OOOOOOOHHHHH..... So frustrated.

[Nobas Mom]

So Seattle weather is not the best this time of year, so when it's nice, I take full advantage of it and get Noba out of the house as much as possible. Today was such a day... beautiful blue skies and white fluffy clouds. We went to our normal dog park and he was having a great time playing with a few dogs that were there. Up the street this guy and his family come walking with a huge pitt bull on a leash. Now mind you, I have no problems with pitties and there are even some way friendly ones that come to the park. Well this guy brings his pittie into the park and puts in him the smaller side of the park (there is a fence between them). Behind him comes a family with their staffordshire bull terrier and they go in the same pen as the pittie. Noba being curious and wanting to say hello goes up to the fence to sniff the pittie from this side of the gate and the pittie went crazy. He started charging the fence trying to bite through it. This got Noba fired up, who started barking back and trying to be all big and bad (which he isn't... ). I put Noba on his leash and walked him to the other end of the park. The pittie's owner just stood there and let this happen. A puppy came to the park and Noba started to play with the puppy. The pittie once again started trying to bite through the fence growling, snarling, all the fun stuff that goes along with obvious agression. I finally had enough and myself and all the other people with "friendly" dogs left. We all went for a walk around the field near the park. When we returned, the pittie and staffie had been moved to the big side of the fence. I decided we needed to leave. As I was putting Noba in the car, the pittie's owner decided to give him a piece of his mind, saying that they shoudl not have to leave cause their dogs are sweet and nice, and that Noba is the one with the problems... . I sat in my car for a few minutes before I left. IN five minutes time, a lab and his owner, and a poodle and her owner came to play at the park, opened the gate to let their dogs in and the pittie and staffie charged with no provocation... umm... someone tell me... who was in the wrong??? Such a nice day ruined by a bad dog owner, not bad dog, just bad raising... stupid owner...

Thanks for listening to my rant...

[Freedom]

I can understand perfectly. You are an excellent writer i could picture each step fo this.

How do we educate people? I think some of it should happen BEFORE they are allowed to get a dog. Sigh.

[Catty1]

Is there anyone you can report this guy to, so they can keep an eye out for him?

If he is there again, maybe someone could jot down the license # on his car, if he drove there?

How stupid! Yeah, Noba made EVERYONE leave the park!

Some mothers do have 'em...

[mike001]

We have no dog parks where I live and I always envied people who wrote in about going to a dog park. I would love to have this for socializing my dogs and just plain having fun with other owners.
But I've read a few post much the same as yours and maybe I'm not missing out on anything. I always thought the parks were supervised for just such issues, guess I was mistaken.
This would be enough to ruin a great day and I'm thinking of the harm it could cause another well behaved dog if there was an attack. Dogs can be so impressionable at certain stages of their lives.
Getting the owner's licence for ID would certainly be worth it. maybe you could ask if someone knows this person and get his name. Or would the SPCA be willing to send a worker over as a witness and also to speak to the owner?
I was wondering who is responsible in case of a dog fight since all dogs are off leash? How would it be handled? I'm not the greatest fan of pitts but this would be enough to frighten me right out of the park.
Makes you wonder why the owner would be so irresponsible with all the talk and bans re the pitts. I would think pitt owners would do their best to impress people with the friendliness of their dogs???
Sorry your day was ruined, but don't let it get to you, maybe you won't run into this person again (with luck.)

[pessimisaurus]

first of all, which park were you at just out of curiosity?

I totally feel your pain. it angers me to no end when I see the typical young "gangster" type men with their INTACT pits, ON LEASH (usually with a prong collar to make it worse!), at the dog park. its all about image.

thankfully in the city Ive found the vast majority of pits are owner by responsible, knowledgeable owners and I have rarely seen any issues at magnuson with pits because of this. go to everett or south seattle, like at genessee, and its a totally different story.. though in the bad areas its the owners, and you see crap happen with all different breeds there.

[pessimisaurus]

"I was wondering who is responsible in case of a dog fight since all dogs are off leash? How would it be handled? I'm not the greatest fan of pitts but this would be enough to frighten me right out of the park.
Makes you wonder why the owner would be so irresponsible with all the talk and bans re the pitts. I would think pitt owners would do their best to impress people with the friendliness of their dogs???"

