Yet Another Dog Park No No

Why do people assume that all dogs will get on together? After all, you don’t like everyone you meet, do you? Here’s another example of foolish pet-parent behavior at the dog park.

There were just a handful of us at the park with our pooches when along came two women with three large dogs. They opened the gate, released the hounds and sauntered back to their car to get water, etc. As it happens, the dogs were well-mannered and well-adjusted but none of us knew that and the two women didn’t know our dogs. I’ve seen too many incidents where dogs I’ve known as docile and friendly can suddenly become aggressive if they feel threatened.

In this instance the smart thing would have been for one of the women to stay with the dogs and the other to fetch their “stuff”. If you’re on your own and juggling dogs with all their accoutrements, then bring the things in to the park first. Just leave them inside the gate and you’ll be able to give all your attention to your pups. But NEVER leave them alone, not even for a few moments.

Here are some other things to watch out for at the dog park.

“Dogs are great. Bad dogs, if you can really call them that, are perhaps the greatest of them all.” ~ John Grogan (Marley & Me: Love and Life with the World’s Worst Dog)

Pick It Up, People!

It’s happened again! For the umpteenth time at the dog park I stepped in someone else’s doggie-do.

This isn’t exactly a tasteful topic but I need to vent. There’s simply no good reason to have to navigate the park as if you were tiptoeing through a minefield. Though we all miss noticing our pets’ deposits at times the primary problem is that too many people simply don’t watch their hounds, or deliberately refuse to pick up the messes.

Seriously, picking up the poop is not only polite, it’s the healthy and hygienic thing to do (see “Health Risks“). And it’s not only you but your hound that risks stepping in the stuff and stinking up your car and your house.

So, when at the park:

1. Watch your dog! You’re there for Rover’s sake, not for you to have a gossip-fest with the other owners.

2. Come prepared. Though many parks supply pick-up bags you should always have extras with you, just in case.

3. Making a habit of picking up your pooch’s “business” is a good way to help keep track of his health. (Does he have worms, diarrhea, blood, etc.).

“Take your stinkin’ paws off me you damn dirty dog” ~ Stewie, the Family Guy

Danger In The Dog Park

It’s tough enough to keep a careful eye on your pets at the park; don’t let them bug other dogs or owners, watch out for them around unruly hounds, be diligent about poop scoop duty. And I’ve written before about other risks that can confront the unsuspecting pet parent. Well now, it seems, we must develop some proficiency in the art of self-defense in order to protect life, limb and hound. No, I’m not talking about fending off dangerous dogs, but their rabid owners. Here’s what I’m talking about.

Twice in a matter of days recently I’ve had seriously unpleasant altercations with freaked-out owners at the dog park. The latter incident was so disturbing that I immediately went out and got myself a super dooper pepper shooter under the assumption that armed would make me equally as dangerous (only in a defensive way, of course) as the freak who was threatening me.

The first occurrence was relatively minor. A whacky woman with two rough and tough Staffordshire Bull Terriers (and I love the breed but they’re powerful animals and need a firm hand) was in an argument with a guy because her dogs had been getting aggressive with the guy’s pooch. Actually, the guy was being extremely pleasant and patient while whacko-woman was yelling that it was his fault because he should have had his dog on a lead (I didn’t say there was any logic in her argument). Anyway, I’d been keeping my distance but as Whacko departed the park she decided to exude venom on me. Next thing I know she’s a shrieking wildcat spewing invective and telling me she’s going to beat the c–p out of me! Not caring to deal with c–p beating or the woman’s verbal c–p I decided the prudent thing was to walk away.

The second incident was decidedly more unnerving. There’s a guy who frequently brings his abundantly bouncy, always disruptive, extremely annoying and totally-out-of-control dog to the park. In spite of that, I don’t dislike the dog! He’s happy, good-natured and it’s not his fault that his owner can’t handle him. The owner, however, is a different breed of animal altogether. There’s something wrong with him – seriously, there is!

Usually this guy takes his hound into the small dog park where he walks around for 10 minutes muttering to himself then, long before the poor dog has had a chance to run off steam, he leaves. On the morning in question the small park was occupied with, well, small dogs. So bouncy Bucky and his odd owner had to run with the big boys.

