On the flipside of the issue, what’s with people who bring infants to places they know dogs will be unleashed?
I know the OP is a people park, but I often take my German Shephards to a dog park in town which is designed for them to be unleashed. I’m often nervous when small children are allowed to roam around inside the fenced area. I can remember a sense of anxiety over a baby in a baby carriage being rolled through the place. I watched my dogs run up to the carriage and sniff the baby(They were about a hundred feet away), and I’m just standing there thinking, ‘God I hope Abby doesn’t eat the baby.’
Not that my dogs are violent, but Abby is sort of, well, fat, and she eats stuff that might not be considered ‘food’ by most animals. Babies tending to smell like whatever they’ve eaten in the past few hours, it made me nervous. Turned out ok though, very proud of Abby for making the right choice not to eat the baby’s head.
Anywho, leash your dogs in the people park, and leash your kids in the dog park.
WOW!! When you are ready to patent your splendiferous, 100% fool-proof, miracle dog-training method, please let me know. I wanna buy in!! :roll eyes:
On second thought, scratch that. I wouldn’t want to be involved in a project that required SURGICAL IMPLANTATION OF ELECTRODES INTO A DOG’S BRAIN SO THAT IT WILL DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT IT TO DO ALL DAY EVERY DAY!!! (And that way, you can discipline it from 1000 feet away, too.)
I’m sorry if that sounds snarky. Dogs can, will, and do get distracted, no matter how well you train them. Here’s my list:
A dog following a tasty-four legged morsel (be it cat, squirrel, etc.) is likely to follow it across a road - no matter HOW LOUDLY you call it back.
Maybe the person is tempting your dog with food? (I’ve seen it done.) Or calling to it in order to allow their child to pet it? Or inviting it to play?
A dog that runs away from a fight is going to get attacked from behind. And what do you do when the OTHER dog follows your dog, and decided to take a bite out of you? Kick it and piss it off? Run away (showing fear and getting you bitten in the calf)?
Not to mention the fact that there are psychos out there like this one who will gladly shoot your dog for you. What’s more cruel: exposing your (non-existant) dog to unnecessary dangers, or keeping his well-being in mind?
We had a dog when I was a kid. We lived near the end of a 2-block long street that dead-ended into an empty field. Our dog (a Siberian Husky) was always outside (except in extreme weather conditions). My dad took him for very long off-leash walks ever day in the empty field. The neighbors, who owned Kody’s parents, walked their dogs at a different time of day to keep clashes down to a minimum. I’ve never seen a better trained dog in my life. We are talking about a breed with some really, really strong pack instincts, and my dad was the Alpha. And Kody ran into the street, chased after animals (caught a couple), got into fights (mucho dinero on a couple of occasions), and fathered Og-knows-how-many litters of pups (my dad could never stand to have him neutered). He got hit by a van once, too. People were usually afraid of him, and therefore wouldn’t approach him (“Is that a wolf [pronounced “wuff”]?”
No matter how good your intentions are, dogs are dogs. They have instincts, impulses, and personalities.
I have a dear friend who is a vet, and I used to help her out at the emergency clinic. One evening an idiot brought in a darling 3 month old pup and said she wanted it put down because “it’s sick”. My friend patiently told her that it had corona virus (never vaccinated, of course) and could be treated. The “lady” said she didn’t care, and didn’t want it. To make a long story short, I took Hector home and he was the gentlest dog ever created. As much as I hate to admit it, he was painfully unattractive. People would stop us on the street and I could see them searching for the right words, “Um…uh…just what KIND of dog is ummm…THAT?” He would win them over within 3 seconds.
I tell that story to tell this: Because he was so…unusual…people wanted to touch him. The polite ones would first say, “Does he bite?” My friend the vet advised me to respond, “He has never bitten anyone YET, but he does have teeth”.
Dogs are DOGS first, and companions second. I don’t care how well someone trains their dog, disaster is only around the corner. You’d be amazed at how a 35 lb. dog can win a fight against a full-grown man.
Sure. The secret method is love, patience, and lots of time spent. Particularly once a dog is trained to C.D.X(even if I don’t get them ceritified I train them to that level except for the fetching. Collies really don’t see the point in fetching, and it is hard to train them to do it). Actually teaching them to go through the parts where they do work away from you at the park while other dogs are running around having fun really set the obedience in their mind.
I took a quick look around at a couple parks the last couple days, and people and dogs are running around having fun everywhere. I guess I’ll just be happy to live in Denver where people don’t freak out about dogs.
:rolleyes: