When my dog plays at the dog park, she is very vocal. She's a shepherd/hound mix at 63 pounds. Today a lady brought her choc lab to the park and after my dog tried to play with it (by running around it, barking, trying to encourage it to play) she shared that her dog had just recovered from a leg injury and couldn't run. Then she got upset when my dog wouldn't stop barking. My dog's bark can be pretty low, but also turns into a high pitched squeel when she's super excited and then she shows her teeth with she squeels. To be clear, she does not bare her teeth when she does this. She has never, ever initiated an attack.
Where do you, personally, draw the line in dog behavior at the park? What do you consider ';aggressive'; behavior? And how can this be changed?
Please go into as much detail as you can. I need as much information/thoughts as I can., and please do not go into a personal attack on me or my dog.Please help: if you take your dog to a dog park. Question about aggression?
well it doesn't seem like your dogs aggressive. though he may be being dominant by being loud and over exited. its a dog park there will be barking. and no an injured dog should not be in the park i guess the women thinks her dog is a toy and not a living breathing animal with feelings and needs. im a groomer and have seen a few dogs 'smile' when the get exited. def. not an aggressive act although if you've never seen it it could be mistaken as one. and being a hound mix its natural for her to 'bay' with excitement its what they do when they've found something of interest.Please help: if you take your dog to a dog park. Question about aggression?
There's no point in discussing anything. If the woman was upset that your dog was trying to instigate play with her dog you bring your dog with you to another area of the park.
This is not aggressive behavior, it's normal puppy play behavior.
The only way to improve the situation is for you to take your dog for a long walk before the park to put her into a calmer state of mind that she isn't bouncing off the walls when you get to the park. Make sure she is walking next to you or behind you, not in front. You need to be the pack leader.
Even if it is not ';aggression'; per se, I draw the line when another dog begins barking or whining at my dog. That makes me feel uncomfortable, because even if you do have a good tempered dog that has never initiated a fight, I don't know that. Beyond the ';how do you do'; sniffing, I don't know how my dog would react to another dog if it started getting all excited and vocal towards him. He might get scared, either causing him to nearly jump up my legs to get away, or he might get aggressive out of fear. We don't have any ';dog parks'; where I live, I take him to the regular park to walk, where he is on his leash and in my control at all times.
It doesn't sound like your dog did anything wrong. The woman should not have brought an injured dog to the dog park where it could get hurt more.
Only an idiot would bring a dog that was on restriction due to a medical condition to a dog park and then expect other people to prevent their dogs from trying to play with it. Your dog was absolutely fine. She should have not brought the dog in the first place and once the issue started either removed her dog from the park or asked you nicely to help with your dog since her dog can't play roughly. She's, well, an idiot. Forget about it.
This is only one of the reasons I won't go near a dog park.
I know exactly what your dog was doing as my lab/boxer mix gets the same way when excited during play. It's not aggression. If the woman thought it was aggression, she is not very good at understanding what a dog is communicating.
What do you consider ';aggressive'; behavior?
-Any behavior that is endangering another dog or human. Any signs that a dog is becoming overwhelmed and may lash out (posturing, hackles up, sideway stares, etc.)
And how can this be changed?
-This is what happens when people force dogs from different packs to interact. Most dogs are very sociable, but just like humans...sometimes there's one in the crowd that doesn't want to play nice. That dog needs to be removed from the park.
If her dog can't play, why bring it?
-Regardless, she still has a right to be there with her dog.
What do you say to a person when they won't even give you a chance to discuss the problem?
-Not much can be said. Just let it go, and if you see her again at the dog park...keep your distance.
She has every right to come to the dog park, and she has every right for her dog to be left alone. YOu need to keep your dog under control if someone doesn't want it near their dog. Personally, you couldn't pay me enough to take my dog to a dog park, they are breeding grounds for disease and fights.
I think that I would draw the line at baring teeth.
Its not a good idea to bring an aggressive dog to a dog park.
I would have no problem with a dog barking, seeing as this along with gestures, is the way a dog communicates. That is normal dog behavior for meeting a new dog. And the person should not have brought an injured dog to the park. Injured dogs can be unpredictable. Tsk, tsk.
We have had situations at our dog park where people brought in a dog and complained when our dogs wanted to play (they had a little dog and didn't want the big dogs to play with it). We try to explain that what they are doing is normal and no harm is intended. If the person continues to complain and becomes rude we ask them to leave, which is our right. It says so on the rules to the dog park. If they refuse we call the police and have them remove the person. We've had to do that a few times, unfortunately.
We (a group of us go to the dog park at the same time everyday) consider aggression to be a dog that is not getting on well with the other dogs or bullying other dogs. Not letting the dog(s) play, run, getting territorial over a bowl of community water, or constantly pinning other dogs down. If a dog instigates fights or gets into more than one confrontation we ask them to leave.
As for changing aggressive behavior, I'm not sure on that one. If a dog is aggressive towards other dogs, there is some training you can do, but you can never trust the dog around others comfortably.
The lady had as much right to be there. Maybe the dog wasn't supposed to get too much exercise. However, you don't take your dog to a dog park and expect other dogs to leave it alone. What is everyone else supposed to do, put leashes on their dogs? The point of a dog park is for the dog to be off leash and roam as he/she pleases.
It's obvious the lady didn't understand what you dog was trying to convey. If a person didn't know better, I'm sure your dog LOOKED like she was baring her teeth and the barking can unnerve some people and dogs. She may have just misunderstood your dogs intentions.
Hope this answers your question.
hi,
Dog-dog aggression is a very serious matter. Until your dog's successfully treated, keep him a safe distance from all other dogs (';safe distance'; meaning the minimum amount of space he needs to remain calm and unstressed).
here's a treatment:
http://dogtime.com/aggression-toward-dog鈥?/a>
hope this helps.
If her dog was just getting over a leg injury and shouldn't be running, then she is an IDIOT for bringing it to the dog park! What does she think the dog would want to do?
Dog play can sometimes look aggressive, even when it isn't. Some people have a hard time telling the difference.
With people like her, even if they are wrong, they still don't want to hear it. Nothing you can really do, and since you didn't do anything wrong, I would just try to forget about her. If you run into her there again when her dog is 100% healed, maybe she will be in a better mood. You may never see her again anyway!
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