Dog Parks

we used to go to the dog park. in the end i decided that owen didnt really like it. i went with a friend and her dog. but owen always got pounced on (he's short). i felt that for THAT park the hierarchies were so set that when my little wimpy dog showed up everyone above him (which was everyone) felt like they could bite his bum, steal his ball... he started looking stressed. we switched to a non dog park with fewer dogs, and most on leashes. just my two cents.

I'm a big proponent of dog parks! We live in the city and don't have a fenced-in yard, and our Murphy is part basenji and CAN'T run loose...so this is his once chance to be off-leash and play. It's also great socialization time. The key is being a responsible "parent" -- if your dog is picking on another dog, or if he's getting picked on himself, just leave.

The folks who frequent our dog parks and dog beaches seem to be very responsible, so we haven't had any problems so far. I do get annoyed with people who bring tiny poodles and other small dogs, though... they almost always get pounced on. What do their owners expect?

There's a dog park here in Tucson that I go to sometimes when i have my "custody" days with Missy. I've never had any problems there are all. Missy is non agressive so I don't really have to worry about her. Whenever a pack of dogs starts to growl Missy runs away and stands by me until it's over. THe owners at the park I go to are very responsible and the dogs are all friendly. If we hear aggressive growling we all just run up to the pack and grab a dog even if it's not our own. Now that I think about it, it probably isn't safe to just grab a random dog when a bunch are getting agressive, but we all do it and so far I haven't seen anyone get bitten or a dog get serverly injured.

I will admit there is one person who's dogs drive me nuts. They are these two little heelers or cattle dogs I'm not really sure what the difference is. But for some reason they don't like me and they try to herd me. They've done that to my friend before too. And he never bothers to call his dogs away, I guess he feels they aren't hurting anyone. But I don't really like getting cornered by two dogs.

We do not have a dog park here either. I don't think I would like to take me dog to one unless I knew there was a really well run one around.

Our dog park is one big area, no special place for small dogs. I like to take my three bigger dogs, but Bear stays home.

Bear is a shih tsu/poodle mix and is blind. I'd hate to have an over-enthusiastic dog run him down!

Before getting the combination to the gate lock, all dogs have to prove they've had all of their shots. Also, the woman who runs the park has to meet the dogs so she knows they are socialized.

If I want to avoid the crowds, I try to go in the morning. Most people here go after work or in the late afternoon on weekends.

I've never had a problem with any of the dogs. Everyone is pretty responsible about picking up after their dogs and controlling any aggressiveness.

I think any dog park is a tool; use it carefully.

Mary

A dog park would be fantastic here.

Gully needs a chance to socialize, she rarely gets to play with other puppies.

She is a rough and tumble dog I would have to be vigilante. She listens and comes when
called but sine she is so playful other dogs tend to want to romp with her.

She leaves little dogs alone, they yap and growl and she backs right off

I am sorry about your little guy getting pounced on, that is kind of unfair
However little dogs that yap a lot do tend to rile the other dogs so I agree with the
other post above :)

I think for the right dog darks parks are a great tool. It think that when I had Missy it helped me to train her. Because before I never had the chance to have her off leash in a distracting setting, so I was able to teach her to come when I call her. THen on the occasion she would run out of the house the second I would call her name she came running to me. Taking her to the dog park also made it so much easier for me to just take her out in general. Before I started taking her to the dog park I had a hard time taking her to Petsmart because she would bark at every dog she saw, not in an aggressive way, but she wanted to play with every single dog she saw. It also taught her patience, because she learned that if she pulled or wasn't behaving we would not go into the park until she settled.