Dog Park Etiquette

In My Humble Opinion
1

Sailboat brought up a thought in this thread, and I wanted to expand upon it:

[QUOTE=Sailboat]
Dog parks.

Our local off-leash dog park has a sign in front stating the rules…and then, because they know people won’t read it, another one on the gate itself. Prominent among these rules is NO children under the age of 8. It is roundly ignored by a certain subset of parents – presumably, those with children under the age of 8.

Rambunctious dogs can mix with children under the right supervision; large crowds of rambunctious dogs, many of them present at the park because they were “acting up” and need to blow off steam,do NOT mix with young children, especially the little toddlers with questionable balance and paper-thin skin. Kids are going to get intimidated, jumped on, or knocked down. If they flee or cry they may attract attention from whole packs of dogs, and even innocent concern from a whole pack of panting dogs will scare a small child.

One time I saw a lady sitting on a bench inside the dog park nursing an infant (under a towel). Dogs started to realize she was doing something unusual with a small critter, and they gathered around the bench, gazing at the baby with intense interest. She became increasingly nervous as the circle of dogs grew.

The rule is clear, clearly marked, and it’s there for a sensible reason. But because the dog park is entirely fenced, it looks like a good place to let little kids run around – they can’t get into traffic even if Mommy is playing Farmville on the iPhone. It’s almost an attractive nuisance.
[/quote]

I’ve been to a few different dog parks, and all of them have slightly different rules, but mostly they tend to have the same ideas:[ol]
[li]Two separate areas for big dogs and little dogs (30-40 lbs is common as the guideline)[/li][li]Be sure to watch your dog while the dogs are at play[/li][li]Don’t bring your dog if it is “in heat”[/li][li]Don’t bring small children into the big dog park, especially not if you’re not going to watch them[/li][li]Don’t feed other people’s dogs (this sometimes extends to “don’t bring in food to the park”)[/li][li]Close the gates so the dogs don’t get out[/li][li]Keep up to date with your dog’s shots and make sure they are wearing their rabies tags[/li][/ol]
After taking my dogs there for several months, we’d occasionally have a few incidents in which violations of these norms took place, and it was handled by the regulars with a reminder to the violator about the rules and why they are in place. One was with a lady who brought dog treats to the park and was feeding other people’s dogs*, and the other was with a family sans dog who brought a small child and a kid’s fast food meal inside the park**. My dogs are in the 60-65 lb range, so we are talking about the “big dog” section of the dog park in both cases. If I had a dog closer to the 30 lb limit, I would be more likely to use the big dog park, if only for the fact that our local little dog owners at the dog park tend to pick fights with each other and not look after their dogs.

*The reasoning behind this is that you never know whose dog is going to be food aggressive or allergic to something in the food you’re handing out, and this is a VERY litigious area. People have been known to sue for things that could have been solved with a conversation about the issue, and you never know who is likely to play the lawsuit game.

**This would not have been okay if they had brought a dog, but the fact of the matter is that this is a regular park with a large fenced-in dog park area. There are a ton of places where people with food can sit outside of the dog park and watch the dogs play, and when there are two parents, a dog and a child with food, one parent can escort the child to a place where they can eat undisturbed while the other parent escorts the dog to the park for play time. This will avoid the issue of the dogs harassing the child for food, the child being interrupted while eating, and the owners and parents being equally upset about the disruption between child and dogs.
What are the norms for your local dog park, and how often do you see people violating those rules? How many of those rules are official, and how many are unspoken common norms? Our local park doesn’t have much of a list posted up front, but all the regulars can tell you what is appropriate and not appropriate to do with your dog in the park, and they will let you know in the friendliest manner possible when you’re new.

2

The big one here: Clean up your dog’s waste!

The official dog parks (like the BARCs parks around here) have rules similar to yours except I haven’t noticed the child age restriction. There are also several unofficial dog parks that don’t have posted rules (since they’re not official parks) but sort of operate under the “don’t be a jerk and don’t bring a dog who’s a jerk” rules.

You can complain about rule violations in the official parks. For the unofficial parks, breaches of etiquette are met with severe social disapproval and people telling you “we don’t do that here”.

3

I went to the dog park about four times. It had about the same basic rule set as the one listed by nashiitashii. Trogdor loved it and generally had a good time, but inattentive owners combined with the the fact that he is a pitbull led me to stop going there. The first three times were grand he ran and frolicked did laps and got his lovings from random strangers. He got to play with a Dane so big that Trogdor could literally run underneath him. He tends to play rougher then some other dogs so I made sure to keep a close eye on him to make sure his play didn’t make other’s nervous. The fourth time was the time I decided maybe dog parks weren’t for us. There was a littler dog in the big guy area, looked like a Jack Russel to me that appeared to have some aggression issues. When we first got to the park he snarled and snapped at another dog at the water area. The owners didn’t do anything about it and the day continued. Later Trogdor was wrestling with a big lab, and began to hump him. I saw this happen and headed over there to scold Trogdor and pull him off. On the way I’m passed by the Jack who snarls and jumps at the Labs face. Instantly the other dogs sense a fracas and come running. I wade in and pull Trogdor away from the other dogs and make him sit. Most of the other dogs scurry away and the Jack wanders away and starts a fight by the picnic tables. I still have Trogdor’s collar and am scolding him when one of the stragglers tries to hump him. I pull the other dog off but he precedes to attempt to mount my dog around 4-5 more times. I’m pretty upset at this point because either this dogs owner is paying zero attention or does not care that his dog is repeatedly trying to mount my dog. I clipped Trogdor’s leash on him and we left the park.

