Dog parks...not the best way to socialize your dog. What do you think is the best socialization method?

Sorry to write a novel but this really upset me and my dogs weren't even involved



Okay we went to the dog park for the last time today. We've never had a pleasent experience at the dog park and we've been to several different ones. Every time something bad has happened and not directly to our dogs but they've witnessed some things that we never would have wanted them to see. In fact today they saw a dog litterally almost rip the throat out of another and caused it to bleed. And the owner of the hurt dog just took it to the corner and kept asking ';Are you all right';

When I would think anyone with common sense would have gotten there dog out of there ASAP. It took 3 people to pull the attacking dog off the one.



Sadly our dogs were so scared from that, we took them out of there immediately and decided once and for all dog parks are not for us.



A woman made a comment ';Oh they are just playing'; I told her ';that my dogs may get over this really fast but it will take a long time for me.';



Both our dogs are calm well trained dogs that don't jump on other people and are not aggressive toward other dogs. And in the event of an attack would just sit there and take it and if they survived would then have aggression issues and we don't need that.



We have made several attempts to enjoy the dog park but it seems its just incident after incident and not worth the risk. I personally would rather my dogs have socialization with the few other dogs we know than a ton of dogs we don't know that could hurt them



Dog parks are out!!!!!



What do you think?



And what would you think would be a solution to the many problems in the dog park? A monitoring system perhaps?



I agree. My dogs are very submissive and I can't believe what we saw. The thing that bothered me the most was the fence between two parks. Was only 3 feet and my dog is a poodle and can jump over that with no effort. What if he had jumped over that into the large dog area where the fight was. We were there 4 minutes then grabbed our dogs and left. It was a new community dog park.



The owners talk to you like you've never been to a dog park before and how your dogs should act when there dog acts agressive well my dogs don't jump on people and act really well around other dogs because they are trained unlike the many dogs there.



It wasn't what it was supposed to be. I feel it needs to have people who can kick agressive owners out. It seems the ones around here only attrack rude people with a dog with a personality to match. I wish we had a place that required you to have a membership and it was monitored.



We have 2 dogs in the family they play with and we are about to have a third in the family. Everyone was like this is a great park give it a chance no more dog parks for us





What is your idea of the best socialization process for dogs? And what can we do to make our local dog parks safer.



I think a monitoring system. Your dog acts agressively you and your dog can't come back





(Our dogs are our kids and we will not risk there safety, health, and well being again)

Dog parks...not the best way to socialize your dog. What do you think is the best socialization method?
First off, I agree that dog parks are not for the light hearted.



Second, I did a lot of research about dog behavior. Here is an amazing site that explained exactly what my dog was doing: I highly recommend reading those articles based on how much they helped me.

http://www.flyingdogpress.com/sayhi.html



I have seen arguements, but hardly any dogs fighting. There was one dog that came in and the owner did not pay attention to the dog, people told her to take her dog and leave and that she was not welcomed anymore. Her dog was looking for a fight, he was circling the park looking for targets. Most ';fights'; we have witnessed are not actual fights, they are disagreements between two dogs that are inhibiting their bite, but with huge canines, accidental punctures do occur. Look at dunbar fight/bite ratio to understand what bite punctures count.



That system you have in mind doesnt solve any problems. Not all rude dogs are aggressive. Not all aggression is bad. Dogs use their growls and show of teeth to tell a puppy that runs into them that it does not matter how excited you are, you have to watch where you are going. My dog actually is rude, he isnt aggressive but rude. He will pounce other dogs and cut them off if he gets excited and he is the one that needs to be told to behave. I used to think the dogs responding by showing their teeth were being aggressive, but nope, my dog was being very rude and that that behavior was not appropriate.



Your dogs need to be seen as dogs first. Not your kids. I used to be one that would treat my dog like my baby, but I got bitten literally for it. Learn your dogs, and keep your dogs protected. If your dog sees you as a leader, they walk behind you, if the walk in front of you, they do not have respect/trust in you to lead them.





My idea for safer dog parks: You cant really control who gets to go in the park or not unless the dog is outright looking for a fight. That doesnt include all aggression, because as stated above, not all aggression is bad.

If you learn your dog and protect your dog, then you have done everything you can. Every dog has the capablity to bite, every dog has the capability to bark, so learn your dog, and be a responsible dog owner by learning to be part dog. If you sense fights will occur, you unconsciously tell your dog that. That is one of the biggest faults we as humans have in communicating with our domesticated animals. We verbally communicate, and they communicate through tone and body language.