There were three of us with our pets in the park at the time and as soon as Bucky entered he was all over all of us, nearly knocking down one woman who is pregnant. I figured I’d get out of the way and take my canines to the other end of the park. Bucky, of course, decided to bound along with us, exuberantly jumping at me, terrifying my toy poodle, Coco, who was squealing at the top of her lungs as I kept pulling Bucky off her and forcing me to carry her in an effort to keep her out of the caroming canine’s way.

Throughout all of this, the owner kept his distance and totally ignored the fracas, which is what annoyed me most of all.

Eventually, Bucky turned his attention to Angel and that was fine with me as she obligingly played chase with him. Then the dynamics changed.

Angel and Bucky started wrestling. ‘Though the dogs were well-matched, I called Angel away. (I’m always mindful that some owners get panicky at any seemingly rough play). Not surprisingly, Bucky immediately jumped on Angel again, so again I called her away. Ditto Bucky’s reaction. Suddenly, bellowed across the park, I hear “Angel’s going to get a pounding”. From out of his cocoon of inattention, here comes the owner from hell.

I thought I must have misheard and muttered a startled, “Excuse me?”, at which point Super Freak stuck his face in my space and screeched “Angel’s going to get a pounding. Do you hear me?”. Considering my deaf granny could have heard him a mile away above a roaring freight train it seemed sensible to respond with a simple “Yes” and try and initiate a reasonable discourse at a more comfortable decibel level. Well, that didn’t get beyond about three words before the situation accelerated into a verbal cacophony of abuse and threats to my dog and to me.

I have to tell you, at this point I wasn’t scared, I was way too angry. But I looked into SF’s eyes (they were, after all, only about six inches from mine), saw dilated pupils, then noticed dried food around his mouth (yeah, it was pretty gross) and realized I was facing either alcoholic or drug-induced and barely pent-up rage, and I didn’t want to be the final trigger that would set it loose. So I remained passive and tried to ease myself away and head to the exit. Of course, Super Freak followed me, shrieking all the time, but then took Bucky and left the park ahead of me.

It took a while for my own anger to subside and, you know, it was only then that I began to realize how dangerously volatile the situation had been and to consider how easily things could get out of hand another time. I’m a 55-year-old woman with, sometimes, debilitating health issues. The only threat my pooches could pose to another human being is licking them to death. And it’s not unusual for me to be alone with my dogs at the park. That makes me pretty vulnerable!

So that’s when I decided to empower myself with a weapon. I may not be lethal but I can certainly inflict damage, and will, if necessary.

It turns out I’m not the only one Super Freak has threatened and there have been other problems with him at the park in the past couple of days, so it seems that his condition could be escalating. But now I’m wondering, is this a sign of the times? Are these weirdos actually people who have lost their jobs, their homes……? Are more people going to be “losing it” and posing a threat to others? Certainly, I’m being more cautious and trying to be more aware in my every day dealings with people, though it’s their pets I really feel badly for. I mean, what about Bucky? Is he going to take the brunt of his owner’s ire one of these days? He got loose from SF a couple of days ago, so I’m told. When SF finally got hold of him he hurled him roughly into the car. He hasn’t been seen since so who knows if Bucky is OK.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not uncaring about the dire circumstances some people are finding themselves in these days. However, that’s absolutely no excuse for inflicting harm on anyone else or on any pets.

“There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher animals in their mental faculties… The lower animals, like man, manifestly feel pleasure and pain, happiness and misery” ~ Charles Darwin

Order In The Dog Park

I love the dog park! For an all-be-it unwilling suburbanite like me it can be a godsend. My alternatives are pounding the pavement while choking down exhaust fumes, driving miles to reach an area that at least has pretensions of being countryside, or confining my canines to the backyard. However, there are also some definite drawbacks to the park, not least of which is ….

