not feeling good with dog park now

[greagre]

We bring our dog to a nearby dog park a few time a week since she was 4 month old (she is 10 month now). She loves to play fetch and be pet by people there. All the dog owners there know my dog is a very sweet girl. However, there are many mean dogs in the dog park. Some of them like to chase others and "pretend" to bite others to scare them. Yesterday a mini schnauzer attacked and mounted my dog for no reason. He was much smaller than my dog. But he growled and "pretend" (hopefully) to bite my dog at her neck. He was so crazy and he really scared me. At that moment I was so worried and I really thought he would bite my dog. My dog is a sweet girl and never experienced such thing. She curled up toward the fence and did not dare to move. I tried to separate them and then the mini schnauzer started to chase my dog. Then all the dogs in the dog park started to chase my dog. My dog ended up hiding in the corner of the fences and I had to stand between her and other dogs. Then other dog owners came to get their dogs away. The owner of the mini schnauzer said her dog would not bite my dog and he just thought himself as the boss. However how did you know your dog would not bite my dog. Why did not you watch you dog all the times. From what I saw, her dog was so mean and aggressive. It looked like he hated my dog so much and wanted to kill her. Actually they just met for the first time. I have never seen a dog growled so deeply and looked so brutal. I was so afraid that bad things could happened to my dog yesterday. I think from now on I will avoid going to the dog park. I do not want my dog to learn and experience such bad things.

[Labradorks]

Wise move avoiding the dog park, especially while she is still a puppy, and especially a four month old puppy. While it's good for a young dog to have all sorts of interactions with other dogs and types of dogs, being that you do not know those dogs and it is a free-for-all, it's not a safe or controlled environment. In their lifetime a dog will have some negative experiences, but for each of those experiences, a dog should have several positive ones. A dog park is a crap shoot.

Head off to class and ask your instructor about local play groups for puppies or perhaps make play-dates with some of your classmates with appropriate dogs and puppies.

[Maxx&Emma]

This is why I do not go to dog parks. I would probably end up in jail because of an ignorant, clueless dog owner.

[SunDance]

This is why I do not go to dog parks. I would probably end up in jail because of an ignorant, clueless dog owner.

I'd be in the cell next to yours...I don't do dog parks.

[Snowshoe]

How big is this dog park? Some are tiny and there are too many dogs crammed into a small place with no room to avoid the ones they don't like. Tiny, like, I know of a couple that are only two acres. I hear complaints about a new one near me that is 20 acres but it's long and narrow and lots of dumb owners get just inside the gate and stand there, making a gauntlet of dogs a new one has to run through.

Poor girl, she sounds a very submissive dog. That dog park does not sound like a good place for her.

[Tanya]

Dog parks are a big thing these days. Everyone who gets a dog seems to have dreams of going to the dog park and seeing hteir pup play swimmingly with other dogs. But realistically only a small portion of dogs enjoy and do well at the dog park. Doesn't mean the owners of the ones who don't stay home though. There is also a very different line of "acceptability" from one owner to the other. So what may seem perfectly fine to one group may be outrageous and horrifying to others. I spent years at the dog park so I've seen a lot. Especially first timers with really crazy dogs who just BOLT FULL TILT as they enter the park ending in a huge game of pretty intense crazy chase. I've seen many just leave in a huff/tears/yelling (note: the dog was fine!) Some dogs may be friendly but too submissive. Some dogs outgrow the dog park as they get older. Some become bad players as they hit the teenage stage. Some just become less than social as they hit maturity (this is what happened to me - i used to go all the time with my dogs but then Penny started acting up - we now avoid the dog parks). It's sad as society really has made dog parks to be "the thing good dog owners do" so lots of people force their dogs there, not understanding things.

it's hard to comment without seeing it, but chase and bite dogs" bit as that's pretty typical (and not really innapropriate between friends) dog play. Dog play isn't seetn and gentle Especially wtih teenage dogs. Sometimes it gets out of hand, that's typical too (where they just get over-aroused in play or someone's "feelings" get hurt).

The schnauzer incident wasn't cool but also sorta typical dog park scenario.

As an aside - yes submissive dogs do get the brunt of bullying behaviour at the park. Unfortunately my only response there is that these dogs probably shouldn't go do to parks (or find better times). because the dogs were generally fine before that dog came in -and while the dog is totally innocent and yes, the other dogs should be redirected/called-off by owners, I haev seen dogs just be totally weird when oen particular dog comes in - being fine before and after that dog was there. so while the new dog did "nothign wrong" they threw off the entire vibe at the park. So after seeing it, as unfair as it is, my only theory is that the submissive dog is the one that shouldnt' be at the park even if they are friendly if they continously throw 75-80% of the other dogs there off.

[Mudlark]

This is why I do not go to dog parks. I would probably end up in jail because of an ignorant, clueless dog owner.

We do not have dog parks as such here - but from what I have read about them you couldn't pay me enough money to go anywhere near them with one of my dogs!

[sparky]

I'd be in the cell next to yours...I don't do dog parks.

we would probably have the whole tier!

[BaconsMom]

we would probably have the whole tier!

Us too. We had quite the incident (on our last time to the dog park). bacon was playing nicely with a lab mix, when suddenly it turned and growled deeply, and then sunk its teeth into bacon's back leg. The owner was completely oblivious, and Jake tried to pry the dog off, causing the other owner to scream "dont touch my dog", completely oblivious to what her dog had been doing to Bacon.

[smartrock]

Lark was chased down like that in one of our obedience classes when the dogs were trying to do an off-lead down/stay while one dog and owner walked around the center of the ring with their own dog off lead. Lark and I were in the middle when one dog broke his down/stay and started after Lark and the other several dogs joined in and she kind of got cornered. It was over very quickly, no one got hurt, but if it can happen in a controlled situation like that, it's no surprise it can happen in a dog park if the right (or wrong) combination of dogs comes in. Lark did not seem scarred emotionally from this encounter, but I'm not interested in seeing something like that happen again. No dog parks for us.