Dog Parks
Why They Are A Bad Idea!
"It's Your Job to Protect Your Dog"
By Ed Frawley
Read
this article as a FREE eBook
This article will detail three topics concerning dog
parks:
1- The original purpose of dog parks
2- The problems and dangers of taking your dog to a
dog park.
3- How to prepare for a dog park
4- How to handle and protect your dog while in the
dog park
The Purpose Of A Dog Park:
It would seem pretty obvious that a dog park is a place
for people who don't have a lot of personal space to take their dog for
exercise. The perfect example would be apartment dwellers or people who
live in big cities.
The second and possible more common reason (which I
disagree with) is that a dog park is a place for a dog to socialize
with other dogs.
The Dangers of Dog Parks
Every couple of days I get an email from
someone asking about problems with their dogs being attacked when they
are on walks or running loose at one of the local parks that many cities
setup.
People also question me on how to
deal with overly aggressive dogs that belong to other pet owners. They
also question me about their own dogs not trying to defend themselves
when approached by a seemingly aggressive dog. Some people want to know
if they should just let the dogs work these problems out themselves.
I want to go on record as saying that the concept of
”Dog Parks” was well intended but a bad idea, especially when
dogs are allowed to run off-leash. The main problems all stem from
people who don't understand and have not established pack structure
with their dogs. This means their dogs are out of control.
The average dog owner does not take the time to understand
much less install pack structure. They don't know how strong the pack
instincts are in their family pets. These drives can and often do click
into high gear when a dog is taken into a park with strange dogs.
When a new
dog comes into a park that other dogs visit every day
the new visitor is often seen an an intruder into “the
personal territory" of the regular visitor. More often than not they
are not seen as new found friend. This often leads to either to
territorial aggression, dominance aggression or fear aggression.
DOG PACKS In The PARK
When a group of dogs (3 or more) are allowed to
run together in an area where there are no strong pack leaders (human
pack leaders), they instinctively try to establish a rank order (or pecking
order). If there are several dogs that want to assume a certain rank
within this new pack there are often problems. Too often this
results in dog fights to determine what rank a dog will assume.
It is a mistake to assume that every dog
in the park is a well-mannered, well-trained pet. Just because
it playing with other dogs does
not mean that it will play with your dog. The issue of rank has already
been settled with these other
dogs and the game may be going according to their
rules. Your dog will not know the rules and can easily get into trouble.
To often when a fight breaks out between your dog and the leader of this
pack the other dogs in the pack will also jump in and go after your dog.
I get emails from people who are disappointed
in their puppy or young dog because it shy's away from other dogs and
shows avoidance
to
these strange dogs they meet on walks or in parks. These people completely
misunderstand pack structure, many don't even know that it exists.
The vast majority of dogs don't want to be pack leaders.
They are perfectly happy with their owners assuming the position of leader.
As such these dogs expect their pack leader (their owner) to protect
them. That's why these dogs will run to their owner when they fell threatened
by another dog. When a handler does not protect his dog the
dog is in conflict and loses confidence. When the owner ignores the perceived
threat their dogs often move into fight or flight.
When you stop to think about it, normal people would
never expect their young children to fight adults that were threatening
their home. So why do people expect their young dogs to show aggression
to older dogs? In most cases, the owners simply
lack the understanding of pack drive and dog training. People get caught
in the trap of thinking they have a German Shepherd from working police
bloodlines and "BY DOG" it should be tough!! Well, it doesn't
work that way.
When new owners assume the position of pack leader
and they do everything right when their pup is young the dog will grow
up to be a confident adult dog. When owners drop the pack structure ball
their dogs grow up to be basket cases (either overly aggressive or fearful)
This is the reasons I do never guarantee temperament in the pups
I used to sell. Too many people lacked common sense or
the experience to properly raise a dog.
HOW TO HANDLE YOUR DOG IN THE DOG PARK
When your dog is approached by a dog that looks
like it may be aggressive YOU (not your dog) needs to take the aggressors
role.
Dogs that have the potential to be aggressive are
going to have a stiff body. Their legs will be stiff, often their tail
will be straight up in the air or straight back (never tucked under the
stomach - that's a submissive posture). When another dog does this it's
to make itself look bigger and stronger.
Dominant dogs will T-OFF on your dog. That
means stand at your dogs shoulder and put their muzzle over the shoulders
of your dog. This is a dominant display. When you see this:
1- Tell the dogs owner that he or she needs to get
control of their dog.
2- If this does not work, then it's time to leave the
park. If there was any aggression you may want to file a
complaint or police report. Make sure you indicate that you were concerned
for your personal safety and your dogs.
3- If the situation has moved beyond the point where
you can leave then you need to take things in your own hands. Verbally
tell the dog in a deep voice to get out of there. Usually (not always)
this is enough to make the dog back off. When that happens you need to
determine if you have solved the problem or if you need to leave. Always
error on the side of safety.
4- I would not go to a dog park without a walking stick
or a can of pepper gas. If you are not familiar with how to safely break
up a dog fight without getting hurt you need to familiarize yourself
with what to do. (Read the article or listen to the podcast I have done
on this)
5- What I do may not be possible for many people with
less experience. But if a stray dog were to get aggressive with my dog
and I could not verbally threaten the dog to make it move on I would
attack the dog with the stick. I can hear all the PETA PUKE rolling their
eyes as they read this, but the fact is by this point retreat is not
an option and I would not allow my dog to be hurt. Often times one good
HARD HARD hit right between the ears will deter most dogs. If you don't
have the confidence to do this, call the authorities because this dog
does not belong in the park.
If another dog attacks
your dog you need to do what I explain in my article on Breaking
Up A Dog Fight. If I were to walk a dog in the city, I would not
do it without a can of pepper gas to use on any dog that even looks cross-eyed
at my puppy. I would not hesitate to physically go after a dog that approaches
my pup. The only ones that would be allowed to come close would be dogs
I know for a fact are well-mannered, friendly soles that will be tolerant
and play with my puppy.
While some breeds are predisposed to fight more than
others, every breed has it's own bullies. There are too many people out
there that don't come close to the label of being a “responsible
pet owner.” With the number of fighting breeds growing, the risks
of taking your pet to one of these parks is growing every day.
Pet owners should know that once a
puppy or adult dog has been attacked by another dog, it will become a
dog aggressive animal itself. This only has to happen one time for a
permanent temperament change to occur in some animals. You will quickly
find that dog aggression is a real pain in rear.
Finally, if your dog is a bully and is aggressive to
other dogs, you need to explain to him that this is unacceptable behavior.
Softer dogs can get the message with a simple verbal reprimand, while
other dogs need to have serious corrections. These corrections can come
from a prong collars, a dominant
dog collars or
in some cases a remote
collar. (One should only use a remote collar after they have had
the proper training)
The correction for serious dog aggression needs to
be so hard enough that the dog remembers it the next time it thinks about
being aggressive.
The bottom line for professionals it the correction
needs to be so severe that the idea of fighting or showing aggression
is not as strong as the respect (or fear) of what happens when he does
not mind. For these dogs the presence of another dog is a big distraction,
but they need to understand that if they allow this distraction to take
control them the punishment will be swift and severe. Once they understand
this simple concept they will become much better dogs.
Giving a dog this kind of correction is often not a
pretty sight. Many people do not have the temperament or skill to do
it correctly. They simply cannot bring themselves to correct at an
effective level. Dog fights are a serious business and these people should
either seek professional help or find a new home for their dog
aggressive dog.
In my opinion one of the most effective tools for trainers
who want to learn how to administer corrections at a level beyond their
normal strength level (IE. a small women with a large dog) is to learn
to train with a remote collar. I have produced a training DVD titled
REMOTE COLLAR TRAINING FOR THE PET OWNER which covers the foundation
of collar training.
If you have a dog that needs a little help
with distraction training I would direct you to my training video on Basic
Dog Obedience. This tape will guide you through normal distraction
problems. It will explain the principles of correction and how to read
a dog’s
temperament to determine what level of correction to use.
People with dominance problem in their dog should never
bring their dog to dog parks until they have the dominance issues under
control. I tell people "if you can't control your dog at home or on a
walk how will you ever control this dog when it's in a dog park with
20 other dogs?"
If you have a dominant dog I recommend my DVD Dealing
with Dominant and Aggressive Dog
Recommendations to make dog parks safer places:
While I am lucky to live in a small community
and have acreage to exercise and train, I know that others that live
in large cities don't have an option to where they can go with their
dogs. The following information is designed to help people make dog parks
a safer place.
1- Dogs should pass a test before being allowed in a dog
park
In my opinion communities should establish and set
up tests that pet owners must pass before dogs are allowed off leash
into these dog parks.
The tests should demonstrate the off leash control
owners have over their dogs while the dogs are faced with extreme distraction.
In other words, the owners need to be able to call their dogs back away
from a group of several dogs that are playing.
Dogs that can't pass these tests should not be allowed
off leash in the parks.
These tests should include a knowledge of how to deal
with dog fights.
2- There should be parks for small dogs and parks for
large dogs
Allowing very small dogs to run with large dogs can
be a very dangerous situation for the small dog. The average pet owner
has no idea how to break up a dog fight. They also can't comprehend how
quickly a large dog can kill or seriously injure a small dog.
3- Be a responsible handler
- There are some basic common sense rules that good owners
should follow when they use a park.
- When at the park and a dangerous or out of control
dog shows up, leave the park. While you may feel you have the right
to be there you gain nothing by pushing your limit and risking a dog
fight.
- Go to the park at off-peak hours. You will learn when
the quiet times are, those are the times to be there with your dog.
If you dress for the wind and rain there is nothing wrong with having
the entire park to yourself.
- When a dog pile or dog fight occurs, immediately
call your dog away from the pack. There is nothing wrong with using
a remote collar and practice calling your dog away from chasing a group
of dogs.
- There is nothing wrong with teaching your dog that
you are more fun than other dogs at the dog park. When you go, play
the games your dog loves away from the dog pack.
- When your dog is off leash at the park, 100% of
your of your focus should be on your dog.
- If you wish to socialize with other dogs owners that
fine, just do it when you have your dog on a leash.
- Don't make the dog park it's only out of the home
experience with you. Take it for walks, take it swimming (when possible)
play or train in different locations. People who only take their dog
to a dog park set themselves up for dogs to get out of control. The
dogs with a lot of energy who only go to the dog park can take the
attitude of USE IT OR LOSE IT which means they can get wild.
- In my opinion people should learn how to use a remote
collar. Collars are invisible leashes. They should study my low level
stimulation training and understand when they can and cannot use a
collar in a dog park. (Don't use a collar in the middle of a dog fight
- the dog will think that his opponent is causing the stimulation
and fight harder)
Notice the ball in the one dog's mouth -
allowing only one dog to have a toy will often trigger a dog attack.
Dog Fight at the Dog Park:
My boyfriend and I took our Jack Russell/Pug to the dog park where he was in the pen with about eight other dogs and they were all doing fine. A large Pitt-bull/Terrier mix came into the pen with his owner and three children. It happened so fast--the attack, that my dog would have been killed if Chris, (my boyfriend) did not intervene. I know that Chris almost lost his thumb while saving my dog, but my dog, Tucker, would have surely been dead if he hadn't. I think Chris was extremely lucky that he didn't lose his thumb or experience much more serious injuries as once the jaws lock it's impossible to get them open. I'm not sure why the dog let go but Chris pulled our dog, Tucker up off the ground by his harness and that's when he got bitten. The dog was trying to latch on to our dog again after Chris got him off the ground. I was reading your advice on the web about breaking up dog fights and in retrospect it all makes sense. However, what doesn't make sense is going to a dog park in the first place because you never know what type of dog you'll encounter. That was surely Tucker's last trip to a dog park and ours as well!!!
Below is a picture of our little dog, Tucker (22 lbs.) who was prey to the larger aggressor who had to weigh about 130 lbs. Big dogs and little dogs don't mix...
Best,
Kaydi
Let me know if you need to know anything else. As of now we aren't sure about the prognosis of Chris's thumb--nerve, tissue, ligament damage etc. as it just happened yesterday. They gave him about 8 stitches but now we are learning that you aren't supposed to stitch dog bites. However, since this went down to the bone--they had no choice.
Emails on DOG PARKS - 2 Dead Dogs
Ed -
Just wanted to write and say, "Thank you!" for
your web site. I adopted a male GSD about a year ago and am consistently
faced with
changing behavioral issues. I am doing a thorough read and search of
your site to assist me in resolving MY issues. I hope I never end up
on one of your stupid questions lists! Although, I find them very entertaining.
I have had HORRIBLE experiences at the local dog park, and have since
quit going. So, I found the article about dog parks particularly funny.
I even had a fight with my city because they would not allow me to have
my dog on a leash in the park. They ARE THE DUMBEST DOG PEOPLE EVER!
By the way two dogs to date have been KILLED at my local dog park (these
are the ones I am aware of at least!)
I don't have a question today, just wanted to give you thanks and praise.
I am hoping to be able to locate the answers to my questions on your
web site - but, due to the wealth of information, it is taking some time
to wade through it all.
Thank You,
Julie
Plano, TX
Dear Ed,
I just wanted to send an email and thank you for the advice you gave me some weeks ago in regards to our dog and his trainer. I also wanted to thank you for your wonderful articles on why as dog owners we should avoid dog parks.
