Dog park woes

[Susan Schue]

Tonight myself and Maggie & Bonzo made one of our 4 weekly visits to the dog park, we like to go in the later evening, they seem to enjoy it less crowded. We see a lot of the same dogs on a regular basis, and they have their favorites. One of the dogs Maggie likes is a whippet, who loves to be chased, but doesn't like to play, and when Maggie tries I always get dirty looks from the whippet's dad, and the whippet snaps at her in an unplayful way. Typically she is happy to back off and play with someone else. Tonight Maggie was more enamored of a couple big pups (she thinks she's a Great Dane, all 15" and 15 lbs. of her, yesterday she was trying to get my sister's horses to play with her), and while the whippet tried to entice her into a good speedy chase, she wasn't interested. But later, when she did approach the whippet and try to initiate play, a fight broke out. We left immediately, the whippet and owner did not. It happened so fast I can't say for sure who started it, but I don't think it was Maggie, this whippet has gotten aggressive with her before when she tried to play with her, the difference being that before she's walked away, tonight she did not. This is the first fight she's ever had, though she sometimes gets a little snappy if she's ganged up on (maybe 2 times before, and she gets over it immediately).

I took her out of the park because her behavior was unacceptable, regardless of what happened, she got into it and didn't walk away. My brother, who was there with his dog and on the board of the dog park, thought we should stay, he knew the whippet and was convinced Maggie didn't start it. But, she didn't walk away and so we couldn't stay. Just like if Bonzo starts hinting at humping (very seldom these days) we leave. My brother offered to intervene with the whippet's owner, but I told him not to.

I'm convinced I am headed for a confrontation with the whippet's owner (who I have tried to start friendly conversation with numerous times without success), in my mind he should be taking his dog out, because she tends to go after any dog who tries to play with her. Maggie loves everyone (and I am constantly assuring large dog owners that she's used to them and rough play, and if she has a problem, she'll let them know), and this is the only problem we've ever had. Other than her escaping from the dog park, which is another thread.

How does one tell another dog owner that when his dog gets aggressive it's time to go? I have never had to take her out of the park before, she's a popular girl there (thanks to spit and being rolled in the dust she manages to come home muddy despite no rain for 2 weeks) and gets along well except for the whippet situation. I don't want to change our schedule because of one dog, so how should I handle it? I know it's brewing.

[Renee Premaza]

Hi Susan!

To be honest with you, if you have a brother who is on the board, I would use his authority and have him speak to the Whippet's owners. One question I would ask is, if your dog doesn't enjoy playing with other dogs, why do you continue to bring her to a dog park?

Even if you speak to these people, they probably will only respond by being confrontational and you won't get them to change their ways. There are many dog parks that have people bringing dogs that should never be there in the first place. Incidents occur in these parks all the time. Unfortunately, sometimes very serious incidents happen and they can change a dog's life forever.

It would aggrivate me too to have to change my schedule. However, you don't want your dog exposed to another dog that will eventually get her into trouble or put her in harm's way!

See if your brother can tactfully suggest that either they should not come at all, or they should make arrangements with you to come when your dog isn't there. He can tell them that since it's their dog that starts the fights, they should be the ones to change their schedule.

Good luck with this, but if it comes down to the safety of your dog, you might have to eat crow and change that schedule. Good luck and let us know how you make out.






Tonight myself and Maggie & Bonzo made one of our 4 weekly visits to the dog park, we like to go in the later evening, they seem to enjoy it less crowded. We see a lot of the same dogs on a regular basis, and they have their favorites. One of the dogs Maggie likes is a whippet, who loves to be chased, but doesn't like to play, and when Maggie tries I always get dirty looks from the whippet's dad, and the whippet snaps at her in an unplayful way. Typically she is happy to back off and play with someone else. Tonight Maggie was more enamored of a couple big pups (she thinks she's a Great Dane, all 15" and 15 lbs. of her, yesterday she was trying to get my sister's horses to play with her), and while the whippet tried to entice her into a good speedy chase, she wasn't interested. But later, when she did approach the whippet and try to initiate play, a fight broke out. We left immediately, the whippet and owner did not. It happened so fast I can't say for sure who started it, but I don't think it was Maggie, this whippet has gotten aggressive with her before when she tried to play with her, the difference being that before she's walked away, tonight she did not. This is the first fight she's ever had, though she sometimes gets a little snappy if she's ganged up on (maybe 2 times before, and she gets over it immediately).

