An Embarrassing Trip to the Dog Park

[2dobies]

Yeaterday my family decided to go out of town to shop around looking at new furniture prices (we NEED new furniture, with 5 dogs in the house!!) and we had Darmok and Lucy, the little 8 lb rat terrier, with us.  We ended up in another town that had a rather nice dog park, so thought we'd let the dogs out to play for a while.  It was cold out and we figured the park would be desserted, but NOOOO it was packed!  So we let the 2 k9s out to play, and Dar behaved beautifully.  She accepted all the dogs' sniffs and butts like she was supposed to, and was having a good time, but Lucy decided to be our protector!  All the dogs there were big dogs, too.  A huge Malmute, an airdale, a 6 mo old dane puppy (which was adorable, by the way) and various big mixes.  Lucy snapped and growled and was one of those little ankle biters that I always made fun of!!!  She's 4 mo old and had never been around strange dogs before, but she was so embarrassing that we left.  The other dog owners thought she was funny at first--there's no way she could have hurt any of the dogs there, but she still ruined Dar's chance of having an enjoyable time!

[DixieSugarBear]

Poor Dar maybe you can make a trip to the park with just him.  I am sure Lucy will get better at playing nice.

[2dobies]

Well, we felt so bad about Darmok not having a good time that we went back the next day (it's a 30 minute drive to the park, but we're talking about my baby Darmok here! ) The rattie behaved MUCH better, and Dar had a real good time.  She doesnt get to go to a dog park often because it's just not very close, but Saturday she got to play with other dogs and see other people.  I had some boiled beef liver chunks in my sweatshirt pocket for my dogs because I still reward them for a good recall, and every dog in the park was following me around like I was a giant T-Bone!    One guy got a little upset with his golden retreiver pup (9 mo. old +/-) because it followed me around and didn't pay much attention to him, and he kept walking over to his dog and dragging him away.  He eventually snapped his leash on and left.  I felt kind of bad because I didn't want to make any enemies there, but gee, it wasnt like I was trying to bait his dog to me.  In fact, I wasnt handing out treats like candy, I saved them for recall rewards, which was my intent for even taking them.  Was that an "uncool" thing for me to do?  If thats not how the regular attendees of the dog park do, then I'll not take liver treats the next time.  What should I do?  Advise???

[ZooCrew]

Well, not to disappoint you, but most dog parks that have a posted sign with rules will usually have a "no outside food" rule.  We have people bring treat as well on occasion, which since our park is so small, all the dogs crowd around.

It doesn't bother me too much, although Keiko is glued to their side for the duration of our or their visit.  But if you have a food aggressive dog there, it could be problematic, even if you're not passing out treats.  Also some dogs don't have manners and could potetially injure you by jumping on you or biting at you or your clothes (we have one of those at our park.......... .even if you don't have food)

If the park is large enough, it shouldn't cause as much of a problem, as you or they can move to a different less populated area.

[DixieSugarBear]

It's your baby he should be able to get his treats.

[2dobies]

I dont recall seeing anything posted at all there.  In fact, if you didnt know that it was a dog park, there is nothing there that tells you that!  But, I will respect the other dog owners and not take stuff that has such a huge aroma as boiled beef liver next time !!   Maybe some of those awful store-bought dog cookies that have absolutely no smell or taste?  Nahhhh, my dogs would think that was a punishment! But, ZooCrew, what you said makes sense to me---hindsight, huh?  Just trying to be a "good neighbor"