I live in Las Vegas where dog parks are very popular. I refuse to allow my six month old Cane Corso into the parks despite my friends telling me I'm depriving him of socialization. The dog parks here are divided into two halves for small and large dogs but I've seen nasty fights breaks out on both sides (I walk my dog on his leash in the surrounding park area). Last week a Yorkie was killed by a Chow after his dumb owner brought him to the large dog side, proceeded to put him down and talked on her cell phone. A few nights ago a pit and an Akita got into a fight and it was absolutely horrific watching these owners try to break up two strong willed dogs in survival mode. Your comments on your site are dead on, these parks are filled with owners who use the time to socialize amongst themselves, paying little to no attention to what their dogs are doing. As I walk my dog I see how most of them have no control over their animals, they tell the dog to come, it ignores them etc. The point you make which really hit home to me is that we can never assume other dogs have been well trained or well socialized just because our dog is. In addition I've also seen parents allow small toddler children to run wild in the park, thinking it's cute when the dogs chase them and allowing their children to manhandle strange dogs without asking the owner's permission. After seeing all this I'm so glad I heeded your advice about these "accidents waiting to happen" dog parks. I'm going to focus my energies on my dog's training and ignore my friend's comments.
A Grateful Reader,
Kristen
2 people, dog hurt in attack at dog park
The attack marked the first time since the Newport News
Long Island park opened in April that a person was bitten, an official
said.
March 30, 2007 NEWPORT NEWS -- A dog attack this week at the city's only off-leash park
left a miniature dachshund with serious injuries and two women with bite
wounds.
Christine Hyatt and her daughter, Kathy, were walking their three small dogs
through Fido Field, an off-leash dog park at Riverview Farm Park, Tuesday when
they heard someone holler.
Hyatt, 67, spun around and saw an Akita mix sink its teeth into the neck of her
2-year-old dachshund, Maddy, and start shaking.
Maddy broke free, but the dog attacked again.
Christine Hyatt and her daughter tried to intervene, and the Akita mangled Christine
Hyatt's middle finger and bit her daughter's hand, Hyatt said.
Eventually, she said, the Akita's owner helped pull the dog off.
Hyatt's dog remained in an animal hospital Thursday, but a doctor said Maddy
could be released this weekend, Hyatt said.
Hyatt, meanwhile, underwent treatment for her sliced and fractured finger at
an emergency medical clinic.
She worried about the risk of rabies, since she didn't know whether the Akita
had been vaccinated.
On Thursday, as she sat at the intersection of Menchville Road and Warwick Boulevard,
Hyatt said, she saw the Akita's owner drive past.
It was "divine intervention," she said.
She and her daughter followed him to a Bryan Court home, where she confronted
the driver, according to a city animal services report.
The driver, James Coleman, admitted owning the Akita, Hyatt said.
She's hoping Coleman will cover her dog's medical bills.
Coleman couldn't be reached for comment Thursday, but Bill Wise, the city's animal
services superintendent, said Coleman reported his dog, "Kita," was registered
and up-to-date on its shots.
The incident marked the first substantiated report of a person being bitten at
the park since it opened in April 2006, said Andy Lunsford, the city's parks
operations superintendent.
At Fido Field on Thursday, Josh Biskey, 27, watched his German shepherd, Dakota,
roll through the dirt with a mixed terrier.
He described the park as a great place for both dog owners and dogs to socialize.
Most people, he said, recognize when their pets become aggressive.
"You have to step in before something happens," Biskey said. "You need to know
what your dog's capable of."
I've seen a few fights, but none resulted
in serious injuries as most owners have enough sense to call their
dogs to them when a scuffle
breaks out. I did witness a few owners and their dogs get banned from
the park due to sheer idiocy. One woman (she fit the stereotype for "redneck
trailer trash" to a T) brought with her a very dominant, poorly
trained un-neutered pit bull mix. At the time the park had about 15-20
dogs running around, mostly Boxers and Golden Retrievers (for some strange
reason. about 8 Boxers.). This woman had taken the collar off of her
dog instead of just unsnapping the leash and had wandered off to the
opposite end of the park to talk to this group of people. Her dog was
terrorizing smaller dogs and chasing them, nipping at them, and becoming
a nuisance by challenging any other dog at the park. It wasn't until
the dog began harassing a Boxer puppy (between 5-7 months old) that anyone
really stepped in to stop this dog. It had begun chasing the puppy, who
was obviously distressed and began yelping, which only egged the pit
mix on. The pit was nipping at this puppy's back legs, knocking him over,
and trying to tug at the skin of the dog's neck. The Boxer's owner was
able to grab his dog, hoist the yelping puppy over his shoulder, and
it still wasn't enough to deter this pit mix. The pit began LEAPING at
this man's shoulder and chest, eyes locked on the guy's puppy, and each
time the man would scream and kick the dog off it would just run and
take another flying leap at the man's dog. This guy was a good 6-foot
something and with the Boxer over his shoulder he still managed to keep
his pup safe, but by this time SEVERAL owners were trying to shoo the
pit mix away and grab a hold of it to control it, the entire time screaming "Whose
dog is this? Get your dog off of me, call your dog, someone get this
dog out of here!" After about 2 minutes of this dog leaping and
biting at the puppy/owner the redneck woman walked over to the commotion
and tried to call her dog over, which of course was almost useless. By
the time she caught the dog she had to be straddling it and holding its
neck since she couldn't manage to get it's collar on correctly, and finally
the dog park owner was able to edge through everyone and humiliate her
in front of the crowd. He told her that she was not welcome back at he
park again and that she was irresponsible for bringing her obviously
aggressive dog in, which park rules forbid, and went on about the lack
of control she had over the dog and the fact that she wasn't even supervising
the dog because she was across the park. All I heard her say was something
about, "He's never done that before! He just wanted to play with
the puppy! He's not mean, you're being unreasonable my dog wouldn't do
that." As she was walking out the other owners were cheering and
laughing, I was quite amused. Thankfully for me, at the time I had taken
my old dog Shadow and she was sitting by my side in the back of the park
the entire time this occurred.
Aside from that one distinct incident, most fights are due to stupid
owners bringing their small dogs into the big dog section of the park
(JRTs, toy poodles, Fox
terriers, Dashounds, etc) and then arguing with big dog owners when their dogs
are chased into their arms, yelping and screaming, because the larger dogs
would terrorize them (or just try to sniff and greet, which often
was enough to frighten
the tiny dog). The argument usually ends with the small dog owner leaving because
they didn't agree with using the small dog park area since "there aren't
as many dogs in there for my dog to play with."
I'm fairly grateful that I'm able to go at times where there might
be one or two other dogs, but the amount of idiots that come to the
park is astounding.
So many unaltered animals run around and many times people bring their pets
that have lived in their back yard and with their family for years without
ever socializing
with other animals, so these people assume their dog is totally fine since
it loves people and it might get along with, say, their in-law's Labrador
or something.
These are often the ones that wonder why their dog is biting at all the other
dogs or sitting behind their legs growling at anything that approaches. I've
even had some odd instances where I'd be taking photos somewhere in the park
and I've had dogs stand about 5 or 10 feet from me and just bark. I assume
they don't like my camera, as it can be a bit noisy, but I don't always feel
very
safe. I once was sitting at a picnic bench and this woman's Great Dane walked
about 15 feet from my seat and stared at me for about 5 minutes. I kept taking
shots until the dog began barking furiously, which surprised me into nearly
falling out of my seat since I hadn't been paying attention. The owners kept
calling
their dog back but this thing would not stop walking near my bench, staring
at me, growling, and barking. Needless to say, I beat a hasty retreat along
the
perimeter of the fence and left before that dog decided I was more of a threat
than it felt at that moment. I love big dogs, I adore Danes, but this dog
was NOT happy with my presence.
I know you don't take your dogs to those parks, but have you heard
of any local instances of dog fights at one of them?
Jinn / Sabarika
Mr. Frawley
I ran into another example of how ignorant most people are about proper care and training of dogs today. One of coworkers adopted a 10 month old golden retriever mix last week. In talking with him today he commented that he'd been taking it to the local dog park already. I told him I'd never take my Malamute mix there, as all it would take was one aggressive dog and the fur would fly. He then told me that yeah, he'd already seen a couple dog fights there, but he didn't worry about his dog, as it was "put in his place" by a larger dog last weekend. I quickly explained to him that it doesn't work that way, and being attacked would be more likely to make his new pet dog aggressive. I then sent him a copy of your article on Dog Parks. I've had the same issue with another coworker, who unfortunately ignored your advice and still takes his year old great dane to the park. The dog park in question is about the worst situation I can imagine. It's simply a 1/4 acre field with a 4' fence around it. No supervision outside of the dogs owners themselves. To make matters worse one local dog trainer was interviewed by the paper and stated that it was a wonderful thing as the dogs would be able to play and learn proper pack behavior. I saw that and thought, Yeah, they'll learn that little dogs get beat up by packs of big dogs.
You may recall that I e-mailed you last year after my dog had been repeatedly attacked while on our evening walks. At that point I'd already pepper sprayed 2 different aggressor dogs. Since then I've given up on walking my dog in this neighborhood and just exercise her as best I can at home. Re-reading your article on dog parks today it dawned on me that I'm living in one! Most of my neighbors have dogs that they let roam completely unsupervised. Several more walk their obviously untrained dogs off leash, where they run every which way through every unfenced yard. The dogs range from toy poodles to Rottweilers. Fortunately between my dog and my next door neighbors' 2 German Shepherds (who are always restrained) the other dogs stay out of our yards. Now that the ground has thawed here, my yard will soon have a large fenced area where I can safely train and exercise my dog. The worst part is that I now have to deal with the fact that my dog will snap at any strange dog that approaches unrestrained (we're working on that and it's rarely a problem now).
I also e-mailed previously about sled dogs, and how teams of up to 20 dogs can get along without constant fights over rank. I think I can answer that myself now after reading your articles and observing how mushers, at least the conscientious ones, handle their teams. First, any time a pair of dogs do fight, the mushers come down on them like a ton of bricks, clearly establishing themselves as the team's Alpha (the lead dog is clearly the second rank). Second, the dogs are normally restrained on chains out of reach, but in plain site of each other in a common fenced enclosure. The fence is to protect the dogs from moose and wandering dogs, and to keep in any dog that does manage to get loose. I believe that the dogs manage to establish pack rank without fighting or coming into direct contact through posturing and verbal signals. Two things provide evidence of this. One, many mushers I know, and even the local dog shelter, turn all their dogs loose inside the fence to run and play together briefly each day. As you can imagine, having up to 20 large dogs running together can be pretty chaotic. But fights are still very rare. One musher I know has his dogs so well trained that he can harness them, then turn them loose and they'll immediately run to their place on the main line and wait to be hitched to the sled. The other evidence I have that dogs establish pack order without fighting is my own dog, and the 2 German shepherds next door. The GSD's act very aggressive towards any dog they see go by. However, a couple times when one or the other of them has gotten loose and run up to me and my dog everyone is perfectly friendly. They can see my dog, and my dog can see them all the time. As I've stated before, my dog generally will snap at another dog that runs up to her unrestrained, so I have to assume that the 3 of them have established their pack order without any physical contact.
Thanks again for all your great advice, videos and articles! I don't know how I would have managed my dog without them.
Phil
Making Dog Parks Safer
A sixty-pound child is roughed up by a one-hundred pound dog at
a place where dogs are supposed to run free, but run safely. Changes
may soon be made at some area dog parks, after an incident this
weekend raises questions about safety at the parks. A child was
pawed and bitten by a dog at a Hamilton County dog park, and he's
not alone.
Local 12 Reporter Jeff Hirsh unleashes some concerns in this developing
story.
What's more fun than going to the park with your buddies, get some
much-needed exercise, and even play wide retriever. Well, usually,
it is fun, but not always.
"It was very scary."
These scratch and bite marks are on an eight year old boy who was
at the Armleider Dog Park yesterday with his mom and their pet.
But another dog ... a big mastiff ... perhaps only wanting to play
... used the child as a chew toy.
Tracy Hickenlooper, Dog bite victim's mother: "He was screaming,
he rolled up into a ball, saying get him off me. He was rolling
up into a ball, trying to get away, and the dog continued to go
after him."
It's also a dog-eat-dog world. This dog needed stitches to close
a wound several months ago, from the same Hamilton County Park
Board facility.
"Now, if dogs could read the rules, they would find out that owners
are supposed to have leashes in hands at all times, that big dogs
and small dogs are supposed to be in separate areas, and that aggressive
dogs are supposed to be removed immediately."
Dogs who bite people are supposed to be quarantined for ten days,
if they're caught.
Harold Dates, SPCA Director: "You've got to observe how your dog
is behaving. Is he truly getting exercise? Is he trying to take
over the other dogs in the park. What is your dog doing?"
Tyler and Nico are not exactly threats. Owner Anne Huddleston loves
to bring them here. But sometimes, Huddleston sees other folks
drop off dogs and leave for hours.
Anne Huddleston, Dog Owner: "Here they come back from wherever
they've been, pick their dog up. They just leave them here, do
whatever business they have to do and that's very irresponsible."
One nearby community may have a solution. In Anderson Township,
park users pay a small yearly fee, register their dogs, wear i-d
tags, and incident report forms are at the gate. Tracy Hickenlooper
would like to see Hamilton County's Dog Park do the same thing.
"Some people see it as a social situation and they're on their
cell phones and talking to dog owners and not paying attention
to their dogs. These things happen fast."
Jeff Hirsh, Local 12.
Attack reports are rare in dog parks, but the Anderson Park District
did ban one aggressive dog from its facility. Hamilton County is
considering a permit-and-fee system in a possible new dog park.
That's on the west side of town. There are no plans for it in Armleader
Park, on the east side.
Hi Ed,
I enjoyed reading your article on dog
parks. I used to
take our Lab quite a bit, but not after an episode 2 weeks ago
while vacationing in California. We have a 9 year old Lab,
that just loves to play with other dogs.
We decided to go with friends to a dog
park and low and behold 2 brothers, Akita's I might add were
there. I didn't know what Akitas looked like or what the breeds disposition was prior
to this episode.
We let our dog in the park and 2 Akitas came right up
sandwiched our dog side to side;- One was head to head the
other Head to rear at our dog. We heard a lot of growling
and noticed the dogs were ready to go to war on ours. We
heard ours yelp ( You could tell our dog knew he was in trouble)
, my husband intervened ( THANK GOD) before the attack began.
