Dog parks and petting

[CrystalGSD]

I just came home from the dog park and I realized I'm guilty of something. If a dog runs up to me in the dog park and appears friendly, I will pet it without asking (especially if it's crowded and idk who the dog's owner is). Would you be annoyed if I did that to your dog? Obviously if the dog is uncomfortable I won't do it but if the dog is friendly I will.

 

[Linds]

Nope, I wouldn't. I kinda look at dog parks where most of the typical rules go out the window as far as asking. I don't ask if someone's dog is ok to play with mine or if they are friendly.

I mean, I don't go chase a dog and grab them but if they come up and solicit attention I typically give them it and I wouldn't care if someone did the same to mine. And that's while having a dog that isn't a fan of petting. Fergus will duck away if someone does that and as long as they didn't push it I'm fine!

 

[Applebear]

We don't have a dog park, but I can't say I wouldn't be doing same thing if dog was giving clear signs of wanting to be pet. I mean I wouldn't just go up and start touching a dog randomly, but the signs would have to be very clear. I wouldn't just reach down if dog was casually standing by me and not even acknowledging my presence either.

I personally wouldn't take any of my dogs unless I was pretty confident they had the temperament to go with it [I only have one I'd consider there]. Saying that, a lot of people *think* their dogs are, when they probably aren't. Which is why I may find myself avoiding a dog park even if we had one.

Don't know, interesting subject to think about.

 

[katiem]

I would assume that anyone bringing their dog to a dog park is looking to socialize their dog, either with other dogs or people, and I would probably pet a dog who approached me in a friendly manner.

That being said, I know many owners really have no clue whether or not their dogs are friendly, and most think because their dog is friendly at home it will be comfortable everywhere. So I guess use your best judgment?

That being said, if I took my dog to the dog park and someone started petting him/her I wouldn't be upset about it.

 

[Laurelin]

Nope. In my opinion dog parks are kind of a free for all.

 

[k9krazee]

I don't mind iit! However, I was at a dog park last year where a man picked up Crossbone. I dint think it's ever ok to pick up someone else's dog!!

 

[CrystalGSD]

Oh thank god lol I was scared I was secretly angering a bunch of people.

 

[Slick]

If my dog approaches you, and you pet him, I couldn't care less.

Now I have seen some non-dog-savvy people who have disgruntled me a little, because they darted forward to pet Leo when he wasn't looking. I mean, he tolerated it, but it was an instant lip lick "Woah, didn't expect you there" reaction. Just not a good way to interact with dogs in general in my opinion.

Personally, I kind of live in fear of dogs at the dogpark, and stay as far away as possible, because I got peed on once :rofl1: I have seen way too many dogs lift a leg to mark a spot on the ground without heeding that there is a person standing right next to that spot. Heck, Leo has done this himself.
So when a dog gets to close to me at the dog park, particularly male dogs, I make sure to get out of the way.

 

[JacksonsMom]

I wouldn't mind. Jackson is typically the kind of dog that will just back away though. Like he could go up to sniff someone and they bend down to pet him and he just backs away or walks away lol.

But I pet other peoples dogs who clearly want the attention.

But agree I would never want someone trying to pick up my dog without asking.

 

[sassafras]

For a dog who is actively soliciting attention, I do it and don't mind if other people do it (coughSquashcough).

A dog who is not actively soliciting attention or is avoiding people, though, I leave alone and expect others to leave alone (coughPipcough).

 

[Ozfozz]

As others have said, if the dog is soliciting attention, IMO by all means pet the dog.
But if the dog is shying away, don't force it. And don't get upset if a dog doesn't want to be pet (I've been told Rigby shouldn't be at the dog park because she didn't want to be pet by strangers )


Don't pick up or feed of course though.

 

[Sweet72947]

If I'm at the dog park, and a dog comes up to me and solicits attention, I will pet them. Norris will wander up to people and sniff them, and allow himself to be given a few pets, but he's no attention wh*re (except with me). I tend to be sitting on the bench in the corner because dogs have a habit of crashing into my legs while they play for some reason and my knees can't take too much of that.