I took her out of the park because her behavior was unacceptable, regardless of what happened, she got into it and didn't walk away. My brother, who was there with his dog and on the board of the dog park, thought we should stay, he knew the whippet and was convinced Maggie didn't start it. But, she didn't walk away and so we couldn't stay. Just like if Bonzo starts hinting at humping (very seldom these days) we leave. My brother offered to intervene with the whippet's owner, but I told him not to.

I'm convinced I am headed for a confrontation with the whippet's owner (who I have tried to start friendly conversation with numerous times without success), in my mind he should be taking his dog out, because she tends to go after any dog who tries to play with her. Maggie loves everyone (and I am constantly assuring large dog owners that she's used to them and rough play, and if she has a problem, she'll let them know), and this is the only problem we've ever had. Other than her escaping from the dog park, which is another thread.

How does one tell another dog owner that when his dog gets aggressive it's time to go? I have never had to take her out of the park before, she's a popular girl there (thanks to spit and being rolled in the dust she manages to come home muddy despite no rain for 2 weeks) and gets along well except for the whippet situation. I don't want to change our schedule because of one dog, so how should I handle it? I know it's brewing.

[Susan Schue]

After thinking about it, I am going to ask my brother to intervene, I know he wants to. His dog, a 1-yr. old 130 lb. Leonberger, playful but very well behaved and trained (he's certified to make hospital visits), had a run in with the same dog last week, because the whippets owners don't want Auggie trying to play with her. One of them told my brother he wished he had a baseball bat, though my brother still isn't sure the guy meant for him or Auggie. So, these are not reasonable people, and not friendly people. I don't mind if she's there, but they need to be told that if she gets in a fight she has to go.

We actually stay away from the park when it's busy (like weekends), because that's when the problem dogs and owners are in abundance. I watch my 2 like a hawk, both of them show clear signals before they snap, and they very seldom do. They also seem to do a lot more playing when there are fewer dogs there, and tearing around the dog park.

[Melissa Irr]

That is a tough situation. Has the Whippet gotten aggressive with other dogs at the park too? If so, maybe speak to them as well and try to get a consensus of some sort? The guy seems like a REAL jerk, so maybe the more folks telling him his dog is a problem, the better. I don't know.

We go to the dog park in our city regularly, and there was a boxer that often got aggressive. Finally, a bunch of people just decided to tell the boxer's owner that it just wasn't right for him to bring him here...and he hasn't been back.

Is it possible for you to take your guys away from the whippet when he's there? There are a few dogs that like to pick on Izzie (and he inevitably spends his entire time at the dog park between our legs) and when they are there we just try to walk to another part of the park. I know it isn't an ideal solution...but it might be a good instant temporary fix.

P.S. One of the guys that comes to the dog park has TWO Leonbergers, and they are great dogs!

[Luciann]

Well from what you have said about the whippet's owner, well someone needs to tell him to leave the dog park. In most states the comment of a baseball bat could be used as grounds to have him banned due to it is a threat of aggression, just like the comment "i could kill you". and I doubt that the guy was joking.

Your brother should put this to the board and have them, take action. this guy is not just allowing his dog to misbehave but so is he, and i could be wrong but it sounds like the dog has learned some of her behavior from it's owner.

is this a city owned dog park? private? you should definitely have your brother do something about it

[Susan Schue]

Our park sits on land owned by the city, but is run by a non-profit group, BARC (Better Akron Recreation for Canines), which my brother is on the board of. The rules, of which #1 is No Aggressive Dogs, are posted right on the gate.

Maggie is not the only one who gets snapped at by the whippet, who doesn't much like being sniffed, pawed, or played with as far as I have seen. We haven't stayed away from her in the past, because Maggie usually likes to chase her around, and she has always walked away if the whippet snapped or growled, she doesn't pester. Last night I can only think the whippet probably went further than usual and she decided to fight back.

It shouldn't be too difficult to stay away from her in the future, since when she isn't being chased the whippet sticks close to her jerk owner. Besides this dog, the only time Maggie ever gets snappy is when she gets ganged up on by bigger dogs (or she takes refuge in between the closest pair of human legs she can find), and 2 seconds later she's back to happily playing with them.

I really hate confrontation, and don't feel comfortable telling someone how to handle their dog, which is why I will let my brother handle it. He would really like to see the dog & owners banned, but he is going to tell them that they need to take their dog out immediately when she gets aggressive (which would better for her), and if they don't, they will be told not to return. He already has them on double secret probation.