However our dog must have had a panic
or had anxiety attack, he
fell to the ground and became uncoordinated just kicking( I thought
he was having a seizure or heart attack) After 30 seconds
he was fine. Ready to get up and play again. We left
that park ASAP! Not to mention- haven't been to one since.
I can tell you, we will never go to
another dog park EVER!
I have taken him to day care while I
worked to play with other dogs, we have friends over that bring
their dogs. He is very
well socialized. However when I witnessed how quickly our dog could have been seriously injured
or killed for that matter, I can't begin to tell you how upset I was. Worse
yet the owners didn't even pull their dogs out of the area. All
the other people left because the Akitas remained aggressive.
So I Thank you for warning people about
these places. We
were very lucky nothing happened to our dog that day, some people
I'm sure aren't so lucky.
Take Care,
Lisa
Knoxville, Tn
Comment on Dog Parks:
I just wanted to take a moment
to thank you for your web site advice. My beloved, very friendly dog
was attacked in a park
this past weekend. I was so upset with the owners of the dog, because
their dog was so aggressive and yet not leashed. ( I am sure this dog
has had "run -in's" in the past) Oddly enough, the owner was
bit and my dog was left unharmed as your advice mentioned.
I told so many people of my ordeal and yet nobody seemed to know what
they would have done either. Thank you so much for the proper advice.
My husband & I live in nearby West Bend,
and are glad to know you are so close if we need your expertise.
Sincerely,
Michelle
I refuse to take my dogs to any dog park and
your article pretty much hit all the reasons why I don't.
But since humans are social animals, one of the biggest problems I've
seen has its roots in a well-established group of owners who meet at
the same time. I have likened these groups as junior high school cliques. These cliques are aware that some of the dogs present will cow or attack
a new dog at the park and they allow this to happen. If the owner of
the new dog should protect their pet in any way, shape or form, they
threaten the new person. Humans are predators as well and I've seen them
pack up on new people (or myself when I got upset when my elderly golden
was attacked).
My vet, when we were discussing the bad dynamics of dog parks social
structure and safety, mentioned that there are people who know their
dog is aggressive and enjoy bringing their dog to designated dog parks
to see them attack other dogs. I've seen owners of large, powerful, protection
dogs (young men with GSDs are the worst, followed by young men with Dobermans
and Rottweilers) actually introduce their dog to the largest protection
dog they encounter and try to initiate or prolong a fight. When their
dogs attack mine, I tell them to get their dog off of mine. I have had
been threatened with physical violence. I tell them I have pepper spray
(and not just one of those lipstick canisters, but a size for more than
a few really good shots to use on the problem dog AND their owner) that
I will use on them as well as their dog.
My present golden retriever when she
only weighed 35-40 pounds was attacked by a GSD (9 months old & 95 pounds). The dog was trying to grab her
by the nape of the neck to shake her like a squirrel - the owners told
me he was just a puppy and playing. My dog was screaming in fear and
I kept on trying to get on top of her using my entire body as this dog
was relentless. In trying to get my dog under my torso it bit my shoulder,
arm, and elbow. Nobody helped me at all. Finally I shouted (and used
very crude swear words) that if that dog was not controlled immediately
I would do it myself. And this is the typical escalation of conflict
at these dog parks. (BTW, my golden is fearful of strange dogs now -
so I take her trail running and avoid other people and their dogs - she
is much happier getting the exercise and chasing squirrels than the nonsense
of a dog park). I started swearing at the people who told me their dog
was just playing and the dogs should work it out. I told them that they
are not going to work it out on my dog and that I would get their license
plate numbers if my dog should be injured because I will sue. I've was
told to leave this public dog park or that "they would make me." These
idiots don't seem to realize that even making threats is simple assault,
and when I tell them I will call the police for these threats they look
stunned - apparently it doesn't occur to them that they are breaking
the law.
My perspective of dog parks is very negative. I've seen people standing
around in conversation and not monitoring the activity of their dogs. I've seen dog walkers bring up to 10-12 dogs over which they have no
control. I've seen truly clueless people who may or may not have a dog
come to the park with children as young as 3-4 years and allow their
kids to commingle with a swirling mass of dogs.
Thank you for your frankness. I really appreciate someone who understands
pack behavior and clearly states what is really going on with owners
and their dogs.
Debbie
Pet death shows dog park danger
Rottweiler attacked, killed dachshund at Centennial
BY FELIX DOLIGOSA
JR.,
Californian staff writer e-mail: fdoligosa@bakersfield.com
| Sunday, Jul 8 2007 9:40 PM
Last Updated: Sunday, Jul 8 2007 9:43
PM Grr the brown dachshund was just getting used to being around other
canines at dog parks. He stopped soiling the ground whenever he was
approached by a dog and wasn't afraid to sniff another mutt. Grr became
that scared little dog again on July 2 when a hulking Rottweiler cornered
and attacked him in a central Bakersfield dog park. Despite getting
kicked and punched in his face, the growling Rottweiler only stopped
after it fatally punctured Grr's throat. The dachshund would die about
31/2 hours later, according to Animal Emergency and Urgent Care. "To some people dogs
are just animals, but to us he was a child," said Grr's owner, Spencer
Schluter. "Grr was just starting to come out of his shell." Taking
a dog to any of Bakersfield's four dog parks can be a risk because
you never know what kind of dogs you will encounter, said Kern County
Animal Control Chief Denise Haynes. "It's tough because everybody should
have a place to exercise their dog," Haynes said. "Each individual
dog owner must not only think about the risks of other dogs, but also
their own." Spencer and his wife, Sarah Schluter, went to the Centennial
Dog Park at 400 Montclair St. that nice, warm evening to let Grr and
his Chihuahua buddy, Furio, get some exercise. "We've been visiting
this park for the past two weeks and all the other dogs have been very
friendly," Spencer Schluter said. "We were thinking if a dog attacked,
we could just scoop up Grr and Furio. The couple were walking in the
park when an unleashed Rottweiler scrambled from 10 feet away to chase
down Grr, Schluter said. The owner was in the middle of the park playing
soccer, according to the couple. The Rottweiler cornered Grr against
a fence and bit the dachshund several times, Schluter said. Schluter,
who used to practice martial arts, punched and kicked the Rottweiler
without getting him Pet death shows dog park danger - Latest news |
Bakersfield.com - Kern...
http://www.bakersfield.com/hourly_news/story/183970.html
2 of 2 7/9/2007 7:50 AM to stop. The estimated 150-pound dog didn't
stop until it was done. Schluter took off his shirt and wrapped it
around Grr's neck as blood dripped over the owner's chest and legs.
He cried, "help me, help me," as they carried Grr to their car and
hurried to an animal hospital. Schluter gave Grr mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Air bubbled out of holes in Grr's throat. "Please don't leave us, Grr.
Please stay with us," the couple told the dog as they sped past red
lights. Grr stopped crying after driving through several blocks as
his tongue hung outside his mouth. The blood over Grr's face made his
brown eyes look green. Grr, the dog the couple called their NutraSweet
baby because he was their substitute child, died when a hemorrhage
formed in his neck, according to the veterinarian hospital. "I pray
he wasn't in pain," Spencer Schluter said. "Because of his neck injury,
they couldn't give him an anesthetic." He and and wife bought Grr after
they were married in 2005. "We planned to have him with us for most
of our marriage," he said. "To see our children grow up, to be old
and cranky with us, to never learn not to poop on the rug." With all
that happened that sad night, the couple didn't think about finding
the Rottweiler owner. Police searched the area and never found any
suspects, said Lt. Mike Cantrell with the Bakersfield Police Department. "I
don't want to sue the owner," Schluter said. "I don't want to abuse
Grr's memory by focusing on anger, but we feel people should be aware
of the danger of certain breeds of dog so that incidents like this
don't happen. "If that had been one of the many children who play in
that park, I don't want to think about the possible outcomes."
Dog Park violence on the rise
By Lisa Black
Published March 27, 2007,
Robin Hunt used to walk her pets up to three miles a day at a Libertyville
dog park. But she hasn't since July, when two Akitas mauled her 12-pound Chihuahua mix,
Deardra, and left her with $5,000 in veterinarian bills.
Deardra is among dozens of dogs bitten or attacked in the past year
at the region's dog parks, according to data kept by various agencies. Some veterinarians and trainers
worry that too few owners take responsibility for their pets in the free-for-all environment
in which dogs frolic off-leash.
In response, some dog park operators are strengthening
rules or creating "adjustment areas"—smaller spaces where dogs may get
accustomed to socializing before entering the larger park. Among them is Lake in the Hills' Bark Park, where a pack
of young dogs killed a Pomeranian last year.
Advocates who enumerate the benefits of exercise and socialization say
the majority of dogs safely use parks.
But as dedicated dog parks proliferate in the Chicago area, others say
the problem of dog attacks is just emerging. Even the most docile animals, they say, can
raise another pup's hackles or skirmish over a toy.
"Dog parks are a great idea, but I honestly don't think there's enough
control," said Cathie Sabin, owner of B.C. Dog Training in Mundelein. "I
have seen people pull up to a dog park, open the gates, let the dogs in and go back in
their car and read a newspaper."
Most dog parks require permits and proof that the animal is vaccinated.
Sabin wonders if the permit holders should also be tested on whether their dog responds by
name and if the owner can recognize menacing signs, such as a dog that assumes an aggressive
stance.
Dr. Kristen Temo, a veterinarian who treated Deardra at the Animal Emergency
and Treatment Center in Grayslake, said she often treats dogs for scrapes after they
visit Libertyville's Independence Grove Dog Exercise Area. Temo rarely takes her 95-pound
dog there.
"That's because I don't like sewing up cuts on my day off," she
said.
When the Akitas cornered Deardra, the two women who brought them had
walked around a bend, deep in conversation. Hunt said one of
the Akitas had started "death
shaking" Deardra by the time she was able to get the women's attention by screaming.
Deardra underwent surgery to fix a gaping hole in her abdomen.
It is difficult to estimate the numbers of injuries at the parks because
they are often lumped into broader categories of dog bites. It's likely that some aren't reported
at all.
Chicago and Cook County officials declined to provide statistics but
said they have received very few reports.
Lake County Animal Control Supervisor Len Hackl estimates that he receives
20 to 25 reports annually of dog-on-dog bites at the four dog parks owned by the Forest
Preserve District.
“We just had a discussion with some of
the forest preserve staff, because we found out there were incidents being reported to them and not
to us and vice versa," Hackl
said. "We are going to keep better track of that, especially
with spring and summer coming."
The DuPage County Forest Preserve District recorded 26 dog-on-dog incidents
at its seven offleash dog parks in 2006, spokesman Bill Weidner said.
In McHenry County, dog parks are overseen by municipalities, and no
such statistics are available. But Bark Park in Lake in the Hills instituted new rules after
the Pomeranian's death.
The park now prohibits dogs that are aggressive, in heat or younger
than 6 months.
No statistics were available for the two dog parks operated by Will
County's Forest Preserve District. The district has rescinded several permits because of aggressive
dog behavior over six years, said spokesman Bruce Hodgdon.
He recalls easily the most serious incident, on the opening day of Hammel
Woods, in which a small dog died.
Even the people who love dog parks and seldom have problems say they
understand the need to tend to their animals.
"I've had maybe two incidents where I've come across an aggressive dog," said
Selina
Carpenter of Grayslake, a regular at Independence Grove park. In one
case, she said a yellow lab growled at her Great Dane, Hampton, when he tried to play with the
lab's toy.
In most dog parks, regulars develop friendships and form a self-policing
community, she said.
Authorities say regulars often report park violations.
Trainer Toriano Sanzone, owner of DOPA Dogs in Chicago, said he advises
clients to run through training commands with their dogs at the parks and then reward
them by letting them run off-leash.
"You shouldn't just let them go," said Sanzone,
who said that too many owners talk on cell phones or socialize with others while their dogs play.
He likened it to parents ignoring preschoolers at a park.
"Eventually someone is going to fall off a slide or get into it over
a particular swing," he said.
He advises owners to keep a short 4-inch leash on their dogs so they
can restrain them if necessary. Other trainers suggest bringing an air horn to scare off
an aggressive dog.
If there is a fight between dogs, experts say it will be difficult to
step in without getting hurt.
Some advise pulling a dog's hind legs to get it away from another animal;
others suggest wedging a large stick in the dog's mouth.
Maggie Ross, 25, of Lake Villa said she was terrified
when a stocky white dog—she is not sure of the breed—latched onto the neck of her
yellow Labrador retriever at Independence Grove last month. Her 9-month-old dog, Payton, wasn't injured badly because
he was wearing a collar that became entangled in the attacker's teeth, she said.
"My dog was gasping for air. His eyes were bulging out," Ross said. "From
the sounds of it, I thought my dog was dying."
The woman who owned the attacking dog was fined $300 and prohibited
from returning to the park because there was a prior record of her two pets fighting, officials
said.
"Dogs won't fight unless there's an issue," Sabin said. "But
like people with their kids, it's never my kid [who started it]. It's never my dog." --
An eye surgeon took his dog to a dog park. While there, his dog and
another began to fight. The other dog was a mastiff; the doctor's dog
was a labrador. The mastiff grabbed the labrador by the throat and
started shaking it. Neither the mastiff's owner nor the doctor could
make the mastiff let go. The doctor had a can of Mace in his pocket.
He sprayed Mace into the eyes of the mastiff. It let go of the labrador's
throat and began biting the doctor on his hand. As a result of the
injuries to his hand, the doctor finds it difficult to engage in his
occupation as an eye surgeon who has to do microsurgery -- a job that
requires steady hands. The settlement was $50,000.00. – Attorney
website http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/danger.htm
Tucson Wants Tougher Laws Against Irresponsible Pet Owners
Oct 3, 2007 12:30 PM PDT
Are Old Pueblo pups sitting pretty or are our dogs in danger? It depends
who you ask.
