Today I had a particularly unpleasant experience at one of my local Boston dog parks. This is a relatively small, very active, fenced in dog park and it was just after 5pm on a beautiful day, so it was busy. Jack, my dog, and I had been there for a few minutes when a very pretty husky type dog, bigger than Jack, tried to engage him in play. This dog would not give up, and even though he threw in a play bow here and there, his behavior was rude/aggressive.
Jack seemed to be handling it initially but this other dog was not reading his signals and would not back off; clearly a 'situation' was developing. Jack was clear as day in his signals to leave him alone - the other dog just didn't get it. Finally Jack tackled the dog and just held him there. The owner of the other dog had been observing this and was untroubled but finally came over when I started shouting. Some heated words were exchanged and I decided to leave the park. Another dog owner who'd seen the incident followed me out and explained that this guy, and his dog get into situations like this regularly.
Curious to know how other people would handle a similar situation? Leaving made sense here, but I may encounter this guy again, how should I handle it?
Jack seemed to be handling it initially but this other dog was not reading his signals and would not back off; clearly a 'situation' was developing. Jack was clear as day in his signals to leave him alone - the other dog just didn't get it. Finally Jack tackled the dog and just held him there. The owner of the other dog had been observing this and was untroubled but finally came over when I started shouting. Some heated words were exchanged and I decided to leave the park. Another dog owner who'd seen the incident followed me out and explained that this guy, and his dog get into situations like this regularly.
Curious to know how other people would handle a similar situation? Leaving made sense here, but I may encounter this guy again, how should I handle it?