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I think it really depends on the kids/parents. Kids and their parents who don't understand how to interact with off leash dogs or get upset that heaven forbid there are unleashed dogs in an off leash dog park are awful. The ones who understand dogs and dog body language and are fine with dogs coming up to them are fine. I would really like it if they posted a "how not to interact with strange dogs" poster and/or a "this is what dogs look like when they're playing" poster because some people are completely oblivious to what's playing vs. aggressive behavior. Just because my idiot dog barks his head off when we're at the park does not mean he will eat you or your dog. I really wish my dogs had tails at these times so their body language was a little more obviously friendly. Technically my local dog park has a "no unsupervised kids under 16" rule, but no one follows it. It's not even part of another park, it's a fenced in plot of land adjacent to a vet's office in an area where people wouldn't just wander up to it on foot so 99% of the time it's only people who are there with dogs (the remaining 1% is people who use it as a free petting zoo for their bratty kids). Pistol loves playing with kids so if kids want to run around with him I've got no problem with it if they ask nicely and play nicely with him. Gives me a break from tiring him out  I try to avoid the ones who are afraid of my dogs (why you'd bring a kid who's afraid of dogs to the dog park is beyond me) or the ones who can't play nice. Only time I've been like "deal with it" is when a girl was afraid of Pistol because he was barking (not even at her, he was barking at me to throw his ball) but I wasn't budging from the big open area that's best for ball-throwing. You've got legs, you can move to another part of the park. The dog won't follow you because I've got his ball.
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Mar 11, 2014 23:00
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| # ? May 22, 2024 09:19 |
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The dog park I go to is a) huge, b) fenced off and clearly signed, and c) out of the way of any kind of foot traffic. People still show up there with small children in tow, and are then very surprised when (for example) a high speed Suzy chasing another dog hits a toddler, sends it airborne, and then circles back to see what the noise is about. Swear to god the dog is going to put me in an early grave. No lasting harm done to the child, but I had a momentary vision of being on A Current Affair as the owner of a child killing dog. My point is, people are dumb as hell, put their children in harms way, fail to supervise them and then get mad when something goes wrong. Anyone who brings a child to a dog park should probably face some sort of fine.
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Mar 13, 2014 14:50
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thatbastardken posted:The dog park I go to is a) huge, b) fenced off and clearly signed, and c) out of the way of any kind of foot traffic. People still show up there with small children in tow, and are then very surprised when (for example) a high speed Suzy chasing another dog hits a toddler, sends it airborne, and then circles back to see what the noise is about. Swear to god the dog is going to put me in an early grave. No lasting harm done to the child, but I had a momentary vision of being on A Current Affair as the owner of a child killing dog. I've been considering what it would take to start a supervised dog park in my area. We don't have a park in the whole county, and I'd really like a place for the dogs. But I don't know what kind of permits, costs are associated. I'd prefer supervised, too, at least during "kid" hours, so that there is an extra set of eyes on a situation between dog-owner and kid-supervisor (nanny/guardian). Poll the audience - would dog-park attendee's bring there dogs to a park like that, off leash/fenced that has a regular 2-3 people scheduled during the week during peek hours when families are in the park area (dog part or otherwise) to make sure there aren't any issues? Maybe even to enforce aggressive dog rules or clean up your poo poo rules? If you'd attend, would you be willing to pay for that privilege? say, $5/hr, $20/day? Per family, so if you have 10 dogs it's still 5/20. And same applies to kids, $5 to get into the dog park with the understanding that your kid is now a dog plaything, but also has to respect the dogs? (I remember someone who had a kid beat her dog with a chuck-it wand a while back). 3 strikes, you're out kind of policy? I'm just spitballing so what do you guys think?
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Mar 13, 2014 15:42
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Have an indoor option during winter an you've got a deal.
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Mar 13, 2014 20:11
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Didn't even think of that. Winter here consists of snow, and then more snow. We got 1 1/2 last night  But yeah, indoor opens up a whole new world. But it would also be more expensive to run, with electricity and all that fun stuff.
