Off Leash dog parks!

[ralphie]

What do you think about pups going to these places?My pup is now 6 months and 50lbs,he can take care of himself if a big dog starts to act up.I remember when he was really small the big dogs at the park made me nervous.I think these parks are great for dogs.What do you guys think about small pups at the park?

[gaddylovesdogs]

I like dog parks, but if a puppy is very young (only a few weeks etc.) or a dog is rather small, I wouldn't go.

[Carrie]

My pup is now 6 months and 50lbs,he can take care of himself if a big dog starts to act up.

Just be cautious not to be too confident.

I'm not a big fan of dog parks.

[flyndog]

I think unless a dog is under voice control, he has no business being in a dog park. And I mean not just in the livingroom, but with lots of big distractions. It's been my experience that it's a rare 6 month old pup that has that good of a recall. A pup should not "take care of himself" if a big dog acts up. All owners should know how to intervene before that happens And I'm not a big fan of dog parks, either. It's not the dogs, it's the people.

[Pugdawg1]

Same for me.. I'm not a fan of them, either. I will not take my pugs to one. I do not feel they would be safe. Too many untrained dogs, and clueless owners.

[Barrett]

I had a bad experience with Bailey the first time we went to a dog park. She is a mini dachshund and all the big dogs ganged up on her and scared her. About 10 dogs came running up in a pack and stepped on her and rolled her over on her back. She screamed until my husband dove in and grabbed her. Even though he held Bailey over his head, the big dogs tried to knock him down to get at Bailey. The other dog owners looked at us but nobody called their dogs. We were in our own little area away from the big dogs just playing a game of fetch when it happened.

I found a better dog park 6 months later and decided to try it again. The new dog park is huge and I can easily stay away from other dogs. I don't take my dogs there to socialize them and let them play with other dogs. I just want them to be able to run a little bit and chase each other through the grass and fetch balls. I want them to run around me, off leash, and have fun. This new dog park started a leash law last month so I don't go there anymore.

[sunny98]

When I lived in San Diego I would take my dogs to dogs beach which was off leash and I never had any problems. Then again my dogs don't like for me to be out of there site so I never had any problems with any of the other dogs. Since moving here I haven't even looked into off leash parks, so I can't say one way or the other about the parks up here.

[oc_spirit]

Personally I don't think a dog should be allowed in a dog park unless fully trained in a high number of levels of distractions. Also I don't recommend taking a pup until either after he's 6months old, and if he hasn't been neutered by then, then deffinately not before he has been neutered and has fully healed.

Cheers!

[ralphie]

Originally Posted by flyndog

I think unless a dog is under voice control, he has no business being in a dog park. And I mean not just in the livingroom, but with lots of big distractions. It's been my experience that it's a rare 6 month old pup that has that good of a recall. A pup should not "take care of himself" if a big dog acts up. All owners should know how to intervene before that happens And I'm not a big fan of dog parks, either. It's not the dogs, it's the people.

I didn't mean I would let him fight it out,he just doesn't get pick on like some smaller dogs.We have a huge park here and I go about 3 times a week.I think it's great for the dogs and I have seen very little trouble.I agree some more agressive dogs with dumb owners shouldn't go to these parks.I know my dog loves it there,I think it's a great place!

[Carrie]

What do you guys think about small pups at the park?

It looked like you were wondering what people thought so you could decide what's best for your pup based on other people's experiences.

I know my dog loves it there,I think it's a great place!

But, it looks like you already are sure.

If your pup has one frightening experience with another dog, it has the potential to ruin it for life where other dogs are concerned. No one has much control over their dogs while off leash. Do you?

50 LBS is nothing. I would worry about my 95 Doberman who's almost 2 yrs old getting hurt if he got in a dog fight and I'd worry about another dog if my dog had the upper hand. Dogs don't like all other dogs and dogs fight. Off leash there is no control over that. Just be careful.

[elegy]

your dog is a bully breed. that means if he does "take care of things" he will be the one blamed, no matter what dog starts it. a dog fight can be over before you even realize it's going on.

i'm not a big fan of dog parks.

[Carrie]

Yup. That's for darn sure. I select who my dog plays with. He has a friend with whom he grew up and played with almost daily since he was a tiny pup. There are maybe one or two others that are his friends and that's it. I would never turn him lose around a bunch of dogs he didn't know well. What a recipie for disaster!

[ralphie]

I have been going for a few months,most people and their dogs are great.I just wanted to know what you guys thought about them.If I see an agressive dog,I take my dog away from the area.Iknow what you guys are saying,some people just let the dog roam far from them,I don't like this.I think you should stay close to your dog at all times,just incase.

[flyndog]

Sounds like you have it under control, Ralphie. But now you know what some of us think.
Sunny, I noticed when in California that at the dog beaches I saw, people and dogs were playing nicely together. Dogs stayed with their owners for the most part, some overlap, but I never saw any aggression. From my limited experience, based on what I saw, I would say open beaches are better than enclosed parks. BTW, all dogs I saw at beaches were under voice control, and happily shared their frisbees with other dogs and people. Of course, I'm sure there are exceptions to what I saw.

[Kelly]

I am a minority here. I LOOOOVE the dog park. Dante & Chloe love it too. I have control over them at all times because they are always good with recall, and Dante was a 6 month old with almost perfect recall, not trying to contradict you flyndog, just saying it can happen

But I wouldn't recommend it if your dog even resembles a pibble. Or if anything does happen it will be all over the news. Seriously. That is one of the reasons I didn't get a pittie, they didn't fit the lifestyle we have because we use the dog park ALOT. And because I HAVE to have my dogs learn offleash recall and it's just not recommended for pibbles to do that. Because they can be agressive with other dogs and because the dog could playfully run up to someone and the person could be a total "breedist" and accuse your pittie of "attacking" even though it wasn't. But I love looking at all of your pibbles...

Just be careful