Dog park drama

I stopped off at this very large grassy area that the community has commandeered as a dog park. It was "rush hour" with just under 10 dogs in the area - mostly large dogs. I do my usual and find a spot the farthest from everyone else and play fetch.

Let me note that Taedyn has an obsession with rocks, sticks and now balls. I am working on training her that she has to earn them and cannot grab them out of people's hands, but she will still grab them if people have their guard down. I try to warn anyone who comes near her to keep their guard up if they are holding anything. Adults anyway. Children? No way, their mere size makes them incapable of having a perceived guard and I'm sure she knows she can mow them over. I haven't tested it, but I sure as **** don't want to!

The community standard is that all the owners stand in a circle and chit chat while their dogs play with little to no supervision, and today was no different. This guy comes and five children under the age of 5 years pop out of his car. Lily, a small adult rottweiler (or doberman) mix, who is a very sweet gentle dog, goes up to the children and starts playing with them. The impression I get is that he thought Lily was a rottweiler puppy and it freaked him out.

He goes up to the social circle and starts admonishing them. Due to my distance I couldn't hear word for word, but he admonished them for socializing instead of watching their dogs, that they should be on their guard because small children are around, and was particularly offended that the "rottweiler" wasn't being more closely supervised. People tried to tell him that this is a dog park, and he should expect that dogs will run around, but he retorted that it didn't matter because it was a free space and think of the children.

I think to myself that he's an jerk. Even more of a jerk as two people from the social circle left (including Lily), and as I looked around noticed that there were even less dogs around now. I think maybe 4 were left after that little commotion.

I go to continue playing catch, and what do I notice? Three of his small children have wandered across the entire park into my area. He was so busy yelling at the people in the social circle that he wasn't supervising his children and they wandered off. Hmm... just like he was admonishing the other people for doing with their dogs!!

At first I noticed the hypocrisy of it, and then I notice one child is carrying a stick, and another is carrying a rock. I instantly realize the very real danger of Taedyn grabbing what they're holding out of their hands and biting their tiny hands in the process. **** it. I can't tempt fate and should leave.

And besides, it gave me an opportunity to throw the hypocrisy in his face

I pack up and put Taedyn back on the leash. I walk by the guy as I'm leaving and tell him, "You shouldn't have small children in a place where there are strange dogs. I now have to leave because there are small children here and it is too dangerous for your children to be wandering around near my dog holding rocks and sticks. The official dog park even has a rule that no child under the age of 12 should be there."

He asked me if he should leave, and I continued, "No, I'm already leaving, but you shouldn't bring your children here when there are strange dogs around again. It's too dangerous. A dog owner knows how to deal with dogs, however, a child does not." I should have also noted that a child does not have the size in order to demand respect from a dog.

And with that, I walked away with him gawking. I hope he realizes how wrong he was to A) expect strange dogs and their owners to walk on eggshells around his children, B) expect dog owners to watch their dogs, but his kids can wander, C) bring small children around strange dogs at all!

One can hope he'll learn those things anyway