Izzy LOVES the dog park. We have a free local dog park not far from home. We've been going about 2-3 times a week since Izzy finished her vaccines and have NEVER had a problem... until today.
Cue rant.
Today when we arrived at the dog park there were 3 dogs already there. I walked in and unclipped Izzy's harness like I always do. The 3 dogs charged across the park to greet her. The largest of the three, I believe was a male am staff mix began to "play" with Izzy. This dog quickly escalates and won't even let Izzy off of the ground. I look to the owner expecting her to apologize and get control of her dog. SHE DOESN'T. Now the other dogs have joined in and Izzy yelps, a clear indication of "knock it off that hurt." Well this causes the larger dog to escalate further and start chasing her everytime she gets up. So I try to grab Izzy and the other dogs owner laughs and tells me to relax. "Look at their ears and tails, its obvious they're just playing." To which I responded with, "Really? Because my puppy is crying. You need to get control of your dog so I can get my puppy out of here."
Now let me give you a visual of this fabulous specimen of a dog owner. She was wearing pink yoga pants with a too tight white tank top, french manicure, and had recently done her hair. She gingerly picks up her dogs leash and says, "now Roscoe* stop that. I said stop that.... nooo roscoe." So I did something I normally would never do, I put myself between him and Izzy and picked her up. I then, without another word, proceeded to go over to the small dog inclosure so I could wash the mud off of Izzy before we left.
While rinsing her off, I noticed that she did infact have a scrape on her belly from the other dog. By this point my blood is boiling. At this very moment the dogs owner approaches from the other side of the fence and says, "I'm sorry that was scary for you, he really was just playing with her." I had had enough, I lifted Izzy up and showed the woman her stomach, "Does this look like playing, she could have seriously been hurt. Stop making excuses for your dog and be a responsible pet owner. We have never, in the past 2 months, had a problem here. If you can't control your dog, you shouldn't bring him here. Every person and dog has the right to feel safe coming here." With that she picked up her coach purse, leashed her dog, and left.
To the woman who clearly must have a degree in dog psychology and body language *note the sarcasm that was intended* here is an excerpt from www.pet.webmd.com.
When dogs play, they often play-bow, paw at each other and bounce around like puppies. Their bodies look relaxed, rather than stiff, and they might make “play faces”-they hold their mouths open and look like they’re smiling. During play, the dogs might growl playfully and open their mouths wide, exposing their teeth and pretending to be ferocious. They might switch roles so that one dog’s sometimes on top when wrestling and sometimes on her back, sometimes chasing and sometimes being chased, sometimes pouncing and sometimes getting pounced on. The dogs might also frequently switch games, alternating between stalking and chasing each other, wrestling and rolling around on the ground, mouthing on each other, playing with toys, and taking breaks to drink water or sniff around. As the dogs run and wrestle, you might notice them pausing or freezing frequently for just a second or two before launching back into the game. These little pauses and breaks in play help ensure that play doesn’t get out of hand.
If possible, watch for warning signs and step in before a fight happens. Your first clue that things aren’t going well during play might be the absence of all the signs of polite play described above. Instead of those signs, you might notice the dogs’ bodies becoming stiffer and more tense. Their movements might seem faster and less bouncy. Play might become louder and build in intensity, without any breaks or pauses. If you see any of these signs, it’s time to separate the playmates. You should also interrupt play if you see a dog who’s pursuing and playing too roughly with a playmate who’s trying to get away, or who’s repeatedly knocking down or standing over another dog. Intervene immediately if a number of dogs start to chase a single dog-especially if that dog is small.
End rant.
Thanks for reading. If you've ever had a less than pleasant experience at the dog park, tell me about it and how you handled it, in the comments :)
*name has been changed
No comments:
Post a Comment