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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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#141 ·
I take my 10 month old GSD bitch to a dog park a couple times a week but only when at least one of the two fenced areas is empty. I use it for off leash training under heavy distraction. She knows 22 commands and it is a great place to put her through her paces and to generalize commands. Generalize means obeys no matter what in all situations.

No way would I let her possibly be attacked by the out of control pit bulls and curs I see there. Nor would I let her be exposed to the running and screaming small children I see there. Its just not a good idea. I do not have children and live on a cattle ranch. To socialize her to small children I take her on leash to various big box stores where there are families and make her heel and down. Children come running up and want to hug her but are not allowed to approach and I politely say she is being trained. I watch her like a hawk.

Inga does not need to 'play' with other dogs. She plays with her humans. She does visit three dogs that live on a neighboring ranch and is not dog aggressive. She rides in the back of my truck in a wire kennel and used to bark at strange dogs. But now this is not allowed by use of the Enough command.

It is such a joy to live with and train such an intelligent dog. This is my first German Shepherd and is unlike any dog I have ever had in my life.
 
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#144 ·
a little while ago it was a gorgeous long weekend. The dog park was very crowded. Most of the dogs weren't even playing, they were just milling around. We don't bring our dogs into the dog park, we walk them around the park's ball fields and along the disc golf course. We started away from the dog park and circled back around, so that by the time we passed the dog park fence, our dogs were calm, cool and collected. Then someone decided to "walk" their doberman off leash in the large park and it was happily bouncing around. The owners saw us and yelled at their dog to lay down, which it did and flinched. "hey, it is a beautiful day and we are here to play...why are you yelling at me?" We gave him grief for having his dog off leash (if he had calmly called the dog to his side we probably wouldn't have said anything).

With all the other people walking dogs on leash in the park, all the people playing disc golf, etc, running at large outside the dog park was a poor choice. They should have off leashed in the dog park, IF their dog was the right temperament.
 
#146 · (Edited)
We have a football field size private dog park at our appartment group. It was custom designed by idiots. LOL. I voted strongly against it even though I'm the only dog owner training dogs. We have at least 75 dogs in residence at any time.

There are already plenty of negatives posted so I won't get on my phantom soap box about the dog parks.

Many of you have high drive GSDs or at least very active dogs. An attack or even a close call while your dog is young or even a new rescue can be a life long issue with these dogs. Many think a dog's attention span is very short. If that were true it would be pointless to train. Many dogs have memories as long as we do. Well some people.

When a built in feature, maybe call it instinct gets violated, a dog will,probably never forget it. For example his drive to protect himself. He gets beat up at the dog park by a pack or a bigger stronger dog. He is not going to like being in the same situation ever again. He also will associate even similar situations elsewhere. Read by us now as reactive. Some dogs on the other hand, plain and simple don't have the mental capacity to see they almost lost their life in the encounter. They willingly come back for more. We don't even think about this. The dog is having " fun". Play dates continue......

I don't follow this play thing with dogs. My own dogs have only training class socialization and we meet only trained dogs and their owners. The dogs do not sniff tails or noses. They sit,stand or down in heel,position or close by while we people, converse. If this can't be done then we go on our way. Classes provide a way of controlled close contact with other dogs and people.

When out in public we simply don't get close to other dogs, especially dogs showing problems. My Aussie is remarkable in large groups encounters. It's like a giant training class for her. She has " fun" and good things happen in class so she is well behaved out and about. The exception is our appartment. Here she was attacked by a loose dog and bitten. She has not forgotten this for a minute. Believe me the other dog (Rotty ) will not forget me nor will the owner. It's been a challenging effort to get " tolerance" of other dogs. She looks to me when she first sees a dog and gets a reward. It visually and mentally calms her. There are no hackles or barking or lunging. It's been a long course of conditioning and training. I had never had a reactive dog. Even the serious protection dogs were rather reserved but gentle in the presence of even idiot dogs....and owners.

