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?

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.

I don't go to dog parks because only one of my dogs would tolerate and he doesn't like them. But when I hear about all these things, I get so annoyed, like the guy grabbing the dog, or the barking in the face dog. I wouldn't ever really do this, but it makes me think, huh, wish I could bring my Akita there, and then see if you want to try that shit! Oskar is pretty mellow and patient, but he does not like rudeness of any sort, and then he gets the "Hey, I'm an Akita and I DO NOT LIKE THAT" thing going. Oskar is 110 pounds, and is impressive when roused.

(one day some people were walking their loose, badly behaved dogs in our neighborhood and let the dogs run up to harass the littler dogs--Leo and Bel. I asked them to leash their dogs and they were rude. It was annoying. So my husband and I took Oskar for a walk, leashed of course, but when we got the people's house with the loose dogs--now safely in their yard--Oskar immediately recognized them as the dogs that had been harassing the others, and he lunged at the fence. The dogs backed off, and the people looked a bit alarmed. They moved soon after that, but they never did let their dogs come up to our fence to harass my dogs again.)

Gatsu said:

lol, People playing fetch in the dog park always pose a problem for me. I'm fine with them playing fetch as long as they understand some dogs will take their ball and RUN! Luckily though Guts likes playing fetch. So he'll bring the ball back. Other people usually are pretty impress at how well he plays fetch. But my problem with it is. Guts really likes playing fetch. So he usually takes a bit to decide if he's gonna follow me or stay with the people and play fetch. If he stays, I either have to grab him or wait until he's done playing.

LOL, When Mika sees people playing fetch, she steals the ball, so the other dog chases her

shibamistress said:

I don't go to dog parks because only one of my dogs would tolerate and he doesn't like them. But when I hear about all these things, I get so annoyed, like the guy grabbing the dog, or the barking in the face dog. I wouldn't ever really do this, but it makes me think, huh, wish I could bring my Akita there, and then see if you want to try that shit! Oskar is pretty mellow and patient, but he does not like rudeness of any sort, and then he gets the "Hey, I'm an Akita and I DO NOT LIKE THAT" thing going. Oskar is 110 pounds, and is impressive when roused.

(one day some people were walking their loose, badly behaved dogs in our neighborhood and let the dogs run up to harass the littler dogs--Leo and Bel. I asked them to leash their dogs and they were rude. It was annoying. So my husband and I took Oskar for a walk, leashed of course, but when we got the people's house with the loose dogs--now safely in their yard--Oskar immediately recognized them as the dogs that had been harassing the others, and he lunged at the fence. The dogs backed off, and the people looked a bit alarmed. They moved soon after that, but they never did let their dogs come up to our fence to harass my dogs again.)

Oskar is a very smart guy! I hate it when people get rude when they are obviously in a wrong position. It's like they won't admit it and try to hide it with rudeness. I've had the same when Kenta was following a dog from the dog park, the owners walked out of the dog park back to their home and Kenta followed, but they were crossing streets. I was running behind them and asked them to stop, but they just kept walking. Until Kenta almost got hit by a car I was screaming, the owners of the other dog got so rude at me like " yeah you should have leashed your dog and get him under control blabla". Well I'm sorry, but he normally listens very well and stays in the dog park. I even asked them if they could stop so I could get him back. They were so rude and calling me names, I was so pissed and really sad people like this exist. Sorry, but you think you are the best dog owner and think you love animals so much and tell me what to do, but don't bother a dog following you?! That is just stupid. Whenever a dogs try to run away or someone is calling their dog but he is not listening, I always get them back to the owner or wait till the owner arrives. I could never ignore a dog walking behind me and see whenever the owner will get him back. I could never forgive myself if anything would happen to the dog and I had the chance but not do anything about it.

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.

Wow. New story.

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.

Thank for reading this rant.

@Gene23 - To be fair, some people don't like it when other dogs mount theirs. I personally don't mind it, but I'm always cautious of when Sagan does it to others. As a courtesy, I call him off if I see him do it. I do agree that how he reacted was uncalled for.

I expect that when some dog mounts Tatonka he's gonna figure out how to tell that dog not to. Hasn't failed yet..

