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Dog Parks - Good? Bad? Indifferent?

43K views 163 replies 109 participants last post by  Bentwings1 
#1 ·
A poster on another thread had posted about an incident at a dog park and did not want her thread turned into a bashing thread. Perfectly understandable.

Dog Parks are a hot issue, not just for dog owners that want to socialize and exercise our dogs but also for municipalities that have them.

I live in a small town and we do not have a dog park. Nearest park is 100 miles away, so I would not use one cause I cannot regularly use one. I have on occassion stopped in when in Tulsa and it is very quiet.

Would I ever be a regular user? Probably not. They scare me.

I have 3 GSD's.(would never take more than one a time if I went). They are large dogs and they have a reputation as a breed. My dogs are well socialized and very well trained as evidence by the titles in front and behind their names (not bragging). They get along with other dogs and other people. They are not aggressive.

I think the idea behind dog parks is sound but sometimes the philosophy is not. I would be so afraid of other dogs causing issues adn my dogs getting caught up in it and thne being blamed due to breed. I would also not want to see injury if above happened - to my dog or another.

I have always found friendly dogs for my dogs to play with. They do play with friends dogs pretty often. They also have each other and a large yard.

I think for people that have no other options a well run park might be okay but I am not sure I want my dogs there.

Any one else??
 
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#32 ·
My GSD isn't a social dog, therefore wouldn't enjoy running around with other dogs.
 
#33 ·
Saber loves dog parks! We make a point of going to different ones whenever we travel, but I am very selective and look up any info or reviews on the parks before we go. I prefer BIG parks with lots of space so we have an easy out for getting distance from any weird people. It's a nice way to relax and play off leash without getting a ticket (yep they do that around here!) Saber has a lot of dog park reviews with pictures on her blog :)
 
#34 · (Edited)
I like the concept of dog parks but our experience in reality was not so good. We did have some great days and enjoyed them tremendously but the 3 bad experiences turned me off for good.

My dog was attacked (can't think of a better word, though only small amount of blood involved) three times by three different dogs. One dog was permanently banned from park after the incident (took 4 adults to pull this pit off of her). One incident was with a golden retriever. Don't know what set her off, but she beelined 40 yards or so from across park and jumped on Isa, snarling biting and growling. Isa was not doing anything but standing near me. Those people (I hear) never came back again and they were very apologetic. It was so weird, they had been in park together before and the golden had never even looked cross-eyed at her. The other time was a pit again whose owner did pull her away and went outside the fence until we left....though as I was leaving just a few minutes later, came over and told me that my dog needed to "toughen up".

Our park does not have separate area for small dogs and people bring all kinds of balls, frisbees and tugs. Made me a nervous wreck. It only takes a few seconds for something tragic to happen.

We will never go back again. Isa has some playmates where they can play safely in fenced yards and she lives with other dogs, so that will have to be her free play time.
 
#35 ·
My favorite "dog park" here is probably most posters' worst nightmare. It's only about 7000 sq feet, the footing is wood chips, large and small dogs mix together, and it's nearly always packed. BUT, it's also a beer and wine bar :laugh:.Boneyard Dog Park & Drinkery, Houston's First Dog Park Beer and Wine Bar Hence its popularity! Owners grab a beer at the bar and head out back to the fenced in park and sit and chat at the picnic tables scattered about. Rules are pretty standard, and I really like the ones listed below:


Owners are liable for damage or injury inflicted by their dog(s). This means owners are legally and financially responsible for their dog’s behavior.
No dog or people food is allowed in the Dog Park.


(though I'll admit to breaking this one as I sneak in a few treats in a pocket so that I can reward my dog for a really good recall now and again)



NO CHILDREN are allowed in the Dog Park. No exceptions.
Owners must be in verbal and sight control of their dogs at all times and prevent aggressive behavior, biting, fighting, and aggressive barking. Never leave your dog(s) unattended.
Dogs must be unleashed in the transition corridor upon entering Park. ONLY ONE GATE OPEN AT A TIME. Owners must have a visible leash for each dog at all times.