We had multiple dogs at times but even so tolerance was the exercise asked for. Not all dogs like other dogs just as people don't always like each other. We had German Shepherds and Boxers. The big male Boxer and male GSD hated each other. However We walked these dogs side by side, following and leading as well as switching heel sides. They each looked to me or wife whoever was handling them at the time for guidance. They were perfect gentlemen in public or with our kids. But alone they would probably have fought to death.

We as people at least try to get along but sometimes we just have to go the other way to avoid those we don't like. Dogs don't always have that choice.
Byron
 
#147 ·
Many think a dog's attention span is very short. If that were true it would be pointless to train. Many dogs have memories as long as we do.
Attention span and memory are not the same thing. :) Puppies DO have very short attention spans, but that does not mean they don't remember things, particularly traumatic experiences. It just means they're easily distracted and you can't expect them to pay attention for long periods of time, so training sessions with a puppy or young dog should be shorter than with an adult dog that is capable of focusing for longer. Several very brief training sessions a day are better than one longer session.
 
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#149 ·
Dog Parks good or bad?

I'm not sure why people are so surprised at the way some dogs behave at dog parks. People are idiots as it's no different then seeing people take their kids to the park and play while the parents are busy on their cell phones, and not paying close attention to their kids. Dogs are not the blame it's the owners. I'm not against them but lately there has been a big problem when they get over populated as then it can become an issue with fights breaking out.
 
#150 ·
I dont go inside. But use them for proofing my dogs. By going ever closer to the dog park fence n noise of them barking at us.
From my perspective. A dog is a pack (family) animal that does not need, nor is it natural to be with dogs or humans outside of its pack (family). I dont want my dog to be friendly to humans or dogs. I want neutral. Plenty of socialising near/around others at dog sports club. Also: ive been (mis)using dog parks n the out of handlers control dogs for over a decade. Seriously foolish ignorant owners. Who believe "he's really friendly" ignorant of what your dog is, is only 1/3 of equation of my risk assessment. 1/3 is whats my dogs reaction n final 1/3 whats on the other end of the leash of the human species. I have large breeds that would be reported as aggressor when their small white fluffy gets bitten for humping my dog. "But it was only being friendly". Way too many ignorant people. I prefer to select human and k9 meet up potential mates that i know well. And are under control.
 
#151 ·
I don’t like dog parks much but unfortunately I need them right now. No other place for Beau to run. He loves to fetch, and at the park he tends to greet most of the dogs but otherwise stick to fetch. He has only actually played there with another dog 2x in 2.5 years. If we go at dawn there’s usually only 1 or 2 other dogs there, so that’s when I try to go. We go maybe 1x a week, now.

At the park I go to, the early people are all pretty good about watching their dogs. Went later in the day during cooler weather, and there were a lot of people there who would not control their dogs. One guy told me I didn’t belong there because Beau wouldn’t “play” with his dog. His very big maybe malamute mix? kept trying to mount Beau, and got aggressive when Beau would scramble away. After the 4th or 5th time Beau turned on him, snarling and making his point more firmly, but not actually biting. That was when the idiot owner told me we didn’t belong there because my dog wouldn’t “play”.
 
#152 ·
One thing people might not think about is the risk of disease. There's a town by me and my whole state really that had an outbreak of Canine Influenza but in the one town nearly everybody uses the dog parks to excercise their dogs and I think dang near every dog in there got sick. All the vets (Probably 6+ different vet offices in a town of 50,000 or so) were seeing multiple dogs everyday that came down with it. I don't know how many died but some did, it was a different and aggressive strain. So if you get an outbreak of anything in your area it would be a good idea to avoid dog parks as well as other public places people take dogs. Also be aware of parasites and pests such as fleas and worms.
 
