Bad Dog Park Etiquette

Dan, Sorry to burst your bubble but I m not the dog park police. I'm not going to sit here and explain anything to you.

You do not bring your dog to a dog park so why even respond to this thread. You surely have nothing to contribute to it.
Here is some reading for you to do though and maybe you will understand.

http://monmouthcountyparks.com/documents/133/offleach.pdf

First of all I was the only one at the table. It was a dog related street fair and their was no signs on the table saying no dogs allowed. As for sanitizing tables their were bees around on an off the tables as well. If you keep your food on a paper plate I don't see a problem with a table needing to be sanitized. When you eat out do you ask the waiter if the table was sanitized?

No need to search the hot dog retrieve trick. When I put out treats for Lola she knows not to take any until I tell her to and the one I want her to get at the time.

I'm sure if it were anyone else from this board you probably would not have even responded but since you and me do not seem to agree on things you have to nit pick my posts. Do me a favor and do not respond to my posts anymore. If you really have a problem with what I write here then why don't you send me a PM or tell me to my face.

First of all no one eats at the tables. If Lola is jumping up on the table at the dog park to greet someone who might be walking with a cane or walker I am not going to stop her. She is a therapy dog. If I say down she gets right off but I am not going to tell her to get down when someone is petting her. The people that are usually at the table are older and can't bend over to pet her. For the most part she is out on the grassy area playing with the other dogs and not even near the tables. I surely would never sit at a table and watch her from the tables because our dog park is quite large. She does not get up on the table at home because she knows not to.

When we do our therapy work at nursing homes I hold her up for people to pet her and if they say that they want her on their bed I allow her to lay their with them. Do you think that is wrong also?

You sure do act like the dog park police with that laundry list of things you reported. I've been to dog parks. Daisy does very well at them and enjoys it. I take her. I'm knowledgeable enough to participate in this thread, whether you like it or not.

What YOU determine to be ok is certainly not what others might determine to be ok. Personally I find the idea of a dog sitting at a table where people eat disgusting. And while I don't ask my waiter if my table was sanitized prior to me being seated, I expect that proper cleaning procedures were followed, and I observe how tables are cleaned after diners leave.

I will respond to any post that I so desire. I have no need to chat with you via PM, though a face to face chat might be amusing.

Let me ask you this, did you read the link I provided to see that dogs that are un-neutered are not allowed?

Now let me give you the details of that incident. A guy brought a great dane in that was not neutered. The dog was totally uncontrolable and the guy was trying to call the dog and the dog was not responding to him at all. This dog was running around like a wild horse and was getting all the other dogs upset to the point that a dog fight could have broke out. Being he violated the no intact rule I told a ranger about it and he was asked to leave. His dog did not belong their.

As for the person who brought to many dogs in she had 2 Shar pei with her that were full grown, she had one dog on a leash inside the dog park which was a mixed breed dog, she had a full grown labrador with her and she had a small dog with her. This was all on the 35 pound and under side and the only 2 dogs that were allowed their were the dog that she had on a leash (size wise) but not on a leash and the small dog. All the dogs she had their had no tags as required so their was no way of knowing id they had their rabies shots or not and yes I could have asked her but people do lie and she might not have known because she has a dog sitting service and they were her clients dogs. The dog on a leash that she had inside the park when I asked her why he was on a leash she told me that the dog is not socialized and the vet told her to keep the dog on a leash. Your average vet knows nothing about un-socialized dog training and for those that do would have probably advised her not to bring the dog inside an off leash dog park.

Actually I could care less how many dogs one person brings inside the dog park as long as they are on the appropriate side and their dogs are behaving. When you have this women showing up with 5 dogs and 3 of them are to big for the side she was on and you have people that want to bring their dogs in but are afraid to you report them for doing so. The people that were outside the dog park actually thanked me for having her kicked out. So now you know the details on the two times that I had someone ejected.

FYI places like McDonalds do not clean the tables after each and every customer. FYI a restaurant does not change the linens each end every time the table is used from one customer or group of customers to the next. I suppose your probably a germaphobe who carries hand sanitizer with him where ever he goes.

There's no sign at the grocery store saying please don't **** on the tomatoes either, but that doesn't mean it's okay.

A dog that will jump up on the table on her won free will to greet someone is not my idea of a therapy dog.

And yes you do sound like the dog park police. And I have had limited interaction with you so you can't claim I just hate you.

It is in bad taste to allow your dog on the table, regardless of where it is. How do you know nobody eats at those tables? Do you stand there and make sure of that too?

And yes, when I eat out I expect the tables to be clean.

Little dogs, including YOUR dog, are not exempt form the rules.

uhh, we certainly did when I worked at a McDonalds. Health departments require it. If it's not being done, that's a lot bigger deal than someone missing a pile of dog doo at the park.

And, I don't find the idea of people letting their dogs on tables at fairs and parks so appetizing.

