Dog Run Etiquette

[jimmyjnr]

Originally Posted by JudyH

It scares me that people own animals which can't be socialized.

Our dog is a rescue , she had her ears chopped and was used to bait fighting dogs .
I , like the original poster , always walk on lead and only use dog walks when it's empty , and ask for a moment to leave if some one approaches .
She is friendly with adults but would protect her family with her life .
Frankly I think drunken , drugged humans are more worthy of your fear .
Each to his / her own
Surly

[Gadget63]

Originally Posted by JudyH

It scares me that people own animals which can't be socialized.

It should only scare you if that animal is off leash. It also depends on your definition of socialization or someone else's definition. Our dog is never off leash. Our dog has no need to socialize with strangers and / or their pets. He gets plenty of love an affection from the immediate family. We have our dog trained to be a burglar and intruder alarm and to be apprehensive of strangers.

[Wayne M]

Originally Posted by JudyH

It scares me that people own animals which can't be socialized.

She was socialized. Oh, and a year and a half after we (she) was attacked we visited a CG again that we had done when she was about 1 year old. At that time Miya was 3. There was a permanent resident in the CG that had a Siberian Husky. We were walking toward the dog run and I could not see inside it because of the angle. Miya was getting excited. it is strange how a dog can remember surroundings. As we cleared to be able to see, the owner and his Husky were in there. I asked if we could come in, not knowing and telling him my fears. He said sure. I took Miya in on the leash, the approached and she was all excited and I unhooked her from the leash. They played for an hour. They remembered each other - or so it seems.

The next day a small dog, tugging uncontrollably on a leash lunging toward us, barking and carrying on. Miya wanted a piece of her. Miya never barked but tugged on her leash to please let her go after that mutt. I put her in heel mode and we walked on by. Miya never once barked, or growled but she was bristled up.

So people may be scared of dogs that will not socialize but what about those dogs, little dogs that can't get along with anyone. Those are the ones that the masters think they can let off leash and do not understand the fear that others may have in passing by.

I can control my dog that is always leashed except in a dog run. I cannot control her if a dog is loose and comes at her. I know the limitations and I wish other masters would know theirs.

Happy trails.

[RickO]

Interesting discussion but it raises a question in my mind.

It's been my experience that dogs often are more protective and territorial when they are on a lead than they are when loose. Anyone else find this?

It really raises a challenge when trying to introduce them to other dogs. You want to keep them leashed to maintain some degree of control... but it causes the animal to be sometimes overly protective.

Rick

[micd]

Originally Posted by RickO

Interesting discussion but it raises a question in my mind.

It's been my experience that dogs often are more protective and territorial when they are on a lead than they are when loose. Anyone else find this?

It really raises a challenge when trying to introduce them to other dogs. You want to keep them leashed to maintain some degree of control... but it causes the animal to be sometimes overly protective.

Rick

They cover this in dog training class. The dogs cannot run away or fully protect themselves when on leash so they try to ward off the offending party in advance. Its still better for everyone to keep their dog leashed unless they know how they will react. Of course off leash dog parks are no different. It is up to every owner to know their dog's limits and not put them into a situation where they are uncomfortable. This may mean not using the parks when other dogs or certain types of dogs are present. It is also up to the owners to know if their dog is an annoying pest and thus not use dog parks with a dog that yaps and charges other dogs biting and such.

[Dan DeBruin]

I also agree that the OP was very appropriate in how they use the dog park but I don't think that expecting someone else to limit their time in the park, as implied by the statement concerning the sheepdog, is appropriate. Apparently they had no problems with other dogs coming into the park with their dog, it was your concern. So, expecting another owner with their dog to not take as much time as they want because you are waiting does not seem to be logical.
We have little dogs. We never have them running loose, mostly because we don't want them to be hurt by other dogs. Even a playful bigger dog can easily hurt a smaller dog. We have more trouble with owners of big dogs coming up to our dogs, even while on a lead and saying "It is OK, they are friendly". Well, you take a very friendly big dog who wacks my little 8 pound dog playfully with it's paw can result in serious injury to my mutt. Nice thing is we can just pick our dogs up and carry them if we need.
Another thought is to use an x-pen on your own site. We almost never take the dogs to any dog park (of course we travel with a lot of dogs to shows mostly) because as soon as we are in a site, we set up an excercize pen and let them out there. They don't take up much room when folded and you can get them that will fit almost any dog. Especially if your dog does not play well with others, it could be a nice option to letting them run in the park.

[Murf2u]

I can't believe how many folks are willing to pick on a responsible, sensible pet owner after ignoring or just not reading the OP's comments.

He clearly stated his Boxer gets on we'll with other dogs, but is, as all Boxers I've ever met are, is exuberant, especially when playing. If any dog owner thinks their 'pocket dog' is safe rough-housing with a 60+ pound dog they need to rethink dog ownership IMHO.

Nobody knows a dog better than it's owner does. So why then do people feel it's appropriate to ignore the owners wishes or instructions?

