Dogs in parks

[catzmom7]

Hi,

Animal lover and rescuer here! Along with my cats, I have a dog, but as I am not going full time until Dec 2015, I doubt he will be around for that. Right now, I camp in state parks, so it has not been an issue, but I am wondering for the future:

I pretty much always have a dog, and have a particular affinity for German Shepards. (I lost my last one, at age 17, in April 2013). For anyone with a similar type of dog, do parks give you a hard time about the "bully breed" nonsense? I notice a lot of parks say, "dogs ok, with restrictions" and then will not accept certain breeds of dogs. How have any of you handled this? Do you just give up the idea of staying in private parks?

Yes, my Shepard Jill was a terrible bully. (Note sarcasm...) She decided she was mommy/foster doggy to all of the kitten batches that I fostered for local rescues! I have pics of this huge Shepard guarding romping kittens. JIll was a rescue, I bailed her out of the shelter when she was 13. I usually rescue middle-aged-to-senior dogs. Best dogs over!

[retiredhappy]

I absolutely agree with you that adopting senior or middle age dogs is a blessing. As for the "bully" breeds a lot of private parks do restrict various breeds. Its unfortunate because I've met some absolutely sweet "bully" breeds BUT the problem is usually the owners, not the dogs. There are many people who own "bully" breeds as a status symbol but never trained them well. When walking my dogs I've been "rushed" by bigger dogs because their owners couldn't control them. If your dog is VERY well behaved and not aggressive tell the park they are a retired service dog.

[Bethers]

Different parks have different restrictions. With some it's strictly size, some breeds. I've found that I have always been able to find parkswho didn't have restrictions I couldn't live with, regarding pets or anything else. So when one doesn't want me fir sine reason I just keep looking. I wouldn't want them either.

As an animal lover and advocate, however, I've seen many, many animals of larger sizes with owners that badly train them or can't control them. That's a pity for the poor pups and for the rest of us, because that's how the stupid rules come about. The same owners make the same mistakes with small dogs but can control them.

[Deeann]

I know this is a touchy subject but people often have legitimate reasons to be leery of dogs, especially large ones. And some of these bully breeds do have the ability to seriously injure, if not kill, a human. You can easily google this information and read it for yourself so don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger.

I know that when I am out walking I try to avoid large dogs. A friend of mine who winters in Mexico just had one of her Chihuahuas killed when it was attacked by a german shepherd on the beach. The shepherds owner likes to brag that his dog doesn't like small dogs. I know that the owner is at fault here but there are bad dog owners everywhere. If I get bitten by a dog it doesn't matter to me who is at fault, the dog or the owner. When a bad owner has a yorkie, it's not a problem. But when a bad owner has a bully breed, that is a problem.

If I pulled into a park and there were people walking their bully breeds there, I would not camp there. This is my personal choice and others can do as they think best also.

[catzmom7]

A good friend of mine has permanent scars on his face from a dog attack. A Shih tzu that someone thought was just so cute it belonged in a store. It launched on him for no reason from the shopping cart. He has permanent eye damage.

My brother still has numb spots on his leg from the chunk that was bitten off by a bassett hound.

Every big dog I have owned was a big, sweet baby. Sure, some people let their dogs (and their children, for that matter) become nightmares. That isn't breed or size specific.

[mitch5252]

..
I'm with Deeann on this one...big dogs scare me and I don't want them around Abby. If Abby gets into a situation with a smaller dog, there seems to me to be a lot less chance of serious injury (or death) until I can break them up. One chomp from a bully breed and she could be dead.

I know most owners of the bully breeds say their pooches are just as sweet as can be, but I don't know that and I can't trust that, so I'll keep my distance.

..

[Cudedog]

I know this is a touchy subject but people often have legitimate reasons to be leery of dogs, especially large ones. And some of these bully breeds do have the ability to seriously injure, if not kill, a human. You can easily google this information and read it for yourself so don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger.

Er. . . Deanne. Um. . . Whew. Wow. I really don't know what to say here.

