I recently saw a lady with like 2 or 3 dogs at the park, one of her dogs was 8yrs old and did not like to play with other dogs (according to her). Another dog at the park seemed interested in playing with that particular dog and the owner got fussy and told the other owner to keep their dog away. I was absolutely dumbfounded by that request because why the hell would you bring a dog to a dog park that doesn't like to socialize/play?
I take Wallace all the time. He loves playing with larger dogs. I take him to the large dog area. Once in awhile another dog will be too big and make him uncomfortable, but nothing too serious.
He loves playing fetch at the park, something i cant do with him anywhere else.
There is one owner however that owns a husky. This husky is the only large dog that gives Wallace problems. Wallace seems to like the husky, but the husky smothers him and scares Wallace. Don't understand why Wallace provokes the big guy, but he does.
Most of the owners that I meet understand how dogs play and act. They dont get overly sensitive if Wallace mounts their dogs (to get them to chase him) They also dont freak out when he starts wrestling and getting vocal with other dogs.
My only gripe is the owner that tells me that my dog doesnt belong with the big dogs because HIS dog is aggressive with Wallace. Out of maybe 10 dogs, the 1 dog is aggressive, and his owner has the balls to tell me that we dont belong in that park.
There is also the drop off of old boxes of dog treats that are made in China. I try to tell the people I meet that I dont trust any of those treats laying out there and why. I might sound paranoid to them, but better safe than sorry. Would they give their child a mystery snack from China? I hope not.
Other than that. Great experience. It knocks him out for a couple hours.
Also got peed on by that Husky, owner didnt say sorry. Just laughed.
Then, when he was trying to get his husky off of Wallace, he grabbed Wallace. Wallace cried out. He then tells me that my guy cries when you grab him. I told him no. No, he does not. First of all, why are you grabbing Wallace around his hips, and second why are you telling me how my dog acts from one, stressful situation? He cried because your dog was punking him, and then you grabbed him right. I dont think anyone would like that.
Just had to add that. I obviously avoid those two.
Thank you all for your input on the leashing at a dog park. I have never been to one. I've been to open parks that allow leashed dogs, and that's about it. I won't be taking both dogs at the same time since I have no idea how either one would react at one. Kaji is now 9 months old, and full grown other than filling out, so he's probably ready. I'll look into finding a couple of good dog parks soon (yes, I haven't actually been too aggressive looking for them). I'm really not worried about Kaji because he's so social and has calmed down a lot in regards to jumping on other dogs. He now does the usual sniff but no more jumping. My biggest fears will probably be when he finds another dog he really likes, he'll play the usual shiba style, which might scare other dog owners since there aren't very many shibas here. I'll just have to play it by ear. And I do plan to bring Taisho to the smaller dog area first and see how he manages. I thought it was really interesting about the leashed dog that growled, but was okay once the leash was removed. Maybe Taisho is like that.
Today Wallace and I went to the dog park and everything was fine. He was playing with 2 huskies that he has played with before. They got a little rough but nothing bad, the owner didnt mind either.
Then Wallace played with a golden retriever and they were wrestling and having fun. She then laid down, Wallace mounted her to get her to play more and the owner immediately put a leash on his dog and dragged her away like she did something wrong.
He lets her off the leash a little while after and they start playing again. Once again, Wallace mounted in a playful fashion. The owner then told me to get Wallace away, that his dog was playing peacefully until Wallace came around. So, I hold my tongue and lead Wallace away. Of course he wants to keep playing with her, so they wrestle and another dog comes in and mounts the retriever. I try to get him to stop because I didn't want the retriever's owner to get more agitated. The retriever never fought back and just let the mounting happen.
The owner of the retriever once again leashes the dog and yanks her away. Then Wallace and the other dog start trying to mount her since she is leashed and cant run or defend herself. The owner tells me to get Wallace away. Then he says if he says it one more time he's going to do something. Of course, Wallace mounts her as he's saying it. Then he yells at me, "Get your dog away or else!!" So I ask him what he is going to do. He acted like he was going to punch me. So I asked again, what are you going to do? He proceeds to tell me that he is going to call the cops and starts asking people for their cell phones. No one's seems to work (haha). I ask him, "You're really going to call the cops because my dog mounted yours playfully?" Wallace didnt get aggressive at all with her, no biting, nothing. He said says yes and tells me to get away from him.
I proceed to lecture him about leashing a dog up in a dog park with other dogs around. First of all, there's a huge sign that says leashing up a dog in the park is a bad idea. Then its just plain logic that a dog cant defend itself leashed up, so dogs are going to go after the easy target. Especially if they were playing before. He tells me to shut up and get away. When he realizes no one is going to give him their phone he threatens to take Wallace from me physically and take him to the police station. I laugh and tell him he's taking this way too far. Tells me to shut up again. I tried to tell him that mounting is not always sexual and that it is a way to get another dog to try and play, but he still wouldn't hear it.
Man. What a day at the dog park. I've had dogs get Wallace pinned down crying out for dear life, and not once have I yelled at the owner. I understand what is going on and don't freak out. This guy freaks out over simple mounting. Sheesh.