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Mar 13, 2014 20:24
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No snow here, just darkness when DST isn't in effect which means no one bothers to show up. This year wasn't bad (in California) though. We were getting least a good 30-40 mins a day after work except for the real cold days.
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Mar 13, 2014 20:41
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Eegah posted:No snow here, just darkness when DST isn't in effect which means no one bothers to show up. until DST, it was dark when we left for work and dark when we got home. I dealt with the cold and took the dogs out, but yeah an indoor park would have been awesome. We have a dog gym nearby thats $5/30 minutes, but it's unsupervised and one person/family at a time
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Mar 13, 2014 20:52
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I'd totally pay $5-10 a month to go to a dog park with playground monitors. The one we go to is adjacent to a 24 hour vet office so if shits really going down people can go over there, but it requires gathering up your dog(s) and leaving the fenced in area. Edit: this is the same vet office that told me to call the cops for child endangerment if I ever saw unsupervised kids at the dog park. They're pretty cool.
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Mar 13, 2014 23:15
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I'm a cheapskate and would not pay to go to any outdoor dog park especially since there's a nice free one 2 miles from my house. But an indoor play gym for when it's cold/dark/wet? Definitely, if it's less than $10-15 a day though. Supervised full-day doggie day camp with feedings and rest time at Petsmart is already $18 and I don't have to even stick around, so any higher than that then no probably not. Our city had an adorably stupid failure - They know they have one of the best/most popular dog parks for miles around despite being a "poorer" city, and residents kept calling for lights to be installed so dogs can play after dark. They installed these solar-powered lights on tall poles every here and there, but they are only about as powerful as a strong flashlight pointing directly down so you can't see poo poo. They also have a, like, 8ft tall sign at each entrance listing literally 22 bullet points of TLDR wall-o-text rules. No wonder we get so many strollers full of babies in the park. After 10 bullets I get annoyed, and I'm a rule stickler. Fake edit: I also just noticed that they installed lights and then later put up the sign with one bullet point saying park hours are sunrise to sunset. Uh, why lights?
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Mar 13, 2014 23:54
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Ha, the park I mentioned above did the same things with puny solar lights and dawn to dusk posted hours. There was a weeknight group who would show up after dark with their boxers and beeeeeeers. Flagrant violation of the food/alcoholic beverage rule too. 
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Mar 14, 2014 00:10
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Today's dog park session has literally been ninety minutes of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEu5-NEu41U I swear Tater has some sort of Stimpy-esque massochism streak and really enjoys pain.
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Mar 14, 2014 03:15
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I have two pitbulls, so dog parks arent really something we do very often, but there are some wonderful parks near us that have great hiki g trails. An acquaintance of mine was threatened with a suit when he had his two pitbulls on a walk and a lady ran up to them to pet them and one got so excited he knocked her to the ground. It makes me a bit scared to have my dogs anywhere with too many stupid people, theyre lovely and well behaved, but their smooshy faces scare people. The only time Ive ever had a serious issue is when a woman had her dog off leash and it tried to jump us when I was walking in the garden area, she became really defensive when I told her it wasnt an off leash park. Maybe I missed this in tne OP, but what breed is your dog? Erudite Sybarite fucked around with this message at 21:11 on Mar 14, 2014 |
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Mar 14, 2014 20:58
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Vintimus Prime posted:At my dog park, I've seen people have big lunches there. Without any dogs. Like a group of 4 or 5 people will have a blanket out, like they are having a picnic. At the off leash dog park. That always astounds me because I've seen people get upset when dogs come up and try to get some grub. You're getting swarmed because you have piles of food at the off leash dog park. Just to add to dumb dog park stories, I once watched a guy show up to the park with his dog, a folding camping chair, and a Mcdonald's combo meal. He sits down and starts eating and is instantly swarmed by dogs begging for food. Not long after, the pile of dogs in front of him start fighting, barking, growling, and just turning into a dog tornado. Everyone runs over, grabs their dog and the rest of the time everyone kinda guards the guy, calling their dogs away from him so he could eat in peace. It was actually embarassing to see everyone go out of their way to keep their excited, playful dogs away from a guy with an open bag of food instead of saying "hey, maybe you should go eat that outside the park or in your car before you come in." My dog wasn't involved or interested so I didn't say anything either, though.
