brady's mom Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Today was the first time I've had a scary moment at the dog park. Usually everyone is very friendly and open and all the dogs are happy, fun loving dogs who just want to make friends and play. Brady's more of a stand-offish type and would much rather chase his ball than, heaven forbid, interact with another member of the canine species. He's very well socialized and has very polite manners in large groups of dogs, he just has no interest in playing with them or being overly social, especially if they're bigger than him. His usual routine is to drop his ball for 0.5 seconds, give them a casual sniff, and then it's right back to playing fetch (which is a very serious "job" for him, apparently, lol). He doesn't usually mind if they race along with him, he just ignores them. Essentially all he focuses on is me, the chuck-it, and that glorious, soggy tennis ball. Sometime between him relieving himself and me picking it up, we both lost sight of his ball, and I declared it lost for the moment and ended up just walking the loop with him while we went in search of the every illusive tennis ball. We came upon a large poodle-mix and his equally shaggy owner (I thought it kind of funny that dog and owner looked alike, since I had never seen an instance where this had happened) and both Brady and I made our usual greeting: me saying hello and waving, Brady doing his 'sniff-once-and-walk-away' routine. I don't know if the fact that Brady was smaller than the dog was what triggered it, or if the dog just really had no idea how to properly play, but all of a sudden this poodle-thing was on top of Brady and biting him. Brady started scream-yelping and doing his best to run away, but the dog continued to pursue him and even started biting at his legs. The poodle started to get more aggressive the more Brady ran, and I tried to block the poodle when there was adequate space between them, but Brady took this to mean that I was a shield and started hugging my legs. The dog's owner did nothing to try and control his dog and, in my opinion, even encouraged it by laughing at the whole thing. My dog has never, ever had a fear of other dogs, just a kind of nonchalant neutrality with them. He's never shown the amount of fear that he did today, and quite honestly, I was terrified that he'd end up shutting down around other dogs after the experience. When we'd gotten away from the dog (and I had half a mind to turn and give the owner an earful, but I was too caught up in Brady), I checked him as thoroughly as I could. He seemed fine, just absolutely terrified of what had happened and incredibly stressed out. It took a couple minutes but he finally calmed down and I got him to chase his ball a few times. By then another group of dogs had wandered into our little space, and Brady seemed fine with them so I'm hoping this means he's generally forgotten the whole experience. I've just never been in a situation where a dog was aggressively going after my own, and I know I probably did everything wrong in the rule book. I'll definitely have to be prepared the next time I go instead of just relying on the integrity of other owners to have control over their dogs. But, man, what a day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 And that is exactly why I don't go to dog parks. The poodle and his owner both sound like asses. I have to ask, though, if Brady doesn't enjoy socializing and playing with other dogs, why risk taking him there? It sounds like he'd be content to play fetch with you. ETA: I'm glad Brady is ok! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brady's mom Posted January 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 It was the first time we had gone to the dog park in a while because I've been trying to work on his recalls and focus without all the distractions of other dogs, plus there's just something really nice about having some actual alone time between you and your dog. But the school fields we usually go to were closed while school was in session so we were forced to go to the dog park. ]: I can't wait until the daylight hours get longer so we can stay at the school fields for more than half an hour before dark because I'm definitely more wary of the dog park now. Thank you! I'm glad he's ok too! Scared the beejus outta me though, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shysheperdess Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 All I can say about dog parks....just don't do it...it's not worth the risk...I have many an un-happy dog park story to tell.... BUT...if you do go I would highly recomend not bringing the chuck it in...from my experiences and stories from close friends..the running and super intense excitment that goes on with the ball chasing can just set the scene for problems...your guy might be just fine and content with playing fetch but other "non-bc's" just see him being all weird and focused.. Can kind set them up to be a target for a dog with a little to much prey drive = injury.. Also...just from learning the hard way I would sudjest not focusing to much on playing fetch...it sounds like your guy is pretty young and repetitive forced exercise can cause damage to your pups growing body...I used to LOVE playing fetch with my guys and still do here and there but stopped considerably after injuries, plus I feel it really encourages the dog to obsess over the ball or toy and they really miss out on some "normal doggie activities".... I went cold turkey with fetching games for one month with my guys years ago...I found by the end of the month they were much more relaxed and during our hikes and walks sniffed, interacted with other dogs and played with eachother....things they refused to do before because of the idea that i MIGHT throw something at any point in time... One more thing...if you MUST go to the dp...bring a squirt bottle, or citronella spray..JUST in case...you would be surprised what a cold splash or spray of water will do to change a jerk-face dogs mind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Elle Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 And that is exactly why I don't go to dog parks. The poodle and his owner both sound like asses. ETA: I'm glad Brady is ok! Ditto. -D'Elle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleS. Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Same reason I don't go to dog parks. My blood pressure would rise from being around so many clueless dog owners. My dogs and I get together with family and my training friends, people and dogs I know and trust, and that's it and we all have a blast. Sorry for your scarey experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sea4th Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Bet the poodle-thing's owner wouldn't have been laughing if you had slugged his dog. Clueless and pea-brained people have changed the dynamics of a lot of dog parks. Sorry you and your dog had to go through that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimL Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 I ONLY go to the dog park when NO one is there (luckily I have that luxury)! My dogs are socialized but do not enjoy "playing" with other dogs (they do with each other). It's no fun for them to be pursued by overly playful pups. IF there are other dogs there I do NOT play fetch, my one boy is the type that MUST be the one to get the ball, he doesn't start trouble but if the other dog is the same way well then there is trouble. It always seems that owners of small dogs think it's cute to let their little dog run around in the big dog section and then gets made when a big dog chases it........stay in the small dog section that's what it's for! I would NEVER consider allowing my small dog (if I had one) to be in with the big dogs who most likely have a small dog fetish! Also too many owners bring TREATS!! That's an accident waiting to happen. There is a lot to consider when taking a dog to the dog park, it's just not for everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSnappy Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 We love the dog park, and of the thousands of times we have gone to the off leashes, I can think of only a handful of negative experiences we have had at any of them. When I lived in the city, they were were the staples of our exercise regime. I miss the off leash beaches a lot, and really miss swimming my dogs regularly. There are clueless dogs and even worse owners everywhere, but for the most part our experiences are always enjoyable. Maybe Canadian dogs are just more polite (someone explain that to TWooie though please). ;-) RDM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg l Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 We have had a generally bad time at our dog park and now won't even go there. Our deaf Border Collie really had 3 bad experiences before his owners were bright enough to stop putting him in that environment. Natty loves to play, and always looks to have fun.....but being deaf he freaked when other dogs "suprised" him from behind....after the 2nd or 3rd dog startled him he would either grab a spot under a bench or between our legs... He also was rolled once by a larger dog coming from behind...that was our last time at a dog park. This kind of environment just is not good for him...but on walks both off leash and on he walks right up to other dogs and says "hi" plays well and generally has a great time with humans and dogs... Our new rescue is somewhat dog agressive and not real human socialized....she is leery of women and down right afraid of men...so at this time a dog park is not good for her...we would love to try to socialize her with other dogs...but we would need an owner who is willing to work together with us...and frankly some "dog park" owners aren't willing to control anything...let alone having their dog around a possibly agressive dog...SO we stay away from dog parks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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