Click
HERE to access an interactive web story put out by Men's
Health Magazine that reveals the nations top dog friendly cities.
By clicking on Tucson you can see we get the fourth ranking for a
number of reasons. The best marks come from our vet services. From
this you'd think our pooches are in primo shape, right? Think again!
City council is looking at the quality of life for our four legged friends.
Dog parks are some of the only places in the
city where your dog can roam leash-free, but the city is pushing for
tougher punishment for dog owners who break that law.
Dog parks are a growing trend across the country and Tucson is no different.
"He loves it here, he has a great time so it's great that it's really
convenient," says Crystal Adams.
There's nothing more enjoyable for Crystal and
her little dog Rusty than leaving the leash at home. But it's outside
the dog park where she
has concerns about other dogs roaming free.
"Having irresponsible pet owners without the dogs on a leash and they're
aggressive, that's not too great," says Crystal.
That's why Tucson City Councilwoman Carol West is pushing for tougher
laws against violators after a string of disturbing incidents in her
ward. One particularly gruesome story where a loose dog became dangerous.
"A little puppy was on a leash in a park and
a big dog came and tore his eye out."
West says increasing fines by $50 could discourage
pet owners from letting their dogs run loose. Violators would pay up
to 200 dollars. …
Question on Dog Parks
Mr. Frawley,
Please help, I am desperate. Three months ago, we found Eli in the park.
The vet believes he is about one year old. He is aggressive towards other
dogs and chews everything that can fit into his mouth. Last night, in
training class, Eli bit another dog and would not let go. The dog received
stitches and my husband received a nice wound as well. On walks Eli is
aggressive towards other dogs and try's to go after them. We have a lab
collie mix who is 6 years old and much smaller. I want to begin a family
soon. I am worried, can this behavior be stopped? Is it too aggressive.
The trainer did not give any suggestions and I don't know what to do.
I don't want Eli to hurt our other dog much less anyone else.
Thank you for your time.
Angelle
Answer on Dog Parks:
Read the articles on my web site about Dealing
with Aggressive Dogs. Also read the Q&A sections. This can be cured with proper obedience training.
I would recommend that you get a prong
collar and my Basic Dog
Obedience video.
Correcting this is going to require strong training
with very severe corrections, the dog must respect the pack leader and
fear the results of not minding more than its interest in fighting.
The reason your dog is aggressive is because it was
a stray and had been attacked itself as a stray.
Some people do not have the temperament to correct hard
enough to stop this behavior - those people need to find a new home for
their dog.
Question on Dog Parks:
Hello,
I was exploring your sight and I had a question; I
am the owner of a 4.5 month old Australian Shepherd/ lab mix. My trainer
suggested that I socialize him to as many people and other animals as
I am able. When I first adopted Jake, I found him difficult to manage.
He was teething badly, and tended to nip at me in a somewhat aggressive
manner. Jake has a very dominate personality. He is very confident,
does
not startle easily (at all!), and he is very alert. The first few weeks
of ownership felt like a constant battle to gain leadership, and he
often
outsmarted me. I have been taking Jake to a local dog park several times
a week for the last three weeks. He is very friendly with all the dogs
and the humans as well. At the park he often wrestles with the adult
dogs. One on particular dog try's and get Jake into the submissive posture.
Unless
he is tired, Jake energetically resists. These wrestling matches are
not accompanied by growling or barking and the dogs will often stop,
share
a drink at the same water fountain and then start up again. I often intervene
and have Jake sit for a while and rest, as he has a tendency of playing
himself to exhaustion. Also, I have also noticed that Jake adjusts his
play style to match the dog that he is playing with. If the other dog
doesn't want to wrestle, they will play chase, or fetch together. I have
seem him wrestle down a dog three his size, and then turn around and
gently
nuzzle a poodle half his size.
If I understood you correctly, you stated that dog
parks may be detrimental to the bond between owner and companion. My experience
has been just the opposite. Jake is much calmer, more affectionate and
responsive to me. He seems more "in tune" with me, and he looks
forward to his trips to the park so much so that he runs to the car almost
every time I let him out in the yard. I was interested in your opinion
on this. Am I inadvertently harming my dog? And how can this be when all
the changes I have seen are positive ones?
I thank you for your time, and I hope to hear back from
you soon.
Mary
Answer on Dog Parks:
You totally misunderstood what I wrote in my article
on DOG PARKS. I never said or even implied that taking a dog to the dog
park would hurt the relationship with the dog and handler. What you risk
every single time that you take your dog there is that your dog will
be attacked by a dog aggressive dog. If that happens you will have a
dog
fighter for the rest of your life.
Read my article
on animal aggression.
You would be much wiser to spend the same amount of
time training your dog in obedience. The one on one time spent in training
will have far better results than the time your dog spends wrestling
with other dogs. If you want exercise – take your dog swimming,
play Frisbee,ball with him. Time spent with the owner is 59 times better
than
time spent with other dogs.
If you would like to learn more about the principles
of obedience training a dog, read the description for my Basic Dog Obedience
video. You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on
the steps of training a dog must go through before it can be considered
fully trained. You can also read why I am not a fan of taking an untrained
dog to obedience classes.
Get a prong collar and train your dog. If you were working
with a dog trainer that knew what he or she was talking about they would
have already told you these things.
Testimonial on Dog Parks:
Mr. Frawley,
I have been reading some of your articles with great
interest, especially ones that talk about dogs and their pack instincts.
While reading your article about dog parks something came to my mind
that I wanted to ask your advice on.
Where I live we have plenty of dogs and businesses that
cater to their needs. I think that responsible dog walkers provide a wonderful
service and can be a great asset to some of the dog owners. I do however
have a huge problem with pack walkers. These people are super irresponsible
and I don't think they even realize the sort of dangers that can be associated
with what they do. I am talking about dog walkers who are trying to maximize
their profits and will walk as many as 15 dogs at once!!! (yes, that's
one person walking all these dogs together and I am not talking about
chihuahuas!).
I have seen them on city streets and in parks. The dogs
they walk are in danger of injury, any other dogs or people they meet
are in danger, not to mention these people never pick up the piles of
poop their dog herds drop as they walk.
I want to write a letter to the city news paper with
hopes that something will be done about this. I'm not hoping for any
sort
of legislation, but at least by educating the public and consumers this
sort of practice will cease.
I am writing to you with the hopes that you would be
so kind as to help me to write such an article or point me towards articles
describing similar scenarios. I am not knowledgeable enough about the
dynamics of a pack of dogs to be able to write a powerful enough article
on this topic. I can write about some of the other nuisances and risks
associated with pack walking.
How many dogs do you think is the most one person should
be in charge of? Our city by-law limits the number of dogs per house hold
to 3. I thought this might be a reasonable number of dogs for a dog walker
to be in charge of as well.
I would really appreciate any sort of suggestions or
help you may be able to offer me.
Looking forward to your reply,
Marta
Testimonial on Dog Parks:
I took my 2 year old Great Dane
to the dog park a few days ago. Same park we've been going to for
the
past year, no problems. Well, a un-neutered male dog came up to him and
started growling at him. I forget the breed, but something like a
Chiva,
Silva, something. Little brown dog, seventy pounds or so. Well, my Dane
obviously felt provoked and growled back. Duh! Fight ensued, the other
dog ended up with three puncture wounds. One 1 1/2" deep, and so
I encouraged the owner to take their dog to the vet. They resisted at
first, but I insisted. I spoke with the owner and gave her my information
to pay their entire bill, as my Dane had never bitten another dog (or
anything for that matter) ever before.
A day later I got a call from her husband, irate as
all get-go. I finally calmed him down and explained that I did everything
in my power to break up the fight (yes, I know how to pull them apart
from behind) but they ran off. I am sure they reported me anyway, because
I got a nasty-gram from the city today, and so I decided to research
my liabilities. Well, after reading various articles and opinions, many
on
your site, I've decided it's smarter to keep my puppies at home, safe,
and away from the un-neutered male dogs of the world. Poco has been
attacked
5 times now, and I realize what you say is true - he's learning to be
a fighter. I don't want that!
When I send them the money for the bill, I am also going
to send them a link to your web site so maybe they can realize the same
thing I have. Dog parks are NOT safe.
Thanks for waking me up and helping me (hopefully)
avoid future problems.
Testimonial on Dog Parks:
I recently took my six-month old Jack Russell Terrier
to an unleash dog park here in Southern California. Unfortunately the
dog park is self-governed and has only been divided into large and small
dogs with no posted regulations. My dog had been there numerous times
without incident, but the other day she went to investigate a very small
older
T-cup Chihuahua who bit her on the nose. My dog
was trying to establish the pack order when the owner jerked her dog
away from mine, but she was still attached. The small dog only weighed
3 1/2 pounds and was seven years old. The dog passed away five days later.
As a pet owner
I felt horrible and I went immediately to the emergency pet hospital
and told them I would be happy to pay for half the bill.
All this has not been enough I am now being sued, and told they are
going to have a motion to order that my little dog be put down since
she is aggressive.
Since that time I have read several articles on the definition of inter-dog
aggression and all three exclude example of aggression when the dog is
provoked, such as being bitten first.
Question on Dog Parks:
Over the weekend a dog was killed by two pit
bulls at a local dog park. I had coincidentally seen these two
pit bulls at a dog
park near my home which I had gone to "check out" (
I personally have never taken my dogs to a dog park after my
Doberman
was attacked and almost died 7 years ago) only a few days before
the killing.
I have spent the last several days at this park warning other
dog owners of these two dogs in particular and other general
precautions
they should adhere to should they choose to be in a dog park.
The stuff I have heard and seen has frightened me to the core
of my
being. People with toddlers loose among a group of dogs, misinterpretation
of dog behavior, obvious bullying and dominating labeled "oh
he just wants to play", rapid escalation of other dogs joining
a dominating dog ....people are not educated on what is appropriate
behavior. I have been scouring the internet to compile any type
of informational material that I can gather to educate these
dog owners about
1) when is my dog being bullied ?
2) when is my dog being a bully?
3) what are acceptable behaviors and what is going to lead to trouble?
Can you direct me to any material in particular that would help?
I would like to be able to arm people with knowledge: signs they
should look for and dispel some of the myths...
Thanks!
Ed's Comment on Dog Parks:
The solution is to not visit dog parks. Dogs
are pack animals - there is NO REAson on earth to be exposing your
dog to strange dogs outside of his pack. You bring problems on
yourself by doing this. Not only is this concept of dog parks dangerous
for your dog - it is dangerous for people who find themselves in
a position to have to break up dog fights.
Read the article I wrote on HOW TO BREAK UP A
DOG FIGHT WITHOUT GETTING HURT.
Hi-
Your site is great and I am looking for your opinion about by 14
month old dog Maisie. She is a Australian Shepherd mix (picture
@ 8 mos. attached). We got her at a pet adoption day when she
was 8 mos. old. She was spayed. Her previous owner was a college
student who couldn't care for the dog.
The dog quickly adjusted to living with us and
has been nothing but affectionate (very) to me and my wife.
After a few months went by, she began barking at people approaching
the house, which was OK with me at that time. I didn't reward
or punish. Since I travel, I thought it would be nice to have
the
dog make some noise if a stranger approaches the house while
my wife is home alone. However, this problem is getting out
of hand.
She now is going crazy when the doorbell rings and will not
calm down. We have put her in her crate and she makes so much
noise,
that we have to move her to a back room when guests are here.
We want to get her used to guests, so a little after guests
arrive, we will bring her out on a leash to sniff the guests
and get
to know them. Both times we did that, she jumped at the guests
(I
yanked her back on the leash and yelled at her) and she was
removed to the back room for the remainder of the visit.
This behavior
was once limited to our house, but now she is beginning to
do similar things outside of the house.
We have always taken her to dog parks to play with other
dogs and people and her behavior there has generally been
good.
If she has
ever gotten into a scuffle, I have pulled her away reprimanded
her and forcefully walked her away on her leash. THe last
two times at the dog park, she aggressively attacked small
white
dogs (unprovoked).
Both times, I have verbally reprimanded her and shaken
her on her leash. Since, it happened a second time, I doubt
it
is having
an
effect.
Lastly, she has begun to growl and lunge at people outside
of our home (in the pet store and on a farm where I work).
I never
let
her go unleashed outside of the dog park or our backyard
for fear that she will attack a dog or a person.
Can this problem be treated or is it too late? I feel
that this problem is new. She has basic obedience training,
and will follow
basic commands but does not pay attention in high distraction
situations.
Your advice would be appreciated.
Brian
Florida
Dog Fights in Dog Parks
I have a 5 year old female pit mix. She is very loveable and
friendly-especially to people. Everyone that comes into contact
with her says that she is just the sweetest dog. Very affectionate.
About a week ago, we went to the dog park that we always
go to. There were the usual 5 dogs that go there that she
runs
around with-but there was one dog that I haven't seen there
before. She was running around with them having a blast.
Then all of a sudden, a fight broke out between my dog
and the other
dog-who is not aggressive at all. It sounded terrible. I
didn't know what to do-so I stood clear to let them fight-didn't
want
to get in the middle. My dog was very aggressive-she kept
going after the other dog. The owner of the other dog tried
to break
it up and got badly bit. The two dogs eventually were separated
and I left as soon as I can. Ever since the fight-my dog
has been acting funny. Very timid, and scared, which is
very unlike
her. She's usually very happy.
I have a few concerns:
-Why is my dog acting weird, should I be worried about my own
safety-she's never tried to attack me.
-Since the owner of the other dog got bit-can he do anything
to me-legally?
I just don't know where to go from here. I definitely
will not go to that park, or any other park. She will
be on a
leash at all times. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much,
Sarah Q.
