# Dog parks, never again



## Gus_of_MN (Aug 10, 2012)

Took Gus to the dog park for the 2nd time today, the first time was a really great time as there were few dogs and all handled by good owners. Today we went and there were two American Bulldogs in the fenced in area, owners hanging out in their car. So instead of joining them in the fence I took Gus out to the open field to run around. After running around for a while I was heading back to grab a ball from the pickup. In doing so I noticed the owner trying to wrangle her dogs into her SUV. Both dogs noticed that we were heading their direction and bolted towards Gus who was out in front of me. She yelled for them and one stopped but one kept running at us. Gus and the other dog met somewhere in the middle and did a quick sniff then the other dog growled and took Gus to the ground. Gus is only 4 months and doesnt do well with dominant dogs as of right now, so he yelped and rolled onto his back. I yelled and the dog stopped but then started to run towards my wife who was behind me. At that point I stuck out my leg, yes STUCK OUT, not KICK, to stop the dog. He stopped and was actually very friendly with me. He then ran back to his owner. After a few minutes of wrangling her pups she finally got them in. As she pulled away she honked the horn and flipped the bird at me. When i got back to my pickup there was a note with some very vulgar language about "kicking" her dog.

Sorry for the long story. Do you feel I was in the wrong for the situation at hand? In hindsight i know i shouldnt have stuck my leg out to stop him, but come on, keep your dog under control, and use a collar to transfer your dog from fence to car.


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## Gus_of_MN (Aug 10, 2012)

And feel free to tell me I was way in the wrong on this situation, I wont have hurt feelings


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## Kay92 (Oct 19, 2012)

Believe it or not we had a similar thing happen at our dog park only the owners were standing right there. We only had Riley and he was also 4 months old, we took him out to the park and he wanted to go out by the pond to swim. So we went out there and there were 2 French Bulldogs. They did the sniff thing and one of them was fine but the other one nipped Riley enough to scare the daylights out of him. So I put my hand down and separated them, the owners jumped in and grabbed the one dog and took him away. Riley was not comfortable with overly dominate dogs at that point either and wouldn't play with other dogs for the longest time. But I think you did the right thing.

However, I do recommend you go out there again, you don't want your pup to grow up and think that every dog out there is going to do that to him. Riley didn't want to go to the park for the longest time, but we still took him out there and ignored him until he went to play with the other dogs. Now he thinks he owns the place.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

dog PARK - a place to PARK your dog while the owners sip a latte and think how good am I ? join a V club - pointer club - gundog club - look up AKC events in your area - better to be around people that have a common interest 2-3 a week - than people you have no idea if the pups even have their shots - takes work time and travel - but in the end your V will be happy - and you will meet some great people ! a V is a life style - GET ON BOARD !


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2012/12/walking-sticks-help-in-hills.html

*Dog parks, never again*. I think I said that three years ago and haven't gone back. A walk along the road on leash for an hour is great for bonding. If you have open spaces, even if you have to drive an hour, your dog will appreciate the effort.

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2010/05/poor-city-dogs.html

RBD


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## AcadianTornado (Jul 30, 2012)

REM and RBD have it right! Find some place where you can relax, converse and play with passionate dog owners and their well raised pups! My experience at the dog park has been ''so so''. The dogs Whistler meets and greets at the daycare are better mannered and also will play better with him. At the dog park, it's almost like playing Russian roulette! You never know what you're going to get!!!


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## Rudy (Oct 12, 2012)

Every breed some took great pride of ownership

every owner or lack of Pride of ownership and training.

Every micro bad guy going and growing

bugs( worms) in numbers and We call them all(Pyro parks) and don't care all your shots.

Kiddy care areas on Roids lol

Personal attacks hourly and who is the Victim?

the dog you took the time to train and love

Far better choices and do not let your Buds drink in standing mud puddles
Always pack clear clean waters and high protein treats on your searches

every run off area loaded with chemicals and fertilizers and hunters

the fields you press and hunt can be death traps if the farmer game is greed and mass crops

the (pups /dogs pads) soak in everything they spay or lay
Skin is faster location to the blood stream then breathing

Be smart
make better choices
Make it a great day


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

Hi there,

Not sure where in MN you are located. I am mostly familiar with the Twin Cities area. If you can find a really big dog park like the one I usually go to, you are often better off. More room to run, get away from other dogs, the dogs are less territorial than at the small ones, etc. etc. But, as others mentioned, I would only use them if you have no other options. If you have a good space where he can run off-leash without worries of running into other people, interrupting a hunt, or coming into contact with traps, then go for it, and arrange other playdates to work on socialization with other dogs. 

