Incidents

[Chris Russell]

Report any incidents of bad dogs or owners not following the rules on this forum.

[Betsy]

I went to the dog park this past Saturday with my Golden. I have gone on several occasions and have never had a problem. However, on Saturday we had a problem with several aggressive dogs who were involved in an attack in the park. The real problem was with a Boxer that was there with a man and his daughter. This dog was the most aggressive out of all the dogs and was continually a problem with the other dogs. The owner was slow to react and passed off the incident by saying "some dogs just play harder than other dogs". The Boxer then attacked a Tibetan Terrier and two Yellow Labs joined in the attack. There were several dogs at the park (approximately 10). Five or six adults had to get involved to break up the one-sided attack. At that point, several of us reprimanded both owners. The Labs have never been a problem; however, they were playing very rough and I could see the escalation occurring several minutes before the attack. My husband told the Boxer’s owner that his dog was not just "playing hard" that he was acting with aggression. The man did nothing to curtail the dog's behavior. At that point three of the dogs and their owners left the park. Unfortunately, the owner with the aggressive dog stayed - allowing perfectly well behaved owners and pets to leave the park. I have three dogs of which one does not get along well with other dogs. I would NEVER bring her to the dog park because it would be irresponsible and unfair to the other dogs and owners visiting the park. I have no problem with the dog, I believe if the owner was more responsible he could have addressed the issue, quickly apologized and left the park. The park is such a beautiful and wonderful place to bring our dogs and I would appreciate it if owners with aggressive dogs would leave them at home. On a positive note, I want to thank all of the people responsible for the dog park. It is such a great place to bring my dog and all of the work that went in to building the park is greatly appreciated. Thank you

[Chris Russell]

Betsy, do you remember the name of the dog and/or its owner? If so please let me know so we can try and track them down.

[Zaia]

Some of the people who go to the park are way to nervous to be there and try to interfere with the natural order of how dogs are and only make things worse. My dog tends to be an aggressive dog at times, but its pack mentality that drives it. And if the other dog is ok with the rough play, there is no reason any of us should step in. We do NOT know what is best for these animals, we do NOT know what they are thinking, how they communicate or whatever else we think we know. A lot of the dogs I have encountered at this park, and EVERYWHERE in the world, grab at each others necks and wrestle when they play. Some of the owners that come to this park are insanely nervous about every little bark, snap, or anything. If there is a fight going on, obviously, it should be broken up and both owners should leave the premises. But when a few dogs are simply pronouncing dominance or playing rough, there should be no reason why they should be punished and be forced to stop playing because a few humans think they know everything about everything.

If we try to learn the nuances of our animals, instead of just attempting to dictate everything they do, maybe we would better learn about each of our animal's needs instead of just assuming what we think is right/best all the time.

[Sharon]

I went Sunday and basically the same thing happened only this time it was a small unsocialized dog that did most of the provoking and attacking. The owner and his wife just stood by and let it happen. I have a small dog so I just moved him into the small dog area (so did some others). The unsocialized dog stayed and provoked other dogs - I eventually left.

[Chris Russell]

Thanks I was there saturday everything went great.

[Louise Nestor]

I went to the dog park on Saturday, March 28 around 3 PM. There had to be a dozen dogs there. I was there for about an hour - no problems. My dog, a wheaten, was chasing a yellow lab and I pulled her back.
When problems happen, are people asking the owners of those dogs to leave the park? Every dog has a bad "hair" day.

But if owner is not responding to the request of the other park patrons, then something needs to be done. If the park partrons are not making the request to the owner, then that's another problem. I'm not sure where the breakdown in communication is occurring - does anyone know?
Louise

[Bill Zardus]

Louise:

I would not spend much time composing long mesages here. This software is unstable and messages are vanishing into cyberspace without any reason or explanation.

Bill Zardus

[Louise Nestor]

James, thank you for your note. First, how is Pepper??? Is he ok??? How is your Mom and sister and you?
You mentioned that the Pitt and Dobbie's owner was someone you knew; your sister's old pre-school teacher. Did she react and take her dogs aside? Did she apologize for the hurt she caused Pepper and try to remedy? Can you give me her name or find the dog's picture on the website? I'd like to contact her.
I am so sorry that this happened. Dogs, all breeds, can have a "bad hair" day and sometimes it's just not a good day to go to the dog park. I think what's important is how the owner of the other dogs reacted and if they acted responsiby.
I would like to make one recommendation; do not take your dogs into the dog park on a leash. The dog warden, Lynn Dellabianca, and Trainer, Ralph Arganese, agree this can SOMETIMES create a negative situation. The space between the two gates is to take the leash off your dogs. Also, if your dog is new to the dog park it may be helpful to bring the dog to the small dog area first, if vacant, or walk on the outside so dogs can sniff and become familiar with each other first. As you know, sniffing is how they introduce themselves to each other and is important.
I hope you don't avoid going to the dog park in the future. Perhaps,since your dogs are new to dog parks, going at less busy times when their are only a couple of dogs may help introduce them. I have been to the dog park several times and have not seen a Dobbie, Pitts yes. Met a Rottweiller as sweet as anything. Louise