Monday, January 25, 2016

Dog Park Etiquette Fail and a PSA


On Friday the sun finally came out and I took the girls to the park. We were running seriously low on new photos so I definitely wanted to get some and the girls got play time so it was a win-win situation. We did our thing, the girls ran around and I took photos. It started to get late so I took an exit trail to head back to the car. On the way back the girls decided to go look for bunnies in the blackberry bushes. It's not my favorite thing that they do but since we haven't been near those bushes in a while, I figured I'd let them check them out. 

While I'm standing there waiting for the girls to catch up, this lady comes up on me with two black labs and as she gets up to where we were, Zoe pops out of the bushes and she's clearly limping. The lady even saw her limping and definitely heard me exclaiming about it. "Oh No!!! Zoe what did you do!? Why are you LIMPING!?" The lady then allows her two labs to just be in my face. They were skittering around me, jumping on me and generally being labs which would of been fine if Zoe wasn't hurt.

The lady continues to meander and by meander I mean she is slowly wandering up the trail, still making no effort to get her dogs out of my space. At this point I probably should of said something to her but I was starting to get mad. I knew I wouldn't be able to be polite so I said nothing. She stops part of the way up the trail and starts playing with her phone!!! Meanwhile, Zoe is still limping around and I really need to get her back on leash and check her foot.

What seemed like 10 minutes later this woman is still not getting her dogs and I can't get to Zoe because her dogs will not stop bothering me. She's still playing with her phone.

Note: This photo was taken before she was injured!

I know I talk all the time about being a proactive owner and it's because it's so important. I know it's hard to always think of all the things our dogs might do but common sense does go a long ways.
 
Dogs when they are hurt are not always nice. If you see someone at a park and their dog is injured or if an injury happens right in front of you, it's so important to get your dogs and keep your dogs out of their way. The person really needs to be able to check their dog, get the dog on leash and leave. They can't do that if your dog is getting in the way. If one of her dogs had jumped on Zoe in that moment, Zoe might not have reacted well to it. When dogs are hurt they may become aggressive. Even though they didn't bother Zoe, they definitely impeded me from getting to her which could of led to further injury.

Eventually this woman figured out that I was getting pissed and she did come and finally get her dogs. I was able to get Zoe back on leash and we hobbled about a half a mile to the car, taking frequent breaks. I couldn't find anything in her paw and I didn't see any entry points for thorns. I ended up bringing her home and soaking her in a warm bath for 30 minutes. She's still a little gimpy when we go outside over the past few days but we are taking it easy and not doing anything too strenuous. I'm making her rest and I sort of think she bruised her paw on a rock or she could of tweaked it stepping in a hole. Her leg and paw is not swollen, there's no heat in it or anything. I can wiggle it around and she doesn't act painful. She also does not limp at all inside our apartment. I'm sure she will probably be fine but I will take her to the vet if this continues.

Have you ever had an annoying experience at the dog park?

31 comments:

  1. CRIKEY ... Have I ever had an annoying experience at a dog park???? OMD! I could write a book. Most people are great but others just have NO idea. I hope Zoe's foots ok. Seems it is! Oh and those photos are so beautiful. Charlie's Mum, Lynn.

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    1. I bet you have! There are some dogs and people out there that are annoying and we really wish people would watch their dogs!

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  2. We don't go to dog parks because I don't do very well wif bigger dogs (I like some, but definitely not all), but we have had people just let their dogs run up to us on walks in the nayborhood or at the park (where dogs are supposed to be leashed). Really obnoxious behavior - not all dogs (or people for that matter) want random dogs running at them. The worst is when someone's aggressive dog charges and then the person claims their dog is just "being friendly." Friendly dogs don't growl and snap. Grrrr.

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    1. It can be very scary when any dog runs up to a dog who's on leash, aggressive or not! I'm sorry you've had those experiences! That's not fun at all!

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  3. We really only go to the really big ones and only during weekdays when almost no one is there. We don't go to socialize, since that isn't really out thing. Mom takes us so we can be off leash and romp around in a different area for a while. Hope the paw feels better soon.

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    1. That's what we do, too! We don't go to socialize either and we only go to the biggest park to hike and run free.

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  4. Oh yes I've had annoying experiences with other dogs. Too many to mention. We taught Little Bit not to bark needlessly. She was a very quiet dog on our boat. It's close quarters there and many let their dogs run free and they poop and the owners just walk off and leave the poop. It's so bad that our marina just issued the following warning. If your dog is off leash one warning. If your dog poops and you don't clean it up one warning. The second on either of these issues and your dog is no longer allows on the marina property. A bit harsh, but so needed.

    Have a fabulous day. Scritches to the babies. ☺

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    1. Not picking up the poop is my number one problem with my neighbors! It's so frustrating!

