Off leash park ... are they a bad idea ?

I know that George LOVES going to the park. We live in an apt. with no yard, so that is the only chance he has to run around outside off-leash. (besides going to my families' farm, but that is only about 2x a month or so)

We've always kept a very close eye on him and I tend to walk up and down the beach following him so that I'm close in case anything were to happen.

He likes to wrestle and rough house cause he isn't too fast.

There are a few dogs that could do with more socialization before being off leash, that is for sure.

I've also seen people socializing their dogs -on leash- at the dog park as well.

All in all, I think dog parks are good things, especially for those of us who live in a house or apt. with little to no yard.

Oh? Then explain to me what causes aggression in dogs. Back up your statement. I'd be interested to see what the real reasons are if everything I've read is a bunch of bull crap.

this is what in the past i know has made territorial dogs..
number one...the biggest one..being an older intact male
not being socialized with other people or dogs
chaining.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
improper breeding..where generations of high strung dogs
are breed in succession in an attempt
to produce easily aggrivated animals
abuse
complete lack of training and then irresponsible taking out
into society where the dog is unsure of himself and the area

injury..a dog in pain will bite anyone including those he loves
brain tumour
plus old boss said that you can take two dogs that are the best of friends add a bone and you will have a fight...so i guess you could include food

forgot inbreeding..when done can cause mental illness in canines

don't think you will find these reasons to be a load of crap...

Thank you smkie. It all comes down to breeding and training. Add in illness or injury but I don't think that was the original point that was made about aggression, they were talking about very strong working GSD's. I'm not going to say a very sharp GSD isn't going to be practically impossible to handle for a novice trainer, but those dogs are the exception rather than the rule. They are being trained to perform in high stress environments and have to be very sharp to succeed in their field and require a trainer/handler who really knows what they are doing.

I've seen a lot of problems stem from dog parks. Usually, around the 2 year period of a dog's life. When they reach that maturity zone, and the puppy play becomes more serious.

Dogs can begin "targeting" other dogs, when they reach this age. I think there is something within their make-up, which naturally happens at this stage in their life. Something about placement within the pack? I don't really know.

The ideal situation, would be a group of obedience class members getting together for "leadership walks", after graduation. This would be a serious, going to work kind of exercise in the beginning of the walks. Then there could be a free-time afterwards, when all of the "doggies" are good and tired. Dogs really love this stuff! They are meant to move around in a group, and explore a lot of territory.

We are currently setting up walks in our community. I'll let you know how it goes.

that's horrible

You wouldn't train a poodle that way but with a very high drive, independent minded GSD that is being trained for protection or law enforcement- where you need 100% reliability because it could be a matter of life or death for the handler- you sometimes have to take those measures. That is the exception and not the norm but those guys are training dogs that most of us would never consider for a pet. They serve a specific purpose, and that purpose isn't to look cute and sit on the couch all day eating bon bons.

nor is their purpose to be extremly agressive/fearful of the humans they work with

Their purpose is to protect their handler and to apprehend criminals. That involves being aggressive and biting people, which is what a high drive dog is capable of. They need to be disciplined enough to hold off on that prey/fight/defense drive to listen to a command to stop. If a dog can't do that it isn't a good police dog. That is why they are trained that way. They are not fearful, they are so independent and have so much drive that they sometimes don't want to listen to the trainer, and the trainer has to assert themselves in harsh ways at times to get the dog to understand who is boss. You aren't doing clicker training or dog whisperer or any of that stuff you do with a Lab with a dog like that. What is so hard to understand about that? We are not talking about dogs that would be most peoples pets, they are bred for a specific purpose. They are pets to the people who can handle them. Those traits have been bred out of most American GSDs, why do you think the law enforcement agencies import so many from Europe?

Wow just wow.

Once again... Wow....

oriondw you bring nothing to the conversation with those comments. What is your point, if you actually have one aside from give me a hard time. Please don't use your MMA skills on me.

Im sorry I just dont think very highly of people who use such training methods.

Have you ever even owned a dog?

I've had dogs my entire life. I don't use those training methods but I can understand why they are applicable in certain situations.

Making a dog think like its going to die is just stupid... Only hurts the training.

There is really no need to use such methods, they are ineffective and counter productive.

Obviously not for the people who have a high success rate in training dogs that other people could or would not train.

Dan did not say he trained like this.Now back to the actual topic.I agree they are ok for some dogs.Rosco cant handle it after being attacked twice he just pees all over himself he gets so scared.Sasha my GSD loves Dog parks and will hold her own when need be.I just wish some owners would think before bringing there dogs there.Alot of them that go should not even be there.

Why use such brutal methods if the same dog can be trained just fine without them?

I do not think they use these methods as a rule- only for the exceptions who need it. These dogs are being trained for life and death situations and their reliability is paramount. If they have to use an extreme measure to make the dog understand it's role then thats what they do. Whether you agree with it or not is beside the point. I wouldn't train my dog that way either, but if I had the experience they do in training hard/sharp dogs, and those methods worked, then I'd be using them. Positive reinforcement, clickers, NILIF doesn't work with every dog. So what is their recourse, put the dog down when it has the potential to be a superb service dog?