A day at the dog park

[rosemarythyme]

I personally think dog parks are disastrous. People always seem to be in denial about their "friendly" dogs. I've been to several in my area, and there are always idiots with aggressive dogs off leash. Even if you are personally responsible with your dog, there are always people that aren't. T

Not all dogs socialize nicely, even after years of training. Luckily, there are leashes in the world so dogs can get exercise with their humans safely.

I can't hate on dog parks too much because in some areas, it really is the only "safe" place to let your dog run around a bit (I used to live in a condo about 2 miles away from a dog park, so that was the only place to go to let my dogs run). But yes it only takes a single negligent owner/caretaker to ruin things for a lot of people.

Never witnessed any severe fights during my visits but most ridiculous thing was a woman trying to leave the park with her husband's very large dog, and the dog CHASED her out of her own truck. I've never seen anything so ridiculous... if you can't even handle driving the dog around, why is it at the park?? Also seen dogs abandoned at the park, which is pretty sad.

 

[aart]

It's taken a great deal out of me but it's worth it if she becomes "the best dog ever" which I told her she is training for. I had a puppy class with my last dog. She was a pure bred golden. She ended up being a great dog but she taught me patience. That dog bit like nobodys business. But she was worth it. I love big dogs. Always have. I like a dog I can wrestle with on the floor. Lap dogs? Just get a cat and call it. I love my cat too but if I wrestle with her she will win.

Ah, so you've got some experience, you're already 'trained'. It's usually the human that needs as much or more training than the dog. This new dog will take a long time to 'train' and build trust. Hang in there.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I decided to take our new dog to the dog park for a little fun today. Shes been doing well with her training so I thought a little reward was in order. Plus it was a great opportunity to socialise her with other dogs. She's shown some aggression in the past weeks we've had her so I want to socialise her very slowly.

I went at 930 in the morning to our local park. Its an "off leash" park but I kept her on leash to be safe. There was only one dog there when we arrived (not on a leash). He was a 150 pound dog. Looked like a lab but very overweight. We walked parallel with him along the fence line before we walked in the park area. He then growled and bit her on the nose. The owner grabbed him and apologized saying "I didnt know we are just dog sitting". I'm sorry...but that is unacceptable. I understand if you dont know if your dog is aggressive but you should KEEP HIM ON A LEASH until you do! Either way I shrugged it off because he kept him leashed from then on.

Duchess was in her element! She wanted to sniff and pee on everything! She even continued to try and pee when nothing was coming out lol. I gave her a lot of water the whole time we were there. They have workout equipment for the dogs there (ramps, hoops and jump rails) and I was shocked that she knew how to use it all. She was excited about the other dog (even though he bit her) but I wouldnt let her near (especially since the owner was so irresponsible). She listened to all my commands though and was a very good girl.

But then...someone else showed up. A twenty something with a medium size mix...just a little smaller than our dog. Duchess was on it. She began whining and crying because she wanted to go see the dog. I held her tight as the owner approached. "Is she cool?" He said. "I'm not really sure but I have control of her". He immediately leashed his dog and the two of them sniffed for a bit at each other.

Grrr...Duchess growled and opened her mouth to attack. I immediately pulled back on the leash and corrected her with a strong "No! We don't do that!" I had her sit and she just sat and whined. "Looks like shes aggressive then." He said. I shrugged and said "I think she's just had a bad experience. I think the shelter lied to us though about a lot of things. Maybe if we walk parallel she will calm?" "Oh ok...sure"

We chit chatted a bit but not much as we walked them parallel to each other. Duchess kept watching his dog. The convo started changing from just two owners walking their dogs to one owner criticising anothers. My cutting point was this:
"Maybe you should go to a different dog park"
Maybe I too it a little too personal. Maybe he didnt mean how it sounded. But I was mortified. "Well we've been here a while now and I think she's getting tired so we will be leaving then. Nice meeting you."

I quickly brought her to the car and we went home. I don't know if we should go back. I liked the exercise equipment but the people...

Are all dog parks like that? I haven't had a dog in over 10 years because I lived in apartments. Now that we have a house we could finally have one. I was excited about being able to take her for a nice long walk that wasn't through the mosquito filled woods. Feel free to share your stories this was just our walk in the park.

I confess to not reading the whole thread.

When my now old dog was young we thought maybe a trip to the dog park would be nice.

We never made it in the gate.

I wanted to watch a few minutes to see how others were doing.
What I saw made me sad, disgusted and ultimately angry.
A group of people were standing chatting while their dogs ran amok. A large dog was cowering under a bench with no clue who the owner was as it was unattended and definitely frightened. There were sooooo many piles of poop.
The final straw for me was someone just arriving was literally dragging a boxer in that had a pinch collar on....he was fighting going in and that pinch collar was seriously digging into his neck.

Not the environment I wanted my sweet boys in.

We all tried to walk them along the trails through town. We did the whole loop but I was so disgusted at the amount of not picked up dog poop we never did it again. I gave my boys baths to make sure nothing on their feet made it into their systems.

Soooooo gross and soooooo not a good experience.

We wanted to try though as there are WAY to many loose dogs in my neighborhood. I thought it would be safer.....I was wrong.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Ah, so you've got some experience, you're already 'trained'. It's usually the human that needs as much or more training than the dog. This new dog will take a long time to 'train' and build trust. Hang in there.