Im a very frequent dog-parker, and have been going several times a week for 5 years. I have never witnessed a fight that drew blood in my life. for the most part the people who go are dog lovers and very dog saavy and their dogs are well socialized and have good social skills and thus settle scuffles safely. I love that seattle has so many dog parks, and I think they are definetley worth any of the risks. however its up to responsible owners to keep their dogs from causing trouble, and keeping a close eye for potential trouble and avoiding it when it pops up- like she did with Noba.

and the people who do crap like that owner, are the people who own pit bulls for the wrong reasons. they could care less about the fate of our breed. if pit bull breeds were banned, these people who just move on to the next "tough & scary" breed.

[mike001]

Thanks Pessimissarus. I get it, if the owners are irresponsible it would be the only time there would be trouble, so I guess I'm still envious of all of you who have dog parks. Probably most owners care enough to see that their dog is well behaved. You are probably right about the pitt owners letting their dog get away with this, it's the macho type image they want and would move on to the next breed if pitts were banned. Sad that some people ruin it for everybody.

[Giselle]

Trust me. I feel your pain. Much as I love the socialization benefits of dog parks, I can't help but gripe at some of the truly idiotic owners.

BEFORE people go to dog parks, they need to understand dog behavior and the risks involved. For example, if the park is clearly divided into a big dog section and a small dog section, bring your dog to the appropriate section. You don't see Great Danes lounging in the small dog park. Likewise, fluffy-white-rabbit-looking dogs like Shih Tzus don't belong in big dog parks. Furthermore, people need to understand what is play behavior and when it will escalate into a fight. Unfortunately, most park goers in my area are either hypersensitive or completely apathetic. In your case, the owner definitely needs a bit of schooling on that part.

Sorry you had a bad experience Noba's Mom, but we all feel your pain. You did the right thing by taking yourself out of the situation. There isn't much else we can do besides educate.

[Nobas Mom]

first of all, which park were you at just out of curiosity?

I totally feel your pain. it angers me to no end when I see the typical young "gangster" type men with their INTACT pits, ON LEASH (usually with a prong collar to make it worse!), at the dog park. its all about image.

thankfully in the city Ive found the vast majority of pits are owner by responsible, knowledgeable owners and I have rarely seen any issues at magnuson with pits because of this. go to everett or south seattle, like at genessee, and its a totally different story.. though in the bad areas its the owners, and you see crap happen with all different breeds there.

I live in Silverdale and take him to the one in Poulsbo... the pitties that usually go to the park are sweet and friendly, but their owners are always on alert in case something irritates them. We haven't had any major problems at that park and I've been going there for over a year. YOu're lucky, you live up near Seattle and have easier access to marymoor and magnusson... I would love to be able to take Noba hound there all the time... Hopefully, this was a one time deal at the park. Most of the "regulars" there won't stand for stupidity!!

[pessimisaurus]

BEFORE people go to dog parks, they need to understand dog behavior and the risks involved. For example, if the park is clearly divided into a big dog section and a small dog section, bring your dog to the appropriate section. You don't see Great Danes lounging in the small dog park. Likewise, fluffy-white-rabbit-looking dogs like Shih Tzus don't belong in big dog parks. Furthermore, people need to understand what is play behavior and when it will escalate into a fight. Unfortunately, most park goers in my area are either hypersensitive or completely apathetic. In your case, the owner definitely needs a bit of schooling on that part.

yes yes yes! I agree 1000%! its sad to hear stories about dogs hurting each other, dogs killing small dogs etc, but its up to the owners on all sides of the stories to be KNOWLEDGABLE and responsible. I *love* my local park Magnuson because it has a small dog area. Its the only one I know of that does and I think thats so important and hope others will follow suit.

live in Silverdale and take him to the one in Poulsbo... the pitties that usually go to the park are sweet and friendly, but their owners are always on alert in case something irritates them. We haven't had any major problems at that park and I've been going there for over a year. YOu're lucky, you live up near Seattle and have easier access to marymoor and magnusson... I would love to be able to take Noba hound there all the time... Hopefully, this was a one time deal at the park. Most of the "regulars" there won't stand for stupidity!!

thats good to hear that usually you have good experiences! and it sounds like you have good people at your park too, its same same at mag & marymoor- the regulars will not put up with idiots and have learned to speak up when necessary. I imagine thats one of the main reasons I havent yet witnessed anything serious at either park (since those are the only 2 I go to!) and yeah, marymoor especially is so worth the drive. I used to go all the way there from everett. when I was in capitol hill my apt was only a few mins from 520 so it was really quick and easy to get there, now magnuson is closer to me so we usually go there, but I try to make it to marymoor at least once a week. it was actually voted best dog park in the country by the BARk magazine!