Dog Park Etiquette (cross post)
We had the first NYCshibameetup, Long Island Chapter, meetup of the year today at our usual hangout. The place was really packed and we kept all the sheebs on the small side of the fence. A few things happened today that not only pissed me off, but also made me wonder about proper decorum at the dog park.
#1 We ran into Dawn's father, Dave, who was in the big section with his girlfriend and her new dog Jake. They were complaining to us about a dog who had been harrasing Jake all day. Humping him, starting shit, not respecting his boundaries. A fight broke out and her father ran over and grabbed Jake from the scrum and as he was walking him over the other dog came over and started humping Jake. Dave used the dogs collar to pull him off Jake, and kept walking. The other dog kept following and Dave was using his hand to shield the other dog from mounting Jake. At this point the owner finally noticed and she said "How dare you raise your hands to my dog, you never hit a dog." Her husband came over and started saying the same thing. Dave responded with, "I didn't hit your dog, but please control him." Things got heated and people got into eachothers faces. Finally the husband said "It's a dog park, this is what dogs do...why don't you take your dog out of here."
Now I'm all for dogs being dogs and being allowed to play. However letting your dog run around unsupervised and be total assholes isn't. Alot of dogs don't appreciate being humped and it's a great way for a fight to break out. If Jake had bitten their dog then what? What do you guys think?
#2
As the meetup was winding down. I look over and see someone feeding Katsu, Nuki, and Tetsu. I walk to grab the dogs. I don't know who he is or what he's feeding the pups. As I get there he asks "Why is this one on leash?" Beth will let Tetsu drag his leash around, because sometimes he'll get snarky and she'll have to grab him. I told him this and he said, "Well they act diffrent on leash. He shouldn't be on leash" Which I understand, I see alot of fights start when dogs meet because the owner is keeping so much tension on the leash, practically half choking their dog that it makes the dog all nuts. Tetsu was dragging his leash around with no tension, I doubt he even noticed it.
At this point I was already pissed off about the earlier incident so in an extremely loud and nasty NY voice, I told the guy. "Well maybe you fucking shouldn't fucking feed other peoples fucking dogs. Maybe the fucking dogs have fucking food allergies." He didn't say anything and just looked at the ground.
I grabbed Nuki and walked away.
Whew, now that the venting is over. Sorry about that I'm still alittle heated. Here are my questions.
What is and isn't in your opinion appropriate decorum at a dog park for both human and dog?
Is letting your dog act like a total bag of balls cool? Are you allowed to now just feed other people dogs? Is it really smart to bring a bunch of treats into a fenced off area with plus dogs in it?
#1 We ran into Dawn's father, Dave, who was in the big section with his girlfriend and her new dog Jake. They were complaining to us about a dog who had been harrasing Jake all day. Humping him, starting shit, not respecting his boundaries. A fight broke out and her father ran over and grabbed Jake from the scrum and as he was walking him over the other dog came over and started humping Jake. Dave used the dogs collar to pull him off Jake, and kept walking. The other dog kept following and Dave was using his hand to shield the other dog from mounting Jake. At this point the owner finally noticed and she said "How dare you raise your hands to my dog, you never hit a dog." Her husband came over and started saying the same thing. Dave responded with, "I didn't hit your dog, but please control him." Things got heated and people got into eachothers faces. Finally the husband said "It's a dog park, this is what dogs do...why don't you take your dog out of here."
Now I'm all for dogs being dogs and being allowed to play. However letting your dog run around unsupervised and be total assholes isn't. Alot of dogs don't appreciate being humped and it's a great way for a fight to break out. If Jake had bitten their dog then what? What do you guys think?
#2
As the meetup was winding down. I look over and see someone feeding Katsu, Nuki, and Tetsu. I walk to grab the dogs. I don't know who he is or what he's feeding the pups. As I get there he asks "Why is this one on leash?" Beth will let Tetsu drag his leash around, because sometimes he'll get snarky and she'll have to grab him. I told him this and he said, "Well they act diffrent on leash. He shouldn't be on leash" Which I understand, I see alot of fights start when dogs meet because the owner is keeping so much tension on the leash, practically half choking their dog that it makes the dog all nuts. Tetsu was dragging his leash around with no tension, I doubt he even noticed it.