I know there are some really big, 20+ acre parks in the suburbs of the Twin Cities, if you're looking for any.


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## veifera (Apr 25, 2012)

I agree with REM, there are so many things to do that are interesting and fun. Every weekend something is happening and there are classes on weekdays, if they are needed, for many activity types. Hunt tests, field trials, agility, rally - and they welcome new owners with open arms. The relationship with a dog changes, deepens and there is a common goal to make it mutually rewarding.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Hmmm........
Vizlsa, pointer, capable of hunting fur and fowl, on water and land. A breed of value and purpose.
American Bulldog, no realistic purpose that they are currently working at with the breed in the US outside of bench and show.
In your situation, the owner would have flipped me more than the bird, we'd have met with their dog half of the ground. It would have been a very verbal communication.
I don't see that you did anything wrong. It is your responsibility to protect your pup/dog. it is part and parcel of "the deal" you made when you picked him up out of the litter. You provide a safe haven and shelter.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

I don't do dog parks.


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

Were you wrong to stuck out your leg...no. Even you if you had kicked the dog the owner has no right to be mad at you for the dog not coming back to her. 

You used your common sense and gave the dog a warning. Sounds like the dog was most likely young too and therefore the excitement of another dog and people got the best of him. 

I would stop the dog park.


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Better to irritate a stranger than have something bad possibly happen to your dog. 

We struggle with whether to take Miles to dog parks all the time. We like to go to let him play with his local V friends, but have had many problems with him getting bullied or bitten. Our frequency has greatly decreased, we used to take him 1-2 times a day and now he goes about once a week. We do a lot of trail and beach running now, swimming on the weekends, and set up playdates for him in our neighborhood.


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## suzQ19c (Nov 20, 2012)

I do not believe you were in the wrong. You were going with your instinct which was to protect your wife...I mean, you put your leg out....you didn't kick him in the face. It seems to me that the owner is more of a danger to her pup than you were to him. She couldn't control her dogs and YES she should have leashed them because it's obvious to me that she NEVER has control over them.....then for her to drive away with rage, not good with precious cargo in the car.

I don't really have a dog park near me but on the weekends Mason and I set up "puppy play dates". I take him over to my sisters (who LOOOOOVE the visits from him) and they have 3 well behaved, CLEAN, HEALTHY, playful dogs. They tower over my lil Mason but he's got moxy because he picks on them until they tell him to stop. I trust my sister's dogs and my sister so that's how Mason socializes for now. He loves playing with them, and I love watching them play!!!


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## littlelulu (Jun 21, 2011)

Yeah, I'm pretty much going to echo the sentiments of everyone before me on this thread. We don't do dog parks either. By far the best thing for us and Lulu is to find "like-minded" dogs (and people ) and meet up in the woods and on trails. We have lots of secret spots that no one goes where we can enjoy ourselves and let the dogs all go crazy without worrying about them bombarding anyone. It's so much fun.

We've found the best matches are other Vs (of course), pointers of all kinds, boxers, and labs. We don't know any dobermans, but I'm sure they'd be a great match, too. We're very luck though and don't really have to search around too much since just in our group of friends there are 4 boxers and 2 Vs . However, as others have mentioned, you can meet lots of people and pups if you pursue a dog sport. I've met lots of great people and dogs through agility.


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## Gus_of_MN (Aug 10, 2012)

Glad to see I have all you great folks behind me on this one...If we head back to the dog park it will be under close supervision of what kinds of owners are out there, ones who give a **** about theirs' and other owners dogs. I dont think there are bad breeds out there, just bad owners. Unfortunately there aren't many dog parks in the area where we live, I think there are only 2, and both are pretty small which is why I take him out to the field to run around instead of having him run up and down the fence like a caged animal which he is in our yard at home. 
And unfortunately we dont have any friends with big dogs, all small breeds...guess ill just have to find more places to take Gus to. 
There is a nice retriever club down the road that is like 200 acres or something like that which I do plan on joining.

I dont live by the twin cities any more, I went to school up in Fargo, ND and never moved backed home.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

If you are going to go back to the dog park, try going in off-hours when most of the owners seem to know each other, but aren't socializing with each other. Those folks are only there for their dogs.

