Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I used to love bringing my mixed breed to the dog park to socialize her, up until about 2 years old, then I would bring her less and less. In the last year, I had a couple bad experiences at the park. Once, I got bitten in the hand when I was pulling a Rottweiler off my dog. Once, my dog got attacked pretty badly by an unsocialized Pitt Bull that a guy just picked up at a shelter. Now, I don't bring my dog at all because I just can't deal with the tension and bad vibe that surrounds most dog parks. Especially in SoCal, there are oftentimes more dogs in an enclosed area than I feel is safe. Lately I just feel that going to the dog park is a train wreck waiting to happen. There are either unstable dogs that go there, or owners who do not watch their dog and worry more about socializing with other people. I can't even count how many altercations I've seen (between people). It's just not worth it, since I make sure to walk my dog everyday.
My primary experience was taking my 3 guys to Pt. Isobel in Richmond, CA, on SF Bay. It's 23 acres make it the biggest off leash dog park in the country and it has over 500,000 dog visits per year. I never had any problem and think I only saw small skirmishes a few times in 10 years of going there many weekends a year. The rest of our outings were to hike trails in other regional parks, mainly Redwood, Chabot and swimming at Lake Anza in Tilden Park. The worst problem there was the 3 of them getting skunked and having to ride for 20 minutes to get down from the park to home.
I take my dog to the dog park every day. Here is my observation, whatever it is worth.
1. Dogs are like kids. They play. Sometimes the play gets rough. They almost always work it out between themselves in a matter of seconds without intervention from anyone. Every now & again there is a bully.
2. The only way to find out if your new dog is going to be good at the dog park is to take it there & see what happens.
3. Every dog park, like every playground, has a parent that does not pay attention.
Only once have I seen an actual problem dog at the dog park. Mostly I see dog owners who freak out over nothing, making both dogs and people uncomfortable.
There is a lady that comes to the park that yells at every dog that tries to visit with her dog. She often snatches her 30 pound dog up off the ground to get it away from other dogs. I have seen her dog in more "fights" than all the other dogs put together. Her nervous & untrusting nature has transferred to her dog.
If you can't be relaxed taking your dog to the dog park then you should not go.
I love the dog park! I go to have fun myself sometimes, LOL. But if you ask Sienna, it's overrated. She sits right next to me whenever I take her and we watch the other dogs running around being crazy. I don't take her very much anymore, because she only wants to play training games with me... Silly dog.
Our dp is nice - we go in the small dog side, which always seems a lot more civil for some reason. I've never seen any fights and the owners are usually very attentive and interacting with the dogs. I'm afraid to go in the big dog side, there always seem to be fights over there - if it isn't the dogs, it's the humans!
I take my dog to the dog park every day. Here is my observation, whatever it is worth.
1. Dogs are like kids. They play. Sometimes the play gets rough. They almost always work it out between themselves in a matter of seconds without intervention from anyone. Every now & again there is a bully.
2. The only way to find out if your new dog is going to be good at the dog park is to take it there & see what happens.
3. Every dog park, like every playground, has a parent that does not pay attention.
Only once have I seen an actual problem dog at the dog park. Mostly I see dog owners who freak out over nothing, making both dogs and people uncomfortable.
There is a lady that comes to the park that yells at every dog that tries to visit with her dog. She often snatches her 30 pound dog up off the ground to get it away from other dogs. I have seen her dog in more "fights" than all the other dogs put together. Her nervous & untrusting nature has transferred to her dog.
If you can't be relaxed taking your dog to the dog park then you should not go.
Agreed, if you're going to be freaking out about your dog socializing in a dog park setting, there's probably a more comfortable place or method in which you could be exercising your dog.
not a fan of them personally. too many people bringing in unsocialized/ ill trained dogs or not using common sense when they bring dogs there. when I get a dog again, I would rather just organize smaller doggie play groups in off leash areas vs. a "free for all" dog park.
I'd love to take Lucy to the small dog park when it gets warmer. Last time I went, it was closed and everyone was in the big dog park. I was there with my Westie and there were other Westies in there with the big dogs. One very nice man kept encouraging me to try Ringo in there . . . but he has 'issues' with strange dogs and especially big dogs . . so we just stayed and watched. Everyone appeared to be having a good time. Poor Ringo. Although - he was more interested in leaving and continuing our walk on the trail than he was in the dog park.
i had a real open mind about dog parks, until i had a crazy dramatic situation...
it was our dog's first experience at a dog park, not the first time she was around other dogs...she is a German Shepherd, and was 5 months old at the time...
there were probably about 10-15 dogs at the time, and this lady strolled in with a boxer...btw, love boxers! i love all breeds! this boxer came in and immediately pin pointed on our pup...by the time i realized what was about to happen, the boxer was standing over our pup, and myself and a few other men were trying to correct the boxer (the owner was non-existent), and then the boxer clamped down our our pups neck and picker her up like a rag doll and did the back and forth motion that most dogs do when they play with toys!! me and 4-5 other men surrounded the boxer and were yelling to leave it! leave it! no! no! and it would not stop...finally i kicked the boxer in the gut and literally punched it in the head...to be honest it was a bit of a "fight or flight" experience, quite a blur recounting this experience...the boxer ended up dropping our pup and i grabbed her up immediately and made a v-line for the exit...
i can't describe my emotions leaving that dog park...it was a cold and dreary day, i could have inflicted serious harm on the owner of that dog, i fought my emotions long enough to get to the truck, and put her on the bed...she had two puncture wounds on her neck, that we later found by the vet to be very mild...could have been much worse, the vet cleaned her up real good, kept a good wrap on her neck for about a week for her to heal up...
so, with all that being said...i still visit dog parks, but only after i've visited the park a couple times at different times, to get a "feel" for the owners...that would be my best advice. don't just pop up at any dog park and throw your dog to the pack...visit and get a feel for for it!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
She sits right next to me whenever I take her and we watch the other dogs running around being crazy. I don't take her very much anymore, because she only wants to play training games with me... 
Silly dog.
