How do I deal with an aggressive dog at the Bark Park?
Michele and Boomer |
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| I don't think you did anything wrong. I've only been to a bark park twice, botht the same park in Portland, Maine, so I don't know the rules and etiquette of bark parks, but there are a lot of people on this board that do.
I hope they will help you with your question. |
| I would have done the same thing, in fact this past winter a male dog kept mounting Panda and I had had enough, the owner was actually cheering his boy on...I went over to him and just plain told him that wasnt right and keep your dog away from mine.....I would have had a few choice words for that person...I would have said.."Obviously this isnt a play park, doggie bordello more like it!" |
I think that all dog owners should respect each others wishes! I think you absolutely did the right thing! We all know our dogs and what they can tolerate, I think that the other dog owner should have respected that! I know I certainly wouldn't allow Gucci to do that to any dog, honestly I would worry that Gooch would get a bite! I've also been called a wee bit over protective also, so that may be my paranoia! 
Colleen and The Gooch |
gucci is so cute with the slipper.  |
Quote: gucci is so cute with the slipper.
Thanks!  That was taken a while ago...I should post another picture with the slipper...both Gucci and the slipper look alot different now!  |
Sir Gucci's Mom wrote: Quote: gucci is so cute with the slipper. Thanks! That was taken a while ago...I should post another picture with the slipper...both Gucci and the slipper look alot different now! YES! Post a new one! I'm so eager to see mor of the Gooch! |
| The dog park is a difficult social situation for dogs and owners alike. We go at least once a week and usually have no problems. Last week we did run into an aggressive dog who tackled Bailey and had him yelping. After two or three incidents with Bailey and others the owner took the dog home. When a dog gets aggressive I like to find out who the owner is right away by asking around and then just say tell them that I'm uncomfortable with the interaction. Unfortunately, badly behaved dogs often have badly behaved owners and they are likely to say something along the lines of "that's just what dogs do". Then I take Bailey to the other side of the park and hope the aggressive dog finds a different victim!
It's a tough call because Bailey loves to run around with other dogs and wrestle with them, and although I just consider it playing (no biting, yelping, growling) a more sensitive owner would probably be offended. If Bailey seems to be rolling around with the same dog (especially a smaller dog) for a while I'll find the owner and make small talk just to make sure they're OK with the level of contact. Most people just love Bailey, but... The biggest "conduct" problem I have at the dog park is typical sheepie behavior - he'll get his head soaking wet and then go put it in some unsuspecting owner's lap! There is a well-dressed regular who just flinches when she sees Bailey coming. I always have to run interference! Who gets dressed up to go the the dog park anyway! LOL! But I think it's important to realize that behavior you find acceptable isn't always cool with other people, so you need to keep an open mind. Sue |
| I have taken otis to the dog park twice and he has a problem with humping other dogs. I know it is a dominance thing and I try to always stop him and usually he listens. However much he likes to hump he does not like the other way around. When otis was tired (it was quite hot outside) two young pups 10-12 months tried to keep humping him and he told them off by growling and nipping--I knew that was my que to leave-he was over tired and hot. |
| I never had a problem with Remy at the park, until I started to Tag with me.
Now we seem to have an instance every time we go. So I find I have to put one on a leash andlet the other play. Remy comes across as agressive, or loud...she barks in another dogs face to intice them to run...she wants to chase them. Hasn't figured out that barking annoys them and their owners. She just doesn't like them sitting waiting to have aball thrown...and when we come across a ball agressive dog...a dog that will fight another dog if they think you want his ball...l have to remove her, because she will not back down if the other dog attacks her over a missunderstanding (she does NOT want the ball). If Tag is not leashed he wants her 100%, and does not want her top chase other dogs...if for some reason another dog finds the two of them annoying and it happens every single time...an altercation will happen, and then I have 3-5 dogs in fight....and I don't mean this harshly...but mine are not the ones starting a fight, but they will get involved in one....Remy seems to rub alot of dogs the wrong way, esp if we don't exercise enough, then she is even more wound up. If that makes any sense... You were brave to grab a strange dog...I think people are way to sensitive whether it be at the dog park or school park. If they would just stop to realize that MAYBE you did them a favor by stepping...would they rather you sue them for vet bills if it wasn't stopped.????  |
| I know that mounting behaviors can be both sexual and social in dogs, is it so bad on its own or only if it escalates into something else? I know a lot of people are very uncomfortable with it but isn't it just natural dog behavior sometimes? I ask this as a serious question because in my experiences at the dog park, the few times that my dogs were mounted or humped, they just walked away from it if it was unwanted (I say this as if they allow other wanted humping, which is not really the case but you know what I mean!).