The Old Maid Owner. This guy hovers over his pet in a perpetual state of nervous anxiety that Fifi will do something he thinks she shouldn’t do or that another dog will do something nasty to Fifi. His over-protectiveness is usually accompanied by a steady spate of instruction that his pet doesn’t remotely understand. “Fifi, you shouldn’t do that.” “Fifi, leave that alone.” “Don’t worry, Fifi. Daddy will chase that nasty dog away.” “You mustn’t drink that water, precious. It’s dirty.” The problem here, of course, is that the owner’s nervous tension transfers to his pet who becomes more and more hyper herself.

The See-Nothing, Do-Nothing Owner. There are plenty of these at my regular dog park. They seem to think that the park is a place for them to socialize, and while they gossip together in their little group they’re completely oblivious to the fact that their hound just pooped a mountain, or is tormenting Fifi, or leaping on other unsuspecting owners, or digging a hole to China in the walkway. What’s worse, however nicely you try and bring these problems to their attention, they close ranks tighter than a duck’s ass and rudely dismiss you.

The Steeped-In-Denial Owner. There’s a woman whose newfoundland has been in several fights. The dog is definitely dominant-aggressive and the owner is definitely passive-obtuse. A recent altercation ended with a labrador needing 18 stitches and a court case ensuing. I’ve come across this woman with her dogs on two occasions since and, both times, there have been problems involving this same dog, yet she still insists that it his not her canine’s fault. She even proclaimed on one of these occasions that my dog, Angel, was really happy to see the newfie. In fact, Angel was in more of a submissive panic mode because the dog had once attacked her, so she clung to my side like glue.

Without mincing words I’ve given this woman my opinion that her lack of control over her pet is a serious hazard and, if she insists on bringing her dog into the park, the animal should be muzzled. I might as well tiptoe through the tulips for all the good it did.

The Panic Attack. Then there are the owners who completely freak out. Here’s an example. A very large and very bouncy (but friendly) Rottweiler puppy basically sat on another dog (mid-sized) in play. Who knows why, but the dog’s owner lost it and started shrieking at the puppy, waving her arms in the air and zipping around like a whirling dervish. Not surprisingly, the commotion got the attention of every other dog in the park and they all came running to get involved in the fray, which escalated into total bedlum and the poor rotty puppy got hurt. Not too badly, but this was a situation that should never have happened. And, I have to add this, it seems that women are far more likely to react this way than men.

You might have noticed by now that all my criticisms are directed at the pet parents and not their pets. I’m firmly of the belief that it’s a very rare occurrence to have a bad dog and that blame for a dog’s bad behavior lands firmly at the feet of the owner.

Macho Man (or Woman). Usually it’s men who are guilty of this though, recently, a woman was badly bitten at my park when she committed the cardinal error of stepping into the middle of a dog-fight and reaching down to try and grab her pet. Who knows which dog actually bit her? Not that any of the dogs went after her intentionally. But what do you expect when stick your hand in the middle of a host of snarling snapping fangs? Here’s a tip. If you can’t head off a fight before it starts (learn the signs, if you don’t already know), then walk away. Most fights resolve themselves quickly and, most often, without serious injury. If you absolutely must interfere, then grab the dog’s tail and haul him away. Don’t get in the middle and reach down. More than likely you’ll aggravate the situation and risk a nasty injury yourself.

Health Risks. Any time your dog interacts with others there are health risks other than injury from fights. If your pet is healthy, the likelihood of him catching anything is slim. But don’t take your mutt to the park if he’s not up to par, and keep him away from any dog who looks at all under the weather.

Fleas and ticks can be a problem at some parks. Even if the grounds are treated other dogs bring in the little critters and pass them along. So check your own pup carefully.

The thing that bothers me the most, is dog poop. Not only is it foul-smelling when left lying but it can pose a serious health risk – to your dog and you! Animal waste is one of the most common sources of a number of diseases – coccidia, giardia, hookworms, parvovirus, roundworms, and whipworms. Animal feces can take a year to disintegrate but parasites can remain in the soil for many years. And here’s another thing – the “Fido Hypothesis”, which relates to how your dog’s waste can affect the water we drink. So be sure you have plenty of scooper bags with you at all times!

“If your dog is fat, you’re not getting enough exercise”.  ~Author Unknown