Heinz and I visit about once every 2 weeks or so. He loves a good romp with other canines now and again, and I like that I can enjoy a pint while he blows off some steam. He's a smart dog, and gets out of scrums before they escalate. He'll trot over to me and wait until things calm down before jumping into the fray again. He also LOVES standing on the picnic tables - "I'm the King of the World!" and I let him get away with it there - it is the dog park, after all.

The majority of patrons are great, and since most of us are fairly regular, a lot of self-policing goes on. Fights get stopped quickly and aggressive dogs are usually promptly removed. On our last visit, a Corgi snarled at Heinz, who immediately backed down, and I didn't worry about it. His owner came running over to apologize for "Winston Churchill" :p and take him back to her table, which was super nice of her, but really, he was fine.
 
#36 ·
A big problem of dog parks was clearly shown by the last post - a dog "snarled' at another one. If the dog being snarled at was not a seeming wuss - FIGHT ON!

if a dog that my guy considered credible (i.e. not a usual female or a puppy or clearly a small dog - he would react defensively and "IT'S ON". And he doesn't fool around if he does take such an aggressive move by another dog as serious!
 
#37 ·
Wow. I was under the impression that a snarl was dog language for "Buddy, I mean it, GO AWAY before I use my teeth". So my "seeming wuss" of a GSD is in fact correctly interpreting that he'd be better off going to play with another dog. Which he does, and everyone's romp at the park continues without bloodshed.

Obviously, if a dog responds to the canine equivalent of a verbal warning with instant escalation, he's not going to do real well in a crowded dog park.
 
#40 ·
Wow. I was under the impression that a snarl was dog language for "Buddy, I mean it, GO AWAY before I use my teeth". So my "seeming wuss" of a GSD is in fact correctly interpreting that he'd be better off going to play with another dog. Which he does, and everyone's romp at the park continues without bloodshed.

Obviously, if a dog responds to the canine equivalent of a verbal warning with instant escalation, he's not going to do real well in a crowded dog park.

Wonder where you got that impression of a "snarl", your dog tell you?

But if that is what you want to believe, by all means do so.

What do you think your dog might do if someone challenges you in that same manner when he is with you? Go and play with another dog?

If he wouldn't stand up for himself when challenged, you think he would do so for you?

Or maybe your guy just thought that he must have been doing something wrong himself when the other dog "snarled" at him so figured he would just back down from whatever he was doing wrong and "go play with another dog"?

Of course, if you are happy with him, then by all means that is good.

Personally my dog is not "dog park" material, as he will respond to a physical challenge from another dog. And I have seen too many not very social dogs in the few dog parks that we have visited.

Although he is very good with most dogs and esp. with female dogs and young dogs.

I do think, however, that dog parks make very good training environments and use them frequently from the outside by walking around the outside from a distance and using the common rushes from dogs inside the fence to set great distractions while we are training.
 
#39 ·
I take bubbles when the park is empty. I go to the small side. I let her wander and play . She loves when this lady brings her basset hound. Bubbles likes to crawl all over the basset hound and sit next to the basset. When people start coming and there's a lot of dogs. Bubbles sits in my lap and watches all the Chihuahuas play. After 15 minutes of watching Chihuahuas we go home BC the park gets to crowded.
 
#41 ·
I'm of the opinion that any time you go to a dog park, regardless of how well your dog is trained, there's a risk. Dogs are animals, and as such there's always the chance there could be a scuffle or a fight or just a freak accident. It happens.

That said, there's a dog park attached to my apartment complex and I love it. I know most of the people and their dogs, and I know exactly which dogs that my two dogs love to play with or don't particularly get along with. Granted, my Boxer gets along with everyone, so he's not really an issue. If another dog tries to start something with him, he'll just back off.