Alternatively, you can Google state parks, city parks, county parks, and off-leash areas for your state. You might also stop by the local tourism section of a bookstore and flip through the books. Many tourism books now have sections regarding dog-friendly areas.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

mswhipple said:


> I don't do dog parks.


Me neither.


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

Gus_of_MN said:


> And unfortunately we dont have any friends with big dogs, all small breeds...guess ill just have to find more places to take Gus to.
> There is a nice retriever club down the road that is like 200 acres or something like that which I do plan on joining.


Time to join a Vizsla club or agility class to meet some of the big dogs in your area.


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## Gus_of_MN (Aug 10, 2012)

Well, went to the park again today...another tragedy ensued...When we got there, there were 2 dogs (muts of some sort with bulldog or pitbull in them) inside the cage. Gus and I avoided the actual dog park and headed out to the field to run around and have ourselves a good time. No more thatn 5 minutes later there is some barking and eventual very aggressive barking and then yelping and actual screaming from a dog...I high tailed it up over the hill to see a lady with a leashed dog fending off those 2 dogs..I ran over there just as the owner of the 2 dogs was making his way out of his van to help this poor lady. After the dogs seperated the guy put his 2 dogs in his van and went to inspect the mauled dog. The dog was a little beaten up had some blood. The lady didnt make any sort of fuss of it and the guy just left. I was so pissed off i wanted to call the cops but didnt have any info to give them besides a guy in a crappy brown van. 

So i said before i would probably never go back, well now I am NEVER going back again. Whats the deal with a**holes sitting in their vans smoking heaters just letting their dogs do whatever they want to?

Sorry for the rant


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## Rudy (Oct 12, 2012)

Paper loaded and many closed down in the last 3 days

(Super Pyro Bugs killing Puppies in numbers)

many dog parks

Get all your Vaccines 

Freedom is a pointer not look at me

Get out and get some 

stacking mass dogs in enclosed areas or fenced parks is corn nuts to me 

I see all these addictions smoking, Booze and worse
Funny they had money for these :-[

gas your car and earn some Reflexions outside these walls

A Choice not a Chance

We were at Petco Leashed always my boy minds

2 pits off leash full on running at my boy who would not hurt a thing but pick up a upland bird

The guy sorry was a moron.

No reasons and I had a talk with Petco as well

His ego and muscle were his dogs

I was not mad at the dogs
I stopped it all

I stack well lol

Make it a great day Love more Hate less and share


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

I nearly pull my hair out at you guys over the pond in the USA, your country is MASSIVE, compared to UK, surely surely surely, you can't be that far away from a place where you can let your dogs run free? (sorry, just venting some saturday night steam )


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

Sorry if this is offensive to anyone, but dog parks truly are for lazy owners. I'm not saying you are a lazy owner if you use one, but those are the type of people they attract.


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## Rudy (Oct 12, 2012)

Three fish Your Best

Facts not feel good $


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## Kay92 (Oct 19, 2012)

I know you said you mean no offense. And I agree with you on some points, but my family and I are by no means lazy dog owners. We walk our dogs every chance we get. It just so happens that we don't hunt our Vs so they get their running by going to the dog park. And our dogs love it. We play with them in our back yard but since it's not all that big, when they going full speed they could get hurt. We love our dog park because we can play fetch with Riley while Chuck goes and plays with his friends. Considering we take them when it 20 degrees and bundle up so they can have some fun I don't think that makes us lazy. Since we don't hunt, we don't have a giant back yard, walk them almost daily, and play with them 100% of the time. I don't think that us taking them to a dog park to play with their friends makes me or my family lazy. Sorry.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Kay sorry if you took my post the wrong way - as a responsible V owner - you could never be lazy - goes against the breed - PIKE & I wanted to POINT out there are a lot of ways to find a safe environment to let the pup run off lead - in the winter most athletic fields are closed and a great place to go after school hours - pointer and gun dog clubs in your area - cheap to join and a great source of info where you can run a pup - and yes if there are any place to go besides a dog park - that is where PIKE will be - easy for me to say have 500Ac's in front yard the owners let us run on - LOL


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## Kay92 (Oct 19, 2012)

Thank you RE. We belong to a private Dog Park that every dog has to be professionally temperament tested.


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