Dog owners who isolate their dogs. Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I take our dog to local parks and it is the best part of her day when she gets to run crazily around with other neighborhood dogs. I also love meeting other dog owners. It has been great for my sense of community and belonging. But invariably there are owners who walk up, look over at my dog/other dogs and then take their dog alone to a separate area- usually an empty court- to toss a ball by themselves. These don’t look like aggressive dogs (lately I’ve seen medium sized poodles) so I don’t quite understand why the owners do this instead of encouraging socialization.

Anyone want to explain (in a non nasty way)?

OP, are you talking about just a local park with tennis courts and the like? If so, all of the dog owners in this story are the reason I don't off-leash my dogs with randos. Clearly this sort of "socialization" is for the humans, who are paying attention to each other (and not necessarily their dogs). If you are making some area of a local public park your "impromptu dog park", well, there's your reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dog is overwhelmed at dog parks and I have found many of the owners at dog parks to not know how to read dog behaviors well. Many trainers also suggest avoiding dog parks. Our dog enjoys getting physical unleashed activity in our yard and also enjoys going on long leashed walks on the trails in our neighborhoods. She has people and dog friends she sees regularly on our walks.

My wouldn’t you want to help your dog learn to socialize? Did you not do this when he was a puppy?

We have a dog that loves other dogs, loves dog parks, boarding, etc. She was an adult stray we adopted from a rescue. No idea what she did as a puppy. Many people adopt adult dogs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP... here is the real answer:
My dog (and many other dogs) simply do not prefer to play/romp around with other dogs. They are perfectly content and polite, but they do not have any desire to wrestle/run with other dogs. What they desperately want to do, over and over again, is chase a tennis ball. Over and over and over. Until they collapse in a contented heap and watch the world go by.

Adorable. 🥰

[Anonymous]

We had a dog who was literally rescued by the sheriff. He was tied up, starving, behind an abandoned house. He absolutely couldn't cope with being around other dogs, so we kept him at home. It took him ten days to accept our other dog.

Our dog behaviorist was not a fan of dog parks. There are a lot of reasons why someone would avoid a dog park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dog is overwhelmed at dog parks and I have found many of the owners at dog parks to not know how to read dog behaviors well. Many trainers also suggest avoiding dog parks. Our dog enjoys getting physical unleashed activity in our yard and also enjoys going on long leashed walks on the trails in our neighborhoods. She has people and dog friends she sees regularly on our walks.

My wouldn’t you want to help your dog learn to socialize? Did you not do this when he was a puppy?

Lots of people have rescue dogs. I had well socialized dogs attacked by other dogs in public including a bite from a golden retriever. I think you’re being weirdly judgmental about this.

My dog was fine with other dogs until he was physically attacked and injured by an aggressive dog. Forevermore he had fear aggression. He was a big guy, so I was not going to take chances at a dog park.

[Anonymous]

Our dog can function outside but at a certain distance he is leash reactive. He is perfectly happy at boarding.

[Anonymous]

My dog has a pack already (our family). She's a good girl and very happy.

[Anonymous]

It's funny how OP doesn't realize she's catering to her own social needs, not her dog's, or any other dogs'.

[Anonymous]

my dog did really well at dog parks...until she didn't. She is an aggressive player which some people didn't like. But worse for me was people who would let their kids play with the dogs and wouldn't help separate the dogs if I felt things were getting too rough or who brought their tiny dogs to the big dog park. so now I go to a quieter dog park and if it starts getting crowded, we move on.

I also had a dog who just didn't like other dogs despite trying. So we kept our distance on walks. It always amazed me how many people would tell me that their dog was good with dogs so it would be okay...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
It's funny how OP doesn't realize she's catering to her own social needs, not her dog's, or any other dogs'.

Op here. Huh? My dog adores the park. I like it too, but she adores it. Drags me there when we leave the house. It’s odd to see post after post with dog park haters because my experience is that many of my neighbors dogs like the park. Socializing of dogs is wonderful. My dog loves our family but we can’t run and play tussle with her in a way that real dogs can.

I’ve also never heard a vet say that dog parks are bad. Maybe the people they say this to have aggressive dogs?

