Quote:
Originally Posted by NewGuard84
Aggressive or dangerous dogs are a liability for their owners, sometimes criminal.
I love dogs as much as any dog lover, but when an animal is a threat to others and their owners cannot control them (and sometimes get defensive), it’s a do what you must situation. Glad this ended how it did. Imagine a small child getting unlucky.
I think a reasonable preventative measure is reporting problem situations when encountered, if it’s bad enough. Everyone seems to tolerate this until a real incident happens.
Please give your girl a scratch behind the ears for me and good job responding.
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This! Poor, irresponsible owners need to be held libel and responsible for their dogs bad behavior. Reporting aggressive dogs will force the owners to take responsibility for their dogs behavior.
A dog park should be a place that's safe to take any dog and should help reinforce positive socialization behavior which is essential if a dog is to be taken out in public and expected to interact in a positive manner.
Yes, a lot of dog behavior is instinctive but instinct can be directed in positive ways with the proper behavioral training.
There is a saying that there is no bad dogs, just bad owners, and that's true in large part, although not universal. Owners who either don't understand or don't care to properly socialize their dogs from a very early age are the cause of a lot of dog issues in the parks.
The first 12 weeks of a dogs life are critical in learning and experiencing a wide range of activities, situations and interactions in a positive environment.
Doing the right things right at this early stage can instill the fundamentals to set the dog up properly for the rest of it's life. Failure by the breeder and/or owner to recognize this and put the time and effort in tips the scales from an ounce of prevention situation to a pound of cure requirement.
Of course, in the case of a rescue dog, all bets are off as to what exposure they may have had in their early life. While bringing a rescue dog into your life is an admirable undertaking, it should come with a commitment and understanding that they may require a significant amount of behavioral work if the intention is to engage and interact with other dogs in an off-lease dog park environment. Some dogs are never able to overcome behavioral issues regardless of the amount of rehabilitation effort.
That's fine too, but it's up to the owner to recognize this and to never put their dog in a situation that's a set up to failure because when that happens, it's on the owner, not the dog, although the dog may end up paying the ultimate price.
It's not your dogs right to run amuck and terrorize other dogs in a public dog park, but as an owner you are responsible for it's behavior. Going to a dog park shouldn't be a social event for the owners. Many times I've seen them gather to chat in groups or stare obsessively at their Iphones and completely ignore their dogs behavior. Keep it on a lease and/or stay out of the park if your dog has issues, it's your responsibility.