s/o - Dogs off-leash in public park near little kids - What would you do?

[Anonymous]

We like to take our 2.5-year-old DS to a nearby county park, which has both playground equipment for toddlers and little kids and also nearby ball fields for older children. Dog owners frequently let their pets off-leash in the ballfield part of the park to run around, chase balls, play with other dogs, etc. Sometimes those unleashed dogs wander down to the playground part of the park, and sometimes DS (and other children) want to spend time up on the ball field part of the park (running around, kicking a ball, etc.). For the most part things seem fine, but every now and then off leash dogs will fight one another, or come up and nose around or jump on the little kids. In these cases, the dog's owner usually lamely calls over, "Don't worry, he's friendly......). DS is fascinated by dogs but also scared of them. Once, at a different park, an unleashed -- but friendly dog -- bowled him over without warning after bounding over to DS in order to "play."

I know dogs need exercise, but having them roam off leash so near to small children seems like a really bad idea to me. I can't help feeling this is a nasty dog-bite situation waiting to happen. Should I pre-emptively ask owners to put their dogs on the leash in the park? Call the county and get them to enforce the leash law? On the few occasions when I have felt a dog really was a threat to DS or others I have asked owners to put the dogs on-leash. Most do so VERY grudgingly. One even refused. What's up with this? Hello, having your dog off leash is against the law!

What would you do in this situation? I feel that the park belongs to all of us, but for dogs that means they should be on-leash.

[Anonymous]

Interestingly enough, I know someone who does this...walks her dog off-leash in the district, so that she (the dog) can run and play with other dogs.

She called me up complaining a few weeks ago that she got a warning from the Park Police, and that if it happened again, they'd impound her dog.

Inside I laughed just a little....she has young kids, but when they are at school, she seems to forget that her actions have consequences on other people. I tried to explain to her WHY dogs should be leashed in public areas, but it fell onto deaf ears.

I have a male dog that is friendly around some dogs, but not others, mainly other male dogs. I keep my dog on a leash for that reason....so I can keep him close. But, I cannot help my situation if another male dog is unleashed and tries to play with my dog and then a fight ensues.

OP, I agree wholeheartedly with you. Dogs can be so unpredictable and those who unleash in public areas are not being responsible.

You can call and complain to the Park Police....perhaps they will troll your park more often to hand out citations and such to those who don't follow the rules.

[Anonymous]

Children can be unpredictable too. That is another good reason to keep dogs on their leash. A very friendly dog may react strongly if he gets an ear or tail pulled by an excited preschooler. Some dogs have a very low pain tolerance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We like to take our 2.5-year-old DS to a nearby county park, which has both playground equipment for toddlers and little kids and also nearby ball fields for older children. Dog owners frequently let their pets off-leash in the ballfield part of the park to run around, chase balls, play with other dogs, etc. Sometimes those unleashed dogs wander down to the playground part of the park, and sometimes DS (and other children) want to spend time up on the ball field part of the park (running around, kicking a ball, etc.). For the most part things seem fine, but every now and then off leash dogs will fight one another, or come up and nose around or jump on the little kids. In these cases, the dog's owner usually lamely calls over, "Don't worry, he's friendly......). DS is fascinated by dogs but also scared of them. Once, at a different park, an unleashed -- but friendly dog -- bowled him over without warning after bounding over to DS in order to "play."

I know dogs need exercise, but having them roam off leash so near to small children seems like a really bad idea to me. I can't help feeling this is a nasty dog-bite situation waiting to happen. Should I pre-emptively ask owners to put their dogs on the leash in the park? Call the county and get them to enforce the leash law? On the few occasions when I have felt a dog really was a threat to DS or others I have asked owners to put the dogs on-leash. Most do so VERY grudgingly. One even refused. What's up with this? Hello, having your dog off leash is against the law!

What would you do in this situation? I feel that the park belongs to all of us, but for dogs that means they should be on-leash.

I would call non-emergency number for police and ask for animal control and explain the situation. These people are trained to deal with idiot dog owners like this.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for this thread OP. I've encountered this several times recently in MoCo. I'm a dog lover, but with young kids, this worries me too. We even had a lady let her dog go off leash an on to the playground equipment. I like the idea of calling the non-emergency number.

[Anonymous]

I would ask the county to post a sign, for starters.

[Anonymous]

I'd yell back, thank you, but we are not comfortable around dogs and remove my child till they remove the dog for the area.

[Anonymous]

Or you could yell back to them "my child is allergic to dogs....please get your dog out of here before my child goes into anaphylactic shock"

[Anonymous]

I am a dog owner, and I feel uncomfortable around off-leash dogs. More ammo why they shouldnt be off-leash outside of fenced in areas like dog parks:

--Fight between on and off-leash dogs result in the on-leash owner getting hurt. This has happened to me before...my dog saw another dog that displeased her and pulled hard enough that I dropped her leash (I wasnt holding it very strongly to be honest asi was trying to carry the dog's leash and like 6 grocery bags), my dog bum rushed the other dog, the other dog's owner didn't drop the leash, and the other dog's owner--an older woman--ended up falling down, still holding the leash, while the dogs fought over her, before I could run over and pull my dog off. My dog deservedly got her ass kicked by the other dog, and luckily the woman didn't break a hip.

-- Off-leash dog will see a squirrel or bunny or something and chase it across the road and get hit by a car.

--And, I fear what someone else above said--a dog getting egged on by a kid. Little kids don't know what a strange dog likes and doesnt like. If a dog has a problem with its ears being pulled for instance, it couldnip at a kid doing this. Neither dog or kid would now any better.

So yeah, call the animal shelter. I have called mine about off-leash dogs and they take it very seriously because they know even worse stories than teh scenarios above.

[Anonymous]

For health reasons, dogs aren't allowed in most parks where there's playground equipment (so for a big county park, there may be designated areas where they are allowed but signs near the play equipment saying they're not allowed there), just like they're not allowed on school grounds.

There are health department notices like this posted at our elementary school playground and also at the neighborhood park that we go to. On or off-leash, it's not sanitary to have dogs on a playground where little kids are playing.

[Anonymous]

Just go to Wood Acres ES in Bethesda in the afternoon. That playground turns into an off leash dog park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just go to Wood Acres ES in Bethesda in the afternoon. That playground turns into an off leash dog park.

What is sad is that the principal would not do anything about it. The wealthy taxpayers in Bethesda are not to be antagonized. Never mind the safety of children.

[Anonymous]

I'd call animal control and complain. Encourage others to do the same. I'm a dog owner and off leash dogs annoy me greatly. There are designated off leash dog parks in most communities-people should take their dogs there if they want them to be off leash.