The Dog Park can be a dangerous place - My Rant

[@tonycole9593]

I have a Mal, and would never dream of taking him to a dog park. It's a recipe for disaster. He's happy around me, dogs he knows, and there is no need for him to make friends with every other dog. Good luck with yours though.

[@philnelson3235]

I agree with your comments about some owners who think they've done their duty by bringing their dog to the park while they spend their time socialising or on their phone that they're not keeping an eye on the dog. My Groenendael x Border Collie loves our local park on the GC. He's well know as we live only a couple of hundred metres from the park and he's very friendly and sociable with other dogs but is very ball focused. Some dogs will want to steal my dog's ball and he lets them a few times but he eventually get's the shits when he doesn't get it back. Sadly, some owners are more concerned about the warning growls my dog gives to these repeat offenders than actually trying to correct their dog for doing the wrong thing.

[@justanotherpersonxo]

Belgium shepherds are the best. I've been scared of dogs my whole life. I still am a little bit , except for my brother's dog. He's a kind loving Belgium shepherd, just like yours. He was attacked by another dog when he ~8 months old) and it was very scary. I can't imagine going to a dog park with him. I am too scared of what the other dogs might do. I know socialising is important but I can't go trough that again. I try to play with him and only go around my friends dogs because I know they are safe dogs. I love watching your channel because my brother moved and I don't get to see the his dog as often.

[@andrewadam9544]

i'd never take any dog of mine to a dog park, it's bad enough dealing with idiot owners out in the real world without dealing with them and their out of control dogs in a confined space ! canines have their own pack , they dont need park buddies !

[@jamesdaly8266]

Jack has a normal Belgian temperament , my boy was the same but i also spent alot of time training for worst case scenarios .

[@JackTheGroenendael]

Yes, I need to spend more time on.getting his recall more reliable. It's not there yet with the distractions of a dog park.

[@jamesdaly8266]

@ which park do you go to in Gold Coast or brissie?

[@JackTheGroenendael]

Usually the ones in my area (NW Brisbane) and if I visit family the gigantic dog park at Broadbeach on the Gold Coast. That has a mini beach for the dogs to swim in.

[@kmdionis]

We stopped going to the dog park years ago for all of the reasons you mentioned. Jack's park looks huge compared to ours--a potentially great space. It's too bad that people don't bother to educate themselves about their dogs and dog behavior in general.

[@JackTheGroenendael]

I still take him for getting him to run flat out, but I am very careful to observe what dogs are in the park, and now I take him in the quiet hours.

[@kmdionis]

@ It's too bad about the parks. Some dogs really like to play with others. Sometimes I feel our dogs are missing out on the fun. Our girl Lilyhammer aka Lily loves playing with other dogs. She gets a little rambunctious with them which doesn't always go over well, but she's just trying to get them to play. I think Lily and Jack would really like each other. Too bad they live in opposite hemispheres. 😎

[@JackTheGroenendael]

Too bad. 99% of the time Jack loves to run after dogs. Even though Jack isn't a wrestling type, he will play that game too occasionally.

[@erinhardick4803]

My dog has a play date at my home with his bff. The other dog got attacked over a ball and the owner hasn’t brought her back. Otto ly been a bit she just healed up. It a GSD/Husky and a GSD/Mal they play rough together. People that don’t know them think they are fighting.

[@erinhardick4803]

I take my GSD/Husky 6 days a week. For 2 years now I got him at 1yr old. Only once has he gotten a single puncture. If there are a bunch of dogs at the gate I use body pressure to get me and my dog a path in. The only time I have done hands on is to grab a collar either in a minor fight or to pull down a humper off someone else’s dog that doesn’t say no. My dog will give another dog he likes 3 seconds if he doesn’t know the dog it is an immediate no get off my butt.

[@robcfc400]

In a perfect world where everyone puts the time and effort in to train a dog, a dog park would be great. As it is not a perfect world I would not take my dogs anywhere near a dog park. Just my opinion.

[@bri-annaedwardine1697]

You seem like a really nice guy, but can I say, the reason a lot of owners wouldn't want your dog near them or coming up to them is because their dog is reactive, through fear or stress, and this would really upset them and might even trigger them to get aggressive. Reactive dogs also need exercise, and I don't really understand why it's a problem for you to keep your dog away from other dogs unless the owner says their dog is good with others. You say that their dog might get upset if your dog approaches, and thats the "only problem" but as an owner of a fear reactive border collie I can tell you it's a BIG problem when other owners let their dogs come up unsolicited as it can undo weeks of training and end up in bad situations. There must be dog owners who are happy for their dogs to interact with yours. I would try to consider it from both points of view and see if You can't find people who are happy to let their dog play. when I first had my baby as a puppy I didn't understand why some people would just walk their dog away from us, and Iwas upset, but when my dog developed fear reactivity based on being attacked in a park by a dog that just came up to her unsolicited, even now at 6 years she never got over it, and now I understand that not alldogs are okwith other dogs. Take care and enjoy your beautiful dog :)

[@UK-Blue]

I get you for the most part. But seems you are not totally innocent. You have a dog with pushy, dominant, herding instinct and let it do it to random dogs trying to get in the park. That's a bit annoying and some people and dogs for that matter will not like that. Dog parks suck for the most part. Glad I can let my fiesty Doberman run in empty fields and rough to chase rabbits and deer. He does have a couple of friends but otherwise all the other dogs are fkn nuts. One attacked Max the other week on the farm track. He then learned that a Doberman is a Judo master. 😂