It's hard not to touch a dog at the dog park, especially when you are sitting on a bench and they throw themselves at your face all HAII!! There was a 10 month old shepherdy type mix who threw himself at my face three times, and it wasn't until the third time that the owner yelled at her dog, and she didn't even apologize to me once! Yeah I'm at a dog park and some dogs aren't very mannerly and will jump up, but an apology from the owner is only polite.

As for picking up other people's dogs, I generally don't do that. Although once somebody brought two dogs into the park, and one of them was an elderly toy poodle who clearly didn't want to interact with the other dogs, and was very obviously asking to be picked up (almost climbing into your lap) and so several of us picked her up and cuddled her. The owner wasn't even paying attention to what this dog was doing, so I guess she was ok with us picking up her dog. We didn't have a small dog section then, but one was recently built. Small dog owners don't really use it though. A lady brought in a tiny schnauzer creature, must've been no more than 7lbs, and an american bulldog type sniffed the schnauzer (probably schnoodle actually) and suddenly flipped out barking and snarling and the owners grabbed the bulldog (who then redirected on an English Bulldog in the same family) and the schnoodle owner picked up her dog. Neither owner left the dog park. Norris and I left at that point.

The Bulldog shouldn't have been in the dog park. But I always worry about tiny dogs playing with 50lb+ dogs as well. I've seen dogs jump over each other, slam into each other and even do unintentional somersaults. What if a big dog landed on your 7lb dog and BROKE it?? Too big of risk IMO! I'm glad that Norris completely avoids little dogs, he thinks they are boring, lol.

 

[Landshark!]

I don't seek attention from dogs, I wait for them to approach me. My dog will sit politely and stare adoringly at people to solicit attention but it does bother me when people pick her up. I just feel like it's crossing some line, maybe it's because I see it as a stranger picking up my kid at the playground. This isn't turning into a kids vs dog debate, it's just an analogy because I can't quite nail the right description of how I feel about it.

 

[CrystalGSD]

Yeah, of course only if a dog is asking for attention, I especially know this because Crystal is the shy-away-please-don't-pet-me dog at the dog park.

 

[Annabell]

If a dog approaches me asking for attention, I'm going to pet it. If you don't want people petting your friendly dog, don't take it to the dog park.

Fable is pretty friendly with people, and if she goes up to someone asking for attention, then I don't mind at all if they pet her. I actually just started taking her to the dog park last week (after thinking she would never be able to handle it), and she has done great with everyone and their dogs.

 

[Shakou]

I haven't been to a dogpark in years and have no intentions of going to one, but if I did I'd be fine with other people petting and interacting with my dogs so long as they didn't push their bounds of comfort. If a dog comes running up to me, and clearly wants my attention, I'm not going to just blow it off or ignore it LOL. I've yet to hear of anyone who would have an issue like that at a dogpark, but I'm sure they exist.

 

[amberdyan]

Pretty much the same as everyone else- if a dog is running up to me clearly wanting some love, I'm not going to blow the dog off. Hugo doesn't really solicit attention from strangers, but he has approached someone who had canned dog food out before and tried to run through his rep. of tricks to get something from her and when we did a bow, she fed him. That really irritated me because he has grain allergies. Luckily it's not sensitive enough that one bite did anything but dang. Ask before you feed in every situation lady.

 

[Doberluv]

I haven't been to a dogpark in years and have no intentions of going to one, but if I did I'd be fine with other people petting and interacting with my dogs so long as they didn't push their bounds of comfort. If a dog comes running up to me, and clearly wants my attention, I'm not going to just blow it off or ignore it LOL. I've yet to hear of anyone who would have an issue like that at a dogpark, but I'm sure they exist.

Same here. I've only been to a little dog park once in a pretty low population area. No one else was there. I was looking for someplace for socializing my Poodles when they were younger where there were other small dogs. But the place was empty. I love it when people pat my dogs and fuss over them. It's so good for them. So, if I were in your position and someone's friendly dog came over to me for attention, I'd do the same thing you did.

 

[Sekah]

Pet, sure. Do not feed.

I personally ignore most loose dogs. I may extend my hand so they can sniff and say "hi buddy" but that's about it. I did have a handsome border collie approach me yesterday that Cohen seemed to like, so I pat his head for a bit while I chatted with the owners. Normally I avoid interacting with any dogs partly because Cohen gets nervous around them.