I do not disagree with your decision because I do not in particular like dog parks. I have met way too many irresponsible dog owners there. I do continue to go to them, but not unless my dog tells me he is ok. He has to be calm and capable of handling himself in a respectful manner. If I see a dog bugging him, I dont laugh because he is finally running, I tell the dog to back off. I stand inbetween him and the dog, which is a huge sign of leadership.



My biggest suggestion is for you to read the articles on this page:

http://www.flyingdogpress.com/artlibreg.鈥?/a>



They offer breathtaking insight to dog behavior. Personal experience for me from those stories have been ditching the halti, teaching my dog a better way to respond with his excitement, learning how to tell them to behave with my tone, body, and eyes. I have cried reading those articles, implemented a new way of thinking not just with my dogs, but with my family(my relationship with my mom to be exact...we are on speaking terms because I am learning to ignore the tidbits that hurt me because they are not said to be mean)...I am not trying to convince you dog parks are worth while, for many owners, it is better to avoid them(honestly, I probably should avoid them as well, but we only go to great dane meetup for the most part and at certain times so we see the same dogs almost every time we go).



Dog parks...not the best way to socialize your dog. What do you think is the best socialization method?
my pap gets her visits at the petsmart stores. now we have had play dates with different people at their houses.

i don't like what i see at the dog parks. saturday i saw big dogs in the little dog section. shepherds and similar size.
I think it really depends on the dog park, you get all kinds. The dog park in my town is a membership only park, the gates are locked with an electronic code and you have to buy a membership and get the code. Our park is monitored by the people who attend it, and since we put our own money into getting it going, we are all pretty stringent rule police. But I think the paid membership, bad as this might sound, makes the biggest difference. The dogs that come there are there because the owners take care of them, not because the owners want to show off how ';bada$$'; they are. NO one at the park I go to would permit an aggressive dog for a moment - it would be reported by just about everyone there instantly and we would be shooing the problem dog and owner out. I am really sorry you had such a bad experience and I would do the exact same thing in your position! I wish I could take you to come see my dog park, it's a different world! In the rescue group I work with I specialise in rehabilitation of timid and undersocialised dogs, and going to MY dog park is one of my biggest and best tools!



Vintage Collies
I think they should just have someone on guard so that when this happens they get kicked out, but definitely there needs to be a monitering system of some sort, one person telling another person something about their own dog just doesn't work, and if you decide to press charges from an attack having witnesses just doesn't cut it
I suggest training classes. Even if your dogs are already trained, they are great socialization opportunities.



Have you thought about starting up your own dog social group?



Most dog parks have rules and if people are violating those rules you should contact whoever runs the dog park.
i do not like dog parks where dogs can run loose..in my situation i have a chihuahua that off leash goes whack and tries to pick a fight with any dog around. my dog was born this way, we tried to socialize him but he hates everyone except me.



some reasons i do not like dog parks are that you do not know the temperament of the dogs there. even if your dog is perfectly well behaved there could be an antisocial dog there that would hurt your dog. you also do not know what kind of diseases the other dogs have there.
Not all owners have common sense.



If you take your dog to a dog park and your dog even roughly ';plays'; with a smaller dog, it can KILL that dog.



Owners often have rose colored glasses on and little else when dealing with their dogs. So many dogs have prey drive, and will attack any smaller dog around. In our area, a pair of greyhounds got loose and attacked a toy poodle being walked by her elderly owner ona leash and killed it.



Now, greyhounds are not inherently bad, but the fact is they are prey-driven dogs, and they faced down a fluffly little dog. They won.



I think that socialization should occur under controlled circumstances, preferably under tight control by responsible owners. This can mean a play date with other dogs and owners that you trust, at a pet class in a training center, at a pet supply store or simply walking **on leash** in a park.
I warn my clients constantly about going to dog parks. They are horrible. There are so many diseases, so many dog fights, so many untrained dogs. I really don't understand the draw. There is no benefit to this type of ';socialization'; and the only thing that comes from it is damage.
I've personally never had a problem with the dog park. I have a lab/bernese mtn dog pup, who is in that in between stage, where he is too big for the little dog park, and too little for the big dog park. I've found in my experience that I would rather have my pup in the big dog park any day! I just make sure I carefullly supervise her, and the second something gets a little over the top, I pick her up and take her out. No matter what, you can't have control over other people, you've just got to look out for your own pet. If you're uncomfortable with it, then leave. When my lab was 14 weeks old, we took her to the small dog park, and this woman freaked on me because my dog smelled her precious little yorkie's butt! Are you kidding me? Dog's smell butts, get over it! Sorry, got a little off topic! lol