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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There is an "unofficial" dog park near my house and some of my neighbors intentionally allow their dogs to run up on and hassle people who try to use the park for anything else, so that they leave and the dog people can have it to themselves. There's one guy in particular with an extremely friendly lab -- he will let her run up to people picnicking, kids playing, etc, and she'll just jump all over them, eat their food, lick them, etc. She's not aggressive but she has not been taught not to do those things to strangers and he just takes advantage of this to make people feel uncomfortable/unwelcome unless they are the sort of people who don't mind that kind of interaction with a dog.

I think it's really obnoxious. At one point I suggested at a neighborhood committee meeting that we ask the city if we could fence off a portion of this park for an official dog run, since there's an obvious need. This was opposed by a lot of the dog owners who currently use the park for off leash dogs, because they don't want to be confined to a portion of the park -- they want the whole thing. It's a big park -- a full city block.[/quote]

[b]"But my dog needs to run!!!!" Yeah, you shouldn't have gotten a sporting dog if you live in an apartment with no yard. [/b]

I would sit in that park with a camera and animal control on speed dial. I might even splurge and set up a wifi-connected camera, just to keep track of the regulars. Some people need to get hurt before they learn, and better they get hurt in the wallet with a fine than when their dog gets hurt and the have a vet bill (or worse, their dog hurts someone else and it's court costs and damages).[/quote]

No comment on the rest but to the bolded: precisely.

I grew up with dogs. We lived in a midsize town in a SFH with a huge yard and I have many fond memories of playing with our dogs in the yard. We had one dog, a golden mix, who loved playing fetch off the back deck and we had this big yard where we could really launch a tennis ball or a frisbee and she loved to try and catch them midair and run them back. She was the happiest dog.

I now live in a city, in a two bedroom condo with a small balcony. We don't currently have a dog but both DH and I would love one. He will often suggest these dogs that just don't work for our current home or lifestyle though. He likes them based on looks and disposition. I've told him if we get a dog in this apartment, it needs to either be a small lap dog or an older dog with minimal exercise needs, who could be happy with a few walks a day and maybe some weekend hikes. On leash. DH used to fight me on it but now he sees how many of our neighbors have dogs who clearly need way more exercise than they get, and how ill behaved some of these dogs become because they are cooped up, under or untrained, and just have nowhere to go and *run*. It's mean to the dogs and it winds up being miserable for the owners.

Someday we will likely live in a suburb or a part of the city with a yard, and maybe we'll get a lab or retriever or viszla that he wants. Until then, I think it's likely we'll go without a dog and content ourselves with visiting our parents dogs on vacation. Not everyone needs a dog, and dogs don't need homes where they won't get what they need.[/quote]

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