Dogs are naturally social animals.. unfortunately, many people use the dog park as their sole source of exercise.. and bring unstable dogs to the park. My dogs listen well and play well with others.. but if there’s a rowdy dog there, I have to be sure to keep my 3 away from him, and I’ll even (TRY) to help out the owner of the other dog and tell them what’s wrong with the way they’re handling their dog. As far as parasites and diseases.. my 3 are on flea preventative, and interceptor.. and are UTD on their shots.. so there’s very little to worry about. Sarcoptic mange is about the only worry I have.. and it’s pretty obvious on a dog.

Still, I only go to the dog park on slow days/times, and make sure I keep an eye on all of my dogs so that they won’t get into trouble. But, yes, a lot of dog owners do not keep control, and that results in fights.

I also walk my dog to the park so that they aren’t full of energy when we get there. They are a bit tired, and therefore are more stable and pack-friendly upon arrival. People just don’t follow these simple guidelines.. and they don’t really understand basig dog psychology. It’s not that hard to recognize a dominant dog, and a dog who is about to attack. The trick is nipping it in the bud before something bad occurs.

Biggest Dog park pet peeve? little dogs who are so dominant, they pick fights with big dogs.. and their owner thinks that their pomeranian nipping and barking at other dogs is “cute.” (It’s not!) But if their dog starts a fight and comes out worse off.. it won’t be the pom’s fault, now will it?

I dont agree with dog parks either, but I guess its nice to let your dog run around and socialize, burn off some of the energy and get him used to being around different types of dogs? If thats the chance you want to take.
I prefer to get together with a group of friends with dogs, who i know are not carrying any diseases, fleas, lice and are not aggressive and have a little dog party. Then I know what I’m getting into, and not constantly wondering if my dog picked up anything at the dog park.

Some people don’t have to many other choices of where they can bring their dogs. Personally I don’t like the idea because the parks become littered with fecal matter, which is absolutely disgusting.

People send their kids to public school, don’t they?

Well I guess everyone has a right to take them to one. Some people have never had problems….and they like to socialize with other people…..To each their own.

Myself when and if we ever get a dog, it will not be going to any dog parks in our city. Some owners don’t get their dog vaccines, or obedience classes……..most of all someone is running around tossing down poisoned food so small no one sees it. Several dogs have died, some had liver problems and got treated. They never found who did it. Not all cities have this problem. I am just saying ours does. It’s so freaking sad. So I do agree with ya…..

Have a great Day Hun!!!

Its a good idea but, if a persons dog has some sort of a illness then that just spreads to everyone Else’s dog ! and if they don’t clean up . .it can be really disgusting place actually

Would you rather there be a thousand dogs at your community park, ********* and leaving fecal matter all over the place where your children can step in it?

I’d say not.

Dog parks aren’t ALL bad. Many parks require temperament tests in order to be allowed admittance. My park has gone high-tech and added little tags to admitted dogs’ collars for the day. If your dog is found to be unfit to enter the park, it doesn’t get a tag, and you don’t get a card to get in.

All of my dogs are tagged and I’m carded. We’ve never had an incident in our park since they’ve enstated this technique

Dog parks are generally unhealthy too, but once again, if you have your dog inoculated, trained to listen to your commands, and is well socialized, you’re fine.

I can honestly respect your opinion and frustration but for myself, I love our dog park; it is a wonderful place, very well maintained and a great place for our dogs to get an unlimited sources of exercise. Our park is broke down into 3 sections;

small section for dogs under 25lbs
medium section for aggressive dogs and or owners who are training their dog
large section for dogs over 25lbs

Each section is a very large area - I have 3 Pom’s and my husband and I go in the latter morning and usually there are very few people out there.

Our dog park has strict rules and regulations and is monitored by the city. You have to be city licensed to use the park, violators are heavily fined.

Before we even take my boys into their section we check it out - if we get bad vibes we leave. We have been going now for a year and personally we have never had a problem. I have never seen a dog fight but have heard of them.

My little guys love to go - they run and run - and it even gives them the chance to interact sometimes. We would never put our boys into any situation that might cause them harm - but we also enjoy seeing them run, play and taking in the sites that peak their curiosity, we have as much fun as they do and we have even met some really nice people as well.

In the UK there are country parks that I go to with my dog. There are walkers, runners, mothers pushing babies. people on bicycles, kids on skate boards and people flying kites. There are also people who walk their dogs and let them run free. The dogs are well behaved and my dog has made a number of friends. I would like to know what dogs parks in America are. Is it a large concreted area where only dogs are admitted?. Can the dogs walk for miles, off the leash, in safety. Or is it just a big yard where they can play. I cannot understand the problem.

there veyr good if u can controol them because dogs crave for social injoyment they love meeting new dogs