It really is a minor altercation that had no repercussions but it worried me for three reasons.

  1. That people would bring such an obviously aggressive dog to the park. In the half hour or so I was there the Jack showed three separate issues of unacceptable aggression.
  2. Some of the other owners appeared to pay zero attention to their dogs. A halfway sentient human being should have seen that their dog was trying to mount mine repeatedly and attempted to intervene.
  3. Trogdor’s breed and the connotations associated with it. The incident was triggered by Trogdors humping of the other dog. I’m not blind to my dogs faults and his humping of another dog is what set the Jack off. While I quickly intervened, if he had responded to the Jack’s escalation or even two separate dogs had started to fight, I believe that he would have been disproportionately blamed.
4

I once tried to take my dogs to the dog park in our area. I had my 6mos old pitbull puppy and my 10 yrs old lab/border collie cross. From my house I have to walk to the park and walk the length of the fenced area to get to the gates. No sooner had we reached the fence when this border collie started charging the fence line barking and snarling at my dogs. We tried to keep walking and ignore him but he continue. My older dog was like “what’s up with this jerk” and my pup was scared and kept trying to back/run away from the area.

I saw a couple of men standing in the park by the gate talking. One of the sort of called to his dog (the psycho border collie) come to him and stop barking. The dog ignored the owner completely. We waited a little bit to see if the man would actually control his dog. Meanwhile my puppy has made himself part of the sidewalk and is shaking in fear. The man never even looked around again. We just turned around and went home. We haven’t even tried to go back.

5

We have a pit-boxer mix (at least that’s what we think she is-- on paper, she’s a boxer mix, but she’s a mutt) that people love to run away shrieking from-- thing is, she’s the sweetest dog I have ever owned and is not only non-aggressive, but pretty submissive with other dogs. However, apparently the combination of size and stripes makes her the scariest dog on earth for a lot of folks, including other big dog owners. The other dog’s biggest problem is that she digs in the water bowl, so I spend a good deal of my time at the park refilling it after she’s dug all the water out. By paying attention to my dogs and getting a handful of dog poop bags on the way in, I’m able to prevent a lot of the “annoying owner” issues before they start.

I’ve noticed that some folks’ dogs like to bark at other dogs when they’re on the other side of the fence, but are super friendly once the dog is inside. If you are willing to try again and can get your dog past the hurdle of the barking dog near the entrance, take them there and pay attention to behavior. Wrestling, chase games and a little bit of happy barking is completely normal behavior for dogs in groups.

6

The only posted rules at the dog parks I go to (which are signed for off leash) is that off leash is allowed and to pick up waste.

The big park (it’s massive place, with several miles of walking trails, a cricket pitch, playgrounds, wetlands, cafe, etc.) is signed that it’s off leash 24/7, and that dogs are not allowed in the wetlands or in the semi-fenced off playgrounds. The unspoken rule there is that dogs are allowed at the outdoor cafe if they behave themselves, but the owner should take their dog and their coffee away from the seating areas if they are not. Owners will be told off by others, and also other owners will tell off people who do not pick up waste. There are bins about every 500m with bags for this, so there’s no excuse at all. Walkers, runners and bicyclists are respected, but really they all know that there are dogs and need to behave accordingly. There’s also strong social disapproval for aggressive dogs - if your dog behaves that way you’re expected to leash it and take it away, either to an unused area of the park or home. Of course the council will enforce the no dogs in the wetlands rule - there are reclaimed wetlands with native birds and plants in the middle of the park - but the dog owners also are not shy to tell people to get their dog out of there.

The tiny park at the end of my street, it’s pick up waste and watch your dog. If your big dog is playing rough with a little dog, either leash it or take it home.

The local ‘dog mafia’ is pretty good - we know and look out for each other’s pets and houses (so if we know Jane is out of town, we keep an eye on her house.) I haven’t really seen much in the way of problems. We’re lucky in our inner urban area to have so much space with the big park so close by.

7

Add 30 pounds and change the coloring a little and that could be my dog. We really tried to socialize him at dog parks for the first couple of years. At least once a week we’d take him and give him a half hour or so of running around and butt sniffing. Our biggest problem was getting into the park. Whenever a new dog came in the other dogs would crowd around the gate, pushing and sniffing, and my dog just couldn’t put up with that. It got to the point that he started snarling at the worst offenders and we just had to quit going.

