Attention: Parents And Children (rant, maybe offensive)

RD

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#1
1.) THE DOG PARK IS NOT A PETTING ZOO.

If you must bring your children (or any children under your supervision, regardless of whether or not you gave birth to them) to the dog park, please make it clear to them that they are to ASK before touching a dog that is not theirs. Make it abundantly clear that they are not to reach in between dogs that are playing, grab at dogs, or try to take toys from strange dogs.

Your children do not have the right to molest or attempt to play with every dog in the park. If a dog is uninterested in playing with them, do not allow them to continue to pester the dog until it shows interest. This will usually be the kind of interest that will get your precious offspring bitten.

Do not bring kids to the dog park just because they like doggies and want to play with them. Frankly, if you don't have a dog, go to one of the many other parks in this town. The dog park is the one place where we can legally turn our dogs loose and let them be dogs, and with your children running amok, we have to exercise a much stricter level of control over our dogs.

Seriously. If you want a petting zoo, go to a petting zoo. My dogs and I are not at the park for your child's entertainment.

2.) THE DOG PARK IS NOT A PLACE TO TURN YOUR CHILDREN LOOSE.

Please, please supervise kids. Do not allow them to harrass other park patrons or their dogs. No, your child may NOT throw the tennis ball into the mud for my dog. If I am playing fetch with my dog, chances are I am not going to let them take over. I don't want to repeat this 100 times for the point to sink in. I would greatly appreciate it if your child would leave me and my dogs alone when I ask politely. Frankly, I don't bring my dogs to the dog park so they can play with children, and you should not bring your children to the dog park so they can play with dogs. I would also appreciate it if you didn't allow your child to run next to my dogs yelling "sit, Sit, SIT!". Just as you expect me to keep an eye on my dogs and not allow them to harrass people, I expect you to keep an eye on your offspring.

3.) THERE IS A FREAKING PLAYGROUND RIGHT NEXT TO THE DOG PARK. USE IT!!!

Dog parks are not the place to bring your whole family. If you don't own a dog and your kids are not dog-savvy, why not go to the playground and let them watch the dogs from outside the fence?

I have to wonder WHY people bother bringing kids to dog parks to begin with? Of all places to let your children play, why pick a park full of large, muddy, slobbery, potentially dangerous animals?

The obnoxious little girl I regrettably encountered today at the dog park ("supervised" only by her older sister, who was too busy flirting with a guy to even spare a glance for her little sis or her Chihuahua - who was frankly *terrified* of the larger dogs in the park and should've been in the "small dog" area) was very, very lucky not to be bitten. Aside from her obsession with my dogs, she was walking around taunting dogs with tennis balls and calling them away from their owners, giving them commands, and generally just running amok and being *obnoxious*. To prevent myself from strangling her, I left. I realize it probably wasn't her fault, but she was old enough to understand people and listen to them. She just chose not to.

I am steaming mad. How her floozy sister or any of the fools with her could sit back and allow that kid to ruin everyone's time at the park is beyond me. To and from the park, it's a 40 mile drive, and usually it's worthwhile... this time was a total waste, all I did was tell my dogs to "leave it" and prevent them from interacting with this little brat.

*sigh* Rant over. Sorry. Had to vent somewhere.
 

Lizmo

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#2
Worth sticking for newcomers IMO.

Sorry is was a sucky time :(
 

RD

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#4
Nooo, "fair" it isn't. I can't totally blame the kid, but I am so incredibly angry that she was allowed to do *anything*, but god forbid a dog react and nip her for annoying or hurting them. I'm sure then her sister would've been off her ass and calling the cops. :rolleyes: :mad:
 

Whisper

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#5
I'm sorry, Grace. That would have me pissed off, too. I don't know why people tend to think that when you bring your dog in public you're bringing some circus animal attraction where people are allowed to do whatever they want with your dog.
BTW, I completely agree.
 

noludoru

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#6
OMG. I don't know how you could stand it and just leave.. I would have ripped her and her negligent older sister a new asshole. That is beyond belief.

