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Whomever it was that thought up dog parks, where people could bring their dogs to romp and play with each other, should probably be tar and feathered.
It seems like every week there is a thread or two, sometimes more, about dog park incidents.
The county I live in has no less than five dog parks. There have been deaths at all of them. And a great many incidents requiring medical care to humans and dogs have occurred.
The county has set up a volunteer team in charge of patrol and oversight of the dog parks in an effort to reduce issues.
Through my involvement in local dog issues, I was asked for input and to be involved. I declined involvment on the principle that dog parks are a bad idea.
I offered an alternative, to use the parks and allow dog owners to form play groups. Then make an experienced person in the play group captain and another experienced person co captain. The thought process was to group together like minded people and like minded dogs. Then these groups would use the parks together without concern that an odd dog or owner is going stir up the mix. Group dogs by temperament and drive rather than size. That entire idea got shot down. And maybe it was too complicated.
Next they sent me a proposed rule list. The first thing that jumped out at me was that dogs would be required to wear buckle collars. I pointed out that this was dangerous. I was told that the collars were needed to carry identification of the dogs and in case of a fight, to control the dog. I countered that in the case of a fight, grabbing a collar puts a person's hands WAY to close to the action. I was ignored.
Since then there have been three incidents in which a dog got its bottom jaw caught under the collar of another dog in which one or both dogs were injured. Plus two people have been bitten trying to grab a collar to break up a fight.
I know some folks love dog parks and dogs seem to enjoy them as well. But what escapes people is that all dogs are territorial pack driven predators. Given the opportunity dogs like each other and will forms bonds and even friendships if you will. Which is why I suggested play groups. So the dogs could have play and interaction time with other dogs. But throwing random groups of strange dogs together, can be bad. It can be worse than bad. Even when it seems everyone is playing nicely. One thing can happen and set things off. Much of what a lot of folks perceive as play is really sparring and dogs sizing each other up. Which in theory it is not a bad thing. Dogs learn social skills that way. But in a dog park things can constantly change. Every time a dog enters or a dog leaves the entire group is affected. A single dog can change how 20 other dogs are getting along and interacting. The dynamic can change in a second. Far faster than most people can pick up on it and react. Dogs that were getting along fine can start bullying each other. Alliances can change, etc. To make matters worse, the owners usually screw things up even farther. A dog starts getting bullied some and the owner steps in. The bullied dog perceives that its owner is going to protect it, while the bully sees it as disrespect. Things can become unglued in a second.
Then there is the liability. Your dog hurts another dog, you are liable. Hurts a person, you are liable. A dog can end up with a bite record so fast it is not even funny..
The entire phenomenon amazes me.....
It seems like every week there is a thread or two, sometimes more, about dog park incidents.
The county I live in has no less than five dog parks. There have been deaths at all of them. And a great many incidents requiring medical care to humans and dogs have occurred.
The county has set up a volunteer team in charge of patrol and oversight of the dog parks in an effort to reduce issues.
Through my involvement in local dog issues, I was asked for input and to be involved. I declined involvment on the principle that dog parks are a bad idea.
I offered an alternative, to use the parks and allow dog owners to form play groups. Then make an experienced person in the play group captain and another experienced person co captain. The thought process was to group together like minded people and like minded dogs. Then these groups would use the parks together without concern that an odd dog or owner is going stir up the mix. Group dogs by temperament and drive rather than size. That entire idea got shot down. And maybe it was too complicated.
Next they sent me a proposed rule list. The first thing that jumped out at me was that dogs would be required to wear buckle collars. I pointed out that this was dangerous. I was told that the collars were needed to carry identification of the dogs and in case of a fight, to control the dog. I countered that in the case of a fight, grabbing a collar puts a person's hands WAY to close to the action. I was ignored.
Since then there have been three incidents in which a dog got its bottom jaw caught under the collar of another dog in which one or both dogs were injured. Plus two people have been bitten trying to grab a collar to break up a fight.
I know some folks love dog parks and dogs seem to enjoy them as well. But what escapes people is that all dogs are territorial pack driven predators. Given the opportunity dogs like each other and will forms bonds and even friendships if you will. Which is why I suggested play groups. So the dogs could have play and interaction time with other dogs. But throwing random groups of strange dogs together, can be bad. It can be worse than bad. Even when it seems everyone is playing nicely. One thing can happen and set things off. Much of what a lot of folks perceive as play is really sparring and dogs sizing each other up. Which in theory it is not a bad thing. Dogs learn social skills that way. But in a dog park things can constantly change. Every time a dog enters or a dog leaves the entire group is affected. A single dog can change how 20 other dogs are getting along and interacting. The dynamic can change in a second. Far faster than most people can pick up on it and react. Dogs that were getting along fine can start bullying each other. Alliances can change, etc. To make matters worse, the owners usually screw things up even farther. A dog starts getting bullied some and the owner steps in. The bullied dog perceives that its owner is going to protect it, while the bully sees it as disrespect. Things can become unglued in a second.
Then there is the liability. Your dog hurts another dog, you are liable. Hurts a person, you are liable. A dog can end up with a bite record so fast it is not even funny..
The entire phenomenon amazes me.....