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I'm not a big fan of dog parks and rarely go. Once a huge Malamute kept humping Jack, despite his obvious protests, and the owner kept laughing and saying "Oh, I really should get him fixed, he does this to everyone." I had to keep hauling the dog off myself cuz she clearly wouldn't. And once Maddie kept getting humped by a Great Dane whose owner was oblivious. Again, up to me to step in. On that same trip, someone's out-of-control bully mix kept mugging every dog there and stealing its toys. It also ran right into other dogs and people. The owner again just shrugged and said "He thinks he has to have what everyone else has." So many rude dogs and clueless owners.
I'm glad your OG was not seriously hurt. Usually the screaming is a puppy dramatization, their way of saying "Help! Help! I'm just a baby!!!" Chances are he wasn't as traumatized as he seemed. I'm not saying that to downplay the situation, just to reassure you that he's probably going to forget all about it.
Setting up play dates is a better idea. Get him out with other dogs again soon so he has more good memories! Hope he's none the worse for wear.
It's definitely hit or miss at the dog park. I would say at his age I would be very careful. I don't think I brought my guys until they were at least 6 months old. Puppies are still learning the ropes on how to interact with other dogs, and some dogs just won't put up with puppy antics. Maybe you could call around and find a puppy play group? Where I am my vet, daycare, and the humane society offer play groups.
I'm glad to hear that OG wasn't hurt! I really enjoy going to the dog park with Baxter. I used to take him to the small dog park in the weekends in the afternoons and have hit or miss experiences. One weekday I came out to the park very early, like before 7 am. I met a man there with a husky mix who told me that there was a group of people called "The Early Risers" who liked to come to the park on the weekends about 7 am and all left about 9 am, before the park got crowded. These people were responsible dog owners whose dogs got along well and didn't have any behavior problems. I would try to see if maybe you could change the time you go to the park to minimize the bad experiences. Based on my experience, people with poorly trained dogs aren't likely to be at the dog park early in the morning. You should see if there are any groups like that at your dog park by just getting there early one morning and checking out the crowd.
The other thing I learned about dog parks is that sometimes it's not the other dogs that can hurt your dog. A few weeks ago, Baxter was playing, chasing and running with some other dogs. He tripped into a small hole near a tree with some branches and sprained his right front paw. The vet called it a soft tissue injury. It will be a month this Sunday and he's still not completely better. The sad thing was he wasn't with any unfamilar dogs, he was just careless. I'm not sure if/when we'll be going back. =(
On this recommendation too, I have found (at least in my area) any time during working hours, 9-5ish, most of the dogs at the dog parks are taken by dog walkers. In my area many dog walkers will go pick up 4 or 5 dogs and take them to the park to run and play for an hour or so, so they aren't the owner and provide no discipline.
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