Well, maybe I wouldn't have. I'd just let Middie pounce on her. ;) I think she'd have enough of the dog park after he tackled her and coated her with drool and mud.
 

SizzleDog

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#7
Ohhh that would have pissed me off to high heaven! At the dog park back home, sometimes people would bring their kids. I remember one time where Ilsa and a little white Siberian were rocketing around the park, and they ran into a little 3 year old girl who was wandering around. The kid literally flew through the air and landed in a pile of mud. I was scared to death her mom would freak out... until I found out the white Siberian belonged to the girl and her mom. That was a CLOSE call...

And yet another reason why little kids should not be at dog parks. Yarg.
 

mrose_s

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#9
lol forget the dog park, when I was little Sophie ran headlong into me when she was doing zoomies in the backyard, mum said I did a full cartwheel in the air. lol
 

Buddy'sParents

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#10
First, preach it sister.

Second, I am sorry that that happened to you. People really do suck sometimes.
 

elgancho

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#11
i think there should be age restrictions at dog parks. maybe 16 years old, minimum. it just makes no sense to have small children around unleashed dogs. i don't really know why it's allowed. even well-supervised children are at risk.
 

sparks19

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#13
Well... I don't think children should be allowed to run around and pester dogs...

I have taken Hannah (in her carrier) to the dog park. We don't have a fenced in yard currently and sometimes the dogs need a good run that a walk will not do.

and I have encountered children at the park we go to. Most of them are only interested in their own dogs and when approached by my dogs don't do much unless they sit in front of them and then they will pet them.

I did have one kid ask if he could throw the ball for Teddy once... but I said yes... there was no harm in that. Teddy was great with kids and this kid DID ask first.

BUT I don't agree with parents just letting their kids run wild in a dog park. But sometimes in order for the dog to get a good run the kids must be present. I just wish more parents were more responsible.
 

RD

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#14
Oh Sparks, if they were all in carriers I wouldn't mind. ;) But really, if they kept their interest to their own dog, I wouldn't mind either. But on top of her constant pestering, what irked me was that this girl had a little long coated Chihuahua that probably would've liked all the attention the kid was giving to MY dogs... I don't get the whole "bring your dog to the park and then ignore it" deal, either. I like talking to people at the dog park but at least 75% of my focus is on my dogs. I don't take my eyes off of them for very long. Some people let them go all the way across the park, then turn their backs to them and keep chatting!!

On second thought, I probably shouldn't have left but rather sucked it up and confronted the little brat's ditzy sister. But I was fuming and the dogs were picking up on my bad mood. It was time to go, lol. I'll fight that battle another day, though I hope there IS no "another day" for that kid.

I mean, honestly. There was a kid on a skateboard and a kid on a bike in the dog park, too.
 

CharlieDog

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#15
I dont know if Ill ever take Ozzy to a frequented off leash park. Not because of the other dogs, but because of the people!

There was a thread about how some man threw a leash at a girls dog and hit it, because it "had an aggressive stance" or something like that! GRRR. Stuff like that makes me so mad!
 

chanda

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#16
parents should also teach these things to their children to avoid any accidents or unwanted situations.
 

ihartgonzo

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#17
I HATE seeing kids running around the dog park... not because I hate kids, but because it is a ticking timebomb.

The dog park is for dogs. The kid park is for kids. How would those parents feel if we took our dogs to their playground and set them loose, and just giggled or didn't pay attention as they harassed and knocked over their kids? They would be pissed, to the MAX. Why is it ok for their kids to do so to our dogs, then? There is no rule in the entry to the dog park stating that your dog must be kid-friendly. Plenty of dog-social dogs feel very uncomfortable and/or threatened by children. And, if a dog does happen to hurt a child running around the dog park, intentionally or not, you know the dog owner is going to be blamed.

