The Big Ragu
Two Out Of Three
I like dogs; I like kids; and I like food. But I don’t like two out of those three in the dog park. I’ve become quite militant about people coming into the dog park with food — I always tell them it’s a dog park and there are dogs all around so it’s really not fair to eat food in front of them!!!
Sometimes it’s a dogless visitor but more often than not, it’s a dog owner. And boy does that make my blood boil. Dog owners should know that fact more than anyone else in civilization!!!
One afternoon during the summer, a 12 yr old girl came into the dog park licking an ice cream cone. Did it look delicious to me on a hot summer day? Absolutely. Would I be eating that ice cream cone in a dog park? Absolutely not! So I told her that food isn’t allowed here in the park and that it’s really unfair to the dogs. Did she apologize? No. Did she respond to me verbally? No. She gave her cone to her dad who plopped his big butt on a bench next to her and ate the ice cream. I was annoyed. Thankfully he ate it quickly.
Sunday morning, I took Carmine to the dog park for some early morning play. In front of me, a man and his dog and his small child were entering. The kid was maybe 8 or 9 yrs old. Before I had a moment to breathe, I see the kid lying on the ground and Carmine jumping on him to play, nothing aggressive because I could see Carmine licking the child’s face. I pulled off Carmine and apologized to the dad as the kid was screaming and crying. A friend on the bench called out to me that it wasn’t my fault.
Thankfully the dad got it; he told me he knew my dog just wanted to play and being a big boy didn’t realize his size around the kid.
All is well until the kid decides he wants to throw the ball for his dog. Fine, except the kid would take the ball and hold it over his head and just stand there. And what does that make a dog do? Jump up to try to catch it!!! So I look at the dad and he yells at the kid to throw the ball.
Good thing the dad was a dog person who got it — sort of. I think if he truly got it, he would’ve left the kid home. Trust me, I have nothing against kids—I do like them. It’s not about that at all.
But I can’t bring my dog into the kiddie park so why should a kid be in the dog park? Especially in any dog park where you have many different dog personalities and sizes plus various types of owners: responsible ones; irresponsible one; absent ones; etc.
I guess there’s not much that can be done about it except to tolerate it. And maybe educate the child who does come into the dog park. But when it comes to food, I’ll continue to be militant as long as my voice can be heard. Promise me you’ll do the same thing!
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16 Comment(s) - Add a comment
Bad Mix
In my dog park we have strict no food, no drink, no toys, no kids under ten rules. We have it because of problems we had exactly like you said. The dog park is the only place for dogs. Eat or bring your kids someplace else
Rules Rules
No one listens to the rules in parks anyway.
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My run in NJ has a bunch of walkers each with alot of dogs. Too many dogs to handle. How can you watch each dog or even make sure you are picking up after each dog? I have stopped going to my park because of this when they are there. Too scary for my dog (she is only 30 lbs)
Reply To Dogwalkers in park
We have same issue in our park in NYC with dogwalkers. There was talk of instituting a limit of dogs per person. I agree with limits but at same time understand need to have dogwalker be able to give your dog park time and need of dogwalker to be able to make money by walking multiple dogs. That said, I am against pack walking in that I dont think it is humanly possible to be on the lookout for, say, more than three dogs at once whether in the park or walking on street
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points well taken re food and kids - it IS a place for dogs. and i think that people who are chowing down or bringing children should be clear that they are doing so in a dog run at their own risk with no recourse for blame. and while the large pack situation can be tough - in nyc and i imagine in other urban centers as well, a dogwalker may have to walk more than 3 dogs to still manage to be a dogwalker. should there be a limit, i would think 5 dogs. that being said, i would not want my dog unable to play etc in the park while i'm at work because of any minimal elitist dog limit.
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In a city where it can already be difficult to find dog friendly housing, I hesitate promoting a "dogs are dangerous" attitude but the fact is that all dogs runs should have a sensible age limit (for humans)clearly posted and enforced to prevent possible serious accidents. As for the number of dogs any one person, pro or parent, should be allowed to bring, 3 seems like a reasonable number. I know that is some cases, especially if the dogs aren't very active, one person can keep an eye on a larger pack but considering how much trouble I have at times keeping an eye on my 2, 5 seems a little high. It is unfair to owners, not elitist, if they are afraid to use the dog park due to the fear that dogs there will not be adaquately supervised. The ablitity of one person to make money should not impede the use of public grounds for others. A walker can walk as many dogs as they like, just not in the dog park. IF an owner needs his dog to get some off leash play time, that owner can either find a walker who only handles 3 at a time or take the dog to the park themselves, before and/or after work. Owning a dog is a responsiblity you can't always pay someone else to handle.