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  5. No dog parks for us. Too many human idiots with their rude dogs. It's not worth the rise in my blood pressure or the risk to Blueberry. At least the labs were friendly and seemed only interested in you - but still...that's one of the pet peeves I have with dog parks - people not paying attention to their dogs. They use it as personal time for themselves instead of engaging with their dogs.

    I remember one time B was limping along the trail and I could NOT see anything stuck in her paw. I finally had to stop and take a closer look and realized she had a broken off thorn in her pad that I was thankfully able to extract. It was SO hard to see because it was nearly the color of her pad. I hope Zoe feels better soon - I wonder what she did to it?

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    1. I totally agree with you! People should really watch their dogs! The park we go to is over 1,000 acres and we strictly go there to hike and the dogs can run. We don't go to socialize with other people or dogs.

      Poor Blueberry! Ouch! I'm glad you were able to get it out!

      I think Zoe either bruised her paw or tweaked it. There are rocks, holes and thorns. I'm not really sure what she did but she seems better today!

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  6. We don't visit dog parks. We enjoy walks on our own or with friends.

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  7. Wow,we hope the paw is better really soon!! Good pet parent manners are always great reminders!!

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  8. I am a MAJOR "dog park hater" and so is my Veterinarian. I avoid them like the plague. To be honest, I would never, ever visit an "off-leash" park either. Way too dangerous, anything could happen in a split second. My Vet advises against them as well, telling me that I would be surprised at the number of dogs who are not vaccinated who frequent these parks. I will walk in neighborhoods, or in parks that are not designated as "dog parks"......
    DakotasDen

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    1. I really dislike dog parks, too! The one we go to is over 1,000 acres. It's basically public land that they made some trails on. I try to go there at off times so I don't run into so many dogs but it's getting more popular and everyone is treating it like a giant dog park. We don't set foot into any smaller fenced parks!

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  9. I'm afraid our mom would have yelled at that lady and told her to ACTIVELY supervise her dogs! Was the paw OK?

    Keep Calm & Bark On!

    Murphy & Stanley

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    1. That's what I should of done! Next time for sure! I think her paw is feeling better today!

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  10. This is one reason I won't even go to big off leash parks (save for the beach, but that's because no one ever goes). You can't control the idiots. I would've lost my temper, for sure! I hope Zoe feels better soon!

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    1. Yeah, off leash parks do pretty much suck. I wish I had better options for exercise for them!

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  11. We don't go too often because they are far away, but yes, totally seen people not attending to their dogs at the park. Makes me crazy!

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  12. I've just come to expect the totally distracted behavior of people at dog parks. And with Shyla being so sensitive, I need the owners to be engaged so they can help me to extricate Shyla from their dogs when things get too intense for her. Since the other owners are rarely engaged, we haven't set foot/paw in a dog park for eons. It's sad that people think that it's okay to stare at their phones while their dogs wreak havoc.

    I sure hope that Zoe is getting better.

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    1. Me too, KB! People are distracted and clueless. I should know better by now but it still drives me crazy. We try not to frequent any smaller dog parks and I only go to the big 1,000 acre one to hike and let them run.

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  13. I hope Zoe is feeling better today... Remember those Huskies?

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    1. Thank you! She does seem to be better today! Yep, totally remember husky dude.. I've run across him 3 or 4 times!

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  14. NO dogs parks for us. :-)
    Sorry about Zoe's paw! Ziva is gimping too.. She seems to have hurt her shoulder and i'm not sure how.

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  15. No dog parks for us either. I don't have the patience for other dog owners. I'm similar to you in that I wouldn't have said anything while angry, because I would be worried about how it came out. The last time I was angry with a dog owner for allowing his dog to charge us to "play" while my dogs were on a leash and without asking me first, I kept my cool, because I knew that getting angry would make the situation worse. I had four dogs and he had one. Rodrigo would have picked up on my anger and blamed the dog - it would have been a nightmare.

    What bugged me about the entire situation, besides the situation, was that the man asked "was this my fault?" I politely told him that there is a dog park (oh yeah, I was just walking our dogs) where he can allow his dog to play with other dogs. But out on trails, what he did wasn't safe and his dog could have gotten really hurt.

    I pray that he listened and didn't do that to anyone else.

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    1. I'm starting to feel the same way in regards to patience with other dog owners. I've run across some very irresponsible people. It can be really frustrating sometimes. I love how the guy was asking you if it was his fault.. Uh.. yeah.. You think!? Seriously.. sigh..

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  16. UGH!!! People just piss me off!! You KNOW I have idiots that surround me. I've never told this story on my blog, but I did call one lady and asshole. And she heard me, well actually she saw me mouth it through her car window and came out and we had a bit of a yelling match. Mostly I try to avoid confrontations, but sometimes, I just can't help it.

    I've seen from a more recent post that Zoe is feeling better. I'm so glad.

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    1. That's so funny! I'm sorry you got into a yelling match with her, though! People can be so frustrating!

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