I'd also like
to say, upon re-reading your article, that I do appreciate
it. I enjoy going to my
local dog park because I am friends with several trainers and
owners that frequent it (whose dogs are very well under their
control) but each time I go I bring a first-aid kit for my
dog. I go less and less frequently any more because I'm seeing
more and more un-neutered and un-spayed dogs running around,
especially those who are mixes of dog-aggressive prone breeds.
I have absolutely no problems with such breeds, but it worries
me because of certain incidents I have witnessed. One such
incident was a very large un-neutered adult "pit bull" mix
type dog--looked to be an Am Staff cross. There were perhaps
6 to 8 Boxers in the park that day with two being pups looking
about 4 to 6 months. This pit-type dog became very dominant
with one of the smaller puppies and began to rough it up by
knocking it over and chasing it. Several owners noticed this
behavior becoming quite dangerous and leading to aggression
so the Boxer pup's owner (a man of about 6') took his pup and
began to walk away. Nobody could locate the pit's owner since
they were nowhere in immediate sight. I watched (and I'm upset
I didn't take photos of this) as the pit turned around and
continued after the Boxer as it was being led by the harness
with it's owner. The owner finally picked the pup up (after
it began yelping and further provoking this pit's nips and
excited barks) and the pit didn't stop there--it began to leap
(several feet off the ground) and snap at the pup as the man
carried it. The aggression ensued as owners began congregating
to find a way to keep this dog away because it had no collars
on whatsoever and was wriggling past everyone to take giant
running leaps at the Boxer--who was now hoisted over the man's
shoulder. The man was physically pushing and shoving this aggressive
dog away from him because it was jumping about as high as his
chest and laughing itself off of other dogs and people to get
to the Boxer puppy. The owner was finally located (she was
quite unfit to be an owner--very skinny white trash-type woman
with an attitude and obviously very little dog education) and
was yelled at by several owners to keep an eye on her dog and
to keep an obviously dog-aggressive animal out of the park.
The dog obviously didn't listen to her because it took several
minutes to be caught and she put a chain collar on it, the
entire time babbling about how her dog "just wants to
play" and "isn't mean at all." The owner of
the dog park had arrived at this time and demanded that she
leave the park and was not welcome back, as far as I had heard
this was not an isolated incident involving her and her dog.
Since then I've been very cautious about when I bring my dog
in (~9 month-old husky/aussie cross) and how long I stay. It
proves the point that dog parks are not safe for many reasons
and it's almost like playing roulette with your pup--you don't
know what dog is going to trigger an attack and it's go at
your own risk.
Jinn
Photo by Jinn Sabarika ~ www.spiralingdreams.com
Problems in Dog Park:
Ed,
I am the owner of an dobie with a very even temprement...but
when provoked he will fight back. We go to a dog park and
he plays and walks with other dogs. This week a neutered
Cane
Corso after walking with him decided to hump him once we
were done with the walk. The owner did nothing to pull
his dog off
of my dog. My dog freaked out and they got in a fight, no
blood was shed, but the owner of the dog that did the
humping started
a big uproar and emailing members that he considered my dog
a dangerous dog (Dobe) and pulled people on his bandwagon.
I think people should control their dogs so that they are
not humping other dogs at the park. Others say that
is normal behavior.
I cannot seem to convince half of the people that it is inappropriate
park behavior. What do you think? Is the dobe a dangerous
dog for protecting himself? Is the Cane Corso the start
of the
fight because of the humping behavior? Thank you.
Karin
Ed's Answer to Problem in Dog Parks
This is an example of why you should not
be going to Dog Parks. They are a bad idea conceived by nice
people.
The fact that the Dobe acted appropriately
is beside the fact. What should have happened was the owner
of the Can should have
stopped this behavior, when that did not happen the Dobe owner
should have stopped the behavior. Neither of these things happened
so the Dobe had to deal with it.
People who do not understand pack behavior
go to dog parks. People who do not understand pack behavior
create pack behavior problems by not being pack leaders. When
that happens bad things happen.
The solution is to not go to dog parks because
they are filled with uneducated dog owners with untrained dogs.
DOG KILLED AT DOG PARK
I originally found your
site about 6 years ago. At the time, I was just starting to
get into breeding GSDs, and was amazed at the sheer volume
of information, tips, and common sense on your site. I was
just on it today, and was reading your dog park article. There
is one thing that you failed to mention in your article. When
you have dog sitters, you MUST ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS make
it crystal clear that they are not to take your dogs to dog
parks. I was out of town for a few weeks, and a friend was
keeping a few of my dogs at her place (the ones i could not
take with me) I had a beautiful red sable 10 month old male
out of slovakian and dr working lines.
Voodoo was not aggressive
towards other dogs, usually, but Rachel took him, Chaos,
and Bella to a local dog park. Voodoo was instantly attacked,
and
killed. I have never taken any of my dogs to dog parks, and
was totally shocked that that was allowed to happen. the
park was supervised, but the staff was busy elsewhere. Bella
and
Chaos brought parvo home that they obviously got at the dog
park. I called the park office, and they told me that over
100 dogs had become sick with parvo after they, or other
household dogs had visited.
Needless to say, I lost 2 litters,
in addition
to my 10 month old male. that park is in the middle of
a class action lawsuit from several of the dog owners.
Thank your for your interest in our German Shepherd Dogs
Kaliber Kennels
Ed's Answer to A Dog Attack at a Dog Park:
You should sue the people who run this
park.
A comment from a Dog Park Supporter:
Ed:
How do you allow people to post crazy
unsubstantiated reports like this that make no sense ?
If there was a dog park in North America
that had incurred 2 cases of parvo virus that news would
be getting headlines in every major newspaper in the country.
If you had an ounce of sense in your
head you should have been able to figure that out for yourself.
Instead of posting every single unsubstantiated
story that comes to your attention, why don't you spend about
10% of your free time getting some details about the stories
you post ??
Your web site is a f#$%@ing embarrassment
and I have ZERO respect for you or any of your opinions.
Please THINK before repeating rumors
that make no sense.
If you ever get any legitimate INFORMATION
about a dog park fatality please either post the information
to my group or at least ask the sender why they did not contact
a newspaper about the incident.
Regards
Bill Z
WRZ
Camden County, NJ
ccdogpark@hotmail.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Dogpark-National-News/
Ed's Comments:
Bill
We are going to have to agree to disagree.
We also have similar opinions of one another.
Ed
An Email from a person who manages the park in question:
I would like to address two issues regarding the post made
by Julie Gatlin regarding 2 dogs being killed at the Plano
Dog Park. This is not true. Our park has a section for big
dogs and a section for little dogs. Signs are posted stating
such. A person brought her little dog into the big dog area
and was asked to go to the small dog area by members of the
Plano Dog Park Association. She refused. Her little dog started
running in the park and a Greyhound started chasing her dog
and got to it. The small dog later died as a result of the
injuries. This is the only incident regarding a death as a
result of being at the Dog Park.
As for the comments regarding her dog being on leash inside
the park, what is the purpose of having your dog ON leash inside
an off leash park? We have signs posted at the entrances to
the park, stating ALL DOGS MUST BE OFF LEASH INSIDE THE PARK.
Why did Ms. Gatlin not follow the posted rules?
As for the city being dumb, we researched dog parks across
the United States and Canada for years and found that the #1
issue is that all dogs MUST be off leash because if one dog
is on leash inside the park, aggression may occur.
I encourage you to post the truth regarding Ms. Gatlin's post.
Thank you.
Debbie New [Debbien@plano.gov]
Ed's Comments on the dog park where a small dog was killed:
And your email is supposed to make this right?
Your lack of understanding and ignorance about dog behavior
seeps from your email like a festering wound.
Ed
Bills's obviously gone on TILT:
Ed:
You have no idea what the hell you are talking about !!
Debbie is 100% correct and you are an idiot. I can't emphasize that enough.
When someone contacts you with dog park questions please refer them to someone with some real knowledge and stop posting anonymous ravings
that couldn't possibly be true!
If you had half a brain you'd be dangerous.
Don't bother taking those ridiculous messages down from your web site now. I'm posting something about you and your crazy ideas to my
group today so other people can have a good laugh.
All I need to know is where you are located so I can warn
local dog owners of your stupidity.
Regards,
Bill Zardus
ANOTHER READERS COMMENTS ON BILL
I just read your responses to Mr Frawley on the dog parks issue....
You should have put little dancing clowns on your responses since they are about the funniest ( and clearly ignorant) responses I've ever seen.
First, is it really your opinion that two or more cases of parvo would show up in the national news? If so, you don't understand the dynamics of the news industry. It would take a major epidemic covering an entire region for that to make the national news.
Second, having your dog on a leash when others are off-leash does not provoke aggression. It's the lack of control by owners of aggressive dogs that are the problem. I for one would much rather an owner have an aggressive dog on-leash rather than off-leash - wouldn't you? So your answer is that all dogs should be off-leash, regardless of aggression? Now that's just stupid.
And do you really think that people send emails to Leerburg about fake dog fights and deaths? That makes a lot of sense. Yeah - dog fights at dog parks are so rare, Leerburg must be making them up...
I have seen numerous dog fights at the dog park I go to - all by aggressive dogs not being controlled by their owners (and have never sent Ed an email about them.) I now carry a large pipe when I go to the dog park, and if your dog (or any dog) violently attacks my girls, then that dog will be limping home at best. And I would expect the same if my dogs got aggressive (although they follow me like I'm the dog whisperer at dog parks because they know I am their leader.)
And Debbie - I get the impression that the little dog that was killed by the greyhound was at fault for being loose in the big-dog park.... Granted, the owner was stupid for not using the right park, but the owner of the greyhound should be sanctioned for not maintaining control of their dog. What don't you understand?
Bottom line is - owners are responsible for their dog's deeds and controlling their actions - yet you imply that it's best to just let them all loose even though most owners have little (if any) control over their pets. You must be stuck on stupid.
Unfortunately, you're both idiots and I can see why your dog park is dangerous... Post that to your yahoo group, so we can all have a good laugh.
Fred
Dog Attacked in dog Parks:
Hi Ed,
I have a 1 year old boxer. He is not very dominant, has never
initiated a fight, and does not really know what to do when
another dog goes after him. In fact, he always backs down if
a dog puts him in his place when he's getting annoying.
Just recently, there have been quite a few dogs that attack
him out of the blue. I know that you are not a fan of dog parks,
but when I took him there earlier today, one dog was hardly
through the gate and viscously went after my dog and bit his
leg. It scared me to death. That dog was immediately removed
and another dog came in no more than 10 seconds later.
I was consoling my dog and checking him for bite marks, when another dog came
in, sniffed him, and immediately went after him. Luckily, the owner and I were
right next to them and were able to separate them right away. Both owners said
that their dogs had never gone after a dog for no reason like that.
Like I said, my boxer has never started a fight. I would hate
to stop taking him to parks because he loves to play with other
dogs so much and I hate the idea of not letting him run off
the leash since we just recently moved to the city and he is
so used to running freely.
He is not neutered. Could dogs sense the increased testosterone
and feel threatened? Should I get him neutered for this reason?
Or, do you think he could possibly have something wrong with
him that other dogs can sense?
The only health issues that he has right now is demodex. He
also has some sores around his penis, which he has been cleaning
very often. I have not yet had them checked out. Do you know
if this is indicative of something else? Should I be concerned?
I'm just trying so hard to find a reason why some dogs go after
him like that. Maybe there isn't one...
I would really appreciate your help. My dog means so much
to me, as I'm sure you understand, and I am so afraid of something
happening to him. Any advice that you may have would be greatly
appreciated.
Sincerely,
Lisa (& boxer Riggs)
Ed's Answer to Dog Attacks in Dog Park.
There is no silver bullet here. This is a
dominance/rank/lack of training and leadership problem. It
has nothing to do with
mange or your dog's testicles (not at one year and not according
to your description).
Dogs don't need to be aggressive to be attacked
- they only need to be in the presence of other dog aggressive
dogs. Some dogs are so poorly trained and so dangerous they
only need to see another dog to attack. If you are willing
to gamble your dogs life on that - well go for it. This week
I got an email from a lady whose young dog was killed in a
dog park.
The ONLY SOULTION is to not go to dog parks.
The fact is you should play with your dog and not rely on dogs
to play with
your dog. Dogs don't NEED OTHER DOGS TO PLAY WITH - that's a
human misconception.
Your dog needs exercise it does not need to play with other
dogs. Take your dog out and use some of the toys we sell and
then use them to get the exercise your dog needs. When you
do this you will notice - the bond with you and your dog will
get better.
Subject: Beware of the
Dog Park in Appleton,WI
Hi Everyone it was just brought to my attention that one of
the puppies we sold to a couple was viciously attacked on Saturday.
The attack happen at a place dogs are to go and be able to run
and play. The dog park on French Rd and OO. According to a friend a adult
pit bull was in the puppy area and attacked the puppy that was
sitting next to the new owners. To save the puppies life the couple
had to take it to the emergency animal hospital and incurred a $400
bill. I will be going to court with the new owners to make sure that
a situation like this never occurs again. This pit bull has
attacked 3 other dogs. I would like some input about how to go about getting vicious
dogs that have attacked ban from the local dog parks. Please feel free to email me ....I will keep everyone posted
as to the puppy's health and the court case.
Thanks
Anita (owner and breeder of German Shorthaired Pointers)
Comment
on Dog Parks:
Mr. Frawley,
I am a first time owner of a Lab/Pointer mix and I wanted
to thank you for your posted advice regarding many subjects,
but especially Dog Parks. The dumb people I see at dog parks,
the poorly trained dogs and the nasty conditions some are maintained
in really add up to a bad situation. Prior to reading your
article on the subject I thought they were an important part
in raising a well mannered dog (socializing him etc.). Damn
I was stupid. I stopped going immediately after reading your
article as you identified many of the misgivings I had on the
matter.
