Dog parks
Carol |
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Murphy's Mom wrote: Has anyone had a bad experience in dog parks?
Carol No. Though I know a fair number of people have had problems and many people avoid them. I love a well-run one (people actually pick up after and pay attention to their dogs...) and I especially like the bigger ones to reduce "traffic congestion", and I never stand around and chat with anyone if I can help it. We're not there to socialize,the kids are there to run - and so I just keep moving and since they are their own little pack, thye really don't need anyone else to play with. They do some meet and greet along the way, and I just keep walking so they have to keep up. You do run a greater risk of picking up the things that dogs can pick up. I won't take a puppy to one until they're probably 8-10 mos old. Even if they've had their shots, I figure there's just a lot of things there to challenge a still immature immune system. But that's just my thinking - who knows? I take them to dog shows, and that can't be any better. If you're really want to make sure you go during a low-traffic time, you can do what a friend of mine does and go at 4 in the morning 
Not me! I don't think even my dogs are all that keen at running around at 4 in the morning... 
Kristine |
| Just be alert. Oliver got attacked at a local dog park. He was playing with a large terrior, and the terrior bit down on his neck, and wouldn't let go! Oliver was crying, the terrior was growling, and I was freaking out! I grabbed Oliver and started yelling at the other dog, the other owner had to literally pry the terriors jaws apart...horrible.
You just never know the temperments of the dogs there or if their owners keep them current on their shots. I personally prefer the parks that charge like 50 cents per use. They are only open during certain hours, but they can make sure dogs are current on shots, and can ask people to leave. I totally agree with what Kristine said. YOU are not there to socialize, your DOG is, so you should watch Murphy, and pay attention to what is going on around him. Innocent play can turn sour real fast. With that said, I think Murphy will love it! |
| I have spoken to two certified behaviorists this week who believe dog parks are not for herding dogs. just sharing. |
| We were very lucky with our first "dog park/beach" back in Boston. We had a great group of people and dogs and I could take Boni there when he was only 2 months old. All the dogs were nice to him and welcomed him into the pack. Humans got along too and we would always walk down the beach so the dogs could keep up with us but play at the same time. I am looking forward to see our old group again!
Here, in Chicago I don't like the dog park. It's very little and a lot of unstable people bring their unstable dog there so we don't really go there anymore. I don't usually have problems with dogs, I can deal with them - watch their body language and leave when I see trouble is coming. I think dog owners are harder to deal with (i.e."My dog is not aggressive" when the dog is attacking every single dog, etc.) Go to the dog park during different times of the day and see when there are the least dogs there. |
kerry wrote: I have spoken to two certified behaviorists this week who believe dog parks are not for herding dogs. just sharing.
Did they say why? And esp. why specifically herding dogs? Belle loves to chase anything that moves. In fact, she will try to goad select other dogs, especially young sporting dogs and border collies, into running so she can chase them, which is how I learned to not stand around with my dogs in "play groups", except pre-designated groups of Old English. The bodyslamming many of our guys do can hurt another dog of unequal size and some (other) dogs are competely intimidated by a "big", pushy, hairy dog. I suppose some herding dogs can get overstimulated and their obedience training, if they even have any, can go out the window. But a well-adjusted, well-trained herding dog? No different than any other dog. I use the opportunity to proof their recall. I.e. they can't just run around at will, but have to check in with me when I say so. But I don't go to dog parks for the purpose of socializing any of my dogs. If they weren't already raised with other dogs, mine as well as those belonging to friends, taken to classes and shows and such, and I needed more other dog exposure, a dog park still wouldn't be my venue of choice. Too many unknown variables. I prefer to do that where I know the other dogs' temperaments (like Kata, there is one park I avoid locally because it is known to attract canine riff-raff - i.e. aggressive dogs -and clueless owners), and their owners' training skills. I'd arrange for playdates with other dogs I already knew something about and whose owners I trust. Parks to me are just for blowing off some steam. If you have a dog, any dog, whose temperament is borderline (fearful of other dogs, or likes to pick a fight), these parks generally aren't a good place to go either. Too many opportunities to reinforce all kinds of undesirable behavior. Much better to socialize these dogs in a more controlled environment. Belle was actually used to work with a highly dog aggressive dog because she reads other dogs so well and is so good at defusing potential "situations" (I wouldn't try this with any of my younger yahoos  ). But that was in an incredibly controlled environment with the other handler and I completely focused on our dogs and the situation. That's not something you want to encounter in a dog park. That's why we just keep on walking.
