Dog parks and young kids

[Anonymous]

It seems like this was an exuberant younger dog doing what such dog do. Playing. Was this a Golden? They jump and get frenzied when the play and can't tell the difference between who thinks it is ok and who is not ok with it. Your small child should not be in a dog park.

[Anonymous]

Wow, OP, I would say it is almost negligent to bring a small child into a dog park. No way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Young children in dog parks are the exact same as dogs at people playgrounds and sports fields...they do NOT belong there. Period.

Keep your little kids out of designated dog parks.

Keep your dogs off playgrounds and little league fields.

How on earth do dog people have such little sense?!?

Just passed our neighborhood playground this morning, and saw a girl holding a small dog while she was sitting on a swing--first time I've seen a dog there. The signs clearly say no dogs. What are people just clueless, or do they intentionally ignore the signs?

[Anonymous]

We have a Great Dane that is a solid 120 lbs at less than a year old. We take her to the dog park to run around and socialize. She is huge and goofy. OP, this is not a dog that you'd want to knock into your 3 year old child. Please be considerate and keep your kid out of the dog park.

[Anonymous]

Child also needs to know not to pick up ball at dog park. Some dogs are great at dog park except for ball aggression. Some dogs just don't want to share their toy. Period. I would never pick up a ball without checking with owners nearby to see who it belonged to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Child also needs to know not to pick up ball at dog park. Some dogs are great at dog park except for ball aggression. Some dogs just don't want to share their toy. Period. I would never pick up a ball without checking with owners nearby to see who it belonged to.

My dog is of the opinion that every ball at the park belongs to him. He's not ball aggressive, but I'm just saying that one should be aware that some dogs feel this way, and might be aggressive regarding balls their owners didn't bring.

[Anonymous]

Totally scratching my head here. DOG park is where DOGS go so they can play and not share space with people, especially KIDS. I'm not a dog person, but I would take my kid to the regular park, and leave the dog park for the dogs. Dogs commonly see small children as equal/litter mates, and will dominate them. If my daughter tries to go for a ball that a dog is playing with, then she will absolutely be competing for said toy with dog. And dogs will treat her just as a fellow dog, by chasing, jumping, and nipping to get to the prize.

[Anonymous]

Our dog park explicitly bans children under a certain age. I think it's 12.

[Anonymous]

There is one dog park that has picnic tables. I bring my 8yr old now but she has to sit on top of the table and watch.

I would never bring a 3yr old.

That said, nothing annoys me more than dog owners who claim their dogs don't like kids, even other adults, and sometimes other dogs but still bring them off leash. Get your dog trained or your dog will eventually hurt another human or dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Young children in dog parks are the exact same as dogs at people playgrounds and sports fields...they do NOT belong there. Period.

Keep your little kids out of designated dog parks.

Keep your dogs off playgrounds and little league fields.

How on earth do dog people have such little sense?!?

Just passed our neighborhood playground this morning, and saw a girl holding a small dog while she was sitting on a swing--first time I've seen a dog there. The signs clearly say no dogs. What are people just clueless, or do they intentionally ignore the signs?

I have never not seen dogs at playgrounds or athletic fields. I see them all the time.

[Anonymous]

Unless you think your 3 yo daughter is a b**ch, then you need to take her to a playground for kids, not a dog park for dogs. If you bring a 3 yo to a dog park and a dog jumps on her, YOU, the parents are the ones in the wrong. The dog owner is most definitely not the problem here.

Our 3.5 year old daughter loves taking our dog to the dog park. We've been 8-10 times without any problems. I'd describe her as high energy but well behaved and she knows not to be rough with dogs. Today a dog came over near us. He was wagging his tail and seemed calm so we let her put her hand out for the dog to sniff, and then pet the dog. No problems. Then she went to get a tennis ball to throw for our dog. Both dogs ran after her, and the dog we didn't know started jumping on her. My husband says the dog tried to bite her, although I didn't see it, but did did have a large scratch down the back of her neck. I ran over and picked her up within perhaps 15 seconds. My husband was pissed at the owner, who said the dog was a puppy and not great with kids, but also yelled at my husband that we shouldn't have small children there.

Your husband is an a** for being pissed at the dog owner who brought their dog to a dog park.

Later on, I was holding my daughter because she was scared,

You are negligent parents and obnoxious neighbors. As soon as the incident happened with a dog jumping on your underaged child, you should have taken her out of the park. One of you could have stayed in the dog park with your dog while the other one should have taken your daughter out of the gate and waited for the dog to finish playing OUTSIDE the dog park, not inside. Keeping your young child inside the dog park and then being angry at the dog owners is beyond the pale.

and another guy (who hadn't been there when the earlier incident happened) said it was good that I was holding her, because his dog isn't good with little kid. After the first one, I thought the woman was irresponsible,

The only irresponsible people here were OP and her husband who brought a young child into a place designed for dogs to play unleashed.

but the second one has me wondering -- is it acceptable to bring dogs that aren't good with little kids to an off-leash dog park? Would most people assume there wouldn't be little kids there?

Absolutely. A dog park is for dogs and anyone who cannot be around unleashed dogs who might be rambunctious and overly energetic should not be there including young children who cannot be around frisky, playful dogs that may be larger than them.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are SO typical of the DCUM crowd. You go to a dog park and expect the environment to be conformed to your (child-friendly) needs. Get over yourself.