A couple of weeks ago, me and my friend were at the dog park with our dogs, and in comes a woman with 3 little girls (probably around 8). One was her daughter, the other two were the daughter's friends. They were literally running around, screaming, barking, and acting incredibly stupid, in their pajamas. The Mom was sitting on the other side of the dog park... reading a book. Fozzie and my friend's dog both love kids, but these kids were very rude, and ignored me asking them not to chase the dogs. Two of the girls were chasing Fozzie and a GSD puppy, until Fozzie suddenly put on the brakes and weaved through their legs. Both of them collided into each other, then fell face-first into the mud. BAHAHAHA! I almost died laughing!
 

Lilavati

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#18
i think there should be age restrictions at dog parks. maybe 16 years old, minimum. it just makes no sense to have small children around unleashed dogs. i don't really know why it's allowed. even well-supervised children are at risk.
I don't mind well behaved children there with the family dog. Would I deny a 10 year or a 8 year old the chance to play fetch with the family dog? If they live in an apartment, that's their only chance.

But the rules about well behaved and under control in the dog park apply equally to dogs and children. If you can't keep an eye on both your dog and your child, leave the child at home or send him over to play in the kid park. If the park is crowded . . . use some common sense. If your child can not behave him or herself . . . then the other users of the park should be able to ask/demand you leave, just as if your dog could not behave.

I've seen small children in the dog park . . and when its not crowded (just a few dogs) or when they are on their parent's backs, it doesn't worry me. I have a darling picture I took of someone's little kid and their dog in the dog park (next time I see them they are supposed to give me their e-mail). Its a common sense thing. Older children: 8 or so and up, have never been a problem with me as long as their behave. Teenagers are fine. But it DOES depend on the park, the number of dogs, etc. Parents should use sense. They should control their children. They should keep them close.
 

drmom777

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#19
Once I was at the dog park in the evening, and there were two kids in there with a beautiful, but truly emaciated Silky Terrier. The dog was just gorgeous, until you petted him at which point your hand literally bumped over the spine.

The girl looked to be about ten and her brother about 5 or 6. They were perfectly well behaved, but unaccompanied by any adult and barely spoke English.

It got dark, everyone left except for them and me, and one gentleman, who decided to wait it out with me. We were able to glean that their dad had recently gotten the dog, that they were there with their big sister, and that she had gone into the woods with her boyfriend (??!!)

It was pitch dark and we had been waiting about an hour and a half when the sister appeared from the woods. She wouldn't say a word to us, and just took off with kids and dog.

I have never seen them again. I don't know if the dog is OK, it was on the verge of starvation, I wish the parents knew what big sis was doing while she was supposed to be watching those kids.
 

houndlove

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#20
Oh man. OOooooh man. This is my HUGEST peeve about our dog park. People seriously do all of the things you described, RD. And Conrad is not good with little kids. If he's not threatened by them, he's just too big and bumps them and knocks them over, but if they start running and freaking out and screaming, he gets afraid of them and wants to chase them off and it's not a good scene. I've had to leave the park on many occasions because of people not controlling their children. Conrad has creamed two kids while in the midst of playing, just by running and chasing and not looking where he's going.

There was one time where I had to police the park against two kids (I'd say maybe an 8 year old and his 5-6 year old little brother) who were totally unsupervised, not their with their own dog, and had basically just been dropped off to "play with the dogs". I kept having to kick them out of the park but they'd come back in again--leaving all the gates wide open wherever they went. They were throwing things at the dogs, screaming at them, running around, it was a nightmare.

THE DOG PARK IS NOT A PETTING ZOO! THE DOG PARK IS NOT A PETTING ZOO! THE DOG PARK IS NOT A PETTING ZOO!

Recently a family came in with their kids in a stroller and their three dogs (2 of them really elderly and frail). They asked the kids if they wanted to get out of the stroller and they said "no" and I turned and said, "Actually one of my dogs is not good with little kids, so that's probably good that they're staying in their stroller." The woman acknowledged what I said but two minutes later was again pestering her kids "Do you want to get out of the stroller and play with the dogs?" Did you not hear what I said? My 90 lb. dog is not good with young children and your kids are happy staying in their stroller....why are you pushing the issue??!
 

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