I don't profess to be the perfect dog parent. I baby them too much, I let them get away with things that they shouldn't. But my two rascals have my heart and when I am with them my life is about making sure they have the best life they can. They deserve it.
When we are at the dog park it is their time to run, jump, play with the other dogs in the park but also with me! I am the one running around throwing sticks and balls, chasing them from one end of the park to the other (although with Piper it is often she that is doing the chasing! Hard to keep up with a six month old kelpie puppy!) If they are introducing themselves to a new dog in the park I am the watchful parent a few steps away making sure that there are no issues and watching body language to make sure there are no scuffles or clashes. Dogs are like humans, sometimes they just don't get along.
It is when we are the park that it is most obvious to me that some people shouldn't have pets. It is really hard some days (most days) to bite my tongue when I see how dogs are treated. So here goes not biting my tongue.
When we are at the dog park it is their time to run, jump, play with the other dogs in the park but also with me! I am the one running around throwing sticks and balls, chasing them from one end of the park to the other (although with Piper it is often she that is doing the chasing! Hard to keep up with a six month old kelpie puppy!) If they are introducing themselves to a new dog in the park I am the watchful parent a few steps away making sure that there are no issues and watching body language to make sure there are no scuffles or clashes. Dogs are like humans, sometimes they just don't get along.
It is when we are the park that it is most obvious to me that some people shouldn't have pets. It is really hard some days (most days) to bite my tongue when I see how dogs are treated. So here goes not biting my tongue.
To the arrogant snob of a woman at the dog park.
Your chocolate lab is beautiful. The way she bounded up to say hello to my dogs and I was lovely and kind. The way you called her back was puzzling to me. When I said " it's ok for her to say hello" Your snappy reply of "no it's not" was frustrating when I am trying to teach socialisation to my shy pup. And then when I saw you drag your poor friendly dog away from the cute as a button Bull Terrier and scream "keep your dog away from her!" to the owners made me question why the hell you bothered to bring her to the park in the first place. I am sorry if my dogs aren't good enough for your dog to play with. I feel sorry for her not being able to live her precious life the way she wants.
Your chocolate lab is beautiful. The way she bounded up to say hello to my dogs and I was lovely and kind. The way you called her back was puzzling to me. When I said " it's ok for her to say hello" Your snappy reply of "no it's not" was frustrating when I am trying to teach socialisation to my shy pup. And then when I saw you drag your poor friendly dog away from the cute as a button Bull Terrier and scream "keep your dog away from her!" to the owners made me question why the hell you bothered to bring her to the park in the first place. I am sorry if my dogs aren't good enough for your dog to play with. I feel sorry for her not being able to live her precious life the way she wants.
Mr self important coffee drinker
Wow, Your little Maltese is a feisty little thing! Cute but feisty. Pretty clear that he owned the park the way he knew where to stand and wait for you to throw him over the fence to play on his own while you went off and had coffee with your friends. It made me feel like an unwitting babysitter. Were you at least concerned about my dog Piper being five times his size and a complete stranger to him or were expecting me to step in if there were any clashes? Where were you when he ran over and snapped at Dexter when he was minding his own business exploring the park. The fact that Dex who greets every dog that comes into the park with a waggy tail and a big hello wanted nothing to do with your dog was a concern but you weren't there to see that. Hope it was a good latte. I had mine when I got home and my dogs were napping after a big play.
To the new dad
I know how exciting it is to have new puppy in the house. You just can't wait to get them out and doing things, showing them off when they are ultra cute. And your little brindle Staffy is so cute I wanted to smother her with kisses! But....eight weeks old is too young for a puppy to be at the park. The main reason being your dog is not immunised at this age! With so many horrible diseases that could kill your beautiful baby why would you risk it. You are putting her in harms way! Have you ever heard a dog with kennel cough? Let alone read or heard anything about parvovirus. It is worth waiting until after your dog is safe. The fact that I had to leash Piper while your puppy was there was not so much of a concern but she is a puppy herself and just wanted to play. The fact that her paw was as big as your puppy was a little worrying to me considering how excited she was. I also had to keep an eye on Dexter. Even though he is a gentle soul he has already had eight puppies running \around him this year when Piper and her brothers and sister were born and quite frankly is over it. When you realised that she could fit through the fence when you weren't looking and try to run after kids walking down the street it was a good indication that she is too little for the park. Good luck with the wait and get that precious puppy immunised!
To the Multi Tasker
I admit that I sometimes take my mobile phone to the park if I am expecting a call or if I want to take photos of the dogs, but nothing annoys me more than seeing someone come through the gate, release their dog, then go sit down and look at their phone the whole time. You might as well be like self important coffee drinker and just dump them over the fence! The fact that you are not picking up your dog's business because you re too busy checking your Facebook or emails to notice they have gone is just rude and inconsiderate of the people doing the right thing. We all have busy lives but if you can't invest time in your dogs away from social media then don't bother getting one!
To the mothers group
When my son was growing up there was always that group of mothers who would sit there and talk about how perfect their child was .They would sit there and compete with one another about how great their brat was compared to every other child in the universe. "Johnny knew his alphabet when he was 2" " Oh, my son Billy could write his name by then", "Bobby read Plato and could give a critical review on the text at 18 months". I hated that crap! To my surprise there are groups that visit the dog park that do exactly this. You know what, this week Piper scared off an intruder from my house and protected me from a break in, but the fact that your dog has finally learnt to shake hands or not poop in the laundry basket is just as exciting to me. All dogs are special. All dogs deserve to be loved for who they are. Don't make them compare them. Respect them.
I have met some amazing dog owners at the park. We have shared knowledge, assisted in training our dogs together, laughed together at our dogs personalities, given each other space when our dogs haven't gotten along ,cuddled each others dogs and played with all the dogs together. I always hope that some of the dog parents that are not so invested will pay attention but I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
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