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Mar 16, 2014 08:16
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I read a story the other day of someone whose shiba is apparently becoming very dog selective and is attacking certain dogs at the dog park for no discernible reason (yes I told them they should stop bringing it to the dog park). Well apparently some guy broke up the last fight by coming over and alpha rolling the dog and telling the owner they needed to be ~*~dominant~*~. I would be seven levels of pissed if someone came over and alpha rolled my dog, regardless of how outdated and potentially harmful a technique it is. What in the hell possesses someone to just go over and handle someone else's dog like that?
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Mar 16, 2014 16:45
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There was me and one other guy at the dog park and he started talking about how he used the anti-bark collar to decrease his dog's anxiety. Me: "Well, won' that create the opposite effect, where he becomes more anxious at the sight of the collar?" Him: "Not to worry, I have a degree in psychology." Me: 
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Mar 16, 2014 17:15
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I've seen alpha rolling mentioned countless times here and other places, but I figure now it's time to actually try to find out what the hell it is. Does the person literally roll their dog on the ground while yelling "No!" repeatedly? Do they raise their hackles and bare their teeth while standing as tall as they can on their toes and knuckles? I don't understand this.
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Mar 16, 2014 17:52
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I'm amazed at some of these dog park experiences. Maybe I'm just going to very different sorts of parks but I can't even imagine people taking a picnic to the dog park.kinmik posted:I've seen alpha rolling mentioned countless times here and other places, but I figure now it's time to actually try to find out what the hell it is. Does the person literally roll their dog on the ground while yelling "No!" repeatedly? Pretty much. I've heard several different suggestions of what to do vocally (say "no," growl, be quiet, etc.) but alpha rolling is pretty much flipping the dog over and pinning it on its back. In addition to being stupid and potentially harmful, it's also always struck me as a good way to get yourself bitten. Abutiu fucked around with this message at 18:08 on Mar 16, 2014 |
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Mar 16, 2014 18:05
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It used to be thought that an alpha wolf would roll another wolf onto its back/side to assert its dominance (an alpha roll). Now, since dogs are close relatives of wolves, many idiots took that to mean that surely dogs MUST act and behave just like wolves!!! So that led to people assuming they needed to alpha roll their dogs to show they were dominant. This all turned out to be a load of horseshit based on very poorly done studies back in the 40s and 50s (the alpha roll doesn't even really exist amongst wolves). There are so many holes in this theory (wolves don't forcefully roll other wolves, and even if they did, dogs are not wolves, and even if they were, dogs are well aware that humans are not dogs). It's kind of a confusing mess based on lovely science. Alpha rolls are actually a really confusing and/or threatening behavior to dogs. You just appear to be bullying them, basically. Unfortunately sometimes they "work" which makes people think it's a good technique. When the dog "calms" down in an alpha roll, it's more likely it's just shut down and scared shitless. But these people tend to have really lovely body language knowledge and can't understand the difference. It was (and still is) basically thought all bad behavior (especially shows of aggression) was the dog fighting for dominance and needed to be put in its place with a good alpha roll or some other asinine method.  Edit: and yes, it is a good way to get yourself bitten. I have encountered people who will growl at their dog too. One guy came into my work (it was a shelter, he had NO business there and would just come to hang out, he had already been banned from our main campus for being a creepy moron) and when his dog barked at someone else who came in he got down on her level and growled hard as he could at her to stop her. I nearly died laughing right there in front of customers.