The truth is that all dogs (from the tiniest Chihuahua) has the ability to seriously injure a human. All medium-to-large size dogs have the capability to kill. I would also take strong exception to your statement regarding the bully breeds: "you can easily google this information and read it for yourself". The internet being what it is, it is pretty easy to "prove" just about anything you might wish to on the internet by doing a Google search.

For example, there is plenty of incontrovertible "proof" (on the internet, of course) that lots of people have been abducted by aliens.

Just because it can be found on the internet, doesn't mean it is true. Anyone, anywhere, can put up a website about anything.

Do I have a stake in this discussion? You bet I do. I have owned the so-called "bully breeds" for more than thirty-five years. Through child rearing, and all the rest of it. For me, and for a great many other people, there is no better kind of dog.

I become distressed when blanket generalizations about the bully breeds are made. Like suggesting Google searches to "prove" that they are killers. It fills me with despair. This is especially true of the media. "Yorkie bites owner" is never news. It does not sell newspapers. "Bully bites owner" will sell a million of them: the economics of tragedy.

I thought of posting references to all of the hundreds of websites that have stories of wonderful bullies doing search-and-rescue, visiting convalescent hospitals (I have done this with my dogs), interacting with children, fostering kittens, agility, tracking, junior handling - well, really, just the gamut of what all good dogs do.

But it seems that your mind is already made up.

If I get bitten by a dog it doesn't matter to me who is at fault, the dog or the owner. When a bad owner has a yorkie, it's not a problem. But when a bad owner has a bully breed, that is a problem.

I disagree. When a bad owner has any breed of dog, now THAT is a problem. Including a Yorkie. Yorkies have teeth. Any dog that has teeth can bite. Ever seen what an unsocialized Yorkie can do to a small child's face?

If I pulled into a park and there were people walking their bully breeds there, I would not camp there. This is my personal choice and others can do as they think best also.

When traveling I always have my dogs with me. So I guess we will never meet in person.

This makes me sad. You are missing out on the opportunity of meeting many interesting people, and a great many wonderful dogs.

Anne

[monik7]

I tend to agree with you Anne. I love all dogs regardless of breed or size. It's the irresponsible owners that are the problem. To condemn all large-breed dogs because of a few owners who are clueless is crazy. I'm always careful with my dogs until I'm sure they are safe around other dogs, no matter the size or breed. When a dog is running loose, I'm even more careful. Just as in the rest of the world, it's the humans I fear more.
Sandi

[Cudedog]

I'm with Deeann on this one...big dogs scare me and I don't want them around Abby.

I am not fearful of big dogs in particular. However, I will always try to steer clear of any dog (big dogs, small dogs, whatever) if I can, for basically the same reasons you do: to avoid an altercation.

If Abby gets into a situation with a smaller dog, there seems to me to be a lot less chance of serious injury (or death) until I can break them up. One chomp from a bully breed and she could be dead.

I would not wish my dogs to "get into a situation" or be injured by another dog at all - seriously or otherwise. Even a little bit. But I am sure that this is what you mean as well.

In any case, once when I was out walking my dogs - always on leash - we were jumped by an off-leash Rottweiler (not a reflection on the dog, a reflection - as always - on the owner). I promptly sprayed the Rottie with pepper spray (my dogs did not react), which actually had little effect. The owner ran up about then and grabbed her dog, and got some of the spray that was on the dog into her eyes. She then accused me of assault, and threatened to call the police.

Why? Because (obviously) my vicious bullies were at fault. My local police station being nearby (and me being furious), I loaded my dogs into the car and drove there to see what might transpire. When I told the story the duty officer just laughed and rolled his eyes.

I never saw the woman again.

I know most owners of the bully breeds say their pooches are just as sweet as can be, but I don't know that and I can't trust that, so I'll keep my distance.

It has been my experience that all owners of all dogs (small, medium, large, or somewhere in between) almost always say that their pooches are just "as sweet as can be". Even when the dog in question is lunging at my dog, with teeth bared and hackles raised. Even the owner of the "sweetest" dog can be surprised when their dogs acts like. . . a dog.