For the moment, I am not going to change my schedule, I'll wait and see what happens. I doubt I'll have to, because if it comes to that my brother will see to it the whippet and owners are banned.

[Andre Mendizabal]

That whippet spells trouble!!! I agree with everybody and do hope you can get that guy banned from the park, its unfair that happy well-behaved dogs have to pay for the stubborness of one guy... that whippet clearly has aggresive issues and she should not be allowed at the park until she shows good behavior around the other dogs. I mean, if she doesn't like to play with the other dogs, why is the guy taking her to the park???? isn't the purpose of a "doggie park" to socialize and interact with other dogs??? Anyway, good thing you have your brother on the board but you should always talk to the other dog owners, just in case the guy turns aggressive on you.
Good luck!!!!

[Luciann]

Susan,

Just a word of caution if the owner turns aggressive towards you or anyone else in the dog park, don't hesitate to call the cops and file a complaint against him for threatening you with physical harm to you or your pet.

You say that the whippet likes to run, i would say that the jerk owner is taking her to the dog park so that she has a place to run around but if she is agressive then she does not need to be at the park.

good luck

[RubysMom]

Oh my...I hesitate to wade in here, but as one who has a dog with a bit of issues (that were working on!!) I have to be the devil's advocate.

Hopefully I'm not a jerk owner, but I do like to take my dog to the dog park to run and play in the water and sniff new sniffs and we do have a great time even if we never see another dog in our travels. Sometimes, great playful dogs will bound up gleefully and want to play or chase- and my girl Ruby just doesnt want any part of it (and has a variety of reactions - like I say we're working on it) I wish she DID want to play with every dog who we encounter, but we're just not there yet. Should I have to be banned from the park because my dog just isn't in the same head space as everyone else at the moment?

I'm hoping that the difference is in the owners attitude as I know I'm very watchful of Ruby and apologetic if I DO miss a sign and Rube snaps at anyone else. Still, I'd be really sad (and probably mortified!) if I was told we werent welcome at her favorite place anymore.

Just a view from the other side :roll:

[Jody Hayes]

Donna, if you are taking your dog to the park and he starts something w/ another dog or misbehaves I am assuming you are removing your dog from the situation or redirecting him. That is not the case w/ the jerk that Susan has encountered. I am sure everyones agrees that as long as you are supervising your dog and removing him from bad situations you would not be put in the jerk owner category. I know my dog barks at other dogs sometimes and gets them riled up and I settle him down or remove him from the situation...we have a couple of work in progress dogs. IMO we are working on it...not sitting back without a care in the world while they are misbehaving.

[Luciann]

Donna I have to agree with Jody, from what you say you pay attention to your dog and you know her issues and try to intervene when she is approched.

i have the same problem with my little girl chi, she is animal and human shy so i have to be aware of what is going on. Frodo likes to play if he does the approaching i just have to watch him some times he likes to try and dominate by humping....but since we are in a small town i usally have the dog park to myself.

The jerk with the whippet is not trying to control his dog at all and letting it be nasty to other dogs and then being nasty to people with other dogs that want to play with his dog. So you are not in the jerk catagory, where he is especially when he talks about wanting a baseball bat to use on owner/pets that come up to his dog to play...

many of us have pets with issues (mine being small dog syndrome), but as responsible owners we take care of the dogs and the situations and not allow our pets to run wild in the dog park so that others and their pets can enjoy the park as well

[Susan Schue]

Donna, you're not even close to a jerk, I think almost every dog has some issue, and those of who are responsible owners are aware and constantly working on them. My other dog, Bonzo (he's my avatar, Australian Cattle Dog/Boston Terrier), is a rescue, has ocassional humping issues(and we leave when he does), and other triggers, like fast movements. Once my brother bounced a soccer ball next to his head, he jumped up like lighting, lightly nipped my brother's hand (ACD's are very mouthy) and was back lying down in about half a second. Luckily my brother took it for the warning it was, and said he deserved it because he knew better. Bonzo hasn't had an aggression problem at the dog park in months, and he used to enter on his guard, and after he got tired like any kid he'd get bratty, and ocassionally he would dislike a dog on sight for no good reason. We always left immediately, and I shortened our visits after getting more in tune to when he was ready to go, and not when I was ready to go. Whereas before I used to follow him around all paranoid, now I trust him on his own, and Maggie is the one to watch, to keep her from escaping (two spots where she can slither under the fence). The addition of Maggie to the furry family seems to have calmed him, though I think he might have been feeding off my paranoia also.