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Mar 16, 2014 18:09
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I'm friends with a couple where the guy did the whole alpha roll thing with his dogs. It's a hard thing to debunk, because unless you're hearing another side of the story or you're being told all this stuff by someone who seems credible, it seems logical at first blush. The dog park I go to sometimes is pretty chill, the small dog side usually is, just because if anything happens people can just pick their dogs up and walk away. So it's a low stress situation. The only things that happen that are annoying are when people bring their kids who don't know how to be gentle with small dogs, or people bring their puppies who haven't been vaccinated yet. edit: edited out a story about a personal pet peeve Double Plus Good fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Mar 16, 2014 |
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Mar 16, 2014 19:14
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My boss was telling me about how he alpha rolls his wife's Havanese when it starts to bark It shuts up but only because it's probably confused as hell as to what's going on/is distracted enough from whatever was causing it to bark, but he thinks it's the alpha rolling. One time some well-meaning people brought one of those portable canopies to the dog park to sit underneath on a warm sunny day, then all the dogs decided to sit underneath the canopy too so it was just 8-10 people and a swarm of dogs in a 8' square area of the several acre park. It was actually kind of hilarious.
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Mar 17, 2014 01:14
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I have two Alaskan Malamutes, one large male and one medium Female. The Male usually just sniffs out the other dogs then spends his time at the park pissing on everything he can till hes empty, then he attempts to piss some more. The female just runs arounds and plays with any dog that will let her. One day at a local dog park, we were there and a cracked out lady and her husband were there with their two dogs and two children, one 3 years old and one 6 years old. the 6 year old was up on a table lookin pretty scared and the 3 year old was running around shirtless at least 100 feet away from the mother. As i went to gather my dogs to leave the park, Big ol' male runs past the 3 year old and knocks him over. Mother freaks out because he recently suffered from a concussion and must now take him to the Hospital. We exchanged numbers, and left. Later that night her cracked out husband called and tried very hard to explain that they wanted us to pay for medical visit to the hospital since my dog knocked him over. I am luckily covered by my Renters insurance with USAA which suprisingly will cover damage done to others by your pets even when not on your property. The insurance company called and called and they never picked up and i never heard from them again. Im guessing they wanted to scam us for some cash, too bad for them. Highlights: 1.) Why bring a 3 year old to the dog park? 2.) why let your 3 year old run around shirtless about 100 feet away from you 3.) why take your 3 year old anywhere potentially dangerous and let them run around after suffering from a concussion? I was so frustrated from this event that i wont go back to that dog park, lukily we have 3 others in the area so we just go to others... but man (*edit) that cracked out bitches piss me off.... justincredible fucked around with this message at 10:55 on Mar 27, 2014 |
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Mar 27, 2014 09:11
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The gently caress is a "duck cracked out bitch"?
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Mar 27, 2014 09:40
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thatbastardken posted:The gently caress is a "duck cracked out bitch"? Clearly its someone strung out on duck crack.
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Mar 27, 2014 09:42
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justincredible posted:I have two Alaskan Malamutes, one large male and one medium Female. The Male usually just sniffs out the other dogs then spends his time at the park pissing on everything he can till hes empty, then he attempts to piss some more. The female just runs arounds and plays with any dog that will let her. They wouldn't even have got my phone number... Unattended child bumped by a dog in the dog park, imagine. I was under the impression the whole point of alpha rolling was to scare the poo poo out of the dog, linking it to the -thing it just did-. Not something to be used routinely but potentially effective in the right circumstances with the right dog.
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Mar 27, 2014 09:48
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thatbastardken posted:The gently caress is a "duck cracked out bitch"? I believe he meant "gently caress cracked out bitch"
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Mar 27, 2014 09:52
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thatbastardken posted:The gently caress is a "duck cracked out bitch"? obviously i was cracked out when i wrote that
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Mar 27, 2014 19:49
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justincredible posted:obviously i was cracked out when i wrote that I dunno man, you ever seen a cracked out duck? I had loving duck fight club in my back pond this afternoon, those guys are hella mean. Probably due to the whole rape or be raped hormones going. poo poo's crazy.
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Mar 28, 2014 00:53
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Suspect Bucket posted:I dunno man, you ever seen a cracked out duck? I had loving duck fight club in my back pond this afternoon, those guys are hella mean. Probably due to the whole rape or be raped hormones going. poo poo's crazy. i cant say that i have seen that personally, haha
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Mar 28, 2014 09:38
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I'd like to resurrect this ol thread with a reminder regarding eating a McDonald's Happy Meal at the dog park. Don't eat a loving McDonald's Happy Meal at the goddamned dog park. Thank you. 
