Playing with smaller dogs

[voodoo]

I just came back from the dog park this am, chili was having a blast with adult male gsd, lab, poodle, husky, and a couple mixes. then a cane corso came in with his owner trying to shoo away other dogs from meeting his dog. I saw chili trotting up to this "bigger" dog. I called chili's name and he ignored me. chili got 1 sniff and his tail went from wagging to between his legs in a flash and that bigger dog made my chili disappear. thankfully that corso had a harness on and the owner was right there to pull his dog off chili. Chili was a little rattled but fine. we went on a 20 minute walk on the sidewalk so I could ensure chili was ok/no blood/injuries. my point is that big vs little accidents can happen in a split second. time to work on chili's recall some more.

[voodoo]

just wanted to add: my sister in law has a very dominant intact pitbull that is VERY aggressive towards anything that eneters his space but is totally in love with his older sister playmate/basset hound. they play together and rough it up but when the 8 year old bh says enough, the pit stops in its tracts and says uncle. they were raised together and when I bring chili into the house it isnt so simple. dominance is a wild dog traight that cant be forgotten...petsin the same household seem to break all other barriers my chili however isnt part of the pitbulls family...even tho I know the pit just wants to play...its too dominant/strong for chili...meanwhile the basset hound as old as she is can put that pit in its place in half a sec.

[jessesnewperson]

Ok so on the subject of dog parks...Yay or nay? There's a big one not far from my house and I was thinking about taking Jesse there to play.

[4Thelove]

Dog parks have always been a great place for my crew. I always watch the other dogs/owners to make sure everyone is playing nice

[WhoopsaDaisy]

Daisy loves dog parks- like a big playground for dogs and a great way to tire them out. Be aware though as watch every interaction with other dogs.

[tennysonlab]

Odin loves little dogs and we used to live for a while with a dachshund and Odin was so happy. He is very gentle with them, but gets a bit too excited when we see them at the park, and we have been working on that. It scares the little dog owners because they are never sure how a 100 pound lab is going to react, and then they see Odin in a super low play bow and happily sniffing the little dog. I feel that the approach is the biggest thing to work on. My two labs live with cats and have had kittens and strange (my fosters) cats in the house who aren't always okay with dogs. Odin doesn't care too much for the cats, but little dogs, he is in love with.

Dog parks, I am mixed on. I love them for my dogs, especially Odin and having a completely enclosed area for him to run around in. There is only one area where he can be completely off leash and I love it. Even though it is 20+ minutes away and after about the same about of time, he would be done running around and greeting the other dogs and then sticks to me. The biggest issue I have is with owners who don't pay attention to their dogs. I don't hover over my dogs, but I do call them back to me periodically to make sure they don't associate being called with going home and then stop coming to me. I also make sure they are playing nicely with other dogs. Odin will try to hump some dogs and get humped by others and some owners are horrified by it, especially if Odin is humping or being humped by another male dog. People still think it is about sex and get upset that their dog is gay. So stupid. I don't like when dogs that don't play well with other dogs are left to their own devises while their owner is on their cell phone, completely ignoring their dog's actions. We have left several times and learned to avoid certain times and days because of poor owners. But we still go when we can. I am lucky to live near a park that is dog friendly. It isn't completely enclosed so Odin can't be off leash, but he makes one lap and wants to go home or lie down anyway. We throw the ball in the chuck it as we walk the loop (the park is sort of a circle; it's an arboretum park, so only trees and plants) and tire out Gaea. There are a ton of other dog owners who go there and often hang out in the middle while the dogs greet and play a bit.

[jake&Tex]

Dog parks get a thumbs-down from me, mostly due to the 2-legged idiots. Case-in-point posted right above :

I just came back from the dog park this am, chili was having a blast with adult male gsd, lab, poodle, husky, and a couple mixes. then a cane corso came in with his owner trying to shoo away other dogs from meeting his dog. I saw chili trotting up to this "bigger" dog.

Why would someone bring their dog in to a DOG PARK when he is uncomfortable with other dogs meeting his dog? I have had the misfortune of running across similarly stupid people who have helped me determine that play dates with friends and dogs that we know would be a much better choice for us.

[Labowner]

My grandchildren have a cavalier spaniel. He is just a year old & at our house frequently. We introduced Abby to Jake very slowly and even now they are supervised when playing together. Don't want to have to explain an accident to the grandkids.