The first time I ever went to a Dog Park was when Hachiko was little, I was really nervous about letting her off leash so for half of our trip I kept it on her ( I wouldn't recommend it, but it worked for us) as soon as we were both comfortable I let her off and was amazed that she would actually stick close to me for the most part.
We love the dog park, it's a great way for Hachiko to burn off energy, tho the one and only time Keiichi went in the short time before his accident he didn't seem 100% about it. Takumi also loves the park tho so I have a feeling him and Hachiko are gonna be the ones I take with me most of the time once Takumi officially joins the pack.
People I've seen- The woman who acts as if it was her property and has no problem bossing everyone else around. The guy that likes to ignore the fact that his dog is picking on another dog (Hachiko likes to play rough, but this dog kept picking on her and he did nothing, she ended up "hiding" between my legs so I could "save" her)
@Rikka Haha yeah, I do understand that. I was trying to call him off. Doesnt always work. I understand that it is normal dog behavior, but i still try to curb it a little.
@Tatonka That is exactly what I was trying to tell the guy. When you leash up the dog, there is no way for her to let Wallace know whats up. She was very nonchalant about the mounting and acted like it wasnt even happening.
@demarcost - re: underweight dogs - some dogs (and owners) have trouble putting weight on and keeping it. There are lots of threads about this. It can be food pickiness, high metabolism, or a combination. Many of us with thin dogs have gone to the vet multiple times to rule out medical issues. My 17 lb girl consumes about 800-1000 calories a day, and should be heavier but it takes months to put an extra half pound on her, and that doesn't normally last.
In other words, give us skinny dog owners the benefit of the doubt :-)
@demarcost, Violet said what I was going to say. In my area there are a LOT of overweight dogs because owners can't tell the difference between overweight, toned, underweight. The health risks for an overweight dog is higher compared to a dog whos underweight...which also makes it better to have an underweight dog =P but of course not starving down to the bone.
@notoriousscrat do you mean muscular as in fat? or muscular and in "stocked" :( Hanako mentioned Bootz was muscular in the "stocked" kind of way. But she's a big shiba!
@bootz, @notoriousscrat - Violet is 17 lbs and 15.25 at the shoulders. In some situations (panting, curving at certain angles, if she's had a recent bout of stomach upset) she is bony. She also is totally shameless about begging for food from strangers. We, our vet, and our breeder think she is healthy but could stand to put on extra weight. I find myself having to often tell people yes, she's thin, yes we check for worms, yes, she gets fed a lot and frequently, with lots of high calorie snacks. It gets tedious though people mean well.
On the human side, I find that people have no trouble commenting on weight if they think you're underweight. I find that kind of appalling. Funnily, the worst was at a law firm, where lawyers would constantly comment on how they thought I needed to gain weight (I eat 3500+ calories, and my only exercise at the time was walking around NYC a lot). I'm probably a bit sensitive whenever anyone comments on weight (regardless of the nature of the comments).
I am hesitant too. My 6 month shiba was bitten badly last time I went to visit a dog park. The ironic thing is that he was attacked by another shiba (4 year old) also the first shiba ever we met in dog park in our neighborhood. The lady had two dogs one shiba and another pitbull. They were both there that day.
I had a guy camp in the middle of the park playing fetch with is dog. So every time anyone wanted to walk around the park, they'd have to try and convince their dog to keep moving and stop chasing the ball... Then he got a herd of dogs around him, and he started to walk away with the ball leading the dogs some place. Including my shibas. I was wondering where he was leading the dogs. He walked over to the biggest puddle of water he could find and He threw the ball in to the middle of it. All the dogs dived in and were soaked.......
I'm only concerned with the dog park I go to...we have been members since it first opened in 2008...it has two enclosures one for dog under 25 pounds and the other for larger dogs...both have coded locked gates with the combination given only after you pay a fee and provide proof of shots and dog license...we have a great core group of around 15 people and 25 dogs who pick up what our dogs drop and keep the peace...when it come to dogs mounting each other you can't help but laugh and make jokes when a Pug tries to mount a Great Dane...I can only hope that any moron that accepts the shit the author of this unbiased article writes stays out of our dog park...it is the only place I feel safe letting my Shiba run free
The dog park in my neighborhood is ALWAYS empty. Its pretty great because then Banjo and I can play fetch, work on off leash recall, etc in peace (and he just gets to run and run and run and run and thus go home tired).
The other day one of banjo's friends from the neighborhood was walking by so the owner came and they played. It was my first experience in the dog park with other dogs and I was super scared for off leash play time with another dog and wasn't sure how to behave (I used the general rule of if I hear growling and it doesn't self correct, separate the puppies. They are the same age. If one growls and the other backs off and play bows and they resume play, it was more of a "oops, i am still a baby and don't know my bite inhibitions yet and I'm sorry don't hate me" type of thing). This is a great read on things NOT to do!!
This is GREAT for me as once the weather warms up, I am guessing we'll have more company at the dog park. Please keep it coming!! (I would like to avoid being the helicopter parent)