You pointed out that my dog does not need a dog park. I might
be mildly retarded at times when it comes to raising the dog,
but I am trying (with the aid of some of your videos). I'll
be damned if I let someone else or someone else's dog ruin
everything I am trying to do. I think if people took the time
to objectively look at dog parks the way your article encouraged
me to, they would see a situation they would not be comfortable
taking anything they valued to. I am glad I stopped going prior
to anything bad happening.
Thank you for the good advice
Noah
Dear Mr. Frawley,
I'm president of the Juniper Park Civic
Association based in Queens, New York. We publish an all-volunteer
community
newsletter called the "Juniper Berry" with a circulation
of 5,000 to our membership and residents. We would like to
reprint your wonderful article (with your permission) on... "Dog
Parks" Why They Are A Bad Idea !!! "It's Your Job
to Protect Your Dog" ...in our newsletter. We will of
course include a short bio about you, your web site and videos.
Currently the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation has
an "unofficial policy," allowing dog owners to walk
their dogs off-leash in NYC parks from 9pm to 9am. In June
we had another serious attack on a 64-year old man in our neighborhood
by an unleashed Rottweiler. He was trying to protect his leashed
Shih Tzu. His small dog was seriously hurt but survived, the
man will need skin grafts to repair his badly damaged arm.
We have also seen several dog fights in our park observing
much of the danger signs you talk about in your article. We
feel it is important to let dog owners know of the issues and
dangers of bringing their pets to a dog park.
I've also attached a letter from a woman who was walking her
dog in Central Park in January when an unleashed dog killed
her small dog. She is still heartbroken and has not received
an adequate answer from NYC officials.
We have also filed a lawsuit against
the NYC Parks & Recreation
in an attempt to compel them to stop the dangerous practice
of allowing unleashed dogs to roam free in our public parks.
We plan to use your article as evidence of the problems that
can result from dog parks. Our hearing is set for August 29th.
Thank you for your wonderful web site and informative articles.
I've had dogs all my life and your articles are most enlightening.
If you agree to let us reprint your article please let me
know if you have any photos that we could include in the article.
Sincerely,
Robert F. Holden
President
Juniper Park Civic Association
PO Box 790275 Middle Village, NY 11379
718-651-5865
Ed,
I wrote you earlier today about our 13 week old GSD and trying
to make sure my husband is on board with training using your
methods.
I just had to tell you that
I’ve read several things
on your web site about your adamant position regarding dog parks.
I’ve had dogs in the past and never been to a dog park,
but have friends that rave about what a great place it is to
take the dog. I was sold on your position, however, after reading
your article entitled “Dog Parks - Why They Are A Bad
Idea!”
This evening my two older children
went with me when I took the puppy for an evening walk
in the neighborhood.
Now, with
my previous dog being dog-aggressive, I’m in the habit
of staying WAY clear of any other dogs while on walks. A woman
and her daughter were on the other side of the street, each
of them with a dog on a leash. We chatted for a second from
across the street and she told me that her gorgeous GSD was
a pure bred, and what type (I don’t recall which, now).
She asked about ours and said she was very well behaved for
just being 13 weeks old. Then she said “you’ll
have to bring her to the dog park soon!” I said something
non-committal back to her like “oh, I keep hearing that.” We
said our goodbyes and my kids and I started walking the opposite
direction from her and her dogs, remaining across the street
from her.
Seconds later I heard vicious
snarling behind me and the woman across the street started
screaming! As we turned
around to
look behind us, she had been DRAGGED out into the middle of
the street by her GSD on his lead. Another woman on my side
of the street had been coming around the corner behind where
we’d just walked and had just rounded a bush at the corner.
When the second woman saw the GSD and owner, instead of crossing
the street where she needed to go she was going to zigzag
across the street to avoid the GSD group.
The GSD saw her little mixed
breed on his leash and yanked his owner out into the street
behind him to THRASH
the little
mix. He dove in and had it by the neck and just looked like
he was killing it. The GSD owner kept shrieking unintelligibly
behind her dog, whose leash had pulled off with his collar
during the fight. She was swinging the leash at his head and
the other dog’s owner was trying to get her dog away
from the GSD, but nothing was working. I know it seemed longer
than it was. It felt like it lasted an hour. More likely, the
actual attack was more like a minute and half of the attacking
dog violently thrashing the smaller dog while snarling. The
smaller dog wasn’t even making any sounds…
I scooped up my pup and moved farther down the street right
away, but that was VERY SCARY. My pup started barking and whining
in my arms and my kids were terrified. Eventually there were
about 6 cars stopped in the road and people flying around everywhere
trying to get the attacking dog off the other one. It was very
badly hurt and they were on their way home to take it to the
Vet.
There are several frightening and sad things about this in
my mind.
First, the dog that was attacked was with an owner that was
trying to avoid any contact between her dog and the attacking
one.
Second, there was no way the owner of the attacking dog
was getting her dog off the other dog. She had no control
at that
point.
Third, one of the folks that stopped to try to help was
driving the woman and her attacked dog home up the
street. I completely
understand the GSD’s owner being concerned and wanting
to see if things are okay with the dog that was attacked. HOWEVER,
She turned around the other way and began walking behind us
and our dog with both of her dogs to see if she could find
the woman’s house. Now, if your dog had just lunged out
of nowhere into the street to try to kill another dog, wouldn’t
it make more sense NOT to take that dog with you to the woman’s
house?! I just didn’t get it.
And, in my long-winded way
I wanted to acknowledge for the skeptics I’ve seen
posted on your site that you are 100% right about not going
to dog parks. My dog will
never be in
one.
Dear Ed
I couldn't decide whether
to write this email, as it brings up bad
memories, but here we
go...
Dog Parks, are really
not good for socializing dogs, and not because
of the dogs as much
as the owners . Most dog owners go to dog parks
to socialize they do not keep it moving, so
the dogs only really hang out with the dogs
they can get along with or have accepted into
their pack. When an outside dog goes over
to another pack of dogs usually he is not invited
as the hierarchy of that particular group is
already set up... Sometimes they will welcome
the new dog sometimes not...
Sometimes, people have
dogs off the leash that attack other dogs
, and then the owners
really do not know how to break up the fight...
I have been in a situation where my dogs
went over to play with another dog (all
were
off the leash ) and the dog was not having
it, then he really tried to attack my dogs...
The owner did nothing, and me i went yelling
loudly at the dog, and then when he kept coming
close I hit him with my leash... Needless
to say I got in a loud yelling match with the
other owner who was angry that i hit his dog....
Another time my young
male (also a puli ) was playing with a very
small pit bull, and
it seemed like they were having fun, until
the pit locked on my dogs ear.... the owner
was able to get the dog off of my dog, and
afterwards the pitt wanted to play, but my
dog was not having it, he wanted to leave...
which we did...
The other scenario, was
with my husband, who is very athletic and
takes the dogs to
the park twice a day for exercise, I would
say he does 4 miles each walk. He keeps them
moving, and occasionally they play with dogs
they know or have accepted in their pack. It
had happened though that he kept running into
this one woman with a german/collie mix (a
big dog), and the dog was always attacking
our dogs, so much so that if this particular
dog saw them one field away he would go crazy
and run toward them... One day this dog broke
off the leash and bit my dog in the butt (thank
god she has a lot of hair she is a puli)
but no bite marks were left... My husband
would
tell me of his escapades, I thought he could
handle the situation... He always said the
owner apologized but he was really starting
to get irked by her.... I knew my husband could
handle himself so I did not worry, until one
sunday, he comes in from the park, and he
is really upset, and he said that the dog
came charging after him, and he felt it was
really going to do harm , so he hit the dog
across the snout with a stick he found.. Well
needless to say every one in that circle was
up in arms and came after him yelling, about
10 days later he was arrested for hitting the
dog, the police called the owner and the owner
pressed charges, he had to go to court and
he won the case and had charges dropped....
To this very day whenever I see the woman on
the street walking her dog, if her dog sees
my dogs, she has to give him treats to divert
his attention and must walk the other way..
I can usually divert my dogs attention from
the problem, but now they have picked up bad
behavior of barking at dogs on the leash.
I have taking my dogs
herding, and they are around other dogs
and they never get into fights, but also
the herding instructor has set up
a very controlled situation..
As much as I like the
park, and appreciate the off leash hours...
I prefer to walk the dog during the on leash
hours, and if I find
a spot where no people are (usually during
fall/ winter) then I will let them off the
leash...
If people know their
dogs attack other dogs, why have it off
the leash, it u cannot control
your dog why have it off the leash?
COMMENT
on Dog Parks:
Dear Sir,
Your write up on the dangers of dog parks
and the letters sent in by others I found both
interesting and believable to my knowledge
as a veterinary technician.
I know the focus of the
article was on the violent perils of the
parks. But do you have
another article or section on the unseen dangers
that animals and humans can pick up while having "fun"?
For instance, the dogs and their human owners
can get hookworms from walking in the wrong
spot (though it would be a slim chance the
owners would easily get the parasite directly
from the park, since they'd have to be barefoot:).
Other numerous intestinal parasites or protozoa
could be left behind in the soil even if all
the feces has seemingly been picked up. The
potential problems are even more numerous for
young dogs who have not been properly vaccinated
for such problems as distemper or parvo virus!
Don't forget about the kennel cough that unvaccinated
dogs might pick up from unhealthy poochies
around them.
I just thought you might want to alert your
readers to the unseens. By the way, I used
to work for one veterinarian who said that
he loved dog parks--they brought him such good
business.
Sincerely,
Meredeth
QUESTION:
With great interest I just
read about dog parks. I have a 7 mo. old German
Shepherd female. My obedience trainer suggested
a puppy play group to better socialize Elsa
with other dogs. Do you consider play groups
like a dog park? I am not sure that this is
the best for her. She does have fun, but you
really do not know the other dogs temperaments
and I have heard that if a shepherd has one
bad dog experience it may be more aggressive
towards other dogs? Thank you.
ANSWER:
This
is a terrible idea.
One never knows what the other pups are like
and one pup can attack and injure another
smaller pup.
Dear
Ed,
I want you to know how thought-provoking I
found your article on dog parks. We currently
have two dogs, both female foundlings; a mix
who appears to be mostly German Shepherd and
Lab with some other bits and pieces, and a
mostly, if not totally, Rottweiler.
Since they were puppies, we have taken them
to our local dog park, from which they have
contracted Parvo and some other minor doggie
illnesses. I fully understand the dangers of
dog parks, but am far more wary after reading
the testimonials on your site.
There has been a history at our park of violence
amongst the dogs, and I do believe that this
is the fault mostly of idiot dog owners. For
instance, the woman who brought her teething
miniature poodle puppy to the park and let
it "play" un-monitored with large,
adult dogs. When it bit ones' ankle, it shook
the puppy once by the scruff of its neck, and
instantly killed it. On the other hand, the
6' 5", 280 lb guy with dreadlocks, I feel
fully capable of backing up his three dashunds
in a conflict.
In spite of this, I feel that we have a 'good'
dog park, as far as what is admittedly an idea
that asks for trouble goes, for several key
reasons. First is that no dogs are allowed
on leashes, because when one dog out of twenty
is on a leash, that one is in "defense" mode
of their owner.
Secondly, no personal toys are allowed in the
park, but there are plenty of donated ones
left lying by owners, so there are always enough
to go around.
Third, I think that water is a key park dynamic.
To avoid conflicts over water, there are about
thirty different dishes in two areas at either
end of the park, and owners fill recycled milk
jugs with water and bring them to share. The
closest to aggressive behavior that then manifests
is dogs, usually smaller aggressive ones, putting
their dirty paws in the water bowl when they're
done drinking to ruin it for the other dogs,
which can get the dog banned from the park.
Finally, I think we're just lucky. A person
has never been attacked in our park unless
they were trying to break up a fight. There's
a designated "big dog" day on Sundays,
and many of the dogs at the park don't socialize
very heavily with the other dogs, but most
of them stay with their owners, run through
the bamboo stand, and enjoy being off a leash
for a while.
Both of our dogs have been in fights before,
but neither are at all aggressive towards other
dogs. After reading this section of your site,
I realize how lucky we are. I believe that
while admittedly not as responsible as we could
be, we are good dog owners, because we try
to understand our dogs as animals. For instance,
we make sure that our dogs know not to defend
us personally with violence, because as alphas,
we can take care of ourselves. When they were
in fights, our dogs never caused it, and we
would forcefully remove the other dog and alpha-pin
them by the throat on their backs until their
owners came, and then leave immediately with
our dogs. At the park, they rarely try to go
out of our sight, and we never let them. We
never stay for more than an hour, and we watch
closely any interaction they have with smaller
dogs, who are easily intimidated but usually
have big attitudes to go with it.
We have a strong bond with our dogs, but they
are not well trained. I know that is irresponsible,
but we can trust our dogs not to harm other
people or dogs, because we put them in those
situations all the time, and watch them carefully
and punish aggressive behavior. Not at the dog
park, but in controlled situations. This is
important because our german-shepherd-lab mix,
Luna, is very smart, and thinks of ingenious
ways to get her and her sister out of the backyard,
including digging behind the shed against the
fence, where we can't see. When they get out,
we worry for their safety from cars, but we
know that they won't bother other people or
dogs. Most of the time, by the time we know
they're gone, they'll be waiting in the front
yard to be let in. Also, since they are both
large breeds and we can't walk them long enough
each day for them to get enough exercise,
especially on leashes, since we can't keep
up, we've taken to walking them around without
leashes around 10 PM or later, or riding bikes
with them running beside.
Occasionally, of course, we will meet someone,
and I don't know if it's from interaction at
the dog park or not, but we never have any
problems, though we grab their collars immediately
for the other person or dog-walker's state
of mind. If any other dog shows aggression,
our dogs will run straight back to us, because
they expect us to protect them, and don't appear
to be overly concerned with showing the other
dog its place.