Link to a reputable source saying dog parks are to be avoided? I’d like to read the reasoning behind it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's funny how OP doesn't realize she's catering to her own social needs, not her dog's, or any other dogs'.

Op here. Huh? My dog adores the park. I like it too, but she adores it. Drags me there when we leave the house. It’s odd to see post after post with dog park haters because my experience is that many of my neighbors dogs like the park. Socializing of dogs is wonderful. My dog loves our family but we can’t run and play tussle with her in a way that real dogs can.

I’ve also never heard a vet say that dog parks are bad. Maybe the people they say this to have aggressive dogs?

Link to a reputable source saying dog parks are to be avoided? I’d like to read the reasoning behind it.

You can google multiple articles by veterinarians and dog trainers on why they don’t like dog parks. Reasons range from health concerns, not knowing which dogs have been fully vaccinated, to behavior concerns, to owners not properly supervising, and how some dogs simply get overwhelmed with so much going on.

It’s great that you and your dog like it but it’s naive to act like you know more than everyone else on the topic.

[Anonymous]

Our veterinarian and dog trainer think that dog parks are a terrible idea and we agree.

https://www.courteouscanine.com/say-no-to-dog-parks/

[Anonymous]

My parents had a dog who was very anxious around other dogs. When I dog sat, I had to be careful just walking her that we didn’t come anywhere near another dog. If I saw a dog up ahead, I would switch sides of the road or turn away.

Our current dog is generally very social but for some reason has it out for certain dogs as he’s aged. There’s no rhyme or reason that I can tell so now we try to steer clear of unfamiliar dogs. When our dog was a puppy, we had two different trainers say to avoid dog parks so we never did those but we did let him play with dogs we knew.

[Anonymous]

In recent years the number of people with dogs who probably shouldn't have dogs has really proliferated. It's always been an issue, but it appears a lot of people who had no business owning a dog adopted one during Covid. Many of us want nothing to do with these people. Their dogs aren't trained and the owners exercise no actual control over the dog. Interactions with them are unpredictable and stressful because they don't understand really simple things.

Here's an example of something a lot of these new dog owners don't get -- a long, slack leash communicates to others that your dog is not under your supervision or control. I see this constantly. My least favorite are the people who tie the long leash around their waists so they can talk on the phone and carry coffee. Literally these people are being walked by their dogs. And then they will be confused or offended when I cross the street to avoid them.

If my dog is going to meet another dog for the first few times, I want to see that the owners are engaged, everyone is on a leash, and the dog has only as much slack as necessary to keep them comfortable. This enables us to let the dogs sniff and interact but to be able to separate them in a second if necessary. That's how it should be.

So many dog owners today have no clue. Dogs are animals. Even a generally nonreactive, sweet tempered dog can have an attack or protect response if something unexpected happens -- these are instincts they are born with. Once the dogs know each other, everyone can relax a bit and let them interact without such close supervision. Until then, I want to see the owners in control, short leashes, attentive behavior. Otherwise I will steer clear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's funny how OP doesn't realize she's catering to her own social needs, not her dog's, or any other dogs'.

Op here. Huh? My dog adores the park. I like it too, but she adores it. Drags me there when we leave the house. It’s odd to see post after post with dog park haters because my experience is that many of my neighbors dogs like the park. Socializing of dogs is wonderful. My dog loves our family but we can’t run and play tussle with her in a way that real dogs can.

I’ve also never heard a vet say that dog parks are bad. Maybe the people they say this to have aggressive dogs?

Link to a reputable source saying dog parks are to be avoided? I’d like to read the reasoning behind it.

So, OP, can you understand that some dogs are nice and non-aggressive but have no desire to tussle around with other dogs? That is not my dogs' preferred method of socialization and play. They prefer to politely sniff when they meet new dogs and then go chase sticks. They do not want other dogs jumping on them while they chase these sticks. They don't snap at the other jumping, mouthing (very annoying, in their opinion) dogs, they just give them the side-eye and ignore, but I would prefer to mostly isolate my dogs so they can play how they like in peace. Dog parks are fine for some dogs. But there are a number of reasons for other dog owners to avoid them. I have given you one very common reason. Why is this so hard for you to accept?