It seems to me there are a couple of issues here. I don't think a shelter wants just any JoeBloe walking in one day to say "hey I'd like to help by walking your dogs". The shelter needs to know something about its volunteers though a criminal check might be a bit much. If someone has been volunteering at a shelter for some time so the staff knows them and now new policies are being put into effect, then the shelter should have some sort of informational meeting/handout for all its volunteers so they know what and why. And even when volunteers have been accepted, some mini-training should be included for handling dogs. Many shelter dogs have been abused so I wouldn't want a volunteer who grew up under the "old" system of training with spanking and collar yerking now handling a special needs dog. Actual certification for dog walkers - no - the government intrudes enough.
Attacked at the dog park
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Dog parks scare the heck out of me! I have known of WAY too many dogs that have been attacked and seriously injured/traumatized at dog parks. I know my dogs' limitations and issues, and they are as trained as possible with a Basenji, but I have absolutely no faith in the other people bringing dogs there. (just see the posts in Chit Chat about People Annoy Me…) So we don't take them to dog parks - took 3 one time when we were in Las Vegas for a show - we were staying in a motel and felt guilty about them having to spend so much time in their crates. We went to the "Small Dog" section to avoid Shepards, Pits, etc. We only stayed about 15 minutes even so, because, while ours were pretty good, they kind of had their own little pack going and Dude was very protective of the girls. Didn't want to take any chances.
Terry
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I'm glad that Chase wasn't seriously injured and had you been able to get in there you may also have had to take a trip to the hospital. Be thankful it wasn't worse.
I took Apache to our dog park,small dog section, from the time he was four months old and all went well until he hit about a year and a half old. I let him in one time and he went after the first four dogs he saw. I tried once more and he did the same thing, so we don't go anymore. I'm not risking him or another dog getting hurt and there's no way I would put him in with the large dogs. I saw more then a few fights there and I even stopped taking Marlowe because I got tired of watching my dog and half of the other ones because their owners were on cell phones or too busy chit chatting.
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Amen about dog parks, Terry… I totally agree with you.. but some do well at them... just not me or my B's....
And back to the org thread.. if this Beagle was neutered and mounting then IMO it was dominace.. not sexual... and very understandable in a dog park situation...
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reading the original thread, this situation could have been SOOOO much worse.. and im glad this thread isn't about how your dogs got seriously injured! Thank god it was just a few bite marks/scratches! I hope that your baby gets better super soon and i hope that the owners of those pits think twice about bringing them out in public without a muzzle.. if they do they are ignorant to the fact that they could lose their dogs from something like this happening once.. let alone multiple times! Gladly they were there to pull them off your little furbaby! i know i'd die if something happened to either of my babies!
I don't know if that is necessary…but the owners should keep them out of the dog park. IMO it should be one strike and you're out in a dog park situation. All kinds of crazy dog/dog interactions go on at dog parks, and it isn't hard to strike excitement, and over arrousal in dogs of an sort. I don't think that means that those pits are necessarily aggressive, or dangerous if on lead and under control. We don't want to overreact because of their breed, when it could have been any kind of dog (particularly any kind of terrier) that would do the same thing in a dog park.
JMO....
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Amen about dog parks, Terry… I totally agree with you.. but some do well at them... just not me or my B's....
And back to the org thread.. if this Beagle was neutered and mounting then IMO it was dominace.. not sexual... and very understandable in a dog park situation...
Well, there could be lots of reasons for mounting. All the dogs could be neutered, and the bitch could have a UTI….all the dogs could have been playing, and the beagle got overstimulated, and decided to hump her, especially if he was young. It could have been dominance...but not necessarily, humping happens in lots of social situations. She could have been flagging him, for whatever reason, then changed her mind...god knows that happens! Bad choice by the Beagle, for whatever reason though
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More and more studies are showing that humping is a stress reliever for dogs and not always about dominance and not even most of the time is it about dominance. When the dog first started to hump the female pit bull the owner should have gotten involved and if the beagle couldn't be redirected to other activities they should have left.
There are some people who go to dog parks that are very good a reading dog body language and manage their dogs very well. There are others that are absolute morons. The problem is that you have no idea which will be there when you go. I have puppy owners who use dog parks frequently, they have no yards for their dogs and this is the only way for them to get offleash play. They have a schedule for when they go as do most "regulars" so their dogs have a sort of regular "play group". When new dogs come their owners monitor their dogs closely and if it is not a good match they leave. They work hard to do their best to keep their dogs safe and other people's dogs safe. Dog parks are definately not for everyone or every dog but for some they do have their place.
I go on group dog walks with my 2 younger girls offleash. These are dogs that I know and my dogs know. We are always moving and the dogs have lots of space to make choices about who to interact with and who not to. Both my girls love the walks but only Sophie really likes to be very social. Rio is polite with the other dogs but really only plays with her sister and the whippet in the group. She also tries to stay well away from any dog that is willing to jump in the slough for a swim but she still gets along well with the group.
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I am just angry at myself for not trusting my instincts about not going there, I have been noticing things that didn't make me comfortable but I ignored them and took them anyway thinking only that I needed them to be tired because I didn't feel well.
