a big boofy boy either - if anything he's on the small and slim side for Labradors so I would have thought he wouldn't necessarily appeal to someone looking for a status symbol.

I just don't get it, I really don't.

[Staffyluv]

Yeah, it was pretty awful at the time and I was shaken up by it at the time.

I did my own research and found his 'lost dog' notice on a local facebook page. His dog looks nothing like Zig.

His dog was about half the size of Zig, was completely black and his ears stood up.

Zig is brindle, with a white chest and 4 white paws and has ears that fold over..

I understand that his second language was English but there really was no excuse for his behaviour that day - no matter how much he was missing his own dog.

I am grateful for the help of the police (even if I did have to give them a load of information and push them).

[Steph M]

Crikey!

I'd say people see me working my @r$e off running and training the crazy out of my 3 and would much rather I keep them...

I've always said anyone who pinched ours would bring them back again! They're jerks! Haha.

[Little Gifts]

I think it is clear that a lot of pet owners either don't care or are complete idiots when it comes to taking their animals out in public. These public places cost money to set up and maintain by local councils. Perhaps we should be lobbying them to run some education programs (in conjunction with other recognised bodies) on some basic pet in public safety and etiquette. Perhaps it could be as simple as printed pamphlets in with our dog and cat rego renewals and posters issued to vets in their LGA? Maybe an interactive social media campaign for kids and young adults? I know it wont reach every pet owning knob but perhaps some might be enlightened about the risks they are taking and impact they are making on others.

[alpha bet]

Often problems that develop in the dog park are because of the public generally not understanding how to fit in. Doesn't mean they are bad people or bad dogs, they just need to learn. It is better to try and help other learn how to improve and not to get to emotional about things.... We run our classes around this and so we can offer the service to others who live further away we are running Workshops to build these skills.

Hopefully no one minds me posting this here - but it is a big problem that is a frustrating situation for many people and perhaps we can help. I will email Troy to get approval to start a thread just for discussion about the workshop to answer any questions.

[Little Gifts]

Good on you guys for recognising the problem and offering a solution!

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Hi Alphabet - is there a facebook thing that the Victorians could share.

We need to be getting not-dog-savvy people aware.

Tho there is one hazard to teaching people better skills and the rules in this area.

They get pissed off when they see other people not following them.

[Little Gifts]

But that is good Mrs RB! Until the people doing the right thing are the majority nothing will change! We do need to be creating environments where peer pressure forces others to acknowledge they are doing the wrong thing so they will seek information or assistance to 'fit in' and become the norm. Sure we don't want people getting aggressive or abusive but if someone takes a pet ferret to a dog park and 10 dog owners tell them it is not a safe place to let their ferret run around then perhaps it might encourage them to find somewhere safer? But if that same person took their ferret to a dog park and a dog killed it and both owners got into a barny about who was at fault they would learn nothing. The ferret would be dead and the dog would be labelled pocket pet aggressive for the rest of its life. Neither owner would go back to that park. No winners.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I find "Do you need a bag for that?" works really well. Certainly sorts out the willing pooper scooper people from the ones who would rather step in it than pick it up.

A bit harder to deal with the "my dog's friendly" attack.

"Bad Idea" - said nice and friendly - works for me. If I see their "friendly dog" coming. Otherwise my dog tells their dog, in a much less friendly way.

[Staffyluv]

I have one of the friendliest, most tolerant dogs that I have ever come across in Ziggy but even he draws the line with some dogs and their 'friendliness'.

We have a couple of owners who let their dogs off inside the dog park and they are friendly but they bounce all over the other dogs, jumping on them all the time and one in particular humps every dog it sees.

Personally, I just call Zig over and we leave and go for a leashed walk down at the town park. I would rather do that than try to explain to someone that their dogs manners suck.

Most people are NOT open to hearing that their dog has an issue in meeting and greeting or playing nicely. I guess what is nice for one person and their dog, ins't necessarily nice for another person and their dog.

I won't tolerate dogs jumping on Zig and have actually been yelled at for being a sook about it. I simply asked the guy to stop his dog jumping on Zig because he has bad hips. He said no wonder the dog is a sook because the owner is.. I just left the park because I really don't want to deal with people like him.

In saying that, 99% of the time it is really nice at the park - we tend to go pretty early and don't run into the loons very often. Just every now and then, one will show up early.

[Simply Grand]

So I saw a side of Quinn I haven't seen before today at the park. There was this young guy there with his girlfriend and their puppy, we've met the girlfriend and the pup a few times before but not the guy. He had a bag of treats in his pocket and initially gave Quinn some while he was standing up, then he walked over and sat down, she followed and he was doing some tricks with her (sit, drop, shake) and continued giving her treats.

He then decided to stop, which was fine, but he was quite forceful I guess in how he told Quinn, he did a big arm sweep then smacked his hands on his thighs a couple of times. He absolutely meant nothing by it but it must have caught Quinn off guard and scared her coz she did that fearful, jump backwards thing. I think the guy thought she was playing with him because he smacked his thighs again then jumped up and ran towards her waving his arms at her while she continued to move away.

She must have felt quite threatened because she kept moving away but was giving him serious "move away from me" barks. She was doing sideways body, low tail, ears down, whale eye at him (fearful, trying to appease) and kept moving away from him but when he kept coming towards her she straightened up at him and her mouth was starting to get into really tight, "I may think about biting you if you keep coming at me" posture.

I'm not at all worried that she would have done it there as she clearly preferred moving away and had plenty of space to do so, and as soon as she registered me telling her that everything was really ok she relaxed, and if he had kept going towards her or she had escalated any further i would have told him myself to back off. I didn't want her to think I saw him as a threat though. I've often wondered whether she would protect herself / me / the other dogs from a human threat, especially as she will from another dog if necessary, and this indicates to me that she actually would if it really came down to it, especially if she was trapped and couldn't escape. Hope to god I never have to find out for real though!

Edited October 19, 2015 by Simply Grand