The whippet's owners on the other hand, obviously wants their dog to get her running time, but ignores the fact she is quick to snap at other dogs getting too close trying to play. It happens often, and lucky for the whippet most of the dogs she does this to walk away, including Bonzo, and until Monday Maggie as well. I like the dog, she and Maggie can get the whole park running, but her owners suck, and I fault them for her behavior.

We'll be making our first visit since the incident this evening, and I will be keeping a closer eye on Maggie, and trying to keep her away from the whippet. I'll also be taking along the big bald boyfriend, can't hurt :) I'll be updating, thanks for all the good advice and knowledge, very helpful.

[Andre Mendizabal]

Oh my...I hesitate to wade in here, but as one who has a dog with a bit of issues (that were working on!!) I have to be the devil's advocate.

Hopefully I'm not a jerk owner, but I do like to take my dog to the dog park to run and play in the water and sniff new sniffs and we do have a great time even if we never see another dog in our travels. Sometimes, great playful dogs will bound up gleefully and want to play or chase- and my girl Ruby just doesnt want any part of it (and has a variety of reactions - like I say we're working on it) I wish she DID want to play with every dog who we encounter, but we're just not there yet. Should I have to be banned from the park because my dog just isn't in the same head space as everyone else at the moment?

I'm hoping that the difference is in the owners attitude as I know I'm very watchful of Ruby and apologetic if I DO miss a sign and Rube snaps at anyone else. Still, I'd be really sad (and probably mortified!) if I was told we werent welcome at her favorite place anymore.

Just a view from the other side :roll:

Hi Donna, I think everybody can agree that the problem here its the jerk owner, you seem like a very good dog owner, and if your dog is causing trouble you will take care of it... this guy just sits there watching his dog snap to everybody else's dogs and he does nothing about it, the worse thing is that he doesn't listen...

[Susie B]

I was just wondering how the dog park issue turned out. Once my newer dog is trained, I plan on going to an off leash dog park but I dread issues like the 1 you talked about. There are alot of jerk owners out there that don't want to control their dog's negative behavior. You were very appropriate in the way you handled the situation. Mine go to daycare 1 day per week and last Saturday there was a birthday party at the facility which we went to. This was the 2nd time I saw my newer rescue interact with other dogs (the first was too early to tell) and I was very impressed in her manners. She chose to play with the younger puppies even though she is 1 1/2 yrs old.

[Jill Ramsey]

Susie,
Depending on what breed of dog your rescue is, she may still be a puppy herself. The larger dogs are actually considered puppies until they are 18 mos. to 2 years old.

[Susie B]

That makes sense. :D She is a real mix but I think she has some retriever in her. She always is taking her toys outside with her and she likes the water. She is probably about 40 lbs now (she was only 34 when I got her and very skinny) but is tall and lean. She probably still is a puppy in her mind.

Thanks,

Susie

[Susan Schue]

We've been to the park a few times now since the last incident, and have run into the whippet once. Maggie did chase the whippet, but didn't attempt to engage her in play, so we had no problems. My brother has decided to wait until he witnesses another altercation to say something to the owner. So not a lot of news, though I am glad Maggie seems to know better now, she's no dummy.

[Andre Mendizabal]

Maggie is a very smart dog, and its so great you can go to the doggie park without worrying about what will happen, it seems she really knows best!!!! Anyway, I hope no other incident happens, either with your dog or with somebody else's, its never pretty, doesn't matter if it wasn't your fault!!!! :shock:

[aussiesmum]

well Let me share my story of dog park woes...

We take aussie to one of 3 parks daily. The other day we took her to park 1, which we have taken her to since day 1. It is a HUGE park and 1/2 is off leash and the other half is no dog at all.

There was a lady walking through the park without a dog and aussie, still a friendly puppy, decided to jump on the lady (haven't worked out why she jumps on some and not others). Well I am scream ing aussie to "down" or not jump. She does it anyway and the lady actually HIT aussie.

I scream "HEY"but that is about all I can manage here (still earning Dutch). My partner goes to get Aussie and tells the lady that hitting her was unnecssary. She of course claims aussie bit her. That is about as likely as me biting her. Anyway, my partner and this woman get in a yelling match, he calles her some bad name and walks off. She then proceeds to spit at him. Yes, I said spit at him.

my partner was more livid than I have ever seen him. But we took aussie to the water part of the park, I kept an eye out for crazyspitlady and we enjoyed our time (though I know my partner was still upset, as was I).