We haven't been going to this park at all lately because of people on cell phones, not watching their dogs and dogs that seem more aggressive. Zahra has a problem annoying a big white fluffly dog that comes there so that is another reason that we haven't been going. Zahra just won't leave this dog alone, she tries to get her to play and the owner gets really mad. I'm sure you guys will know what I am talking about, Zahra lays her ears back and does the little devil dance and keeps jumping up on the big white fluffy dog and then spins around in circles and does the dance again. Even though she isn't being aggressive I know it was really annoying the owner so we have been staying away, when we are there and he is there I am right behind Zahra where ever she is in that park so that she is not annoying his dog.
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Ivoss,
I am so glad that you said this. I know there is a lot of controversy about dog parks some love them some hate them but we do not have a big back yard so a dog park gives these guys the freedom to run off leash. The look on their faces when they are zooming around this big park (not the one where Chase got attacked) is priceless to me, they could never get up to that speed in my tiny back yard.
Chase normally just runs and runs when we are at the dog park, he doesn't tend to go near a big group of dogs. He is happy to either be running and leading a pack of dogs chasing him or he is peeing on every tree and fence there.
I am definetly one of those pet owners who is always walking around the park and trying to be right in the location where they are at in case something happens. I don't think it is proper etiquette to be sitting on a bench chit chatting. I want to know where my dogs are at all times. Since Zahra can not stand to be away from Chase this makes keeping both of them in my eye sight easy.
He is milking this for everything I think, DH let him sleep in our bed last night! LOL! He is laying here on my legs right now very content. He even got some extra treats at PetSmart last night.
I have puppy owners who use dog parks frequently, they have no yards for their dogs and this is the only way for them to get offleash play. They have a schedule for when they go as do most "regulars" so their dogs have a sort of regular "play group". When new dogs come their owners monitor their dogs closely and if it is not a good match they leave. They work hard to do their best to keep their dogs safe and other people's dogs safe. Dog parks are definately not for everyone or every dog but for some they do have their place.
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Lisa, your walking group is really cool. Those photos were great. I wish we had something like that around here. Unfortunately, I am a nervous nelly when the dogs are off lead, and the dogs pick up on it, so I don't know if that would work for us. But it seems like a great training and socialization group.
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I was really nervous the first walk I did. And I am still probably much more ready to leash up my dogs then some of the other people that go. Rio was a great "starter" dog for the walks because she has never really wanted to be very far from me and is very responsive to her name. I think if Sophie had been the first one I tried I wouldn't have been able to do it. She is so much more bold than her sister and on that first walk I would probably have been such a nervous wreck that I wouldn't have come back.
We are really lucky to have the type of places we do to take the dogs for their walks and the group of dogs is just great. It is really a special opportunity.
Here is a link to photos of the group on a walk.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9610696@N03/sets/72157603219229770
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I know you can't help but feel guilty–but you shouldn't (easy for me to say). I was in that situation once where a big rottie came after my little B in a training class, and I just froze--I couldn't do anything. My boyfriend--who was on the sidelines watching the class finally yelled at me--pick him up!!!! Thank goodness it wasn't worse--and he's on antibiotics. It sounds like he will be fine.
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Jenn-it's not your fault and you did the best you could given the situation. If all of the owners were more like you the incident probably would never have happened. Don't blame yourself your intentions were good & you wanted to do something good for your dogs. These things happen & no matter how many signs we get it's all beyond our control.
More and more studies are showing that humping is a stress reliever for dogs and not always about dominance and not even most of the time is it about dominance. When the dog first started to hump the female pit bull the owner should have gotten involved and if the beagle couldn't be redirected to other activities they should have left.
I totally agree with this. There should be NO HUMPING…it just causes too much excitability in all dogs. Even at home C3PO tries to do this once in a blue moon & I do not allow it & he's asked to calm down in his crate with a treat.
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So glad Chase is not badly injured. Like Lisa said, some parks are great, and it depends on having a group of diligent regulars that are willing to step up to the plate if necessary. We have a great group, but we watch the gate for dogs coming in that are posturing or acting stressed, then we call ours in close. But they do so love to run in the huge park, and get into a big 5 or 10 dog chase, or fence-run with the fluffy squeaky-toys in the small dog park. It can be a joy, but there is an inherent risk, even with vigilance. We love some, and won't go to others.
Anne in Tampa
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So, how is your dog now? Ok?
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So, how is your dog now? Ok?
Thanks for asking. Chase is doing great now, he is a resilient little guy! All of his bite marks have healed and we went to the dog park this past weekend with youngandtired & Sahara. He was fine at the dog park, except now he kept trying to hump a couple of other dogs. I stepped in and made him time out for a while.
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Glad to hear he's all better!
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I'm glad things ended up okay for your dog.
At the dog park in my area, if dogs become aggressive they are not allowed to return (I'm not sure how that is enforced). I would suggest putting up a notice at your park, explaining what happened to warn other dogs and their owners. Maybe the pit owners will see that and take the hint. -
I love happy endings
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Attack isn't the only part of dog parks I dislike. I think they are dirty and a pet owner doesn't know if the other dogs are being well taken care of and vetted. My vet agrees and went a step further to say that highway rest stops were one of the worst places for disease.