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Jun 20, 2014 06:59
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Well I recently ran into a dog park where, posted among the rules, was "No Food Allowed in Picnic Area!" (I think maybe they should rename this area.)
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Jun 20, 2014 18:32
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I recently met a Samoyed owner who says she avoids dog parks because, when the owners stand around, the dogs are more likely to get into fights. She says she doesn't have issues on the trails because she doesn't really stand around to let the dogs really start getting antsy with each other. sidenote: we almost ran after this woman to meet her dogs. Like petting fluffy clouds.
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Jun 21, 2014 10:52
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Since this is about etiquette at the dog park, I'm about to move into an apartment that's about a mile from an off leash dog park. We don't plan on getting a dog for probably at least a year but I'm a huge fan of dogs and I'm going to miss the three goofy guys that I'm friends with here. Would it be too weird if I went to the park just to sit there on a bench and hope that a dog came over to say hi? I wouldn't take food or treats in with me, just my drink (hey, it's Arkansas, it's going to be hot!) and a heart that just really loves dogs.
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Jun 22, 2014 04:56
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Cat Plant posted:I recently met a Samoyed owner who says she avoids dog parks because, when the owners stand around, the dogs are more likely to get into fights. She says she doesn't have issues on the trails because she doesn't really stand around to let the dogs really start getting antsy with each other. Yeah, when owners get in to groups the dogs get territorial. I like to keep moving around and try to encourage people to do the same.
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Jun 22, 2014 06:58
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just da posted:Since this is about etiquette at the dog park, I'm about to move into an apartment that's about a mile from an off leash dog park. We don't plan on getting a dog for probably at least a year but I'm a huge fan of dogs and I'm going to miss the three goofy guys that I'm friends with here. Would it be too weird if I went to the park just to sit there on a bench and hope that a dog came over to say hi? I wouldn't take food or treats in with me, just my drink (hey, it's Arkansas, it's going to be hot!) and a heart that just really loves dogs. Less creepy than doing it at a kids play park. You could always carry a dog lead and people would assume one of those dogs must be yours 
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Jun 22, 2014 09:15
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just da posted:Since this is about etiquette at the dog park, I'm about to move into an apartment that's about a mile from an off leash dog park. We don't plan on getting a dog for probably at least a year but I'm a huge fan of dogs and I'm going to miss the three goofy guys that I'm friends with here. Would it be too weird if I went to the park just to sit there on a bench and hope that a dog came over to say hi? I wouldn't take food or treats in with me, just my drink (hey, it's Arkansas, it's going to be hot!) and a heart that just really loves dogs. It's weird but it's not like anyone is going to ask you to leave or anything. Might be awkward if someone eventually asks "so, which one is your dog?" But really, I think pretty much any dog owner will understand that some people don't have a dog but they do like to pet/watch/play with them. frenton fucked around with this message at 02:00 on Jun 23, 2014 |
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Jun 23, 2014 01:58
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I think there was a joke on "8 Out of 10 Cats" regarding (childless) adults sitting at a playground simply because they like watching kids at play and reminiscing about being young and enjoying life, and the ensuing awkwardness when someone asks, 'Which one is yours?' Someone then said that the best response was, 'I haven't decided yet.' Problem solved.
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Jun 26, 2014 03:58
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Yep, that was this guy Sean Lock
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Jun 26, 2014 22:16
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Beat punch kick and fist all dog parks.
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Jun 27, 2014 04:42
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Tater and his best friends hung out at the dog park until 9:00 last night while we sat around and enjoyed the nice weather and laughed and talked about weed. Dog park summers are the best.
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Jun 27, 2014 15:24
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| # ? May 22, 2024 09:19 |
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If someone asks you at a dog park which dog (or which child at a playground) is yours, just say he died recently but you like coming here to watch all the others play. Conversation over.
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Jun 29, 2014 00:47
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