Black and White Sunday ~ The Necessity of Respect and Knowledge for the Dog Owner

It's frustrating to go to the dog park and either not be able to go in, or be forced to leave because of a single irresponsible owner--yet it happens to the more knowledgeable of the dog-owning "kingdom" on a daily basis. This isn't intended to be a debate on the pros/cons of dog parks, I've posted about that before.

Quenya is good at keeping herself out of trouble, mostly and often hangs back when she senses other dogs aren't playing appropriately as happened on our last dog park visit. We ended up having to leave because of a trio of dogs brought in by an owner who didn't care that they were bullying, pinning, and even biting many of the dogs they were  "playing" with. A mass exodus of the dog park occurred, and the owner of the ill-managed dogs remained uncaring. Other owners asked him to control his dogs--another man who owned a dog that was pinned down by the trio actually yelled at him. I'm more forgiving of ignorance than a person who is content to be intentionally discourteous to both other dogs and humans. If I see this owner again at the dog park and the same situation happens, I will probably be calling the city. I saw what can only be described as predatory behavior in those dogs several times. If our dog park has too many fights it could very well be closed down completely.

Now all that said, I have had FAR more positive experiences at the dog park than negative and am extremely grateful to have the area provided for my areas dog owners. And, generally, dog owners in my area really do care about their dog's behavior, so kudos to the majority of dog park attendees!

Quenya hangs back as she senses the play is getting too rough. Her ears are tilted back and her tail has stopped wagging, indicating uncertainty.