dog park etiquette and pet peeves what makes YOU growl.?
excuse me while I vent my anger, but I took my Irish wolfhound puppy to a dog park for obedience training today, this area of the park is off limits to anyone not registered for the class during class time. everything was find until this one guy shows up with his lab mix puppy. my dog was off leash inside the dog park when he opens the gate and put his puppy inside the park gate while he stood outside and watched.his dog was sill on its leash but he was not holding onto it. my wolfhound who weighs 135lbs rushed over to greet the lab mix, the lab mix rolled over onto her back and began squealing as if she was getting hurt, but my dog was not biting her he was nudging and mouthing her in attempt to get her to play. because the dog was squealing the dog trainer and myself were trying to grab my wolfhound and separate the two dogs when the owner some big guy jumped over the fence and said he was going to kill my dog, he then proceeded to kick my wolfhound in the ribs so I in turned jumped on that guys back and started beating him! ( he was much bigger than me but I didn’t care what he was doing was abusive). we cursed at each other loudly and I have plenty of witness! if I had any kind of weapon on me I would have used it on that guy for beating and kicking my dog. I’m still very angry the guy is ignorant when it comes to dog breeds and their behaviors..he should have just picked up his dog and left. why are people so ignorant? isn’t it proper etiquette to ask if your dog will be o.k in the yard with the other dogs? I always ask before I bring my dog in especially if I have not seen that dog before. and don’t people know that if you over react then so will your dog? I really wanted my wolfhound to socialize with people and dogs but now I’m thinking of just keeping him away from others. he is already weary of people this will set him back even more. thanks for letting me vent my anger. what are your thoughts on this what are your park pet peeves that made you growl.?
thanks everyone I’m feeling less angry now. before I said if I had a weapon I would have used it on him. it was a blessing and I thank god I did not have a weapon. because I would have gone to jail. but I agree with all of you, I will not be taking my dog to the dog park again and if any one is approching me on the street with another dog I will turn and walk in the other direction. I love dogs and would have had the same reaction no matter who’s dog it was that he kicked. thankyou for supporting me and allowing me to vent.
I agree nancy m. I guess I’m learning my lesson the hard way. I wish someone would have warned me about the dangers of dog parks sooner. my dog is purebred but not show quality, theres not enough fur on his tail and little stuff like that. he’s just my perfect pet and companion.
miss monk I love you, thank you I know if you were there you would have helped me. btw, there were two "men" there who did not lift a finger to help at all, they just sat there and watched. only another woman rushed in to help me get this man off my dog.
9 Comments on “dog park etiquette and pet peeves what makes YOU growl.?”
A. Excellent choice.. I love IW’s.. (I can’t have one where I am living now.. it would not be safe.. 3 foot fence would NEVER work)
B.Is the gate marked well?.. If you go to training you know it’s off limits, but is there a sign or a lock that says you MUST be part of the class to enter?
C. the guy is an a&&, but as he sees your dog as the aggressor , fighting him only proves to HIM that he was right… even though everyone else that witnessed may know him to be wrong.
The best bet would be to have the TRAINER deal with him.. (they should have made him take his dog out of the restricted area before there was a chance for anything to happen)
The trainer could most likely get the guy banned from the park, while fighting him puts you at risk of a lawsuit.. (I doubt he’d win, but it could happen)
D. Don’t stop trying to socialize.. but if it’s that much of an issue.. start slowly, socialize while on a leash only.. that way you have more control of the situation.. (obviously, off leash you had no hope in catching an IW who’s running to play… they are far too fast) It sounds like his dog is afraid of other dogs (by the squeeling.. and someone should have done a temperment test before he was allowed in.. fearful dogs are more of a risk then others) ..
I don’t really go to dog parks.. (the ONLY one we have is too far away for me to really go to regularly).. I do however go to a dog beach, but have NEVER had a single issue with another dog owner..
