Problem with owner at dog park (lab, bulldogs, boxer, terrier)
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I have to rant a bit as there is a young woman that comes to the dog . park, she now has two dogs. One is by best guess a cattle dogX pit mix and the other a maybe a lab, greyhound bit of bull terier mix .
Alone they are nice dogs but together they tag team other dogs and jump them. Mind you they have never hurt another dog but they have terrfifed many and terrified many owners. The owner really does not do much maybe calls them and yells " cookie" or when people yell at her she slaunters over at a slow pace always very deffensive saying they will not bite the dog hard so do not hurt them....when you explain that it is not OK to let her dogs terrify other dogs she just does not get it and once again gets deffensive and the other day I hear she broke into ters and stomped off saying fine I will never come back to this F****** park! Well she was back the very next day.
I think what she needs to do is the minute they jump another dog run ( not slaunter) over grab her dogs leash them and leave for the day as then they will realize if they behave that way the fun ends .If Jazz did that at agility that is exactly what I did and she soon learned that to be allowed to have fun at agility she had to not give other dogs a hard time so she behaved. I think once a dog has an outburst such as these two that then chemicals are flooding the brain which makes them go off again much easier. I would say this happens at least 3 times each day . They do not pick on any of my dogs but often it is the shy or young dogs that they go after and I hate to think of the damage it could be doing to them.
The lab mix usually does not like the other one playing with other dogs and she comes and pulls her away by her collar.
How do you get through to such an owner that this behavior is not acceptable as she seems to think no physical harm no harm and that is not so. I also worry that some day they wil target the wrong dog that will rip into them and as I said alone they are both sweet dogs so I hate to see either hurt.
I know some of you do not like dog parks and that this is one of the reasons so I am not asking for why don't you like dog parks but rather how do you get through to an owner like this that yes her dogs are a problem? As I said my dogs have no problems with hers so In that way I am not involved but I hate seeing this happen day after day and her doing nothing to prevent it and her getting so deffensive if any of us try to give her suggestions as yes people are pissed off about this as otherwise the park is usually very quite and fun for all.
I have little experience with dog parks but isn't the city in charge of keeping it safe for everybody? Isn't there some kind of way to give her a "ticket" or warning that her dogs are causing problems? Does the city have some kind of liability if a dog injures another dog or person? Surely it's not just helter skelter with no one being responsible for when things go wrong?
Does anybody know who this woman is? if so you could write her a letter letting her know what the other park people are saying and experiencing as a result of her dogs. Maybe she just doesn't know how to round up her dogs or what is expected of her.
Perhaps a show is what she needs. Since it is most of the others who use the park who agree there's a problem, a consensus to all get up, leash your dogs, and leave when she arrives is what she needs. If her dogs have no one to play with/intimidate/bully/harass and she has not yet listened to requests to play nice, then isolation is a means of getting across the message to her.
Alternatively, perhaps you could get the other people to agree to form a cordon around her dogs when she/they arrive in a reverse bullying gesture.
BTW, if she permits her pets to bully, she is also a bully. Don't let the bullies win!
Perhaps a show is what she needs. Since it is most of the others who use the park who agree there's a problem, a consensus to all get up, leash your dogs, and leave when she arrives is what she needs. If her dogs have no one to play with/intimidate/bully/harass and she has not yet listened to requests to play nice, then isolation is a means of getting across the message to her.
Alternatively, perhaps you could get the other people to agree to form a cordon around her dogs when she/they arrive in a reverse bullying gesture.
BTW, if she permits her pets to bully, she is also a bully. Don't let the bullies win!
I like your first idea. We used to do this but it never really worked. The person kept coming back and we decided to stop going. And, I'm sure this woman wouldn't get the picture. She'd just be happy to have the park to herself!
Dash, is the park monitored by any town/city entity? You could file a complaint and let them know that you will call them immediately when she arrives. We did this at a park in MD as there was a very large and aggressive dog and bull-headed owner that kept coming back.
