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Yep. I avoid dog parks. I tried them out with my first dog about fourteen years ago (wait, since when have I been old enough to have had a first dog 14 years ago?!), but she was terrified and neither of us liked the experience. Now I just find myself a quieter regular park, take a 12-foot leash, and let my dog run around on that. I curb her when people or another dog get close of course.
And OP, your comment about a grown man being knocked over by other dogs reminds me why I don't visit one park (of the people variety) in my town any more. I was there, with my dog on the leash, and two men with rather large dogs (a pit mix and some kind of boxer or boxer mix) had their dogs off-leash. Now, I don't have a problem with dogs off leash per se; if they're under control and behave I'm fine with it. However, these two enormous dogs decided to come over and "play" with my 4 month old (at the time) schipperke puppy, who weighed all of about eight pounds at the time. Of course she was terrified, and ran in between my legs. So the two big dogs started jumping all over me, getting me muddy and nearly knocking me over. And the owners did nothing. Moral of the story - people can be idiots sometimes! Best to just remove oneself from the situation and find a new place I guess.
I have never been a fan of dog parks for a myriad of reasons. Luckily I work for a pet hotel that has doggy daycare and my kids go to work with me. One thing I've learned there is some folks don't understand vaccination protocol. (So as not to go off on a path of not vaccinating yearly, I get that. My two stay current on Rabies and Bordetella and get the combo about every 3 years). Often a client will call in and when asked if their dog is current with vaccines, they say yes the dog was vaccinated as a pup. When asked how old the dog is now, 8 is an answer these are the folks that go to our dog park.
Add in the fact that not every dog owner is savvy to canine communication which can lead to disaster.
You were right, she was wrong. And the mother of the 3-year old was incredibly wrong. Most dog parks I've been to prohibit children under 10 years old.
I agree with spencgr! Almost word for word...
The only thing I can change is our dog parks here only allow children older than 12.
Dog parks suck. I tried two different ones here in Southern California. One is full of old dog waste and people who do not supervise their dogs. The other is very clean but my dog (female Doberman) does not care to do anything but stay next to my side. She has absolutely no interest in other dogs. I finally decided I was better off just walking her. She gets plenty of running and fetching in our own back yard.
My bulldog is the same way. When I walk her on leash she is very interested in any people or dogs we come across. But at the dog park she just stays by my side and doesn't want anything to do with the other dogs.
But about the kid, did he and his mother have a dog? Or did they just come by to play with them? If they had a dog then I can see why the mother brought the kid too. Was she supposed to hire a babysitter so she can bring her dog to the park? Maybe this was her way to give both dog and kid an outing in one shot. Althought its completely on her to keep a close watch on her kid. Some people bring their kids to my park but thankfully they stay close to their parents.
Dog parks are for dogs, I totally agree. But with people being people, if I saw a kid chasing or scaring my dog and the parents refusing to stop it, I would just leave. My bulldog is probably ready to leave at that point anyway.
My bulldog is the same way. When I walk her on leash she is very interested in any people or dogs we come across. But at the dog park she just stays by my side and doesn't want anything to do with the other dogs.
But about the kid, did he and his mother have a dog? Or did they just come by to play with them? If they had a dog then I can see why the mother brought the kid too. Was she supposed to hire a babysitter so she can bring her dog to the park? Maybe this was her way to give both dog and kid an outing in one shot. Althought its completely on her to keep a close watch on her kid. Some people bring their kids to my park but thankfully they stay close to their parents.
Dog parks are for dogs, I totally agree. But with people being people, if I saw a kid chasing or scaring my dog and the parents refusing to stop it, I would just leave. My bulldog is probably ready to leave at that point anyway.
I don't really have a problem with the kid being there per-se, but he should have sat his butt down on the picnic table with his mom. I'm not even sure if they had a dog, they didn't seem to. Almost immediately after I spotted them in the park, the kid was running around with a big group of dogs including mine, and that's when my puppy jumped on him. It was really too fast for me to do much to prevent it. Things can happen so fast, including a bite, which is another reason why his mother should have been supervising him better.
so today was my 4th and final time going to a dog park...
Then some older lady tells me "you know its not ok for your puppy to jump on children"
So I told her "Ok first of all, what puppy doesn't jump on everything that moves and plays with it? Secondly, why is a 3 year old in a fenced in dog park with all these strange and BIG dogs that could potentially seriously hurt a child.." I told her I certainly wouldnt trust a bunch of strangers' dogs with my 3 year old. Anyway she thought I was way out of line for thinking it was an inappropriate place for children to be.
That being said, ultimately I don't want my puppy to jump on people, but that is an ongoing process..and to BLAST me for it at a dog park while he is in total play mode is pretty silly. If i do go back i will leave the moment any small child enters.
Unbelievable. Small children do not belong at a dog park. Puppies jumping up on them could be the least of their problems. When dogs are running and playing or chasing balls and Frisbees, they don't always notice small obstacles in the path -- and BOOM. Stupid parents, ignorant old woman.
My opinion: as soon as a poorly supervised child arrives it is time to pick up your dog and leave.
No matter what happens, no matter how provoked, or how accidental, it will always be the dog's fault. Too many people refuse to control their children, so remove your dog from the possible danger.
This is a huge issue: IF YOUR DOG IS OUT IN PUBLIC KEEP THE RABIES VACCINATION UP TO DATE.
If the child in the OP got a scratch the county can order the dog to undergo a 10 day rabies quarantine. If the dog does not have a current valid rabies vaccine, the county can order the dog destroyed so that the brain cells can be tested.
Whether you believe in vaccinations or not, please do not put your dog at that sort of risk by not keeping the dog up to date with the rabies vaccine.
If a dog scratches someone, the dogs have to undergo a rabies quarantine?? What? And destroy them!? That's insane. I'm from Australia - so rabies is new to me. But my dog and I are moving to the US in July. All these things I don't know...
LOL at the "helicopter dog mom" comment...that's me.
I was SO glad when my bf stopped nagging me about going to the dog park. My guy is not the "get out and meet other dogs" type- and it shows. And, the last thing I want is an altercation where someone (or someone's dog) gets injured. My dog is fine with meeting people and dogs in a controlled environment, but get him out in an uncontrolled environment, and he's really unpredictable.
Why put him (and me) through that? We'll stay away, thank you very much.
If a dog scratches someone, the dogs have to undergo a rabies quarantine?? What? And destroy them!? That's insane. I'm from Australia - so rabies is new to me. But my dog and I are moving to the US in July. All these things I don't know...
This country is manic about vaccines for children and pets. If your dog breaks the skin of a person, and it gets reported, they will ask you to show your paperwork that proves your dog is up to date on rabies. If not, they can ask you to quarantine the dog for 10 days, or they can take the dog and do the same.
Best to keep it up to date, no worries.
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Moral of the story - people can be idiots sometimes! Best to just remove oneself from the situation and find a new place I guess.