That’s why we don’t go to dog parks. There are too many idiots with dogs who I don’t care to expose either myself or my dogs to.
wow that guy sounds like a real @$$hole. props to you! i woulda given him a good’ol low blow see how he likes that! but our dog parks closed until the end of this month
we miss going there but they are remodling and building a doggy pool so it’ll be alot more fun!
I would have tried to kill that guy if he had kicked my dog. I’m sorry but if anyone hurt one of my dogs like that I would beat the crap out of them literally. My dog park sucks. It’s a big field with no grass and a big muddy pond filled with irrigation water. No one picks up their dogs poop and everyone doesn’t control their dogs. Once this lady brought in these two beautiful Samoyed and some guys disgusting muddy mutt came running over and started jumping all over the dogs and knocking them over. The woman yelled whose dog is this but the owner just stood there and didn’t say anything. People are SOOOOO STUPID!!!!
Wow- I would have broken that guy’s nose. Most likely with my head, as I am pretty small too- kudos for not going postal on anyone. I know how you feel. I have a 110 lb dane that is just over a year old.
In my experience, people come in 2 extremes when they see such a huge dog. Either "Wow! What an awesome big guy!"- These folks, I love. They walk up to Stein and pet him, allowing him to get some laid-back socialization. The others typically assume he is going to jump all over them and are terrified. A number of them "baby-talk" to him while trotting away. And, of course this provokes him to pull/try to jump.
People with small dogs are TERRIFIED of Stein- just b/c he’s big. Little do they know that he is submissive to my neighbor’s "teacup" yorkie and plays well with the maltese pair across the street.
I am so glad my husband and I are renting a house with a yard, I don’t miss dog park politics at all. One person would glare at us, pick up their dog, and leave whenever we went there. We had never done anything to their dog. Our sweet old gal can barely run, has never bitten (even after being bitten by another), and after sniffing another dog is ready to forget about them and do her own thing. Some people would take their dog to the park even though the dog is mean, what is up with that? A dog park is a place for dogs to socialize. I wouldn’t get mad if the dogs were play biting like yours, but aggressively biting is completely different. I would have kicked that guy in the b*lls if I were you. How dare he hurt your dog, you may even have a case for the police if he hurt your dog at all.
This should have been reported to the police. If it happened today, it’s not too late.
We recently acquired a rescue dog, and both the agency and my vet recommended staying away from dog parks. Your experience seems to support that advice. After several incidents with other dog owners, I now avoid the neighborhood parks on weekends. The regular weekday walkers don’t seem to be a problem.
I hope you and your dog are okay. Your dog may be traumatized, too. Give her a good once-over, and call the vet, just in case. If you see this man at the park again, I would leash your dog and call the authorities. Good luck!
dobby,,,this guy sounds like a total JERK…. I’m pissed off at him so I can imagine how mad you must be,,, you could have called the police and reported him for animal cruelty> he had no right kicking and abusing your dog> hes the one with the puppy>>> he should have picked it up and took it out of the uninvited area you were in
everyone knows that puppy’s always cry and yelp when scared and this is what was happening when you large puppy was near it> again,…….I’m pissed and wish I was there to help you out with this terrible incident>>>lol,,,I would have ended uP in the slammer.
It makes me wonder if your dog will be traumatized by this and not welcome strangers or new puppy friends in the future ??? Maybe there is a doggy-day-care in the area and you could take your puppy there to see how he will interact with other dogs , or find out WHO this guy was and press charges against him.
I HATE dog beaters !!!! Good Luck
PRIMARY reason I do not and never will take my dogs to a ‘dog park’ — people are stupid and I won’t subject my dog to the stupid people that also own dogs. I do have my dogs interact with other dogs on occasion but never at a dog park. You have NO control over who is there and how stupid they are. I show my dogs in shows and trial them in trials, train them at training fields but I don’t bother with stupid I can’t control. At the training fields and show grounds I DO have control as to who interacts with my dogs. Dogs don’t NEED to go to dog parks – there is absolutely no real reason for them to do so — it is some BS the public has been sold but it is not necessary and it is actually nearly always a bad idea.