I don't go to dog parks very often. My boxer loves to fight so I won't take her. My boston terrier often steam rolls the tiny dogs on the "little" side, but on the "big" side, sometimes there are dogs that treat him like prey. However, sometimes I do join a friend who likes to go and bring my BT along. We go on the little side and I immediately correct Leo if he runs thru/over one of those 4lb Yorkie types. However, if there is a dog misbehaving and the owner isn't taking responsibility, I have no problem yelling out "Hey, eh-eh" at an offending dog. If this owner isn't taking responsibility I'd either step in and handle it or gather my dogs and leave --- letting the owner know that I am cutting short my dogs' time at the park for that reason.
I'd take a camcorder and tape her dogs and her response (or lack thereof). If she (or anyone) asks why you're recording the action, tell them you want to be sure to have evidence in case of injury that could have been avoided by responsible human intervention. .
Ugh. I cannot comprehend how someone can be so insensitive. Especially someone with bully-type mixes....most responsible bully/Rottweiler/Chow/etc owners aim to have their dogs be good breed ambassadors. (By bully-type I mean breed, not temperament!)
I love UNC4Me's idea. I'm not a dog park person, but I don't think I would have any hesitation in going over to someone's badly-behaving dog, snapping my leash on it and handing it to the owner. If the dog or dogs were targeting, say, my little JRTx? I would be a mama bear and I would NOT be polite.
Such a shame that a few bad owners make so many people (like me) leery of going to dog parks. I have both targetable dogs, and have now (and have had a couple in the past) Rottweilers who I knew for certain were bullies; it's part of their nature. I can't imagine how horrible I would feel if a dog of mine were to hurt another dog. It's my job to never put them in that position.
At the dog park I go to, there is no division between large and small breeds. Most of the time there is no problem but sometimes there is an idiot with a big unruly dog at the park who behaves this way.
Over the weekend I took my dog Dex, who is about 25 lbs. He's been learning to play water fetch in the lake and there was a large hound who was paddling out after other dogs and trying to climb on them while they were swimming. I thought he was going to drown my poor pup. Even on land he was bowling over smaller dogs and being generally troublesome. The owner did nothing but call his name from time to time and watch me chase him away from other dogs. So annoying.
I like the idea of leashing the dog and handing it to the owner...
Sometimes people don't think their misbehaving dog is misbehaving. There is nothing wrong with leashing their misbehaving dog and handing over to the owner, it is acceptable. You could video tape the misbehaving dogs via phone?
You could contact animal control in the city or county where the dog park is located and ask them who controls the dog parks and what goes on there with misbehaving dogs whether it's a dog on dog situation or dog vs. Person or ask them how to handle a person that does not control their dogs at the dog park?
Sometimes, there are no easy answers. Actually, the way to reach her would be to turn the tables. What would happen if other dogs were doing to her dogs what her dogs are doing? It is always different when the shoe is on the other foot.
I personally do not visit dog parks because I have bully breeds. I have friendly dogs, however...if some other dog starts something with one of my dogs, my dogs have the ability to finish it because of their breed and they will take the fall. It does not matter that they have manners, are well trained and friendly...but a gal like this will show up will an unruly, untrained dog that will start something and their breed alone (my dog(s) will do them in...(guilt by association) and I wouldn't want that. Again, you know who will be blamed. Not her dog(s). So, I stay away from dog parks for that very reason, not everyone is a responsible dog owner or at minimum controls their dogs because they don't think their dog(s) misbehave.
I want my dogs to be ambassadors to the bully breeds (American Bulldogs and Dogue De Bordeaux / Bulldog's of this world) they are already mistaken for Pit Bulls, people are so uneducated about APBT as it is... I do not want to add to that. APBT are amazing dogs and get enough bad press. Bully breeds in general get enough bad press, as bully owners, we need to do everything within our power to show our dogs in the absolute best light possible and avoid bad exposure to people like this gal that does not have control over her dogs. If that means I have to forego a dog park, then so be it. I will exercise my dogs with walks and play time in the backyard.