At this point I was already pissed off about the earlier incident so in an extremely loud and nasty NY voice, I told the guy. "Well maybe you fucking shouldn't fucking feed other peoples fucking dogs. Maybe the fucking dogs have fucking food allergies." He didn't say anything and just looked at the ground.
I grabbed Nuki and walked away.
Whew, now that the venting is over. Sorry about that I'm still alittle heated. Here are my questions.
What is and isn't in your opinion appropriate decorum at a dog park for both human and dog?
Is letting your dog act like a total bag of balls cool? Are you allowed to now just feed other people dogs? Is it really smart to bring a bunch of treats into a fenced off area with plus dogs in it?
Comments
Sorry you had to go through such stupidity.
Problem is is that even though you may not be giving out treats, the smell alone of those treats in your pocket can drive some dogs nuts. Heck, my guys always pinpoint when there is someone with treats, especially when they see that person give it to their own dog, and will constantly molest them for a bite.
The only thing remotely negative was that there was one dog that wouldn't leave her alone, he kept mounting her and putting his jaws on her neck, and I could tell she was getting a little freaked out by it. I tried to separate them but this dog kept coming back. Then this PBT who was previously running around trying to "break up" the dogs came over, broke the annoying dog off of Tomoe - and then started humping her and putting his jaws on her neck.
The PBT owner quickly showed up and pulled his dog off. And I wondered, why isn't this other dog's owner doing the same thing?
I don't think it was too serious, just kind of curious. What if you just want to give your dog a solid half an hour or something and there is this single dog in the park making it impossible?
The situation with Dawn's father is unfortunate. I would have probably put some pressure on the dog and scared him off, but that would have really pissed those people off. That sucks for them. Maybe a "WHO'S DOG IS THIS, YOU NEED TO CONTROL IT!" yell would have worked??? Who knows. I think grabbing Jake and leaving was a good move.
IMHO, dragging a leash and being on leash are totally different. I agree with you on that. And feeding another person's dog, that is a nice sentiment but not a good idea.
I hate dog parks. I am and anti-dog-park person 100%. Mostly because most of my dogs would eat the other dogs, but also because, as Jess said, there are just too many stupid people out there and it only takes one bad experience to potentially ruin a young dog. We (the educated dog owner community) put too much effort in our dogs to have it ruined by one ass-bag and his under-exercised over-excited jackass dog.
The only dog park I felt 100% comfortable at was one where you paid to get in and they had staff on duty monitoring the dog's interactions. It was like $20 for a day/visit... but I felt it was worth it.
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I know it's horrible but I'm really starting to hate people who own fluffy white dogs under 15lbs. They give the Shibas funny looks because they actually run around and play a little rough.
All the lazy owners bring their nasty dogs there for 1-3 hours, I also had to deal with stupid kids who opened the double gates and let all the dogs out.
I'd rather go to the dog park when there is just like 1 or 2 other dogs and they're a good size for Toby to play with. Otherwise, its just not my cup of tea anymore.
I've also had a horrible experience with a fearful dog at the park, and a dog jumped on Toby and attacked him -- Toby was defending himself. And the owner just stood there with wide eyes and was like 'nooo. bad dog!' and wasn't doing a damn thing, so I just ripped the dog off of Toby and left. That was probably one of the last times I ever went there.
Anyways, Toby has more fun running around his fenced yard like an idiot.
I think the dog park can be a great experience if it is EMPTY and you only go with owners and dogs you AND your dog KNOW! I think the dog park is a horrible place when you go with strange people and strange dogs.
When I go to the dog park now, I go when it is empty. When people and dogs start walking up, I leave IMMEDIATELY!
Perhaps someone has a large fenced in yard that you can hold your Shiba meet-ups at?
When I move we will really miss these friends- people and dogs.
Sorry you had such a poor experience Joe.
I will continue to take Koda to the park down the street because he loves it. He loves playing with other dogs. With Maymay around, I don't think he needs it as much. He is content to be with her all day and play like Kai's should. But he still likes to go down and play with Bella the Shiba. They pretty much keep to themselves, and we haven't had any issues.
Sorry again that it was such a crappy experience.