My Shepherd, on the other hand, isn't opposed to accepting a challenge from another dog, but I'm at the point now that it's easy for me to recognize when things are getting snippy and quickly recall him. He automatically sits and waits when a dog enters the park, and that helps immensely in avoiding problems. I've even got him to a training point where he will actively avoid playing with little dogs and dogs he doesn't particularly care for, thus eliminating problems before they start.

Really, though, the park is just great for burning off excess energy, especially after I've been at work all day. I can take my dogs on a long walk or jog, but nothing tires them out quite as well as thirty minutes of hard running in the park. It's actually kind of nice letting the Shepherd (he's still got that puppy energy) get a nice run in at the park before taking him on a long walk. He behaves so much better after fifteen minutes of running around like a jackass.
 
#43 · (Edited)
I brought apache for our 4th visit today, she still prefers me to all the dogs. And she hasnt started a fight yet, and meets every human in the park. Horrible, right codmaster? She may not protect me since shes not dominant over adult dogs...:eek: Thats ok though, I dont need my dog to protect me, if she ever did bite someone shed be put down after 2 strikes, thats something to consider when you train a so called attack dog to be unstable.
 
#46 ·
I brought apache for our 4th visit today, she still prefers me to all the dogs. And she hasnt started a fight yet, and meets every human in the park. Horrible, right codmaster? She may not protect me since shes not dominant over adult dogs...:eek: Thats ok though, I dont need my dog to protect me, if she ever did bite someone shed be put down after 2 strikes, thats something to consider when you train a so called attack dog to be unstable.

Also great for you not to "train a so called attack dog to be unstable".

One small thing - can you explain how you go about training a dog to be "unstable"? What do you mean by "unstable"?

And while you are at it - what is a "so called attack dog"?


Why would your dog have to be "dominant over adult dogs" to try to protect you if you were attacked? I can't see a connection - unless you are referring to you being attacked only by adult dogs?

Interesting post.
 
#45 ·
Ill also add, today was gsd day at the park. I think there were 6 at once and around 9 in the few hours I was there. Gsd arent super social from what I see, I can barely get one to stop and let me pet them. But my girl is the exception, she meets and loves everyone. I hope she stays this way.


Heh! Heh! Heh!

Just Great luck for you to have one of the social GSD's.
 
#49 ·
We go to the dog park rarely. Maybe 4 times a year if that. I don't really have issues with the other dogs. I have issues with their owners. They don't train their dogs and let them do whatever....

If we go, we try to go very early and when the idiots start showing up we leave.
 
#50 ·
I like dog parks for what they are; a prime socialization spot. When we were in Pgh, not many people in our social group had dogs. One friend had four, but past that, none. I knew early socialization was key and since we couldn't do puppy classes, dog parks were the next best thing. We stopped going on a regular basis once Finn turned three just simply because our social circle opened up a bit more to include more dogs and we were getting involved in other dog oriented things.

I don't mind dog parks at all.
 
#51 ·
I agree, I go when the idiots are not there. Early. Our dog parks are not monitored and the same thing happens at ours that I read about elsewhere. Owners not being responsible for their dogs and if there is a problem, it's YOUR dog's fault, never theirs. They don't pick up after their dogs, they bring small children and strollers, a disaster waiting to happen.

I found that day care centers, you have to be careful there as well. If they don't have enough staff, or poorly trained staff, you may arrive to pick up your dog and find out there's been trouble and no one bothers to call to let you know this until you arrive. My dog still HATES boxers because of this, an older one and he got into a fight. It takes two, though. The day care I take my dogs to now is wonderful.
 
#52 ·
Dog parks are just like any other playground. Good, bad, or anything in between depending on who is playing. Only an ignorant person would consider all dog parks bad. Only a naive person would assume they are safe.

I've been to a dog park where the regulars policed the community better than a paid professional could. And I've been to a dog park where the regulars thought it was funny when their dogs formed packs to gang up on other dogs (even their own). Neither park was anything out of the ordinary when the regulars weren't there.
 
