dog park etiquette?

Question

do you go to the dog park with your dog and if so do you watch it or talk to the other dog owners?
what do you do if your dog starts growling /snarling / biting another dog? do you let them sort it out or do you take your dog away?

wanted to get some opinions before explaining the situation,
my dog is NOT aggressive. yesterday in the dog park i had to drag another dog off of her, because the other dog was biting her. so was just curios if others watch their dogs. i think it was totally unacceptable behavior from the other owner (i don't even know who the other owner is, i looked around and no one was even watching!) needles to say we went home. Just sad, cause i want my dog to socialize with others

and if you don't take your dog to the park, how do you socialize them with other dogs?

Shepherd, thanks for the lesson on what socializing a dog means, i do believe i asked specifically about socializing with OTHER DOGS! reading comprehension is a must before answering a question.
thank you!

Answer 1

When I go to the dog park my eye is on my dog all the time. I can trust her but its all the other irresponsible nuts that let their dogs run halfway across the park before they call them back because they're trying to rip me and my dog's throats out.
Grr, I hate irresponsible dog owners!
I think that the dog walkers are the worst, as they just aren't able to watch all the dogs.
As far as if dogs should be able to sort out their own problems...
Growling/snarling/biting another dog shouldn't be acceptable. As soon as it starts happeneing (from either side) I call my dog away from the situation. If the situation is too intense, I start to walk over. If it's resolved by the time I'm over there, great. If not, my dog leaves that area of the park.

Answer 2

I watch my dog and move around the park to stay near him, but I chat with other owners if they seem receptive to it or ask questions about my dog (he's a tiny Papillon puppy, so people are always curious about him). My boyfriend's dog tends to get into fights, I usually watch to see what's happening before I intervene. If it's a scuffle over a toy or boundaries, and it seems to be over quickly, I usually leave them to it. Sometimes dogs just have to establish dominance. If he seems to be chasing a certain dog and picking on it out of pure malice, or the fight seems to be escalating, I step in and break them up. I've seen a LOT of people who snatch their dogs away the second they hear even a playful bark or growl, and I think it's very detrimental to the dog. Dogs need to socialize, and sometimes that includes a few disagreements. I think it's unhealthy for the owner to constantly 'rescue' the dog from proper socialization. I also think it's rude to allow your dog to harrass other dogs for no reason without correcting them. The last time I was there, a dog actually ATTACKED another dog, violently, and the owner dragged him off, waited a few minutes, and then turned him loose. I found that deplorable. The dog was behaving very aggressively and should have been taken home immediately- there is a clearly posted sign stating that aggressive dogs are NOT permitted inside the park.

Answer 3

Sure, go ahead and talk with the other dog owners. At my dog park, a lot of people are "regulars" and we soon learn their names and get along well. If you're talking to other dog owners, try to get too invovled in a conversation were you aren't able to keep a close eye on your dog.

If you know you have an agressive dog, please DO NOT bring your dog to a dog park. If your dog is usually friendly and starts to grow, snap, bite, etc. you should remove the dog from the dog park.

I have two greyhounds. One of my greys isn't very social and is afraid of other dogs. We try to take her to the dog park every now and then to get her socialized, but we've stopped from doing so because there are so many un-pleasant dogs there!

Answer 4

Depends on how much she "means it". I know that my dog can be snappy with others, so I keep a close eye on her. I'll generally let her do one warning growl, but if the other dog doesn't take the hint (or if my girl goes after another dog), then I have no problem picking her up and taking her out. Because at that point SHE'S not having fun, and the OTHER dogs aren't having fun, and it defeats the entire purpose of going to the park.

Answer 5

I don't take my dog to dog parks because of this. My dog loves to play with other dogs, but if one dog starts a fight, I don't think she would back down. So I just stay away from that. To socialize her with other dogs I take her over to my friend's and family's houses who have dogs. She gets to play with them in a setting where both owners are watching the dogs. And they also bring their dogs over to our house. I like this much better, we are in a familiar setting with both (or all) owners watching.

Some People are so ignorant about dog parks. They think that they can bring a dog aggressive dog, or a female in heat, and they just let the dog run and do whatever while they go off to drink their coffee and chit chat. They don't even pay attention to their dog. So I just don't go.

Answer 6

Sometimes I talk to the owners while keeping an eye on my dog. If my dog plays too rough with another dog I call her over, however, if the owner of the other dog says it's ok then I will leave her alone. If it looks like a dog fight might erupt then I will remove my dog from the situation immediately and attempt to keep my dog away from the dog that she had a problem with, thank God she never starts fights and stays away from any dog park scuffle. I never let them sort it out as it could become serious very quickly.

However, if a dog is very aggressive with another dog the rules state that you should remove your dog right away and bring him back another day.

I hope that answered your question. Never let dogs "sort it out" only if it looks like it's getting out of control, I will let my dog sort it out if she's getting humped by another dog or another dog is getting too rough with her, if the other dog won't leave her alone after that then I either speak to the owner to control their dog or I will remove mine from the situation.

Answer 7

Always watch your dog. Make sure your dog is very well-trained if you choose to let him/her run around off-leash. (Can you imagine trying to chase your dog all around the dog park because he/she won't come when called?) And of course you should remove your dog if he/she is acting aggressively toward another dog. In fact, most parks probably have that rule. Oh, one more thing, make sure your dog is spayed/neutered, current on all vaccinations and free from any parasites before taking him/her to the park.

Answer 8

i asked this question in a different way the other night i try to socialize her a bit more with the dogs she s seems really interested but if the other dog owner comes close my dog arks its really important to socialize the dogs and im working on the barking thingy. as of yet she s never gone for a dog and a dog has never gone for her i think i would pull them away if it started getting really aggressive but a bit of yapping does them no harm

Answer 9

I do go to the dog park with my dog, and I keep one eye on her if I am talking to anyone else.

She has never done that at the park, but I have seen other dogs do that and the dog was always immediately corrected. If it was done more than once, they left. Most dog parks ( at least in my area ) have rules that state that if your dog shows any aggression, it must be immediately removed.

Answer 10

Mine has never been aggressive to another dog but I have removed my dog when other people's dogs start acting aggressively or even just a bit too dominant. People who have dog aggressive dogs should never bring them to dog parks.

The one that annoyed me was the guy who brought his unneutered ridgeback that was constantly harrassing my spayed female and trying to mount her. She wanted to go home and I took her. He should have taken his dog home immediately. Since he told me he had no intention of breeding the dog, he needs to get it neutered or at least keep it out of the dog park.