After reading your article on dog parks, I
realize that our dogs' behavior could completely
change just from one bad encounter. I don't
think we'll bring them back. I also am repelled
by the people who bring their young children
with them to dog parks. Even kids who've had
a dog their whole life very often don't understand
animal-friendly behavior, or how to read animal
warning signs.
I believe that you know what you're talking
about, and I really don't; what knowledge I
may have from owning dogs is nothing to what
you know from being a professional. I would
appreciate any comments you have on our dogs.
I understand that you believe that a well-trained
dog is a safe dog, and I believe that too,
but we frankly don't have the guts or money
to fiercely train our dogs, and we don't keep
any dogs that we can't control, so I suppose
this works for us.
Anyway, I was really affected by this article,
and have taken also your advice to heart on
how to break up a dog fight.
Sincerely,
Stella
Comment:
Always reviewing dog sites/information,
etc.
I have 3 female golden retrievers (1 is
still a young pup)
Anyway, your article
on WHY not to take you dog to dog parks was
the best!
We have a local dog
park in our town, and the sites I have
seen in there are scary. No
one watches their dogs and there
are a lot of fights, attacks with dogs because
of this.
I was in the dog
park ONCE and only once with my young puppy
about 6 months ago (she
was 6 months old) and my older golden 7 yrs
old. My
7 yr old is a CGC and Registered Therapy
dog and So well behaved … no
one was in the dog run with me.
However, a man came
in with a lab and while my 7 yr old was
just lying beside me , the lab immediately
ran over to her and I could not believe
the dog fight. This lab
attacked my golden retriever for no reason...
and the best was when I asked him to take
his
dog away, he said to me I don't want
to get bit! He had no control over his own
dog.
Needless to say, I
have never been back there again.
You are so right in not take your dogs to
the dog park!
My dogs play with
each other of course and quite a few of
MY friends dog, who I know and trust and
who are well mannered.
I am more fun than other dogs anyway. I
would rather them pay attention to me first,
which they do.
Good article!
Dog Park
Question:
Hi Ed,
Thank you so much for the off-leash dog park
article. I will never go to an off-leash dog
park ever again! I had been about a dozen times
without a problem, until last week. My dog
is a 4 years old neutered Husky. We got him
from the Humane Society about 2 years ago and
he has never shown aggression towards any dogs.
We were having a blast at the local off-leash
dog park which is also a beach (very beautiful).
He seemed to enjoy playing with the other dogs
that were mostly Retrievers and Labs. We were
just heading out of the park when this tiny
Pomeranian (about 4 lbs) dog came into the
park and then my dog just pounced on the little
dog (I believe it was a his prey drive that
kicked in..like the Pomeranian was a little
bunny)!! I yelled "STOP" and my dog
immediately stopped but he had the time to
take 2 bites at the little dog in less than
2 seconds. The woman picked her dog up and
cried and I ran after her to give her my name
and my phone number. The vet called me and
asked me about the incident (how old my dog
was, if he has played with dogs before, neutered,
....etc). The little dog had a couple of broken
vertebrates and could not walk but proved to
have movement in the legs. The woman that owns
the little dog expects me to pay the entire
vet bill and I am a full-time student just
barely making it. I paid for half of the first
visit with cash. Can I be held completely accountable
for this incident? I mean, she is also the
one that is responsible for her dogs safety.
Who takes a Pomeranian dog where dogs that
weight 50 lbs run?
Thank you...
I hope to hear back from you soon.
Mary.
Cindy's Response:
Dog parks are one of the worst ideas ever,
as you have discovered.
I don’t know where you live or what
the laws are, but if your dog jumped on this
Pomeranian then you did not have that dog under
control. Admittedly, anyone with a small dog
who places it on the ground with loose large
dogs is making a mistake but the fact is your
dog was not listening to you. You are responsible
for your dog’s behavior.
It
doesn’t
matter if your dog was being aggressive or
not, he seriously injured another
animal. I would try to work this out with the
owner, and see what you can come up with. In
this day and age of law suits, I would get
everything said between the two of you in writing.
Cindy
Rhodes
Question:
Hi,
I own a Japanese Akita Dog.
I wish to purchase a leather collar minimum of 2" width to protect him against another dogs bite. Basically I want to offer my dog full protection from an attack against a vicious dog that could harm him in any way.
Some dogs such as pit bulls and staffie's go for the throat and I simply want to give my dog the added protection of a collar that would offer him better protection.
Clearly, I do not believe in dog fighting and I have done everything I can to socialize my dog with humans and other dogs. You must understand though that not everyone takes this course of action and I want to protect my dog. My question to you is this:
Which dog collar do you sell that would offer my dog the above protection. let me know and I will purchase it from you. I would like it to be black if you have black and preferably leather.
Thanks,
Martyn
Ed's Response:
This is a simple thing – you either don’t take him to these places or you start to act like a pack leader (which you are not doing) . Read the article I wrote on WHY DOG PARKS ARE A BAD IDEA. You can find the list of 300 or so training articles I have written.
With that said – if you are out and a dog approaches it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY as the PACK LEADER to drive these stray dogs away. You are not doing this and as such you are not acting like a pack leader.
I suggest that you continue to read my free eBooks on pack structure and leadership. Read what I have written on dominant dogs.
Bottom line is this is 100% a handler problem and not a dog problem. Its up to you to educate yourself and then apply this knowledge. It is ridiculous to think that buying a wide collar is a solution to this problem.
Kind Regards,
Ed Frawley
Question:
Hi, I have an obedient albeit "active," somewhat submissive, 1.5 year old , 70 lb male black lab cross who is an attack magnet when we find ourselves in the company of stray dogs while walking in our neighborhood. His tail is similar to a Newfoundland's tail but carried a little higher in a playful manner, he walks high on his toes, and gallops around with abundant energy and playfulness. His ears fold down like a lab, and he has a smooth streamlined appearance.
After having adopting him from a shelter when he was 4 months old, we noticed he had horrible nightmares - dreams of play fighting with other dogs they were not - and wondered if this created some odd disposition which made him an attack magnet to other dogs. He often bows when approaching small dogs and has always been only somewhat submissive when challenged at dog parks but mainly preoccupied with playing ball. Of all the dogs we've had over the years, we've NEVER run into this problem. Is there a way we can train him to not attract dominant dogs from across the play field who come exclusively to attack him as soon as he is leashed. (He has been attacked by two Bull Mastiffs together, two different Wolf hybrids, a Corgy, and a Jack Russell).
Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.
Patricia
Ed's Response:
This is a simple thing – you either don’t take him to these places or you start to act like a pack leader (which you are not doing). Read the article I wrote on WHY DOG PARKS ARE A BAD IDEA. You can find the list of 300 or so training articles I have written.
With that said – if you are out and a dog approaches it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY as the PACK LEADER to drive these stray dogs away. You are not doing this and as such you are not acting like a pack leader.
I suggest that you continue to read my free eBooks on pack structure and leadership. Read what I have written on dominant dogs.
Bottom line is this is 100% a handler problem and not a dog problem. Its up to you to educate yourself and then apply this knowledge.
Kind Regards,
Ed Frawley
Comment:
Ed,
Although I do not currently own a dog, I will never frequent a dog park again. I had a beautiful male collie that was a natural alpha that I took to a few different parks and I never realized what danger I was exposing him to. I am a “cat person” and only had the dog because he was so exceptional and was in a shelter. I had NO idea that taking him to a dog park could have ended his life.
I have seen emails from others declaring that you are off base with your views on dog parks and that your opinions are unfounded, but I beg to differ. I have witnessed aggressive behavior myself and have seen it reported in the news. If you ever need to back up any of your statements on dog parks, please refer the individual to the following story from Broomfield, CO that was linked to CNN’s web site. The link is below.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/13835826/detail.html
Thank you for continuing to take a stand on this issue.
Terri
Dog Park Experience :
Hi Ed!
Bought many of your products and watch your DVD's over and over... I taught my 3 Rottweilers since 8 weeks old everything I learned from you! You have always emphasized how much you think dog parks are a bad idea, I always followed your advice and stayed away from dog parks for years. However, today I took 2 of my Rotts to a dog park to swim in a fresh water lake, I kept my dogs on leash at all times unless they were swimming in a secluded area... When it was time to leave I placed my dogs on leash and proceeded to exit the park while every other dog owner had their dog off leash. A few dogs approached me and my Rotts aggressively, I pleaded with the owners to put your their dogs on leash! They just laughed and said their dogs were harmless, I then said well mine have had basic Schutzhund training and will attack if they feel either I or them selves are threatened... sure enough the same dog owner I waned less then a minute ago lets his dog loose of leash and the dog came at me and my Rotts barking and snapping. My Rottweiler in turn got a hold of the dog and attacked this guy's dog... The whole entire dog park then turned on me and said I should put my dog to sleep and that they were calling the cops! Ed, I see now why you always have said what a bad idea dog parks are!!!!! I left before the authorities came, but if and when they show up to my house, am I in the wrong? My dog was on leash and his was not!
Dog Park Question:
I wanted to ask if citronella spray would work in a dog fight? I have 2 dogs male and female both have a bit of pit in them. I took them to the dog park today which I had not done in a year or more. They did awesome for about half hour when another female lab came in and started a fight with my girl pit. Well my Bambi did not want to back down after that and they had a pretty good fight until we got them apart. Which we did not do correctly after I read your article. I am in the process of becoming a foster for bad rap (pit bulls) so I need to know what to do. I know they will teach me how to break up a fight but I'm more concerned when I'm by my self. Since I have 1 of each sex, is a male or female better to foster? My male is mostly lab he is 8yr. and my girl is 3yr.
Thanks, Sonja
Answer:
Sonja,
Citronella has about as much of a chance of breaking up a dog fight blowing in their ear and whispering sweet nothings.
I strongly suggest you get some education on pack structure and obedience training because doing what your doing is foolish and dangerous. Sorry for being blunt but I am writing a book on dog aggression and have folders of emails from people like yourself who were badly bitten in a dog fight or ended up with dead dogs.
Read the free eBooks on my web site - My web site has a large number of FREE eBooks that I have written. Go to the main directory for eBooks http://www.leerburg.com/dogtrainingebooks.htm
Read the one on DOG PARKS and on HOW TO BREAK UP A DOG FIGHT WITHOUT GETTING HURT !!
Read the one on Establishing Pack Structure – I strongly recommend that you get several of my DVD’s:
Establishing Pack Structure with the Family Pet
Basic Dog Obedience
Remote Collar Training for the Pet Owner
These DVD's will educate you – they contain the information you desperately need to have safe calm submissive dogs. For your sake I hope you follow this advice.
By the way – I have a large section in my book on MALE ON FEMALE AGGRESSION. So don’t think sex is going to keep you out of trouble. That’s false hope.
Comment:
Dear Mr. Frawley,
I e-mailed previously regarding the installation by the City of Torrington, Ct. of a dog park in a strictly residential neighborhood. Not one neighbor was notified of this and we didn't find out until the fencing was being installed. It is on a two and one half acre area, with fencing just yards from a residence. There is a foster home across the street with six young children. The fence is four feet high, and it is to be used by the 35,000 residents of our city. The city is already refusing responsibility for property damage, dog bites etc. We as residents are supposed to catch the offending dog, confront the owner and "make them responsible" for injuries when a dog attacks a child or another pet while in it's own yard. Dog owners have already driven into our neighborhood and abused the property even though it is posted and not opened yet. One dog already went after a child on a bike. I believe that these people are ignorant of dog behavior and have no idea what will happen when Fluffy meets a Rottweiler. There is no water source on the grounds for dogs, except on private property that adjoins the fence. This was done by administrative review and there have been no land use, environmental impact studies or even a posting of the proposal on the property. IT is supposedly going to be cleaned by volunteers who live at least 5 miles away. The reason we have been told that it was put here, was because these same dog owners have abused the city parks so badly that they are unwanted there. We have six dogs and they are enclosed in a six foot solid vinal fenced in yard. Let the non stop barking start!
Comment:
Hi, Ed:
After reading all your posts re how dog parks are a bad idea, I must say I have to agree with you. I have taken my 24-lb cockapoo puppy (11 mo) a few times to our local dog park and have witnessed more than one dog fight there. Today my puppy was bullied by a Shiba Inu/Chow mix - no fighting, just the other dog kept mounting my puppy and not letting him up. Brody (my dog) finally stood up for himself (no biting, just let other doggy know NO MORE) and I separated the two (owner did nothing and the other dog was 60 lbs - I just calmly separated the dogs, leashed mine and led him away standing as TALL as I could to show dominance) but I KNOW the experience was not a good one for my puppy. Here's my question -my puppy LOVES other dogs is there any chance this experience has ruined him in some way? I am scared it might (no evidence as to that yet). But in effect, could it wreck his love of other dogs? I will never go to another dog park again. Also, what about doggy day cares? He is in the small dog/sr. dog area and dogs are monitored by staff, is that okay for him? We work 8 hrs/day and I don't want him to get lonely, do you think it's okay if he goes to doggy day care once a week? Please let me know - I love him so much and don't want to endanger him in any way.
Thanks,
Suzan
Question:
Hi Ed -- Great website with tons of info!
I am wondering about dog park safety in Raleigh, NC, i.e. I am told that the dog parks here are safe and yet your website has me questioning if that is true.
Have you heard of any incidents in the Raleigh/Durham/RTP area?
Thanks for your help,
Ginny
Ed's Comment:
Why would you think that dog parks in your town would be any different than dog parks in any other town? This is not about a TOWN – it’s about pack behavior. It doesn’t matter if you’re in China.
Kind Regards,
Ed
Question:
I have a nine month old Boxer-Lab mix, Zachary. He is fun loving - loves dogs and people, but I am wondering if I am making mistakes with him. I have been taking him to a local dog park since he was 4 months old. He loves it. This dog is fun loving and loves to play and romp with all dogs. But he is full of energy and he is very strong and some dogs don't want to be bothered. He will usually learn which dogs want to play and run and wrestle with him, but occasionally he will be too much for a given dog. At these times I will get his attention and put him back on leash to calm him down.