#60 ·
Well,

I adopted my GSD for a little over 8 weeks ago. She's very sweet and likes to play with all dogs, big and small. In this short time, she's learned to come when I recall her, sit, stay, won't bother another dog when I use corrective language, etc.

She's now been bit twice in a little over two weeks at the dog park I've been frequenting. Each incident involved a different dog. The first bite was on her side and required 9 staples to close. The owners of the other dog paid for the vet bill, were very cooperative and apologetic. I figured it was just a "wrong place, wrong time" situation, as the dog had been playing well with the others. When my dog wanted to join the fun, she was bit. I had been watching the entire situation and didn't see any behavior that could have provoked the bite. The owners said they were not going to bring their dog to the park again.

Today, she was playing with another dog for about 6 or 7 minutes and no signs were hinting that things were getting hostile. While Maggie was giving (playful) chase, the dog bit Maggie's ear and a chunk was taken out. I should have known better after the first bite, but my pup loves the dog park and enjoys playing with others. She did not retaliate or show any aggression towards either of the dogs who bit her, before or after said bite.

I'm not bringing Maggie there again.

But, martinaa said it best:

Dog parks are just like any other playground. Good, bad, or anything in between depending on who is playing. Only an ignorant person would consider all dog parks bad. Only a naive person would assume they are safe.
This park is enclosed and is claimed to be 2.17 acres. It's a come one, come all type park. For as many good owners, there are just as many bad ones. I'm just happy that my pup is going to be ok and will recover soon.
 
#53 ·
I agree with the post below this one. I was anti dogpark, my breeders told me to keep her out of there and petstores. But I also dont have alot of friends with dogs Id want her around. I started with petsmart after her 2nd shots and it was apparent that small dogs could scare her. I didnt like that so I decided she needed socialization but at the petstore the dogs are evil. Thats where the untrained owners congregate.
At the dogpark it can be good or bad. I see alot of almost fights, and alot of dumb owners. But it has been a posotive so far. We probably wont keep doing it but as a puppy I want her to get used to all kinds of stuff.
 
#54 ·
I hate crowded busy dog parks. Too many fights, unvaccinated animals, etc....

I like the open space dog parks out in west arvada. Multiple acres, several different areas fenced in, never busy. I could even take my fear aggressive boy there off leash for some exercise without having to worry about bumping into another dog.
 
#56 ·
if there's a few dogs at the park but enough to give each animal respectable space i'd let him go play and as long as the owners are all in view and watching their dogs. Luckily the first time i went there were only four other dogs so I was able to learn whether or not they were up on vaccs and flea treatments :)
 
#57 ·
I did a bit more research and it looks like its ok for my girl so far. I was concerned at her "fear" she like hanging with me vs joining the pack who are trying to figure out whos boss.
Thats because she knows Im the boss, she has no need to try to boss the confused dogs who think they are in charge. I can do that for her.
 
#58 ·
We tried two dog parks today. Didn't like either. We sat very far away from everything, just to slowly introduce Baron to it. We watched too many fights happen over a very short period. Just not interested in that scene.
We meet a lot of dogs on our forest hikes, and everyone seems nicer. The parks felt like a soap opera.
Plus, of the 100+ dogs we saw today, only one was a GSD.
 
#59 ·
We live in Calgary and have some great dog parks however you of course need to be a responsible owner meaning your dog should have an Awsome recall or be leashed at the park as not all dogs are friendly ( which in my opinions and they shouldn't be there) and then there are also people who are afraid of breed me being one of them
Actually however I am ok with mine because I know he is properly trained and socialized how we this is not the case for most GSD in my area we are very experienced with strong breeds ie: Dobermann, Rottweiler, Pitbull Etc... But I still feel very strongly that the GS breed is far stronger as smarter than those breeds and therefore can understand why people are scared of them they are used as police dogs I love the breed and would not choose another for our family as a companion and as a helper foru daughter they are strong, magestic and loving and all around best breed as log as thy are socialized and trained properly.
 
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