I haven't done a dog park rant in about a year - and unfortunately, it's time for me to address leash-free etiquette yet again.
The issue:
Last Friday, we were at our local leash-free. It was a great bunch of dogs (and people!). At one point in the evening, a gentleman entered the park with his female bulldog, "Angel". He kept her on leash. He made his way around to each dog to see how his dog would react. Zoë was over at the other end of the park. Someone asked this owner if he would be taking Angel off leash. He answered that "I have to see about this dog first" (meaning Zoë). He headed over towards Zoë. I don't know what type of body posturing Angel did, but Zoë immediately put her tail down and slunk away - back towards us and the other group of dogs.
This should have set off an alarm in the owner's head. It didn't. He approached the rest of the group and took her off leash.
Angel immediately b-lined for Zoë. She immediately attacked our Blue. Zoë is not the type of dog that will fight back and immediately cowered, but the Angel persisted. It lunged continuously at our little Blue. I quickly reached in, grabbed Angel by the collar and pulled the 90 lb dog off and away from Zoë. Meantime, Kypros secured Zoë.
We quickly took Zoë to the opposite end of the park. She sat beside a picnic table shaking. We checked her and found that the Bulldog had cut her right beside her eye.
Great.
The gentleman had meanwhile re-leashed his dog and was making his way towards us. He kept his distance, but asked, "Is your dog OK?" Kypros answered that she had been cut by her eye. He didn't acknowledge this, but turned back, reached down, patted Angel on the head and walked away.
No apology. Nothing. Nada.
The Skinny:
Angel has been coming to the dog park for about 1.5 years. Apparently, she was boarded for a week and after that, the owner witnessed a serious personality change - aggressive and hostile. He stayed away from the dog park for months, walking his dog around the park, but not bringing her in. He has recently started bringing her back in.
We also learned that night that Angel has a "problem" with black dogs.
The question:
If the owner knows his dog has 'issues', why isn't she muzzled and for that matter, why bring her in at all?
My opinion (for what it's worth):
At a leash-free dog park, there is an expectation of safety. As responsible owners, we need to trust not only the dogs, but the people who frequent the park. Many of us pay our volunteer membership rate of $10 to Leash-Free Mississauga. It seems that those who cause the most problems are non-members who always shout about their "rights" to be in the park. Fine and fair enough. But please people, if your dog is aggressive, if you don't have control, please keep your dog away from the responsible dogs and their owners.
Zoë, by the way, is fine and dandy. She has been back at the park since and had a great time. She is still the best of buddies with Rocky the American Bulldog - proving it’s not the breed, its’s what’s behind the leash that counts!!!
That's it for tonight everyone - thanks for the opportunity to rant!!!
The issue:
Last Friday, we were at our local leash-free. It was a great bunch of dogs (and people!). At one point in the evening, a gentleman entered the park with his female bulldog, "Angel". He kept her on leash. He made his way around to each dog to see how his dog would react. Zoë was over at the other end of the park. Someone asked this owner if he would be taking Angel off leash. He answered that "I have to see about this dog first" (meaning Zoë). He headed over towards Zoë. I don't know what type of body posturing Angel did, but Zoë immediately put her tail down and slunk away - back towards us and the other group of dogs.
This should have set off an alarm in the owner's head. It didn't. He approached the rest of the group and took her off leash.
Angel immediately b-lined for Zoë. She immediately attacked our Blue. Zoë is not the type of dog that will fight back and immediately cowered, but the Angel persisted. It lunged continuously at our little Blue. I quickly reached in, grabbed Angel by the collar and pulled the 90 lb dog off and away from Zoë. Meantime, Kypros secured Zoë.
We quickly took Zoë to the opposite end of the park. She sat beside a picnic table shaking. We checked her and found that the Bulldog had cut her right beside her eye.
Great.
The gentleman had meanwhile re-leashed his dog and was making his way towards us. He kept his distance, but asked, "Is your dog OK?" Kypros answered that she had been cut by her eye. He didn't acknowledge this, but turned back, reached down, patted Angel on the head and walked away.
No apology. Nothing. Nada.
The Skinny:
Angel has been coming to the dog park for about 1.5 years. Apparently, she was boarded for a week and after that, the owner witnessed a serious personality change - aggressive and hostile. He stayed away from the dog park for months, walking his dog around the park, but not bringing her in. He has recently started bringing her back in.
We also learned that night that Angel has a "problem" with black dogs.
The question:
If the owner knows his dog has 'issues', why isn't she muzzled and for that matter, why bring her in at all?
My opinion (for what it's worth):
At a leash-free dog park, there is an expectation of safety. As responsible owners, we need to trust not only the dogs, but the people who frequent the park. Many of us pay our volunteer membership rate of $10 to Leash-Free Mississauga. It seems that those who cause the most problems are non-members who always shout about their "rights" to be in the park. Fine and fair enough. But please people, if your dog is aggressive, if you don't have control, please keep your dog away from the responsible dogs and their owners.
Zoë, by the way, is fine and dandy. She has been back at the park since and had a great time. She is still the best of buddies with Rocky the American Bulldog - proving it’s not the breed, its’s what’s behind the leash that counts!!!
That's it for tonight everyone - thanks for the opportunity to rant!!!
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