Kristine |
are you thinking of the one in melbourne?my friend took her lab qnd had no problem,don't forget i have 4 acers fenced in when you are ready  when are you going ? don't forget sunday there will be over 13 thous. motorcycles there |
| Some good tips and scary thoughts, I have been going to the park at different times of the day - without murphy - to see who is there and when it is the least crowded.
Yes it is the one in Wickham park. I have sent you a pm. would love to come over for a play date. |
| They are two that we visit in Colorado. One in Evergreen which on a weekend is packed. During the week it is hit or miss as far as crowds go. The other is in Conifer and it seems to never really be crowded even on the weekends. They are both really nice and very large areas but I tend to like the one in Conifer a little better seems to be cleaner.
The town where my parents live I don't think they have ever heard of a dog park. I was speaking to someone and they just looked at me like what is that, my dog has a yard. Would be interested in trying to open a dog park in the town. Spoke to my mom about it and she stated she thinks it would be hard to convince the residents. I also would love to open a pet store in the town One that is dedicated to dogs and cats.. They do not have anything except a feed store. Which has boots, clothes, accessories for humans and two isles for dogs and cats and the rest of the store dedicated to livestock. |
Mad Dog wrote: kerry wrote: I have spoken to two certified behaviorists this week who believe dog parks are not for herding dogs. just sharing. Did they say why? And esp. why specifically herding dogs? I suppose some herding dogs can get overstimulated and their obedience training, if they even have any, can go out the window. But a well-adjusted, well-trained herding dog? No different than any other dog. Kristine Neither of them knew I had soken to the other about it and both were in different states. when I mentioned I couldn't take Marley to the dog park they both said exactly the same thing - "I am not a big fan of dog parks and especially not for herding dogs." Both are IAABC cetified behaviorists and well repected in tehir fields. they both had just come from conferences (difffferent ones) and one was on her way to a seminar - sothese are people who are activelly learning and on top of their game. SOrry I didn;t respond sooner but I spent the morning in a private consultation with a behaviorist trying to get to the bottom of Marley's dog issues. |
| We don't go to dog parks either. Neither of our two trainers would take their own dogs to dog parks, because of the reasons Prof Boni mentioned - too many unstable dogs with owners not paying any attention. They felt that they were setting their own well-behaved dogs up for trouble.
Also, we have three close friends and a cousin who are vets, and they all concur that dog parks are full of crud, as irresponsible people bring unhealthy dogs there, and don't pick up after them. With Oscar and all of his immune issues, I'm not real keen on taking him around dogs that may or may not be vaccinated, or vetted regularly. We are on a regular vet rotation as it is. 
Laurie and Oscar, who is currently paying his vet's mortgage........ |
| I take Simon to the dog park almost seven days a week. One he loves it and two, so do I. When we go, we know the people and the dogs. Sometimes there are the riff-raff and don't pay attention to what the dogs are doing, but I will tell someone if their dogs have pooped as I expect someone to tell me if I am not paying attention. We also go for looonnnggg walks in the back forty where its usually just me and my dog. As for herding dogs, Simon loves to be the rabbit and be chased. He loves to go and bug one of his friends to chase him. If he is the chaser I have noticed that he nips and yes I know this is the herding instinct. I do go to socialize but I also keep an eye on Simon and make sure he is close and behaves himself just as he keeps an eye on me to make sure I am still there. Simon also loves the long walks we take and if I don't start the long walk he will come over to bug the heck out of me until we start. I'm sorry that others have had bad experiances, but for a few bumps, I LOVE IT!!! |
| I take Bella and Simon to the dog park about 5 times a week. We specifically go during times when it is less crowded and we know all the "regular" people. I avoid weekend days when more of the irresponsible owners come. They absolutely love it and so do I! At this park, since I only go when most of the regular people go, when an irresponsible owner or their dog behave badly, the other people don't hesitate to talk with the owner and ask them to leave if necessary, which usually works well.