We are working on it but I have to train the SO as well. He sees long walks as "she will go potty if you walk her long enough". No. Walks are a reward. He took her for a long walk last night and she did potty but refused to go when we took her out before bed. I think she sees bedtime as a negative since she sleeps in the crate not around us and is holding it so she doesnt have to go to bed. Anyway...she peed in her crate again last night. I rubbed the blanket against her nose and brought her outside. Still wouldn't potty. I've been standing in the middle of my backyard waiting for her to go for an hour now.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

I confess to not reading the whole thread.

When my now old dog was young we thought maybe a trip to the dog park would be nice.

We never made it in the gate.

I wanted to watch a few minutes to see how others were doing.
What I saw made me sad, disgusted and ultimately angry.
A group of people were standing chatting while their dogs ran amok. A large dog was cowering under a bench with no clue who the owner was as it was unattended and definitely frightened. There were sooooo many piles of poop.
The final straw for me was someone just arriving was literally dragging a boxer in that had a pinch collar on....he was fighting going in and that pinch collar was seriously digging into his neck.

Not the environment I wanted my sweet boys in.

We all tried to walk them along the trails through town. We did the whole loop but I was so disgusted at the amount of not picked up dog poop we never did it again. I gave my boys baths to make sure nothing on their feet made it into their systems.

Soooooo gross and soooooo not a good experience.

We wanted to try though as there are WAY to many loose dogs in my neighborhood. I thought it would be safer.....I was wrong.

Thats disgusting and horrible. It sounds almost like a bad daycare situation. Sometimes I dont even know why other people get dogs. Was it that they had one as a kid and it was a good dog? You need to genuinely care about the animal. Maybe people dont see a dog as an investment

 

[21hens-incharge]

Thats disgusting and horrible. It sounds almost like a bad daycare situation. Sometimes I dont even know why other people get dogs. Was it that they had one as a kid and it was a good dog? You need to genuinely care about the animal. Maybe people dont see a dog as an investment

I really don't get most people.

My dogs are valued wonderful family members. I train early and with positive reward so rarely have any issues that I would call serious.

Yes they can drive me nuts at times but it is always just normal dog things. Not aggression, rough play mostly.
There are 3 here under 2 years old lol. We are on a list for a bloodhound apparently. Hubs knows someone who has a pair and has bred them so come October or early November we will have a big droopy puppy.

We do that last out at night as a positive thing. We call "last out" and after potty they each get a cookie (dog treat). It ensures they go out, do their business and come in promptly. That cookie is a big motivator.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

I really don't get most people.

My dogs are valued wonderful family members. I train early and with positive reward so rarely have any issues that I would call serious.

Yes they can drive me nuts at times but it is always just normal dog things. Not aggression, rough play mostly.
There are 3 here under 2 years old lol. We are on a list for a bloodhound apparently. Hubs knows someone who has a pair and has bred them so come October or early November we will have a big droopy puppy.

We do that last out at night as a positive thing. We call "last out" and after potty they each get a cookie (dog treat). It ensures they go out, do their business and come in promptly. That cookie is a big motivator.

She's not really food inspired but I will try that. I gotta get her more treats today anyways. Maybe I'll get one box of "super special awesome" treats. She was very excited about the cookie that came with her heartgard in the mail

 

[21hens-incharge]

She's not really food inspired but I will try that. I gotta get her more treats today anyways. Maybe I'll get one box of "super special awesome" treats. She was very excited about the cookie that came with her heartgard in the mail

Just keep those cookies super small. Some dogs, mine included, can have serious bouts of runny poop if they get to many cookies.

If she really loves a ball maybe use that.....once potty is done a bit of ball play in the house can work too.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Just keep those cookies super small. Some dogs, mine included, can have serious bouts of runny poop if they get to many cookies.

If she really loves a ball maybe use that.....once potty is done a bit of ball play in the house can work too.

She hates balls. We tried a ball at first. I only got her to play with it by putting it in her mouth and saying "thats a awesome ball! Thats the best ball! Its perfect because it fits in your mouth". Then she wouldnt let go of it. But I have to do that everytime and she wont go get it if you throw it. She loves her squeaky toys but she doesnt want them outside. I actually tried to bring one outside to play with. I threw it and she went after it. Ran right past me with it and set it at the back door.

 

[21hens-incharge]

She hates balls. We tried a ball at first. I only got her to play with it by putting it in her mouth and saying "thats a awesome ball! Thats the best ball! Its perfect because it fits in your mouth". Then she wouldnt let go of it. But I have to do that everytime and she wont go get it if you throw it. She loves her squeaky toys but she doesnt want them outside. I actually tried to bring one outside to play with. I threw it and she went after it. Ran right past me with it and set it at the back door.

PERFECT! You know what motivates her! Use that squeaky toy inside with her.

Take her potty, have her special toy with you. When she is done with poty, squeak the toy and use a catch phrase like..."let's go play" and head to the house squeaking the toy and repeat the phrase you want to use. She will catch on really fast that potty then play is fun.

Mine also know it's a potty only trip when we go out and I say "this is a business trip". They get it done and back to the house.