Most of the time, as long as everyone is getting along, I don't intervene but I do completely understand removing your dog from a situation where the dog can't seem to lose the humper in question! As horrible as it sounds, some dogs always seem to be the ones getting humped and they're fine with it. Everyone at our dog park is pretty good too and all the dogs seem to get along pretty well. Actually, for the first time at the park, last night a big husky tried to mount Clyde and he turned around and looked at him, like, are you nuts? He did a stop, drop and roll right out of the hump and tried to return the hump to the dog. They did this 2 times and by the third, it just turned into play! There's also a few dogs where I think it looks a lot worse than it is. when they play. Lucy and Clyde have a couple of friends-- Bubba, a big hound dog, and Louis, a Shepherd mix that we always close the park down with. Once all the other dogs are gone and it's just those four, they go nuts! Even Lucy, who's 7 years older than the next oldest dog, plays like a puppy. Last night it reminded me of a cartoon: they were all on the ground rolling around and all you could see was dust cloud. When it cleared, all the dogs were on the ground, tongues out, panting like crazy. You'd have sworn they were killing each other by the sounds coming out of them but they were loving it! |
I have been taking my sheepie puppy to the local park since he was 4 months old (he just turned 10 months this week). I find it the best way to make him happy! He just loves running (in the fenced-in park) with his playmates. (Do you know that more OES are killed because they run into a moving vehicle?) However, I have found that age and breed, and tempermanet of dog owners are factors that we must constantly be aware of...Noah (my Sheepie) is wonderful in every way that I can see, but know that what I consider to be normal is occassionally not the standard. I accept this because I expect the same consideration in return. I have made several friends in the past 6 months while "Noey" is doing the same. I am working on a jumping problem now and realize most people do not want him to jump on them.  I do not blame them. I guess what I am saying is that presently I do not totally relax while we are at the park. Noah is an open book and I can read his behaviors as to when he is about to pounce on someone. I watch him intently so I can intervene when necessary. Many owners have told me not to worry but I do not feel that it is responsible of me to let these negative behaviors ensue. He is learning slowly and if truth be told, I am sure my new friends appreciate that I am on constant surveillance. I often think of my friends with children...I do not want them to come into my home without boundaries; we as pet owners have the same responsibility to monitor our loved ones.   |
| Henry can be the best or the worst behaved dog at the park, there seems to be no middle ground. He is another one of those who likes to bark the ear off some poor retriever that Henry just wants to chase. I watch the owners carefully and if they seem annoyed and I cannot distract Henry we leave.
On the other side, if a dog is annoying Henry I watch the owner carefully, and say something extremely mild, "Henry really doesn't like to be mounted." If the person is responsible, he will pull his dog off. However, as noted above badly behaved dogs can come with badly behaved owners. If the situation is not IMMEDIATELY resolved, we leave. I have seen too many bloody dog fights to risk my dog's health -- better he have too little exercise today than we spend our day in emergency, or worse if your dog reacts badly to humping/domination and bites the aggressor, you could be sued and be required to put your dog to death. Please be careful, not all dogs get along and many people do not understand dog behavior well enough to see the line between play and fighting. |
ButtersStotch wrote: Actually, for the first time at the park, last night a big husky tried to mount Clyde and he turned around and looked at him, like, are you nuts? He did a stop, drop and roll right out of the hump and tried to return the hump to the dog.
I don't know how I missed this - the image of this is just hysterical! It's like a wrestling move - the"reverse hump"! |
| It really is! We ran into the same dog on the way out one night last week and as the dog went to pass us, at the last minute, Clyde bodychecked him, just to remind him who was boss. Then he took off running before the dog could actually catch him! |
| Beau and I have been to the dog park three times now. The second time a golden retreiver attacked Beau. The owner had to pick up his dog to keep it away from Beau. Beau had a nice scratch mark on his nose, other than that, it didn't seem to bother him.
We went the other day, and Beau just enjoys chasing the other dogs around. After an hour he started to lay down so I figured he was tired and we left. The dogs always seem to run where the owners are are standing |
| You might want to make sure that any hair in Beau's eyes is totally out of the way. Other dogs think that when they can't see another's eyes they are odd and can become aggressive towards them. |
| Thanks Mandy,
I never thought of that. I do keep Beau's hair tied back in a pony tail. With all the running he does, it does get messy. We're off to the dog park in another hour. This dog that I was referring to was also aggressive with another dog earlier in the week. |
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