I would really love to know why "herding dogs" are not recommended for the park. Bella really does love to herd at the park, but she does it with manners, and if the other dog indicates he doesn't like it, she backs off and finds someone else to play with. I've been taking her since she was about 5 months old. Simon is new to the park scene but absolutely loves to run as hard as he can and has not had any problems. I have been keeping a very close eye on him since he is new to me. Mary |
| We have not gone to the park yet. I am watching it at various times to see when it less crowded and who is there. Murphy had a play date on Sun and had a ball running and running on a large piece of property fenced in. He slept for almost two days after! Yesterday he went to lunch with me for the first time. He was so good - I thought I had the wrong dog. He had his water, sat and watched people and even laid down and watched people. Great mental stimulation. He was so good for a long time. Then we walked around the outdoor mall - he loved seeing more people. But we have to work on the excitment he gets when people want to pet him. i do tell people we are in training but they don't listen. tonight is his first obedience class. he is fairly well trained due to the home trainer we have had since he was 9 weeks old but he needs the other dogs and distractions to get more focused on me. Thanks for all the advice in the dog parks. i am nervous about it. so may stick with play dates. |
| I've been to the dog park several times with Barney and in general have had good experiences there. I try to go when I think it'll be less crowded--mostly for my sake! When there are too many dogs there, it's harder for everyone to keep track of what their dog is doing, even if they are trying to keep an eye on them. It often makes me a little nervous going to the park, but I think part of that is because I'm not a big person and I wonder how effective I'd be if I had to save Barney from another dog.
The only 'bad' experience we had and it really wasn't that bad, was there was a young female pitbull that was there, which (I don't care if I'm prejudiced) I automatically was wary of, but the owners seemed nice enough and watchful. So Barney and the pit were playing nicely together but all of a sudden things changed when Barney was chasing her and she ran under a bench and hit her head hard. I think she associated it with Barns because from that moment on she went from playful to agressive. Not horrible agressive, but enough that they decided to leave. |
| I am only continuously disheartened with every dog park experience I have. Every now and again, I go back, thinking it may be better and it usually never is. There are very few dogs that the boys can play with without the owners just freaking about about their size and, God forbid there's any sort of roughhousing or scuffle, it's immediately identified as a fight and as the big dogs, we get the blame. I should also mention that while I never leave my dogs' sides, usually the freaking out people are off doing something else and, of course, assume that Bear and Clyde did something since they weren't there to see it. Bear and Clyde have both left the dog park bleeding but not reciprocated. It's just not worth it to me anymore because it isn't fun, it's stressful. |
| My Morgan (Marley is a dog park drop out) is around a hundred pounds and even shaved looks like a huge dog. He shares dog park with a clebrity labradoodle. Every session the owner freaks out about something (Morgan is getting him dirty, Morgan is nipping at his feet to herd him etc etc) - if she doesn't want him to be a dog - keep him home. Okay I am ranting, but it is illustrative of the problems at dog park, and ours is in a gated community and everyone knows everyone and there are forms to fill out and rules etc.
I really think we are expecting our dogs to fill too many roles these days that have little to do with them being dogs and I can't help but think dog park is one of those status related things. |
| I also am NOT a fan of dog parks. We've had less than pleasant experiences there. Maybe for some dogs they are fine but if your dog has a bad experience and continues to go and continues to have bad experiences, you may very well end up with a dog that is fearful of other dogs and becomes dog aggressive...
Personally my feeling is...if your dog is having fun with the othe dogs, fine. If your dog is obviously uncomfortable and/or obviously having a hard time, get him out of there. I think too many people make such an attmept to "humanize" their dog, they forget a dog is a dog and may not like or get along with every other dog...Your dog looks to you to make the judgment calls for him! |
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