REPLY TO DENISE
Our dog park in Florida has a limit per dog. Makes sense. We dont have that many dog walkers anyway though
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Sometimes people bring toddlers to dog parks. I remember one day seeing a squeaking, flailing toddler fall over, and in response at least 4 of the dozens of dogs present pricked up their ears and alerted, as they would to a squirrel. This was "predatory drift" in action -- a process in which dogs apparently respond to certain stimuli by switching from social behavior to predatory behavior. Most often in a group situation, the victim is a small, squeaky dog. I don't want to pile on a "dogs are dangerous" bandwagon, either. But we do people *and* dogs a disservice when we don't recognize that dogs aren't people in fur suits. They process the world in a dog way, not a human way. The toddler's parents picked him up and the moment ended. But it remains my benchmark for Fright at the Dog Park. The kid could have been badly hurt or worse. The dogs involved would have been killed. And I'd bet that would have been an end of off-leash hours in NYC. All because some people don't know, or refuse to recognize, that dogs need to be accepted and respected for what they are and not just serve as a repository of human fantasy. I agree about (human) food not belonging in dog parks; treats, it depends. Certainly nobody should give treats to any dog but their own; otherwise, I go case by case. Is the dog park big and uncrowded, or small, dense and tense? The latter situation + food can get hot and fighty, fast.
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My opinion of dog parks have not changed in 16 years. I do not like dog parks. There may be "rules" posted on the fence, but, who follows them and who enforces them? What if an incident happens. Who is to blame? Who gets corrected? I am America's Dog Whisperer. I travel the country with Janice Wolfe, my business partner, co-author and New Jersey's Dog Whisperer, training people to become dog whisperers. There are thousands of dogs being euthenized for behaviors that can be corrected using my technique and philosophy. In our book, There's Hope! The Four Essentials to a Stable Dog, Janice and I teach Leadership, Walks, Rules, and Good Nutrition. I do not think a dog needs a dog park. I think a dog (canine) needs a walk for this reason: Canines are a roaming species. They have to roam to find food. That is a need of the species. Taking your dog for a walk to "look for food" will do more good than a dog park when trying to rehabilitate a dog with behavioral issues. But what about socializing the dog, you ask? Take the dog everywhere you go and teach him rules while you are out and about. A leader's job is to Protect and Provide. The two P's. Dog parks do just the opposite. They create Excitement. In the canine world, excitement leads to dominant behaviors (jumping,humping,growling,barking,blocking,bumping)and dominance can lead to aggression. Just think about your own dogs when you come into your house. What do they do? That is excitement/dominance if your dog is unstable. Dog's do not get "happy", they get excited and then dominant. Now I am only speaking of those dog who are 'out of control'. If you have a "good dog" then congratulations. Go do whatever you want. I only work with dogs who have behavioral issues. Fear, aggression, out of control, leash skiing, etc. What about exercising my dog, you ask? None of us dog owners can out exercise our dogs, but we can all walk them. (ok, some of us can) I do not walk my dogs for exercise, although they do get it while walking. Humans think dogs need "playtime". Would you put you child in a daycare center that had "out of control" kids and teachers at it? Although your dog may be good, someone elses dog may not be. And don't even get me started about kids at a dog park. People don't take dogs to kid parks. If everyone and every dog were stable, then dog parks would be a fun place. However, after 16 years of whispering and rehabilitating thousands of dogs, until we can all just get along, stay away from dog parks. Join us on Paltalk.com every sunday 8 pm est and learn more about changing your dog's behavior. It's not hard, just different!
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I totally agree about limiting dog walkers with the number of dogs--3 should be the maximum!
