[Jacque]

I got really upset this morning at the dog park. We have a very well kept privately owned (but open to the public) park by my house. It is normally a great place for the dogs to run a play with friends and for the most part is occupied by good dogs and good, responsible owners. It is not city owned and is not a well known park by the public. We don't seem to get a lot of the troublesome owners and improper "dog park friendly" breeds there....well....Sunday's are the exception I guess...Jazz and I were on our morning walk through the neighborhood and walked by the dog park...My first instinct was to avoid the park on such a busy day (15-20 dogs which is a lot for the size of this place) but since Jazz was jumping up and down and begging me to go inside, I went against my judgement and went inside anyway...big mistake!!!! At first it was okay, the dogs were playing and having a good time, but, then the trouble started. There was a 150+ lb. dog (possibly a Newfoundland..not sure) that would not leave Jazz alone! He would not stop humping her!! The first time it happend I called Jazz and she came running to me. The owner of the dog just laughed at the situation and went back to his latte and conversation. The second time it happened, Jazz was pinned so I had to tell the dog no and had to pull Jazz out from under him....still no response from the owner other than a chuckle. I'd had enough and was afraid this dog was going to hurt Jazz so decided to leave and finish our walk. As i am leashing her the dog sneaks up and mounts her again and used my forearm to push the dog off of Jazz so we could leave. At that point the owner came running at me, screaming "don't hit my dog mother (explicit), what are you doing?!?!" I told him I didn't hit the dog but had to get him off mine before he broke her back. His response was that "thats what dogs do, that's how they play and check each other out"...I explained that humping is not how dogs play and needs to have more control over his dog and that humping is not an acceptable behavior...it is a sign of dominance and can be a sign of aggression when a dog lays or puts his paws on another dog as his was. I also said he needs to put his latte down and pay attention to his dog. He kept trying to pick a fight with me so I left. As I was wallking away I looked back and watched everybody in the park for a minute and it seems that no one was watching their dogs. They were just sipping their coffee, mingling without a care in the world. That is not how you act at a dog park!! I was the only person there that was playing with the dogs, throwing balls and frisbees and interacting with the dogs. In my opinion, the dog park is a place to take the leash off and play with your dog in an open area..it's not a daycare or a singles club!!! Thanks for letting me vent!!!!!!

 

[Labradorable]

Stupid people suck.

 

[Jacque]

i would say that sums it up well.. haha. thanks!

 

[amazongold]

In my opinion, the dog park is a place to take the leash off and play with your dog in an open area..it's not a daycare or a singles club!!! Thanks for letting me vent!!!!!!

Exactly! That's why we go to a private park that you have to pay to use, and you cannot enter if someone is already there with their dogs unless they say it's okay. If they don't want you to come in, you have to wait until they are finished.

 

[Jacque]

thansk! i'll have to see if they have one on dallas. i want her to meet other dogs...but not to be traumatized by them!! it's frustaring too because this dog park is so pretty and well kept and is a stone's throw from my house!!

 

[kdryan]

Stupid people suck.

What she said...

Kevin

 

[myfavoritedog]

This guy's an idiot. I would think anyone who knows anything about dogs knows that humping is not acceptable behavior. **sigh** Sorry it was such a bad experience. Hopefully, you can find one that will be better, or maybe this one will improve.

 

[HersheyK's Dad]

Okay, here I go.

The problem is the owner as you siad, not the dog. I have found that it is usually guys that take that position, seldom the ladies. Thisis probably the one behavior that we run into most often. We are generally quite successful in educating the owner. We generally approach, two of us, and explain the behavior and the need to control it at the parks if not everywhere. We manage to avoid confrontation, and bat about 50% in converting. The other 50% don't come back. They don't leave when confronted, but they don't come back. I think approaching them with more than one person is effective.

 

[kdryan]

You know, being a bit of a noobie to all of this, I would hope that if my dog were doing something unacceptable that it would be pointed out to me in the interest of having a better behaved and happier dog. When I do go to the dog park (the nearest one is 40 minutes away) I go to spend time with my dog. If I want coffee I'll take Harley and sit outside Starbucks.

Kevin

 

[kassabella]

I hate that. Stupid people shouldn't be at the dog park.

A guy let his dog hump Kassy. I was too meak and mild to stop it until I had to take her to the vet after he hurt her. My vet said take your chuck it or stick and whack the dog. I couldn't so I stopped going to the park. Kassy paid the price by not seeing the dogs she liked. I have learned never to let this happen again to my dogs. I stick up for my dog no matter what and do use the chuck if I need to.

 

[justine]

Ugh. Same situation happened to me at our dog park last week, but the owner was better and leashed her dog up after he attacked Abbey the third time.

 

[Dexter Dogg]

Wow this is exactly why I stopped going to my local (County run) dog park. I had the same experience with an idiot who let his dog do the same thing while enjoying coffee and a group chat. Sadly some of these dog parks seem to have become a social place and people ignore their dogs while catching up with friends over coffee.

I need to find one of the private parks people are mentioning.

His response was that "thats what dogs do, that's how they play and check each other out"

This seems to be what a lot of people think for some reason.

They were just sipping their coffee, mingling without a care in the world. That is not how you act at a dog park!! I was the only person there that was playing with the dogs, throwing balls and frisbees and interacting with the dogs. In my opinion, the dog park is a place to take the leash off and play with your dog in an open area..it's not a daycare or a singles club!!! Thanks for letting me vent!!!!!!

Well said!

- Dave