@Gene23, yeah I agree.. the education coming from another dog is much better than coming from just you..

Some I've run into:

People who show up at the dog beach section of the park without a dog! Who blow off the designated picnic area of the park and bring a grill and a ton of food onto the dog beach, even though the sign at the entrance says no food. Who I then catch offering my dog a chicken leg bone. grr.

People who ride their sea-doo through the water in the same area of the dog beach that dogs regularly swim. >_< ...we don't go to the dog beach anymore.

People who give their dog a rawhide bone while inside the dogpark. Who then, when their dog tries to attack my dog when he approaches, say, "Oh, she just did that because she's got a rawhide bone." as if that just explains everything (hello?! why does your dog have that in a dog park?)

People who bring their 10 and 12 year old children who proceed to play chase with their own dogs and run around yelling and screaming making virtually all the other dogs uncomfortable. Even though this clearly makes some of the other dogs nervous to the point they are constantly barking at and backing away from the children their parents don't find it necessary to do anything (or even confine them to one area of the park).

People who you see on a regular basis who seem nice and attentive to their dog, but whose dog always seems just a touch underweight. Just enough to notice, but not enough to warrant confronting them or alerting the authorities.

Overall though, in the dozens of times we've been to local dog parks, the cases above are really the only negative experiences I've ever had. Thankfully, most trips to the dog park are good or great. Our shibas love to run, and our backyard isn't that big. I can always tell they love having the extra space to run around for a while.

I think whether or not kids should be at the dog park running and yelling depends on whether or not kids are allowed at the park. If they are, then having kids there behaving normally is just like anything else: it's your job to remove your dog if they're uncomfortable and bring them back when the kids aren't there. The kids are allowed and they have just as much right to have fun with their dog as you do with yours. If your dog is made uncomfortable by something as normal as kids being kids, whose problem is that, really? Certainly not the kids, so long as they're not harassing your dog (harassing other dogs, as opposed to playing with their own dog, is an entirely different thing). For the record, I love it when kids come to the park. I wish there were more of them because my dog loves them, especially when they're yelling and screaming. And he doesn't have a backyard, period, so that's the only place he's ever off-leash. Again, if your dog can't handle something that the park allows, then maybe they need to not be there that day (or ever, if that something is always there i.e. other dogs).

Also, nothing wrong with being skinny. Maybe it just means they actually exercise there dog. Honestly, I think people need to get over this idea of watching how skinny their dog is. If you're not seing bones and they're eating as much as they want, they're fine. Some dogs are just built skinny. It's fine. Personally, I much prefer a skinny dog to a muscular dog.

@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!

@notoriousscrat, haha I'm in the same boat. 5'4 - 96 lbs. bootz is about 33 lbs so I fell weird when people say she's big/fat.

Penny is rotund ( a nice way of saying fat ) and INU is trim and athletic. They both get the same amount of food and exercise. To me their respective bodies are due to heredity and metabolism.

Wow, I'm kinda scared now to take Halo to a dog park....

@wufan I don't think Shiba-on-Shiba violence is so surprising, especially given the ages you cite. =( From my experiences, 6-month-old to, say, 2-year-old adolescents are particularly vulnerable because they're still learning how to read adult social cues, yet they're just a bundle of youthful energy that some dogs, particularly grumpy older Shibas, find intolerable. Which is not to say that Wufan did anything wrong. But at his age, and for a while yet, older dogs may very well desire to "correct" the young whippersnapper on their own terms, and so the onus is on you as well as the other owner to be vigilant of how your dogs are responding and communicating before things escalate, regardless of breed.

Anyway, hopefully you two were able to resolve the situation and Wufan is okay!

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 found this blog post and thought I'd share it. I don't go to dog parks, so I don't have any basis to agree or disagree with the author, about dog parks in general.

http://thesciencedog.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/dog-park-people/

Is the author justified in suggesting to her clients to avoid dog parks?

I don't go to dog parks simply because I live out in the country and we have enough open space(fenced) and Kobe has plenty of 'friends' to play with close by.

I do see dog parks as being extremely beneficial, especially to those who live in the city, assuming they are positive experiences.