It is just my personal opinion.
It effects everyone. She is clueless.
Sorry, did not mean to turn into a rant. Just gets to me when I do all I can for my boys to protect them, the public and other dogs...and there are others out there that just don't know better or don't care; not sure which...just frustratating!
"From wet noses to wiggly butts, our dogs are not just dogs they are family!"
Sometimes people don't think their misbehaving dog is misbehaving. There is nothing wrong with leashing their misbehaving dog and handing over to the owner, it is acceptable. You could video tape the misbehaving dogs via phone?
You could contact animal control in the city or county where the dog park is located and ask them who controls the dog parks and what goes on there with misbehaving dogs whether it's a dog on dog situation or dog vs. Person or ask them how to handle a person that does not control their dogs at the dog park?
Sometimes, there are no easy answers. Actually, the way to reach her would be to turn the tables. What would happen if other dogs were doing to her dogs what her dogs are doing? It is always different when the shoe is on the other foot.
I personally do not visit dog parks because I have bully breeds. I have friendly dogs, however...if some other dog starts something with one of my dogs, my dogs have the ability to finish it because of their breed and they will take the fall. It does not matter that they have manners, are well trained and friendly...but a gal like this will show up will an unruly, untrained dog that will start something and their breed alone (my dog(s) will do them in...(guilt by association) and I wouldn't want that. Again, you know who will be blamed. Not her dog(s). So, I stay away from dog parks for that very reason, not everyone is a responsible dog owner or at minimum controls their dogs because they don't think their dog(s) misbehave.
I want my dogs to be ambassadors to the bully breeds (American Bulldogs and Dogue De Bordeaux / Bulldog's of this world) they are already mistaken for Pit Bulls, people are so uneducated about APBT as it is... I do not want to add to that. APBT are amazing dogs and get enough bad press. Bully breeds in general get enough bad press, as bully owners, we need to do everything within our power to show our dogs in the absolute best light possible and avoid bad exposure to people like this gal that does not have control over her dogs. If that means I have to forego a dog park, then so be it. I will exercise my dogs with walks and play time in the backyard.
It is just my personal opinion.
It effects everyone. She is clueless.
Sorry, did not mean to turn into a rant. Just gets to me when I do all I can for my boys to protect them, the public and other dogs...and there are others out there that just don't know better or don't care; not sure which...just frustratating!
"From wet noses to wiggly butts, our dogs are not just dogs they are family!"
I hear you as over the years there have been a couple very nice pitties that use to come to the park and it was interesting how if a couple dogs got into it somehow the pittes got blamed even when they were not even near the other dogs. The owners finally got tired of their dogs being blamed for everything so quit coming. One dog got blamed for a fight and he was not even playing with the dogs involved as he was playing with Dazzle! He spent most of his time hanging out with Dazzle, and Dash.
As to this sitiuation people have tried talking to the owner and like I said she gets very defensive and crys and says well they aren't hurting anyone they are just playing and when you try to explain that terriffing another dog is not play she just shuts it out and hands her dogs a cookie.
This park is just an open green belt that the county fenced in and decided to allow dogs off leash from 8am to 10AM and 3 PM to dusk, they really did not post rules or anything. It has always been pretty self controlled by the people that use it. As I said I do not dislike these two dogs as alone they are sweet dogs though the cattle dog X pit is starting to nip a bit too hard when she does play as she has done that to Chaos and Chaos my social butterfly has tucked her tail and run to me when the nips get too hard. It is just the two tag teaming others then the owner being so slow to get up and get her dogs then her staying at the park instead of taking them out. She also brings books and sits and reads which I do not get as she should be watching her dogs not reading.
There have been some good suggestions made so Thanks.
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Changing her mind...I don't have a problem...
She is clueless. 
One dog got blamed for a fight and he was not even playing with the dogs involved as he was playing with Dazzle! He spent most of his time hanging out with Dazzle, and Dash. 
