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Permalink Reply by E on April 20, 2011 at 5:33pm

First off, make sure the two of you have taken a course in obedience training - a well-behaved dog will fare much better in the dog park, esp if his recall (coming back to you when called) is great. 

 

Is your dog neutered?  I'm guessing that at 4 months, he's probably still intact.  I'd stay away from dog parks until he's neutered.  It just makes him a target for other unneutered dogs. 

 

Right now, I'm currently undergoing intense training for my male corgi, Barnum.  He's a little over three years old and I waited a long time to get him neutered because he was cryptorchid.  Perhaps if I had gotten him neutered as a puppy, then the following story I'm going to share would not have happened:

 

I used to love taking my dogs to the dog park (I have two:  one female, one male) but my male was always drawing attention from other dogs - I now believe it was because he wasn't neutered.  It never amounted to much until one day when a larger, intact dog came into the small dog side - all hell broke loose and the two dogs got into a fight - the dog was trying to dominate Barnum and Barnum was having none of that (he's quite the scrapper).  It wasn't bad and it didn't seem to have an impact on Barnum until he was attacked a second time, this time by an unnneutered dog that was loose in my neighborhood when I was taking Barnum out for a walk.  Although he wasn't hurt, the incident was so traumatic that he changed from a super friendly outgoing dog that loved both dogs and people to one that only loves people and is mistrustful of dogs.  When I took him back to the dog park shortly after, his entire demeaner did a 180.  He was very cautious about other dogs coming up to him and if an unneutered dog came near him, he'd go after him.  This from a dog who never instigated anything - all he wanted to do was play.  His behavior has escalated to the point where he now has extreme fear aggression towards most dogs, especially big dogs, regardless of sex.  Although he did have obedience training, I had to go back to my trainer because nothing that I was doing seemed to help.  He's slowly on the road to recovery but it's going to take several months.

 

Most trainers, actually, do not like dog parks simply for the fact that many dog owners do not look after their dogs or blow off dominance behavior.  If their dog starts a fight, they do nothing or trivialize the situation (oh, he's just excited, blah, blah, blah).  Many owners have not bothered with training their dogs so you have a bunch of ill-mannered dogs running amok - basically, irresponsible dog owners.  Like others have said, there are too many unknowns and too many undisciplined dogs (and owners). 

 

I haven't been back to a dog park in a loooong while but since I don't have a yard and my dogs love to run around and chase balls, I am going to try to one very early in the morning, hopefully before other dogs get there and then leave once other dogs start showing up. 

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Permalink Reply by Lucy & Ricky (Wendy/Jack ) on April 20, 2011 at 6:04pm

I'm glad your puppy is ok. We do not take our corgis to dog parks. Too unpredictable.

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Permalink Reply by Vee Luther on April 20, 2011 at 7:33pm

Unfortunately, I've also had a bad experience with a puppy at the dog park. In my case, I had a  3year old corgi and a 5 month puppy and a guy arrived with SIX rotties in the back of a pick up.  They jumped out, charged off, got into the park and terrorized everyone.  One of they grabbed my puppy by the neck and I'm (sort of ) sorry to say that I kicked the rottie hard enough to break some ribs. and he dropped the puppy.  I'm glad I had heavy shoes on--really didn't lknow what else to do at the time.

 

There was a mom with a toddler close by and i was really scared the pack would go for her.  The owner did nothing and when I finally got my dogs safe and his headed over the hill, I told him I was scared about the toddler and he just shrugged and said, My dogs only attack other dogs, not kids.

 

Can you imagine?  I never went back. Dogs are OK and well socialized in predictable circumstances, not dog parks.

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Permalink Reply by Bri on April 20, 2011 at 9:17pm

oh my goodness! that is horrible. I am so sorry. But i am glad your puppy was okay. After hearing all these circumstances I just don't want to go back to dog parks and take the chance that something worse could happen. I would rather be safe.

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Permalink Reply by Teresa Gilpin on April 21, 2011 at 6:49am

I am sure glad your pup is okay!  I had a friend whos yorkie was attacked at a dog park and lost his eye!  I never take my babies to dog parks, too many irresponsible dog owners!

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Permalink Reply by Yuki & Ellie on April 21, 2011 at 10:03am

I'm so glad to hear that your dog is okay, but what a terrifying experience!  I had been thinking of joining the local dog park, especially since it's just down the road from where I live, but now I think I'll just stick to our normal walks.  My Yuki is bigger than a corgi, but he's certainly not a big dog.  And after I finally find a corgi puppy I definitely won't want her to get into trouble like that! 