Your right my dog is not exempt from the rules. Now how do I know no one eats at those tables at the dog park? Simple food is not allowed inside the dog park human or canine. As many times as I have been their I did not see anyone have food their and if they did they are asking for trouble because all the dogs would be their at the tables trying to get the food.

I am not going to argue this anymore. You feel the way you do and I feel the way I do. I'm sure if the people at the dog park were offended by Lola being on the table when someone is petting her they would have said something. Since they do not seem to be offended by Lola being on a table when they are petting her I will allow it to continue. Even the rangers have not said anything about it.

As for her being on the table when I was eating their she is a 10 pound dog, I guess in your opinion it would have been ok to keep her on the ground have a dog walk by larger than her and bite her or cause another problem. The event I was at had at least 1000 dogs their that would be 999 that I did not know personally so I had no idea if they would have been ok with her on the ground or not. It was not a chance I wanted to take.

So what would you have done?

I would have kept her on the ground between my feet. That's where Gavroche sits/lays when I'm at a dog event and stop to eat. I have had a small dog before, and that's where she would have been, too, had I taken her. Between your feet is a fairly protected area. Other than that you still have to keep an eye out, regardless of what you're doing. Gavroche is larger than Lola, but he could still be injured by another dog. If you can't watch your dog and eat at the same time, either don't eat there, or don't bring your dog.

This is complete common sense. Nicely put, especially the last line.

BTW Lolas Dad, I did read the file you posted. How can they tell if an intact female is in the park? If that Great Dane had been neutered, and was still out of control, would you have complained to the ranger? Do you complain about every dog that doesn't meet your standard of behavior regardless of size? The intact/neutered rule is not real fair, considering a lot of neutered dogs are poorly trained and ill behaved, and a lot of intact dogs are good citizens. They should go by the dog, not by the status of his nuts.

I couldn't tell you the last time I ate at a McD's, so what their sanitation practices are doesn't affect me. I presume they do not allow dogs to sit on their tables. Sanitizing the table after Lola was sitting there is only common courtesy. Just as wiping up your crumbs or anything from your meal is courteous if there isn't someone there whose job it is to make sure the tables are clean, like at a park picnic table.

My dog park isn't that bad. Its had a couple of rough playing dogs but we just call Suzie away from them. And honestly, I can't keep up with my dog so I can't always see where she is pooping, but I think that I get most of it. And Suzie will go up to people, basically anyone, and just sit there. She is content with anyone and everyone. And she will jump onto benches occasionally.

hey Dan, Iam actually contemplating teaching this. Iam pretty sure I can



ok carry on...lol

haha...i think we've all encountered one or two of those types of dog park personalities, lol

lol, i'm going to teach that to Gavroche. I gave it a shot last night with what I had (a frozen kidney). I don't typically have hot dogs on hand lol

yeah me either, that and my dogs are small, I may have to find som'thing else to use. I have seen dogs do it with milkbone biscuits, but thats not as impressive LOL

how do you pronouce that name?

I really think it depends on YOUR park, and what the generally accepted practice THERE is. Just as people in LA act differently from those in NYC or Atlanta, it is believable that dogs at various dog parks are expected to follow different rules.

At my dog park, dogs are welcome on the table. No one calls them up there, but it is a respite for little dogs to get away from big ones, or for friendly ones to greet people. The general practice is 25 lbs or so are welcome, bigger than that is uncomfortable. Did I make this rule? No. Is it posted anywhere? No. But it is the generally accepted practice, and everyone follows it. Heck, a woman was asked to leave with her dog because she was fussing at dogs for jumping on tables, and was pushing them off. Perhaps it would have been a different situation at one of your parks, but that's how things happen at mine.

If you are bringing food into a dog park, you're asking for trouble in my experience. Too many dogs are food aggressive, have allergies, or have no manners regarding jumping etc. No one eats off these tables, so sanitation isn't an issue.

Now, if I were to visit a DIFFERENT dog park, other than the one I frequent, I would not allow Lucy on the table until I observed the general rules there, and would follow suit.

When in Rome...do as the Romans.

It is a little silly to tell people that their dog park behaviors are WRONG (so long as they aren't dangerous), when perhaps that is the accepted and followed behavior at their park. You don't have to follow it at yours.

At mine dogs are allowed on the table. Large dogs are generally called down, but small dogs are not ussually.

Food is forbidden in all dog parks here.

I just returnd from the dog park with my unneutered Uncle Fred. there were two uncontrollable humpers up there today. They were both neutered.

Auggie only humps stuffed animals these days. It's terrible. He likes to hump his giant sheep. No, Auggie, no no. That is not what you do with sheep at all... at ALL...

oh to continue the hijack lol...

its a really fun and impressive trick (esp if you get to do it as part of a competition in front of many spectators lol)



/end hijack