#153 ·
One of the primary reasons people give for avoiding dog parks in general is that you have no control over the environment, and at any time someone can bring in a dog aggressive, out of control dog. Well, the other day this very thing happened to me! My dog and I were enjoying playing fetch with mostly regulars, and everything was fine until a guy I had never seen before showed up with a DA, 3 yr old Rotty who had never been around other dogs, or to a dog park (got this from talking to one of the guys who brought him). First thing this dog did was attack my pup just after entering the park. The owner got him off of her immediately, but it was too late...my dog was clearly smitten and followed this Rotty everywhere until they left just a few minutes later LOL! Poor Nyx!
 
#154 ·
I've taken my guys to dog parks from time to time in the past without issue. But I am very hesitant to go anymore. My last three dogs (a GSD, Basset Hound and a Lab/pointer mix) were very good off lead and we would take walks in the woods, by the river and other isolated areas. Now I only have a Great Dane, she is pretty good of lead but gets really worked up running. She does listen but can easily cover a lot of distance very fast. We are still working on it and she is getting better. But back to the dog park.
I don't like to take my dane because while she is very friendly to all animals and people other dogs go after her. She thinks it is all a game and will keep running back and forth while they snarl, snap and rush at her. There are some dogs that are friendly, but it seems she intimidates most and I don't want to take a chance of her getting bit and then being blamed because of her size. Plus if she did try to defend herself she is so much bigger and could do some damage quickly. The biggest reason I stopped going to the dog park is that my Basset Hound was attacked, full on attacked at a dog park. He was standing next to me and another dog lunged at him grabbing a hold of his neck. The attack was really quiet and quick, I didn't see any signs before it happened. I really thought he was going to kill my boy. There were three of us beating on the attacking dog trying to get him off. He switched his grip to my dogs throat getting mostly collar which really saved him. I was able to get the collar off him and pull him away. The owner of the other dog pulled her dog back then. It was really horrifying. But luckily the damage was minimal, a couple of punctures I think due to all the loose skin he had. He was probably about ten when this happened, we haven't been to a park since then.
I know the chances are slim, for the most part but it was very scary. And some of the people are dumb and have no dog sense. There was a guy with a boarder collie throwing a ball, the dog was very toy aggressive and would snap at the other dogs running around it. People would bring in treats and hand them out to the dogs.
I do wish I had a place to let my girl run, I have no fenced in yard and I don't know anyone with one either. So we do long walks but it is just not the same and getting out and running.
 
#155 ·
My childhood dog was a Great Dane and she was the sweetest dog ever! She loved all dogs, all people.
That's why I had a big shock with my shepherd/husky's temperament ... I had literally never heard a growl out of my Dane for her entire life.

Well, back to dog parks. Bad experiences here...

One dog kept trying to mount mine. Rumo kept growling at him. I stood up to leave. Owner said, "Let them work it out. They're just trying to work out who's boss."

A little dog (who for some mysterious reason was on the big dogs side) kept walking right under Rumo and licking his private parts. Owner nowhere in sight. Rumo was surprisingly patient, and kept trying to walk away, but then began growling. So we left.

Owner with chuckit and ONE ball. Had every dog in the park running for that ONE ball...lots of growling heard. We got out of there, too!

Then, I gave up!! We never go in unless there are zero or one dogs in the park...

As for "free running", the closest we come is a 30 foot lead in big deserted fields behind schools, in the woods, etc.
 
#156 ·
I’d love a dog park that you could rent out for an hour at a time, lol, so you could have it all to yourself.

Dog parks are actually kind of fun if you have a lab that just wants to swim in the pond, or little dogs that you can take into the small dog area. We used to have huge play dates for our Italian Greyhounds back in the day. Maybe 20-25 of them all in the small dog area. They had a great time. I think you are asking for trouble taking a GSD to a dog park. Mine wouldn’t put up with rude behavior from rowdy young dogs. Way too many people pay zero attention to what their dogs are doing, and have no clue about dog behavior.
 