 

 

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Permalink Reply by E on April 21, 2011 at 11:29am

The dog parks I go to are divided into small dog and large dog sides.  One in particular has a great walking trail, but it's in the large dog side.  Thus, I would head over to the large dog side to take a few laps, throw the ball, let them wade in the mud puddles, etc.  Prior to the two fights Barnum was in, other dogs (usually bigger) would, at times, come up to him and try to dominate him.  For the most part, the other dogs owners were pretty watchful and stepped in quickly but there were a few who thought it was funny and did nothing. 

 

If you decide to continue going to dog parks, always be vigilant and do not be afraid to call in an aggressive dog.  I would also go up to the person and tell them they need to train their dog before coming back to the park.  This is hard to do if it is your dog that's being attacked since all you want to do is get away, but if you see this happening to other peoples dogs, confront the owner.  Sure, there are bound to be some minor conflicts between dogs that get settled quickly but there are other cases in which it is obvious that the dog is too aggressive to be there.  Most dog parks clearly post that aggressive dogs are not welcome and provide a number one can call to report attacks and aggressive dogs.  Many of owners of aggressive dogs think that all their dog needs is more socialization, so they take them to dog parks without undergoing ANY training.  Wrong, wrong, wrong. 

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Permalink Reply by ♥ Kobi, Angel Kazi & Kiya♥ on April 21, 2011 at 12:31pm

I am not a fan of dog parks either. I am always worried my babies will get attacked. I took my puppy
(5 months) and my 6 year old corgi to a local dog park in my area. This lady who obvious could not handle her 3 very large rottweilers just let them go.The dogs were pulling her all around. They were surrounding other dogs as if to let them know they were the pack leaders or something. Looking almost ready to attack them. I have breed rottweilers before and they are very sweet dogs BUT this was not normal behavior. I ran to get my two dogs. I stood on the outside of the fence just watching these 3 dogs just waiting for something bad to happen. Hopefully after I had to leave there were no problems !
IF.... I go back to another dog park I will go to a area with ONLY small dogs but I would rather just be safe and keep them away from them :)

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Permalink Reply by Lauren on April 21, 2011 at 1:48pm

I see a lot of moronic dog owners at the park I go to, but there hasn't been anything negative or harmful that happened to Caius. Generally speaking, the dogs are respectful and playful. You see a plethora of personalities--the most common I see are scared dogs, who hide between their owner's legs or sit/lay underneath a chair, and have no interaction whatsoever with anything. I go out twice a week for an hour at the dog park. Caius is very friendly of both humans and dogs, and he knows to back off if there's an defensive dog. Overall, I'm pleased that there hasn't been anything sketchy or traumatizing, but it's not the best place in the world.

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Permalink Reply by Edison on April 22, 2011 at 4:08pm

You might want to look for a dog park with a community attached- just talk to other dog owners in the area, and see which places they prefer. Our favorite dog park is largely attended by a community of regulars who self-police.  At least one problem dog (a serial humper and attacker) has been asked not to return.  (Monday night is Pug Night, which Edison *loves*, since pugs are so herdable.) 

 

I would keep two things in mind when taking OG to dog parks in the future.  First, a lot of dog playing looks quite vicious to human eyes; play biting (nipping flanks, but usually not in the face), barking and growling are normal, as are the occasional dominance games.  Well-socialized dogs are good at respecting boundaries and knowing when the other dog has had enough (i.e. a raised upper lip means it's no longer play growling).  However, the second thing to keep in mind is that most dog trainers recommend not taking a puppy to a dog park until it's at least six months old, since they can learn terrible manners there, due to badly behaved dogs and worse-behaved owners.  Until then, I recommend dog classes, puppy kindergarten and the like, where the environment is disciplined and well-supervised.  And also, puppy play dates!  :) 

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Permalink Reply by Chezza on April 23, 2011 at 11:18pm

I know it sounds awful but if it is ever a bad enough fight/attack as a last resort you can always keep around a mini can of pepper spray.

I thought about this before after reading a lot of bad reviews about the dog parks around my home and I think if it came down to it I would rather pepper spray a dog attacking mine and endure the consistences with the owner of it than having to take my dog to the hospital or getting killed.

They even make a spray for attacking dogs..

http://www.tbotech.com/dogrepellent.htm

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on April 24, 2011 at 3:44pm

citronella spray is a better alternative. It doesn't last long but dogs hate citrus and it is very effective. That way if your dog accidentally gets in the line of fire no serious harm is done. We have a dog at my school's kennel that is a rottie/pit mix and he can get really excitable and jump and nip your face/arms, citronella works great for him. One good spray in the face and he keeps his distance.....at least for a little while....he is a big doofus so it takes him a couple of times to learn that biting is not an acceptable behavior.

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