Our two dogs at their favorite dog park
Living in the Denver Metro area of Colorado, we very much appreciate and utilize our local off-leash dog parks. Specifically, we go to the large ones next to the reservoirs. To hike around the perimeter of one is about 2 miles. The other is about 1.5 miles. We circle and zig and zag throughout the walks each time making each visit about 3 miles for us. As the dogs are off-leash and running to and fro, goodness knows how many miles they log, but it can’t be less than 3.
These areas are great, and for the most part, the dogs all behave and have a good time. At times, the less-than-trained or perhaps just overly-excited dogs do show up, and drama can occur. There’s also the scared ones and the grumpy ones which can create issues. No dog is perfect, and they all have their good days and bad days, just like we do. For the most part, the folks you see at the dog park know and understand dogs and are highly tolerant of any perceived transgression.
They understand when a dog just wants to play but maybe comes in a little strong, or is barking a lot but not being vicious, or is chasing the dog that wanted to be chased, but is not attacking them. No one wants their dog attacked and injured, but even with all the growling, barking, wrestling and snarling I’ve seen occur at dog parks, I can’t ever recall an honest-to-goodness dog fight where someone got hurt. I know it can happen and we’ve been very lucky, but given the amount of hours we spend at dog parks, I have to conclude it seldom occurs. (Of course, we also go to large parks where the dogs all have their own space and only briefly cross paths. I’d guess the more urban parks with limited space and high concentration of dogs sees more incidents.)
Our advice to dog owners bringing their dog to a dog park.
- Make sure your dog is comfortable around lots of strange dogs and people. If not, the dog park is not the place for you.
- Know your dog and know basic dog behavior. If you can’t tell the difference between “play” and “attack”, or “I want to meet you” vs. “leave me alone”, you’re likely not going to have a good time, and may inadvertently created incidents which could have been easily avoided with common sense.
- Voice and Sight Control is the rule. This means your dog is always within range of your voice and will immediately comply with your command, no excuses. It also means your dog must always be in your field of vision.
- If you believe the behavior of another dog needs to be addressed, try to stay calm. The simplest thing to ask the owner is “would you mind placing your dog on a leash?” – screaming, yelling, name calling, etc won’t get anyone anywhere.
- If bringing a child, make sure they are trained about how to behave around dogs as well. No training in the world can override animal instinct, and if anyone surprises or scares a dog by lunging out and grabbing them, there is likely going to be a reaction. It’s best if kids are not the cause, and on the receiving end, of this reaction.
Dogs in public parks
Recently, a thread amongst neighbors exploded when one guy complained about aggressive off-leash dogs in the local park. He and his dog had been attacked by off-leash dogs while walking in a public park, on-leash, as required by local ordinance. Some very passionate dog owners all piped up with exclamations about how good their dogs were and it wasn’t fair they didn’t have access to off-leash areas, so they were going to have their dogs run off leash anyway. This was countered by many who either felt the law should be followed simply because it’s the law, to those who had also been attacked or threatened by more than one of these “good” dogs and vowed to cause various levels of harm to any off-leash dog they encounter. It really got out of hand.
Here are our practical suggestion for dogs in a public park where leashes are required:
- Keep your dog on a leash. It’s the law, and as a good neighbor we should all respect the rules and expect our neighbors to do the same.
- If you do let your dog off leash, you are 100% responsible for any incidents that may occur, and this even includes the crazy guy who overreacts to an off-leash dog in any manner. He’s wrong, but you caused it and are therefore responsible. The way to avoid this is to do what you’re supposed to.
- If you do let your dog off-leash, try to be reasonable. An abandoned park at 5am might be okay. Lots of other dogs and families running around on a Saturday afternoon is not.
- If you spot a dog off leash, and this really upsets you no matter the behavior of the dog, call animal control. If you must confront the owner, keep it calm and simply ask “would you mind putting your dog on leash?” You can remind them it’s a public park and the law. If that doesn’t work, walk away and call animal control. Real simple.
So go on and get your dog out…