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#160 ·
It depends on the dog park. My first exposure was a relatively small, pick-up-after-your-dog kind of place with a lot of regulars. The "trouble makers" were well known--usually unneutered males of some "macho" breed with a man who acted like his dog could do no wrong. These were dog-aggressive dogs that were allowed to attack other dogs. Folks quickly learned to avoid the time those few folks might show up. I always wondered what happened if those types ended up in the DP together.

At the other end have been a couple of very large parks with trails and a lot of untended brush, grassland, etc. You could not even see if your dog went potty off trail.

Enforcing licensing is so important so everyone knows dogs are vaccinated. Bringing your own water, avoiding the most favored areas (usually where the walking is easiest for the humans). My biggest concern has always been parasites, but I've never had a dog get sick in 20+ years of using DPs. Maybe that is just pure, dumb luck.

I don't rely on DPs for anything but love having access when it fits our mood.
 
#161 ·
I'm way too paranoid to use a dog park if there are other dogs already in there. We have a small local park that I will try to keep an eye on and figure out when it's most likely to be empty, though. It'd be nice to have that kind of large, fenced in area with a few interesting obstacles to play on and train around. But I have no interest in allowing my dog to be exposed to so many unleashed and unknown dogs. Scary!
 
#162 ·
I am not a fan, but I have been making use of them to give Shadow some much needed time off her rope. She is accustom to having a yard to play in so these last couple of months have been tough with me having her on a rope all the time.
I have found some really lovely dog parks in some fairly small towns. I make sure they are empty and let her go. As soon as I see a car approaching I leash up and leave. It really has been a great thing for us. Under normal circumstances I would never risk it.
 
#163 ·
You all would have LOVED the DP I visited in a neighboring town last week then LOL! It was at least a couple acres, but there were easily 70 or 80 dogs in there! Hard to find a lane to throw a ball...

Nyx enjoyed all the new smells though, and had to visit every remote corner, so I don't think she minded not playing fetch so much...
 
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#164 ·
I’m not an advocate of dog parks at all. The three training centers I go to all do not recommend using dog parks.
Our apt group has a private dog park. They spent a lot of money upgrading it putting round river rock in the middle then wrecked it by adding wood chips all around on the inside. These harbor ticks and other parasites and provide a place for the inconsiderate to allow their dogs to poop then don’t pick it up. Even though there is a convent poop bag dispenser and trash can.

There are 75-100 dogs in our building alone with four building in the group, so you can imagine how many dogs there are here. In 8 years I have only seen two trained dogs besides mine. One is a Mal detection dog the other is a couch potato lab that never strays more than a couple feet from the owner.

The dog park Has nice features, an elevated dog walk, a big tier run thru, teeter tot, and a short weave pole. It would be fun to use but the people just turn their dogs loose and go play on their phones and smoke cigs.

I tried it once with my new rescue Aussie even though it was against my experience. Sometimes you just don’t learn. She had fun and did really well for a new dog with only a week of leash training . I use a 30 or 60 foot leash even here. I saw the Rotty coming and we promptly left. We were about a block away and Sam turned to look back. I follow her gaze and saw the Rotty coming full tilt towards us off leash. The dog was fat and probably well over 100 pounds. I turned to face him off but he came right at us. I grabbed his collar and yanked him up off his front feet. Twisting the collar as hard as I could I managed to throttle him. The owner came waddling up and started to yell but I drowned him out and told him to get his dog out of here immediately or I was calling the cops. This is an on leash only city and I knew the cops don’t take kindly to off leash problems. The guy didn’t even have a leash with him. Needless to say I was furious. I told the guy I was reporting this to the office, which I did.

A short time later I was getting the mail and a lady said she heard I had a run in with the Rotty and the guy. She said I was the first to ever stand up to him as he abuses everyone. I told her I wasn’t happy about it and that I just don’t take kindly to off leash dogs charging me. I’ll do what I have to do to protect my dog and my self.

So I simply don’t like dog parks.
 
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