Dog park etiquette
12I took my dog to the dog park today to get her out of the house since I’ve been sick and sleeping most of the day.
At first it was fine. Two dogs there. Another dog showed up that would not quit trying to hump all the dogs. Eventually he zeroed in on my dog. It got to the point where I pulled her away to get water and he followed her and wouldn’t leave her be even when I was pushing him away. Finally the owner came to pull him away when I was looking at a scratch on her nose. She also got a scratch on her belly. I guess the dog needed it’s nails trimmed.
I left frustrated. I felt bad that my dog got hurt. She’s older and she left with a little bit of a limp.
I just don’t get why the owner doesn’t stop the dog from humping constantly.
Would you of said anything to the owner? I just kept telling the dog that she doesn’t like that, especially when the owner came to pull her away. I guess it was kind of passive aggressive.
- 16 comments, 13 replies
- Comment
Yes I prob would have said something.
Unfun. Sorry you two had the experience.
DEFINITELY would have said something. The dog park is not a doggie singles bar. And you wouldn’t put up with that in a singles bar (I assume!)
How awkward.
Absolutely, it is the owners responsibility to ensure their pet behaves in an acceptable manner. If their dog is acting up or being aggressive with your dog they should be told.
Sorry you had to put up with that!
I’ve been going to the local dog park a lot recently. If a dog is acting really agressive that’s a problem. I wouldn’t count humping as really aggressive. I’ve seen a lot worse and most owners accept humping as standard dog park behavior. And I’ve had people get upset because my dog was just trying to play.
Your best bet is to come back at a different time. That said I would definitely have tried to stop my dog from humping anyone.
Consensus seems to be that the owner hasn’t socialized their dog to behave appropriately around other dogs or at the park. The dog humps because they allow it to happen and the dog learns from the lack of correction that humping is acceptable allowed activity.
The correcting response seems to be to distract the dog with an alternative command (e.g. sit) to stop the behavior.
I correct dogs at the dog park. So I would very loudly yell “OFF” at the dog trying to separate the dogs. When said with authority it usually does the trick or gets the owners attention that their dog needs a correction.
It is important to thoroughly think about a name given to your dog from the humane society. Our dog would occasionally try to hump other dogs. When he would do this I would SCREAM “Jax, OFF”. Consistency with correction is key. Then I would apologize to the other owners by saying that his name is Jax. Then I would say, “And yes, as a matter of fact, I do know Jax sh*t”.
@momojiri LOL you were Jaxing off in the park. That is hilarious.
@momojiri
Oh RD that sucks. I don’t have dogs, just cats but other dog owners at the dog park should know that this is not acceptable, especially when it’s an older dog who could be frail or what not. I hope the scratches on your lady heal up! Not cool.
I don’t have any dogs, just cats, but I would have presumed it is the owner’s responsibility to keep their dog under control. In my opinion that would include controlling that kind of behavior, especially since you kept trying to separate them and your dog got hurt. I would have said something like, “Please keep your dog away from mine. Your dog is hurting my dog”.
Sigh… why are some people such irresponsible, egocentric assholes?
We had an issue where a dog was growling at dogs and doing the “sudden movement attack” the owner seemed focused on the dog that was behaving. I said loudly “let’s make sure our dog stays away from that dog”. This did not work. I put our dog on a leach. When the dog got close again and I had our dog jump up in my arms. The dog lost interest in our dog and went to pick on some other dogs. There were some scrapes, but it was on the other side of the park and we could not see what happened. Eventually, the owner left with the dogs.
We just got a dog park I would say it is as big as a football field or larger. I will use the method above mentioned by @momojiri for anything I see. If an owner left the dog poo, I will announce loudly “stay away from that area while that owner picks up their dog’s poo”.
Honestly, we haven’t been back since the dog growled and attacked our dog.
After this post, we are going back.
Humping is normal but when it is excessive and upsets other dogs it should be addressed. It’s usually a result of over excitement. I feel bad in these situations because the dog is most likely genuinely happy and excited to see your dog and wants to play. It probably hasn’t been exercised enough and hasn’t been shown acceptable ways to dissipate that energy. Socialization helps but that requires a responsible owner.
On that note, I have a dog that we rescued that is nervous and afraid of everything. He responds to this fear with barking and muzzle punching, especially when on the leash. We’ve taken him to training classes and he goes to day care now. He is much better now but is still easily triggered by people who insist on putting their hands into his face or talking to him in a high pitched voice. With this in mind please be careful of how you approach other peoples dogs. If you ignore my dog and maybe throw his ball when I hand it to you then he will be your best friend. If you walk up and shove your hand in his face to “smell” you’re more likely to get bit and I’m not at all likely to care.
/youtube People Acting Like Dogs at a Dog Park
@ybmuG that was great.
@RiotDemon @ybmuG still, even in that video, there was no ‘humping’…
@chienfou @RiotDemon True, though I did come across a few that did, but let’s just say they were not ones I would put in front of this crowd.
@RiotDemon @ybmuG wise choice!
There are no bad dogs, just bad owners.
So many dog owners just dgaf if their dog is causing stress for other dogs or people.
It’s an entitlement thing and many parents (of human children) are guilty of it too. It’s so obnoxious.
I had a friend who was notoriously permissive and lax with his dog’s behavior - if the dog was bothering you, that was your problem - the dog is just being a dog.
One night, a bunch of us were spending the weekend at their vacation home - a condo in a fairly crowded complex.
It was very late and the dog was barking, just to hear it’s own bark echoing off the mountains (like, not rapid barks just one very loud bark every few seconds or so).
The owner was oblivious, just didn’t care.
For awhile, when the dog barked, I’d call it’s name to try to get it to stop, “Rex!”, a few moments of peace, “BARK!”, “Rex!”, etc.
After quite awhile of this, I finally realized who the real problem was, so instead of reprimanding the dog, I switched to the owner… “BARK!”, “John!” … “BARK!” … “JOHN!!”
It never worked, “John” (names were changed to protect the guilty) just didn’t care that there were people 10 yards away who expected to be able to sleep peacefully at 2 o’clock in the morning without being kept awake by an obnoxious owner’s incessantly barking dog.
I don’t currently have a dog, or hang out at the dog park, but if I experienced this kind of thing, before intervening and taking responsibility for correcting someone else’s dog’s behavior, I’d definitely be yelling, “Hey! Whose dog is this?!”
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@DennisG2014 well said
My dog trainer told us to never go to dog parks.
@medz I am curious as to why…
@Kidsandliz can’t trust other dog owners nor how their dogs will behave. She has seen some bad situations, I guess.
@medz makes sense…
@medz Mine told me to definitely go and just stay close. Gotta wear the puppies out.
@medz @sammydog01 a happy dog is a tired dog!
Thanks everyone for their comments. My old lady is fine. The scratches healed. I have taken her back twice basically with 15-20 minutes of light left in the day. The park has been pretty quiet, but there have been a few people there and they’ve had very nice dogs.
I just know better to stay away from the busy times.
@RiotDemon yeah, unfortunately we can hope for people to control their own dogs but it really comes down to the dog owners taking responsibility for keeping their own dogs safe.