Rhys Terrorized at The Dog Park!

[ZoeRestorick]

My sweet little baby girl was victimized again at the dog park! Twice we have been there and there is this nasty Husky who immediately zeroes in on my precious girl, bites her and has her all down on the ground terrified! The husky's dad said tonight that he has had enough and will probably stop coming there... I sure hope so. If you have a nasty and vicious dog, don't take them to a public place to victimize sweet little babies. For the love of God. My poor Rhys is so well adjusted, I don't want her to become a petrified mess.

 

[Gatorblu]

Poor Rhys! I've been where you are at. There was one dog, a 150 lb mastiff, that if we saw him at the park we would leave. He got into with one of my dogs, which shocked everyone, and the owner had no verbal control of the dog and was out weighed by the dog so didn't help me one bit. They didn't even apologize.

 

[chrystel]

For some reason, my sweet Snatch gets bullied each time at dog parks by.. labradors..
I have no idea why... but labs tend to bully him



On the other hand.. Oxford is a bully.. so he is a "no no" for dog parks


The sum of it: I can't go to dog parks

 

[TwoDogs]

The sad thing is that just when that Husky is in most need of remedial socialization experiences, his owner is probably going to stop taking the dog out. I see alot of people who take their dogs to dog parks or out in public as young pups and then when the dog hits adolescence and starts behaving like a bratty, bossy teenager they pull the plug on socialization experiences and the dog gets left at home and never learns a better way to behave. If you by chance see the Husky's owner again, please recommend he see a behaviorist with his dog to help him sort out the reason for his dog's behavior as well as a way to remedy it.

 

[LILYLARUE]

IMO: Dog parks are NOT the place to socialize your pup. Too many reasons, most of which are: Other unsocialized dogs, bullies, owners utilizing the park for dog's excercise, dogs too high energy, etc. Some people have no problems at the parks, but it can only take one bad experience to destroy your dog's good nature. It only takes one or two bad experiences to mess up your dog's trust and apprehension. Then you have a fearful aggressive dog on YOUR hands.

The best way to socialize a dog with others is to do it one-on-one or in a very small group. Some dogs just get overwelmed with all the other dogs and their energies in the mix. Find a few, well balanced dogs and set up your own playdates. Until your pup is confident and trusting in you to protect them, stay clear of dog parks. It's just a risk not worth taking.

My Lily was attacked 3 times in the park. All three times I didn't protect her until after the fact (by pulling her out of the mess). "It's very much like putting your kid in a playground of different personalities of kids and bullies and saying fend for your self, but if you get hurt, I will help you then". Who would do that to a child? How are you preventing the bad experience doing it that way? Each time, I lost her trust because I didn't PREVENT IT. She is extremely fearful and aggressive towards dogs now. It has taken a trip to a very respected behaviorist and 3x daily of training. She isn't allowed to be around or even see other dog's for a while until her non-reaction has become a normal behavior. To continue to put her in high-stress situations, even sight of dogs, will just imbed her reaction into her normal behavioral process. She will never be the same dog as before the attacks. She may never be able to be around a group of dogs without being fearful and reacting aggressively.

It is soo hard to undo what is done to dogs learned behavior. They never forget how their reactions had worked in the past and will continue to utilize the method each time! And to keep putting a dog into a high-stress situation is just asking for the dog to keep reacting, practicing the reaction, and eventually the dog will be the aggressor just to protect itself.

 

[kayboxer]

I am actually helping bring a dog park to our town. We are a small community of around 17,000. I'm very excited for this and have worked hard in developing it. My question is, weren't there rules posted about aggressive behavior? I know one of our rules is going to be "An owner must remove the dog at the FIRST sign of aggressive behavior towards other dogs". A dog park is a place for dogs who are socialized to run and play and have fun. It is not a place to test a dog to see if they get along with others and teach them socialization. That should be done in a controlled setting such as obedience class, puppy kindergarten, small groups. If this is a rule at your park, I would point it out to the owner of the Husky. I know, a few will try to break this rule, but usually there are the regulars who go and watch out for others that will handle the situation.
I'm so sorry that happened to your baby, that just makes me so mad when people use a dog park to attempt to socialize a naughty dog. I agree with the above, obedience/socialization class with a behaviorist/trainer is what that dog needs.

 

[chrystel]

Lisa, i agree with you! dog park can be filled with out of control dogs!

I found a GREAT place here in North Dallas. It's a GREAT day care When Oxford will be ok from his TPLO, i will begin working with the guy over there.
i have borded Oxford there, and he had a blast!

Oxford is dog reactive - fear aggressive.
The man say they start the day with a pack walk, 30 min on leash, all boarded dogs together.
Then they are allowed to play.

Oxford played with every dog there!! No sign of aggression maybe because he trusts the owner of the daycare? Maybe Oxford feels that this man has control and nothing will happen to him?

Anyway, this man is very very nice and agreed for me to use his place to work with Oxy.
I will come maybe once a week first, then twice a week... not long first.

Then he will let me know when he sees Oxford completely relaxed around all dogs.

Then maybe, i will be able to enter the place.

Oxford tends to be way more reactive when i am with him...

over there, his "best friends" are a great dane, a doberman and a pitt i have many pics from the guy so he could prove me my dog was NOT aggressive at all! i am so happy i met this awesome man!

 

[iluvfrankie]

The poor baby and poor u too! Hopefully that Husky is a thing of the past now!

 

[alyssakitz]

For us the dog park is hit and miss. Zoe was attacked by an unsocialized chihuahua and required stitches. After that the park seemed to stress her out. I stopped going for a long time as it was just too stressful. Now I've found a great group of dogs that go every morning at the same time. But there are some dogs I know just don't mix with my Zoe. When they come in, we leave. It's a bummer, but since some people clearly can't read their dogs, or in some cases just choose to ignore the signs, I figure better to leave than to risk another incident.

Sorry this keeps happening! I'd scope out the park before going in and if they are there, wait to enter until they leave.

 

[ZoeRestorick]

The sad thing is that just when that Husky is in most need of remedial socialization experiences, his owner is probably going to stop taking the dog out. I see alot of people who take their dogs to dog parks or out in public as young pups and then when the dog hits adolescence and starts behaving like a bratty, bossy teenager they pull the plug on socialization experiences and the dog gets left at home and never learns a better way to behave. If you by chance see the Husky's owner again, please recommend he see a behaviorist with his dog to help him sort out the reason for his dog's behavior as well as a way to remedy it.

SO TRUE. I will definitely suggest this! Thank you. I feel bad for the husky as well with no sense of guidance.