Dog park etiquette

[Anonymous]

My dog is three. I started taking her to dog parks as soon as she was vaccinated as a puppy, so she's very comfortable in parks. She's very small, but is good at staying away from bigger dogs who are rowdy, and can stand up for herself if necessary. I've put a lot of effort into socializing and training her. We go for walks and play at home and she goes to day care some days, but she just adores the dog park.

Over the last year or so, the dog parks have become overrun with young people with big dogs that they can't --and don't want to-- control. I nearly got into a fight yesterday with two twenty-something women who were sitting on a bench while their dogs bothered everyone else, and their dogs. One of the dogs kept jumping on me. He was cute and harmless, but very big. It was extremely annoying, and I wasn't able to get him off of me to play with my own dog, who was just standing around hoping I'd throw her a ball. The dog's owner would call out to her dog every few minutes, but he ignored her. A few times, she came over to drag him away and she'd say something to me like "he's an a$$hole" or "he's just a little sh*t", but he'd come back immediately. Basically, these two women just sat there and did nothing while their dogs bothered everyone else, and this one dog bothered me in particular.

Eventually, I walked over to them and said "Look, your dog won't get off of me. Can you please control him?

They just shrugged and said "I dunno", "I dunno what you want me to do."

I suggested they take their dogs for a walk if they couldn't behave in the park, and one of them said "Why don't you and your cat go home, b*tch?"

A few of my friends, and some dog walkers I've spoken to, have confirmed that this has been a problem with the recent explosion in dog ownership. Mostly young people with big dogs, who go to the park to chat or socialize and just let their dogs run wild. I'm not sure what to do. My dog loves the park but I don't want her to get hurt, and I don't want to get into confrontations all the time.

Should I have just left yesterday and not said anything? Should I stop going to parks?

[Anonymous]

Agree, we’ve had the same experience. Though I don’t know that it’s pandemic related, some people are just assholes. We don’t go to the dog park anymore - we have some dogs in the neighborhood and have regular play dates.

[Anonymous]

Obviously the other owners should be more considerate, but ultimately you can only control yourself. Can you go at off hours? Or if your dog is small enough, play on the small dog side?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Obviously the other owners should be more considerate, but ultimately you can only control yourself. Can you go at off hours? Or if your dog is small enough, play on the small dog side?

Yesterday I went at 3:30 PM because I thought it would be better. That used to be a quieter time but maybe it doesn't matter anymore with people WFH.
I should note I'm not in DC. There are some dog parks with small dog areas but none near me. Though the last time I drove her to one of them, the same types of owners were letting their dogs play on the small dog side.
It's frustrating.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes there's a sign on the fence to call if there's a problem with animal behavior - I suspect it's for more extreme situations like aggression and biting though.

[Anonymous]

I find your generalizations to be obnoxious. Young people?

Dog parks aren't a guarantee. If they aren't working for your dog then leave. That's what I do.

No, I would not suggest confrontation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find your generalizations to be obnoxious. Young people?

Dog parks aren't a guarantee. If they aren't working for your dog then leave. That's what I do.

No, I would not suggest confrontation.

Well they are younger people. Mid-twenties, new to the city, new dogs. I'm just stating the facts of the situation. My dog walker spends her whole life in dog parks and says it's like this at all of them.

[Anonymous]

Dog parks in general are ripe with crappy owners or even good ones with dogs that shouldn't be there. In fairness, even a great dog can display unwanted behaviors in that environment. You definitely can't control anyone else, or their dog, so if you see something go down you're uncomfortable with, just leave. And definitely try to go in the off hours, if possible.

[Anonymous]

What a crappy experience. Definitely an uptick in this type of dog owner. And with so many people still working from home, never a quiet time at our dog park anymore either. I used to take my dog off hours, but that’s no longer a thing here either.

[Anonymous]

We don't do dog parks unless they're empty or close to it. Last time I went and there was a lot of dogs my Shih Tzu was in the mouth of a German Shepard.