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We have a new foster dog who is very social and playful but our older female dog won’t have anything to do with him. The Rescue group is fine with me taking him to the dog park ….little dog side, he’s tiny…and so yesterday I did that. But when I got to the entrance of the little dog side, there were 4 dogs barking and very excited…throwing themselves at the entrance gate to get to the dog. They were small dogs…probably about 15 lbs. But my foster is only 4 lbs.
Their owners ignored them and continued to chat. I yelled out… “hey, I’m nervous with all this clammor..unsure about coming in with my dog.” Not one person came to control their dog so I could open the gate. So I didn’t go in and left.
My question: is that normal? If I was one of those owners, I would have controlled my dog so four excited dogs wouldn’t attack a new incoming dog. However, I’m not that knowledgeable about dogpark etiquette.
Most public dogparks are like that. We only go to the one we have to pay a fee to enter, because they have referees that don't allow dogs to act aggressively, and they will boot owners that don't control their dogs.
It's almost as if the owners just set up their chairs and ignore their dogs while they can say they got their dog exercise.
Most public dogparks are like that. We only go to the one we have to pay a fee to enter, because they have referees that don't allow dogs to act aggressively, and they will boot owners that don't control their dogs.
It's almost as if the owners just set up their chairs and ignore their dogs while they can say they got their dog exercise.
Yep, I gave up. Now I go early morning when it's empty so I could get him some good exercise before the psycho dogs get there.
Many are good dogs too. It just takes one or two to ruin it for the rest... as usual.
The safety and quality of the whole experience depends on who is there.
If you think the dog needs to play with other dogs (and I'm not sure that's necessarily a worthwhile goal) it would be better to get together with particular, known, compatible dogs. Not strangers with dogs who might be all over the board with their own behavior problems.
My trainer told our obedience class that she avoids dog parks and does not recommend them because they are disasters waiting to happen, which I've found to be true. There are simply too many dogs/personalities that an incident is inevitable at some point if you go regularly, even amongst dogs who know one another.
You did the right thing to leave. Your pup could have been hurt and would very likely have been frightened.
One thing that I did when I had tiny dogs is that I would have play dates and my friends with the same breed of dog would come over and all the dogs would play together. My friends were all responsible dog owners and all the dogs were well trained and had nice temperament, so it worked really well. My dogs got to play with friends their own size and nobody got hurt.
I live in Maryland and apparently the people here are better dog owners. I have gone to 3 different dog parks many miles apart for 20 years with different dogs and this has not been my experience. I love dog parks and will always utilize them to socialize and burn off energy.
What you described is not uncommon, but when it happens the people here respond to the request. If there is ever a fight it's' broken up immediately and the aggressive dog is removed. In 99% of the cases the dogs do get excited when they see a new dog but let's not confuse excitement with aggression. Yes your dog would probably have been frightened. That's the entire point of socialization so they get over their fear.
I currently have a 1 year old dog who was attacked by a neighbor's dog at 3 months when I tried to socialize her. The neighbor felt horribly and never expected it to happen. As a result Nikki had terrible PTSD around new dogs. I fixed this problem with many many trips to the dog park, now she loves them and the PTSD is gone.
I feel sad that so many trainers and dog owners talk badly about dog parks, they have been great for me.
We have a new foster dog who is very social and playful but our older female dog won’t have anything to do with him. The Rescue group is fine with me taking him to the dog park ….little dog side, he’s tiny…and so yesterday I did that. But when I got to the entrance of the little dog side, there were 4 dogs barking and very excited…throwing themselves at the entrance gate to get to the dog. They were small dogs…probably about 15 lbs. But my foster is only 4 lbs.
Their owners ignored them and continued to chat. I yelled out… “hey, I’m nervous with all this clammor..unsure about coming in with my dog.” Not one person came to control their dog so I could open the gate. So I didn’t go in and left.
My question: is that normal? If I was one of those owners, I would have controlled my dog so four excited dogs wouldn’t attack a new incoming dog. However, I’m not that knowledgeable about dogpark etiquette.
people at dog parks are clueless, and personally I would never go, you don't know what kind of dogs are there, and being your little guy is little, I wouldn't take a chance....but yes, dogpark people are not at all knowledgeable about etiquette, let alone how to train their dogs....which is why so many dogs end up at the pound.
people at dog parks are clueless, and personally I would never go, you don't know what kind of dogs are there, and being your little guy is little, I wouldn't take a chance....but yes, dogpark people are not at all knowledgeable about etiquette, let alone how to train their dogs....which is why so many dogs end up at the pound.
So you don't go to dog parks but know all this?
Do you have a dog?
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