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

A study of ONE dog park isn't enough to warrant telling everyone to not go because it's "not safe, period."

I so agree with this.

The dog park local to me sucks too many people talking to each other and ignoring their dog. I seen people multiple times purposely look like they don't see their dog pooping they look in different direction or walk other way. :\

Amount of poop is sad it's dog park and I expect some poop as sometimes the dog is far off and does #2 and you get there and can't find it. That has happened to me once or twice.

I stopped going as Saya got attacked and she felt defensive after that and didn't have fun. I felt bad for her she used to love it. had a few dog buddies she really liked more than others. I went few times to see if I could help she did fine when there was one or two dogs, but three was ok sometimes, but as more came she felt more defensive.

I stopped she is happy to not go. Bella loves other dogs still we don't go because due to amount of bad owners vs good ones is way too much.

I've been to one other dog park in Madison WI it's awesome big and opened and people are really friendly and watched their dog while talking and stuff.

Saya and bella loved it. that dog park was reason we tried the one local to us, but it didn't compare to the one in WI.

I think Saya prefers open type of dog parks over the ones that are smaller. I think it's because in the big dog park people are on the move walking and their dogs are happy running and exploring. The dog park in my area is small most people congregate in one area. I'd go walk around it and the dogs loved moving around.

Most people tend use it as sole source of exercise. Don't get me wrong dog park is lovely place to let the dog be off leash and full on run and play, but dog should be walked too. god forbid the dog park is closed for couple days due to repair or something. The DP FB page there is always two or three people asking when will the repairs be done my dog is driving me crazy!

Which is probably one reason a lot of dogs there didn't behave well they were hyped up and had pent up energy to spend.

Saya got daily walks though on dog park days she only got a short walk in am then pm was dog park. she got enough exercise there to be happy, but she got walks and training on other days.

I don't out right hate dog parks, but if I get new puppy I don't plan to take him/her to this one. If I go to Madison WI one sure I'll go there.

I agree I think a study on multiple dog parks is needed and of different kinds like fenced ones, unfenced ones, bigger ones, smaller sized ones, and so on. There are so many types of dog parks and different areas. Also study on if the dog park has membership or if it is free type of thing. I think most is membership, but who knows there might be some which is free to people.

These are the reasons why I STILL have never brought Kira to a dog park. The owners are worse than their misbehaved dogs. I'm already people-reactive, these would make me people-aggressive! :))

AWESOME posting!

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)

@curlytails...excellent post. I actually found the Dog Park People blog post in the link you shared(blogged by Julie H.) Thank you for sharing it.

Arctic said:

What I mean by that are people who come in to play fetch with their dog and a ball, or come in with some sort of toy to just play with their dog, or go into the dog park to walk around the perimeter with their dog. These people then try to get their dog to stop playing with other dogs and want their dog to solely focus on them. Ugh! If you didn't bring your dog to the dog park for it to play and see other dogs, then why are you even there?! I dislike helicopter dog owners worse than inattentive dog owners.

I do bring toys, but mainly because A) I end up the only one being in the park so I keep my dog busy rather than him being bored and eating grass. and B) If he isn't interested in dogs then I throw a ball. Some dogs will join me in playing fetch, I don't get mad; I enjoy it. I bring toys because my dog can get bored or isn't interested in other dogs.

I am talking about those that do NOTHING with their dogs. I mean when I go to this park, I'll see one person sitting and their dog just lying in the park because there's nothing else to do.

If my dog is interested in playing with other dogs, I mind my own business. Hell I give up any toy to any dog if it means their socializing. I'm not one of those people that yells at other owners for my own mistake. That seems stupid to me.

That said, I have had these types of people too; who have small dogs and my dog wants to play with them. Rather than allowing my dog to play with their's, they distract their dog with the 'agility' course in the park; then after some fifteen minutes leave because 'my dog is persistent'. Pssh. Let them play.
I find that it's always people with chihuahuas, toy terriers, yorkies that don't allow their dog to play with other dogs. Which is annoying cos my dog really likes playing with these dogs (cos they're smaller than him and therefore NOT intimidating). So I get how annoying that is.