Also, some dogs will display other aggressive behavior, like pushing with shoulders or trying to stand with put their head over my dog’s neck, that he just couldn’t accept. We might get into the park without incident and then some big dog would try to casually drape itself over my dog, he would get upset, snarl and try do it back and angry words would be exchanged. I know my dog is overly sensitive to this stuff and, frankly, he is kind of a jerk, but the clueless owners of the big dog just couldn’t understand that their dog was being aggressive.

8

Our local dog park has a pretty good set of rules, IMHO. You have to register to use the park and prove your dog is up to date on vaccines and spayed/neutered. I have seen some unneutered males, but they were under 6 months of age. Once registered, you get a key card for access. They have a double door system where you enter one set of gates, take you dog off lead and then enter the second set of gates to either the big dog area or small dog area.

The frequent users of the park police it pretty well. Everyone was so glad to have a place where we could take dogs and let them play safely off-lead that people whose dogs are ill behaved are asked not to come back. Most people are pretty good, occasionally you get someone who is clueless and they need to be told that people follow the rules around here to the letter.

No small kids, pick up your poop, no food, pay attention to your dog.

9

My township’s dog park has run of the mill rules, which you have to agree to when you buy your keyfob. Because you have to pay, show papers, and agree to the rules, we tend to get more responsible owners.

10

The dog parks I’ve been to usually have a minimum age, and I’ve not seen one that lets 6 mo old puppies in. Also, some dogs are fence- or leash-aggressive, and instantly calm down once that barrier is removed.

11

None of that is a sign of dog aggression. Except how your dog was acting, of course. A dog that “casually drapes” itself over another dog without growling or snapping isn’t displaying aggression. It’s dominant behavior, at best, and without an intent to harm, which I don’t get from your post, they’re not being remotely aggressive.

12

Agreed. If there’s not snarling or biting, it’s not aggression - just dogs trying to figure out who gets to be in charge (dominant). Sounds like shiftless’s dog wasn’t winning that battle, and acted out because he didn’t get his way. At our pay-to-play dog park, we usually let the dogs hash out any non-major disagreements. Dog World is a complex system of quickly assigning the pecking order, and in an environment where new members are constantly being introduced and removed, the dogs are the best ones around to figure things out (aside from a brawl, of course).

13

We don’t have specified dog parks here, but those rules sound sensible.

How do people cope if they have a big dog and a small dog, though? Are there any areas where they can take both? Bet it’s difficult to tell sometimes which park the dog should be in too, unless there’s a weight guide.

14

We have the standard type rules, too.

I have a big dog and two small dogs. It’s the little ones that are kinda snippy about other dogs trying to sniff them, though. I can’t be in two places at once, so the little ones hang out with me while I throw the ball for Lucy (the Labrador) and watch her swim in the big dog park.

There are always the regulars there, who pretty much “police” the area for people who aren’t watching their dogs, or enforcing the ‘unspoken’ aggression rules.

I love my dog park, except for the people who don’t pick up poop!

15

None of the parks around here are split into large and small. If I had one of each, I’d just take them to the big section - the small one at this point would have figured out how to deal with bigger dogs.

I wish that were more of a default. When I used to take Tilly (medium-sized, 45 lb) to a new daycare, they’d test run her with the small dogs. She doesn’t interact with small dogs much - just some nuzzling to satiate her old mothering instincts. She thrives running with the big dogs.

16

You can call it dominant behavior instead of aggressive behavior if you want but it boils down to the same thing. How is it any different from my dog snarling except that the owners of the “dominant behavior” dog are completely oblivious to it because they can’t hear anything from the bench where they are enjoying their latte? Yeah, my dog is a jerk, I know it. He doesn’t like being dominated by a bigger random dog and says so out loud. That’s why we don’t go to dog parks anymore. The “dominant behavior” dog owners are perfectly happy until they hear a sound directed at their sweet 120 pound dog.

17

IME, if you have a little dog and a big dog, the little dog is more than welcome to hang out with other big dogs, as it knows how big dogs play. Big dogs are generally not welcome in little dog park sections, at least not in any of the ones I’ve been in with one exception-- Tom Brown dog park in Tallahassee’s little dog owners were fine with one or two well-behaved big dogs in the little dog park when it was Pug Sunday.

Shiftless, there are always going to be people who freak out over normal dog behavior, especially if it’s a dog that “looks like a pit bull”. There are stupid people in every group, so there you go. :wink: Sometimes explaining to them that the dogs have to work it out and that they shouldn’t be so concerned until it becomes an actual fight will help–a guide like this may help. Additionally, be extra aware of the body language of both your dog and the other dog-- if neither has a wagging tail or other signs of play going on, then is the time to get involved, but continually interrupting their attempts at figuring out pack ranking is going to increase the incidence of behavior that the other owners react poorly toward.

18

100% false. If you don’t understand the difference between dominant behavior and aggressive behavior, I have a pretty good idea how your dog got to be the asshole he is.

19

Many years ago in my previous house my dog escaped from our fenced in yard (I should pit meter readers for this), and got picked up by the neighboring city’s dog catcher. The officer told me that they’d received calls of a roaming pit bull on the loose. My dog is a whippet mix. :smack:

20

I used to live about a mile from this park;

http://www.alimagnetdogpark.org/packrules.php