It seems to me that people like to forget that dogs are not small people in fur coats - they are dogs. So, of course, they act like dogs. And why people are surprised by this always amazes me.

If owners would merely recognize that dogs will be dogs (of whatever the size or breed) there might be a lot less trouble in the world.

Anne

[mitch5252]

..
Some of your blanket statements made me chuckle.
I would bet money that if an adult (or any sized person for that matter) was killed by a raging and vicious Yorkie, it would make the evening news...

Ah, another subject in which we must agree to disagree.

..

[Deeann]

Well, I said to start with that this is a touchy subject.

Just because information comes from the internet doesn't make it false. There are lots of reputable news agencies on the internet that report reputable news. I don't have to go to shoddy sites to make my point that some breeds are more dangerous than others. I saw, with my own eyes, a pit bull attack a cop. The people who owned the pit said that he was so sweet that he could be the poster dog for pit bulls. They didn't witness what I did so they just didn't know that their dog had the potential to be vicious.

I really don't want to argue with anyone about dogs and how dangerous they can be. Dogs get reputations because of their behavior. Not from anything else. Good owner, bad owner, makes no difference. I don't want to be attacked by any dog but if an attack was imminent I'd rather it be a yorkie than a pittie.

And I always wonder why people feel the need to defend their breed of dog. Why does anyone care what another person thinks about their breed? I may think pits are dangerous but why does anyone feel the need to challenge me on my opinion? It really isn't necessary to be on the defensive all the time about a breed. I have a Chihuahua and I never feel the need to defend that.

Anne, I know you love your pitties. That's fine with me. I would never tell you that you can't own them. But they scare me and I don't want to be around them. Now really......what's wrong with that?

[catzmom7]

At one point, I picked up my German Shephard, when a small dog walked by. The lady looked at me like I was nuts, while her little dog was going crazy and trying to get at my dog. Think I made my point?

[BirdbyBird]

On a slightly different topic I think it is sensitive for all of us that share our lives with animals to remember and respect that not everyone is comfortable around our animals..... For what ever reason. There were individuals in the nursing home that didn't want a dog near them.
At our gtg's if someone says they aren't comfortable around dogs I will try to leave them back in the rig. There are plenty of other campfires and gatherings for them to get their people fix in.

[Bethers]

On a slightly different topic I think it is sensitive for all of us that share our lives with animals to remember and respect that not everyone is comfortable around our animals..... For what ever reason. There were individuals in the nursing home that didn't want a dog near them.
At our gtg's if someone says they aren't comfortable around dogs I will try to leave them back in the rig. There are plenty of other campfires and gatherings for them to get their people fix in.

Ah, if only people would do the same with children.

Agree with you, Tina. Now if people could learn just because a dog is cute or cuddly or whatever, it doesn't give them the right to run up to them, stick their hands in their faces, grab them or basically in any way interact with them unless told it's ok. And this goes for adults and children. Just today on a path where I am, I pulled Peaches off the trail to let a family pass. One child started to run up to Peaches, hands outstretched, not at all a good way to come up to a strange dog, friendly or not. I stepped in front of Peaches and said, sorry, please don't come to her or touch her. The child stopped. The parents said I shouldn't have an unfriendly dog in public. I nicely responded, my dog is calmly sitting here and is friendly, but children, and adults, have to learn how to properly approach animals. And children need to be made aware so that they won't be hurt inadvertently. Maybe they learned, maybe not.

Ok, that's somewhat off topic, but my love of animals is probably stronger than my love of the human race most of the time.

[Deeann]

Birdbybird, that's very considerate of you to keep your dogs in your camper as much as can reasonably be expected when others are uncomfortable around them. I salute you!

Beth, you are correct. People should not run up to strange dogs and try to pet them. I have had children run up to my Chihuahua many times because she is cute. I always pull my dog back to me and tell the children to stay away from her, that she will bite. I had one little boy that just kept it up. I had to get very stern with him and pick my dog up.

My dog is always on a leash. For her protection more than anyones.