Recently one dog at the park became quite agressive with Zachary, not once but two or three times the dog came after Zachary and growled and lunged towards him. I immediately put Zachary on leash and took him home. Then another day at the park we ran into a Husky that was agressive towards Zachary, growling and snapping. I immediately put Zachary on leash, informed the owner of the Husky of his dog's behavior, and took Zachary home.
Now I have noticed that Zachary has a new bevavior. Whenever I am walking him on leash and we see another dog up ahead, Zachary will go down in a crouch position and watch intently as the other dog approaches us. Since he doesn't want to move from this position I let Zachary stay like this. When the other dog gets near us, Zachary will get up to sniff the other dog and then he wants to play. One time it was two dogs and Zachary immediately rolled over on his back and exposed his undersides and belly in a very submissive position while he allowed the dogs to sniffed him up. When Zachary got up and we were leaving one of the other dogs snarled agressively at Zachary.
Here are my questions: Is it normal behavior for Zachary to get to down in a crouch as another dog approaches? Is it normal for Zachary to get in such a submissive posture for other dogs? Am I ruining Zachary by brining him to the dog park? He gets great excersize off leash there and he loves to go there, but I don't want to continiue if it is harming him either psychologically or otherwise.
Thanks
Joe
Answer:
I wouldn't be taking him to a dog park; we don't feel they are healthy for most dogs. Sooner or later, your dog will be involved in fight. It's not IF, it's WHEN. He's becoming a young adult and as he becomes more mentally and physically mature I would expect more conflicts with other dogs as he tries to establish his rank.
We will take our dogs to a park ONLY to work our obedience with the distractions of the other dogs. We do not allow our dogs to interact with the dogs there at all, and if a dog were to approach us we would drive them away. This is only when we have a dog fully trained and we need to proof with distractions. Taking dogs to a dog park for exercise is not something we agree with. Dogs don't 'need' to play with dogs outside their family pack, and the time would be better spent playing with your dog yourself and working on training.
Read the article on dog parks.
Cindy
Comment:
Hi Ed,
I came across your site on a google search. You are right on with the dog park thing. I go to a 40 acre forest preserve dog park not the chain link fence type where people drink starbucks while their dogs play. I love it and go there with my three dogs for a walk in the woods. It is getting more and more like a dog park to me and I have to go at non crowded times because I have a shepard mix who will want to attach certain dogs. Thanks for your great website.
Laura
Thanks:
Dear Ed,
Following my wife’s injury by an uncontrolled German shepherd at a dog park and the reaction of animal control to the event (it wasn’t the dog’s or its owner’s fault), I began a research project that has generated the following blog:
http://rosevilledogparks.wordpress.com/
I have liberally linked to you in it, including the headline photo of the first post which links directly to your dog park publication. I hoped you wouldn’t mind, but would like you to take a look to make sure the representation is ok with you.
I used to work in EMS, and as I currently work in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with the Girl Scouts at a backpacking camp (with my wife who was recently injured), I have had numerous occasion to work with German shepherds in search and rescue and K-9 enforcement, and have grown to greatly admire both the dogs’ abilities and those of their handlers. It is frankly magical to me what they can do, and it is equally stunning that slobs like the owners of the dog that hurt my wife can own and treat such an animal like a beagle.
Thanks for the information you’ve posted for the rest of us to learn, and do please make sure my citation is ok with you.
Many thanks,
Bill
Comment:
Hello Ed,
I just recently discovered your web site and think it provides the best information on dogs and dog training I have found. I also just purchased a couple of your CDs. We just added a new dog to our home and I have been following you advice about introducing a new dog. So far it is working great!
Anyway this news story just hit the paper today and I thought I would share it with you.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Report: Five-year-old attacked at dog park, owner sneaks away
A Fort Collins woman is asking for help in identifying the owner of a dog that allegedly attacked and bit her 5-year-old son at the Spring Canyon dog park.
Alisa Bennett’s son was at the Spring Canyon Community Park dog park with his nanny and 4-year-old brother when a black and white malamute attacked him, according to Bennett and a report filed with Larimer Humane Society’s animal control department.
The nanny had taken the two boys and the family’s German shepherd to the park so the dog could swim in the newly opened pond at about 9 a.m. Saturday.
The owner of the malamute entered the park and caused some concern to the dog owners.
“(The owner) said (the dog) really liked kids, but the behavior was odd enough, so the nanny held both boys’ hands,” Bennett said.
The boys were standing quietly when the malamute came up from behind, bit the boy in the posterior, and knocked him over. He proceeded to bite the boy while he was on the ground, according to the report.
As park attendees rushed over to check on the screaming boy, the owner grabbed the dog and left the park.
No one was able to provide Larimer Humane Society’s animal control department with any description of the car or the owner’s license plate number, but the owner was described as a male in his 20s with long hair. The dog’s name is believed to be “Seek.”
“I feel really angry and I feel let down,” Bennett said. “To see a child get hurt and attacked and take off? The other people in the dog park flocked to see if my son was OK. They all wanted to see the condition of my little boy but the owner of the dog didn’t.”
See Tuesday's Coloradoan for more
A link to the story is here http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090629/UPDATES01/90629020/1002/rss
-------------------------
I live in Fort Collins, CO and dog parks all the rage here...I personally don't like them and after reading about them on your site I know I won't ever go to one.
I hope you find the story interesting...
Mark
Email:
I found your site to be informative. I am writing you today because after reading your sight and the references to the Plano Dog Park I would like to make a comment about some other dog parks in the Dallas Area.
I take my 8 month old American Bulldog Puppy to the dog park all the time. I find that many people at the dog park do not follow the rules and then make you feel bad when your bigger dog "scares" their little dog. It is COMPLETELY inappropriate for a small dog to be in the large dog enclosure.
My dog is not aggressive but she is getting to the age where she is getting big and strong quickly. She plays well with other dogs her size or larger but is only good with little dogs who are not intimidated by larger dogs and will stand their ground and play rough with her. She plays has played with a French Bulldog, Mini Schnauzer, Boston Terrier and Jack Russell. All of these dogs were at the dog park in the larger enclosure and not afraid of large dogs. She can scare the small dogs easily because she just comes running like a Mack truck and can easily knock me off my feet let alone a 15lb Poodle.
THIS IS THE REAL REASON I AM ON THE WEB SO LATE BECAUSE I AM STILL WORKED UP OVER AN ISSUE THAT HAPPENED TODAY....
Today, we went to the dog park in Addison, Texas and when we went to go in a group of 4 or 5 male dogs ran to the gate and started growling and barking at my dog as we were trying to come in. She had no response since she is used to this. We have two older male Dalmatians and she drives them crazy running and jumping on them. She is just not phased by it and showed no aggression.
I pushed the dogs away and let her go in to run and play. None of the other owners even said a word to their dogs when we where attempting to come inside. I noticed a few dogs were there and they were large and the I noticed a problem. An older gentleman had his two small poodles in with the larger dogs. I saw that they were hiding behind the bench that backs up to the fence. At the time, I did not know he also had a large dog in the BIG DOG ENCLOSURE. I should have just gotten back into the car and that would have been the end of but no I wanted to let our dog run around today.
I know my dog is rough and it can be an issue with smaller dogs. She is a puppy and likes to roughhouse, so I explained to the gentleman that she had issues with playing rough smaller dogs and I would watch her but I did not want her over by them so please be cautious if you were going to keep them on this side of the park. He said fine and basically ignored me. Sure enough the poor little poodles came out from behind the bench a few minutes later and my dog saw them and ran over to try and play. I asked the gentlemen to move so I could get my dog out from under the bench and he said "Oh don't worry about it my dogs are fine." I said no I wanted to get my dog out from behind the bench where his dogs were hiding because she is rough with smaller dogs when she plays. He responded to me with a "WHATEVER."
Sure enough one of his dog was scared and snapped at mine and lunged toward our dog. Our dog then ran toward her and I grabbed her by the collar. In all of the racket and fuss, all of the dogs came running over and this became a huge mess. Thankfully no fights only a little growling so no one or dog was hurt. (Later this evening we notices our dog did receive an puncture wound on her jowl and a bruise under her eye).
I apologized to the gentlemen and asked if the dog was ok. He asked me "What my f***ing problem was?" I was speechless because I was so mad. I asked him why his small dog was in with the big dogs... His answer was I HAVE A BIG DOG AND TWO SMALL DOGS I CAN'T BE IN TWO PLACES AT ONE TIME!!! At this point I said read the sign.... and walked away.
I am still fuming which is why I am researching dog parks on the internet at MIDNIGHT!!! This is not the first time this has happened at this particular dog park. The last time we were there a lady brought her poodle mix in and the moment she let the dog down it started to yelp and ran away squealing to a corner of the large enclosure. This caused a huge mess with dogs trying to chase him and I decided we needed to leave. I found out the lady told another dog owner that her dog was afraid of other dogs (large & small) --- STUPIDITY!!!
My husband says I should just stay away from dog parks because you can fix stupid. I am really starting to think he is right. If the people would have gotten of their fat lazy behinds today and watched their dogs instead of sitting on the bench or their lawn chairs sipping their drinks maybe they would have seen the signs. Little dogs and big dogs don't mix at the dog park at all.
Here I am trying to be proactive because I know she is going to try and play with all dogs and will be rough if given the opportunity. She is 65 lbs and does not realize how big she is and thinks every dog is there to play with her. For one, many of the people who have the little dogs are ignorant for taking them in the large dog area in the first place. Two, many owners do use the dog park as socialization for them and not their pets. Three, some people should not have had kids let alone dogs if you are not responsible bad things will happen.
We are experienced pet owners who at one time owned 4 rescued Dalmatians (2 Males & 2 Females). Now we just have our two older boys and our little puppy. I have had numerous trips to the human hospital and animal hospital due to our boys fighting over territory in the house. Our one female dal was very dominant and the other female was very passive. I know the signs and know that today after 10 years of being together the only reason they don't fight is they are too old and lazy (14 & 16) but they do growl, snap and sometimes every now and then pretend like they are going to fight. No blood is every shed but I am always on guard at mealtime for humans and feedings for dog and when they all congregate at the water bowl at the same times. I know that the boys are aggressive to males and I HAVE NEVER TAKEN THEM TO THE DOG PARK. I know that they would never tolerate the craziness that happens there and would bite another dog or attack it.
I am smart enough to know that anytime there is more than one dog dominance will need to be established and if both want to be dominant than that spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!! This is why I am so cautious with the little one but it only takes one time for a dog to be seriously injured or be killed.
I have decided that we will no longer be going to Addison Dog Park, The Plano Dog Park or the Dallas Dog Park. I do not even think I will go to UNLEASHED - they new indoor dog park that is privately owned. I don't want to take the chance and have our dog hurt another dog or be hurt by another dog.
I just wanted to vent. Thanks for a good site and the intelligence to post all viewpoints. I like that part the most.
Rae
Addison, TX
Answer:
You can read our view of dog parks for the average pet owner here.
We get more emails from people who have bad experiences than good. Most people have no idea how to read dog body language and many of the people who take their dogs to the park have no control.
I think your husband is right; you should probably stay out of the park. For me, they serve no purpose as I want my dogs to be interacting with me when we are out for some fun and exercise. I don’t want my dogs getting their needs met by strange dogs. If I want to proof my dog’s training with distractions there a lot of safer places to go and do that
Personally, I think if you can’t control your big dog around dogs of any size then you have no business having your dog off leash around dogs at all to begin with. Sorry if that isn’t what you want to hear but the size of the dogs in question should not matter. Your dog can easily knock you off your feet, but you let her loose with other people and dogs? It sounds like an accident waiting to happen.
The fact that your own pack of dogs have fought enough over the years for you to write this scares me the most. "I have had numerous trips to the human hospital and animal hospital due to our boys fighting over territory in the house."
I question your ability to deal with a dog park scenario, if your own dogs at home are fighting in this way. Please take some time to train your puppy and learn to keep her under control.
I’d also direct you to the search function in the upper left corner of the website. It will find posts, articles and Q & A’s that deal with your search terms.
Comment:
Ed,
Thanks for your excellent article on dogs parks and in particular on how to break up a dog fight without being injured. (I only wish I had read it before my golden retriever Storm and I were attacked by a very large pit bull at a campground on Labor Day weekend). The 150# mix dragged a 12 year old out of their campsite and across the road to get at my leashed dog. A dog that size should have been attached to a tree, not a 90# kid. I don't have pictures but I should not have jumped in to try and equalize the fight. Got a few really good bites and some nasty scratches. My dog Storm got a minor bit on his ear.
The problem is that each time this happens it makes my dog really worry about another dog's intentions when they approach. Thankfully my dog is whistle trained and will pretty much ignore other dogs at the park when we are playing. I still don't ever let him meet other dogs off leash. The guy with the pit bull was on his phone and came over after the fight was broken up.
He claimed that his dog never started a fight and that my dog must have done something. I tried to explain to him that in Wisconsin a police report is required when a dog attacks a person. I tried to explain how dangerous it might be if a small child walked up to his dog and was attacked. I explained to him that things sometimes happen and that I wanted to be sure it didn't happen again as the next time someone might sue him for all that his trailer was worth. He got very defensive and wanted to "take care" of any legal issues right now (about the same attitude as his dog had). From now on I will take your advice and bring a walking stick to the dog park.
Thanks for the really good advice that you have posted for free, I have a few things that I will use to re enforce my dog's good behavior...and to the several people who were abusive to you on your website, (probably aggressive dog owners) if your dog is out of control and off leash in a public area, it better not come after my on leash under control dog. I will make very sure it Never does it again.
Thanks,
D. G.
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