My dog park woes...

[Jody Hayes]

WOW! All I can say is _ _ tch! That was uncalled for there is no reason to hit a dog unless it is actually physically attacking you. I had a guy come to my garage sale last weekend and Ace jumped on him and he kicked him in the chest and said that is how you train them! I told him not in my house and you are not one of his trainers. Luckily he left!

[Andre Mendizabal]

Wow, there's some mean people out there. I never encountered myself in one of those situations, usually people are kind of respectful in the way you train your dog around here, they first ask if you can pet the dog or if its an aggressive dog. And my friends are all dog-lovers, my father-in-law is a cat-lover and he sometimes tells me, just keep the little rascal away from me (referring to Nala, he loves Molly since she behaves like a cat), but yet no bad experiences with people hitting or trying to "train" my dogs in a certain way. How would they feel if someone came along and hit their children and say that's the correct way to raise them?
ahhhhh people, we're better off with animals!!! :-P

[Colleen]

I've had a pretty unpleasant dog park experience too. My dachshund was pinned down and almost attacked by 8 dogs. It started with one dog who was known to be aggressive who approached Dexter and rolled him over and pinned him down, barking viciously at him. Dexter started screeching and the other dogs circled around barking and getting excited. I actually had to dive into the pile of dogs to get him. I was in hysterics.

The owner of the dog was a man who regularly brought his three dogs (more than the maximum of 2 per owner) and they were all known to be aggressive. The man was very obese and didn't bother to get up from his seat to intervene. After I got Dexter out of there, I called the park police and he was escorted from the park and told never to return. He was also given a citation because he did not remove his dogs after the incident.

We haven't seen him since, but I am always still very cautious when we go to the park. Luckily our parks department will get involved. I hope everyone else with a dog park has the choice to call someone in a time of crisis. That is the only way dog parks will be successful; they must have the support of the local parks department.

[Luciann]

i have to say that i have not had the bad experiences at dog parks or other places really. I don't know what i would do if someone hit my dog, but would definitely get in their face..lol

my brother in law threatened to smack frodo one day and i told him that NO ONE hits my dog but me and I don't hit him

[Kimberly Lyons]

I cant stand owners who allow their dogs to misbehave. It angers me because my dog is (usually) well behaved and when he isnt I leave or remove him from the situation. Let us know if anything happens with the whippet and her owner

[Susan Schue]

because of the heat we've been having, we're going later and haven't seen the whippet since my last post.

Last weekend we did run into a classic clueless owner, while we didn't have any problems with her dog, Lola, she was aggressive. And she should have been taken ou, but wasn't. She kept saying her pup plays really loud. There is loud, and there is snappy, aggressive, & uncalled for loud, remove the dog.

She didn't. After the half hour unplanned off leash walk we took, we walked back by the dog park just as a couple were leaving (they hadn't even arrived after Maggie escaped, inspiring our half hour off leash walk) with their dog, arguing. They were parked right in front of me, so I asked if they had had trouble with Lola (the questionable dog). They said they had and asked if I had, I sad no but she'd been aggressive from the minute she came in the park, and her owner was clueless. I told them their dog was unlikely to be at blame, but they were smart because they removed him when they saw behavior they didn't like. They seemed relieved to hear it likely wasn't their dog, and told me it had some aggression problems in the past.

I like to educate people as much as I can without being a busy body, so far I don't think I've pissed anyone off, though my dogs may have.

I try to live by letting my dogs be dogs where it works, and consistently training them to behave when it doesn't.

[Scott Hiebing]

Sorry to revive a thread but I thought that I needed to comment. My Katy is scared of any dog she does not know and hog ties me with her leash, Same with sadie. Tanner is aggresive mainly with male dogs And I keep them all on a leash. And I get upset when other peoples dogs that are unleashed decide to chase my poor Katy around in circles ,For some reason all the dog's are trying to sniff her first. But Tanner will have none of it and is very protective of the little ones. And if we dont have our hand around his collar which when ever we see unleased dogs approaching we do. He will snap and growel at the other dogs. What bugs me is when the owners see my dogs are upset, They try to call there dogs off, But there dogs dont stop. To me these dogs are not under control and should be leased. I pay the city for my dog's license. And a additional charge to use the park, I have control of my dogs, Granted I have a fenced in yard, And other owners do not. And how else would there pets burn off there energy? I dont have a answer.