Having JRT's (Jack Russell Terriers) for 30+ years I know them well, I still get folks who won't listen to me when I tell them to control their dog when it's acting inappropriately towards mine.

Rant over, carry on.

[Wizard]

I always keep Jake on a tight leash when first meeting other dogs or people. I can usually tell how he is going to react within a few seconds. If someone wants to pet him I tell them its probably OK but to remember that he is a very friendly dog but he does have teeth and a mind of his own. I can tell very quickly hi he and another dog will play. I have seen times that we have met other dogs and Jake just don't like that particular dog.

[rhks]

I saw "training" once - maybe I missed one - regardless, take a training class and help your pet learn how to better exist in our society. Don't you have to question the lack of responsibility, maybe laziness, or even a lack of intelligence of one with uncontrolled pets? If one has a pet that does not learn, it is the pet's guardian to properly restrain & control. Training a pet is generally easy, especially compared to raising humans. Just take the classes and learn how, then expend the time to actually do it.

[LindaH]

Originally Posted by datrbone8

Dog runs and parks are places where dogs can run and socialize with other dogs. Dogs bark as part of their play. It's unrealistic to expect that that a dog run in an RV park only accommodate one dog at a time. If you can't trust yours to play nicely with others you should probably find another place to exercise yours or a time when no others will be using the run.

I agree!

[WheelingIt]

Personally I think it's fine to wait until the run is empty and, if someone comes, ask them to wait a moment while you remove your dog. Nothing wrong with that. As long as you're not hogging the run or expecting people to wait around while you exercise your dog that's ok.

We rarely use dog runs or dog parks. Not because our dog isn't social, but she gets scared when a bunch of dogs approach her at once (she really does best with just one or two dogs at a time). I tend to book parks with trails where we can exercise her for longer periods.

[Gadget63]

Originally Posted by Murf2u

I can't believe how many folks are willing to pick on a responsible, sensible pet owner after ignoring or just not reading the OP's comments.

He clearly stated his Boxer gets on we'll with other dogs, but is, as all Boxers I've ever met are, is exuberant, especially when playing. If any dog owner thinks their 'pocket dog' is safe rough-housing with a 60+ pound dog they need to rethink dog ownership IMHO.

Nobody knows a dog better than it's owner does. So why then do people feel it's appropriate to ignore the owners wishes or instructions?

Having JRT's (Jack Russell Terriers) for 30+ years I know them well, I still get folks who won't listen to me when I tell them to control their dog when it's acting inappropriately towards mine.

Rant over, carry on.

X 2

[ralphie]

Dog runs or parks are supposed to be where dogs can run free, socialize with other dogs, or relieve themselves if they have to. Some parks in the big city specifically state that aggressive dogs are not allowed. The problem I've seen is identifying aggressiveness vis-à-vis rough playfulness. I have a small Sheltie and I would not put him in with a family of four Rhodesian Ridgebacks the other day, not because they were aggressive but because four is a pack and they were HUGE. I figured they would protect each other to the detriment of my dog. But, that doesn't mean that owner needs to leave just because I'm waiting.

It sounds as if you don't quite trust your boxer to be playful with other dogs, but I agree with you that owners of small but growling and feisty dogs need to take control before they unnecessarily antagonize your dog. We always try to get our dog to do the tail wagging, nose to nose, nose to butt thing with other dogs before unleashing him in the park. We've never had a problem with bigger dogs after doing that, and it's more likely that our pup will be jumping over the bigger dogs before long, or wearing them out first.

[Afubar]

Thanks Wayne, Murf2u, and others.

"He clearly stated his Boxer gets on we'll with other dogs, but is, as all Boxers I've ever met are, is exuberant, especially when playing. If any dog owner thinks their 'pocket dog' is safe rough-housing with a 60+ pound dog they need to rethink dog ownership IMHO"

My dog loves other dogs but he weighs in at a hefty 80 pounds (no fat just all muscle) and one swipe with a paw to a 4 pound dog can have tragic results. The older guy parked next to me has a 4 pound poodle and the first day they were here, I tried to tell him that my dog loves to play but his dog wouldn't even make a good squeak toy so what does he do? He keeps bringing his dog closer and closer, saying "ah, just let them touch noses, they'll be fine", all this time I am backing away telling him no, I finally turned and all but ran from him. What is wrong with people?

As for the poster that thinks I think others should limit their time in the run, I never said that and I never have my dog in the run for more than the time it takes for him to do his business or if no one is around, to run a bit if he's in the mood for it. I also get up very early to take him out to limit the possibility of others in the run.

And while I'm at it, what makes people think that they are exempt from cleaning up after their dogs, just because your dog is small and it's "stuff" looks like little tootsies rolls doesn't mean you don't have to pick up after them. They have bags for that right beside the gate you came in, In fact, the sign on the gate says the owners are responsible for cleaning up.

Anyway, thanks guys.