In response to "Rules Rules"
It's true people turn off their ability to read when they get out of the office, but it shouldn't be the case. The rules are there for a reason; I hate when people ignore them wholesale just because they don't feel like reading. The dog park I go to has a reputation for being rough, and it was also the first in the city to be divided into big-dog and small-dog areas. Although there is a weight limit for the small run and also a rule that large-breed puppies in the small-dog run, those are easily the most-ignored rules. Depending on the size of the puppy, I will break it to the owner that there is a huge other run for their dog to play. I feed my dog a special diet, and I get incensed when a stranger gives him a strange treat--no matter how much he wants it. Often I've asked the person in question what they just fed my dog, and they might mutter, "Bil-Jac." I understand that some people might bring training treats in the run, but it's not right for them to be showering their dogs with treats, nor is it right to hand them out to other dogs; some dogs have allergies and some are on restricted diets. For that matter, I don't like people to give treats directly to my dog (he was found as a stray and has issues) so I prefer that they give the treat to me first. Is that so unreasonable?
my thoughts
Rules should be strict because, let's face it, most people dont have an ounce of commonsense. If my dog hurt a child I would not feel better knowing I was in the right because they bring a dog at their own risk. I dont want the child to get hurt regardless if his parents lack the commonsense to not bring children in the run. Too many dogs per person is also bad - bad because if something happens you cannot be on top of all your dogs and bad because it is likely you are going to miss a poop. Food in the run I dont like whether treats or not. Plenty of dogs go crazy around food provoking fights, learn to beg by watching other dogs beg, etc. Like Fallopia (nice name : ) I like to feed my dog a special diet and dont want him given whatever other food someone might bring in. Come on people it is not so hard. Bring your dog who plays well, stay on top of your dog and that's that.
"People don't take dogs to kid
Thank you; my point exactly.
DOG WALKERS. Listen up!
Who is walking who? Are you a leash skier? I've seen people on TV who are able to roller blade with multiple dogs. Great! How does that help me and my "ski boat"? Little dog, big dog, it should not matter. If you are having problems walking a dog, then THERE'S HOPE! I am able to walk 8 Bernese Mountain Dogs at once. You can't walk your toy poodle! What's up with that? It's all about our energy and purpose of the walk. If we go out the door first, and we walk in front of the dog, then that makes us the leader. The dog will pick up on your energy and "follow you". You should not be thinking about your dog while walking and for goodness sake don't be looking down at your dog while walking. You city folk will run into a pole and knock yourselves out! Your energy should be out on the horizon looking for food. (oh, that again). If your dog senses you are not in control, he will be. Leader/follower. It's that simple. What are you. Just pick your head up, stick your chest out and start walking. You are going somewhere and your dog is following. You are taking your dog with you where you are going, not taking your dog where he wants to go. The main reason for pulling dogs is the position of the leash. If you use a standard collar and leash, the collar lies on the base of the dog's neck. This is the strongest part of the dogs neck. He can put his head down and GOOOOOOOOOOO! If you put a slip leash up by his ears, and relax the leash, the dog will follow. For big dogs and small people, I recommend Gentle Leaders. They work on every dog. Now what about those dog walkers who are tangled up in leashes. Looks like he walked through cob webs. Legs and arms flailing. Those dogs are out of control. The walker is not the leader. Those dogs are unstable because the walker is unstable. Learn how to walk your dog properly by reading There's Hope! The Four Essentials to a Stable Dog by Mark German, America's Dog Whisperer and Janice Wolfe, New Jersey's Dog Whisperer. Available at www.americasdogwhispererinc.com
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I keep an eye on my dog on the dog park. Everyone should do the same, but most people are busy on their ipods, yacking to friends or on the phone. Given this, we definitely dont need more potential for problems with kids, food, and even toys. Also, as for users who say dog parks are bad. I live in the city and i dont have any other place to exercise my dog. What do i suggest i do? Walking blocks and blocks does not tire her out and running on concrete is not good.
Lax1 We are all too busy
In my book, There's Hope! I teach The Four Essentials to a Stable Dog. Leadership, WALKS, rules, and good nutrition. If you would only take your dog on a proper walk, the proper way, for the proper reason, you won't need to EXERCISE your dog. None of us can out exercise our dogs. Who's got time to roller blade? Walking your dog at your side (with a Gentle Leader if needed) for as long as you have time for, then going home, letting him rest, then FEED him. This provides the need to roam and hunt that dog parks do not provide. Dog parks only provide excitement. This will help with a lot of his issues. Stay calm while walking and do not talk or look at your dog. You are the leader looking for food (Providing) and looking for danger (Protecting). That is a pack leaders job. You can always contact NJDogWhisperer@aol.com for help and HOPE!