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lol i agree with you about the socializing part!!! it’s for the dogs not people! everytime i go to the dog park or kid’s park for that matter, i see parents chatting it up with other parents and ignoring their main responsability!
Chris968…you rock. I love that you go ahead and defend us dog park goers. I posted a reply argument toward the same “supposed” pit bull lover you did in another thread. I agree with you; my dog loves the park (in Michigan) and was raised going there every week (in California). I would never deny her the excitement and chance to run and play because of her breed. It’s amazing to me that there are those of us owners who wish to encourage people to think better of pits, and other owners who think badly of their very own furry companions. No wonder our breed gets a bad rep.
I understand that some of you have your opinion of “No pits in dog parks”. Good for you. And yes I read through some of the articles and “attack” news clips you all posted so I’m not avoiding it all. But the bottom line is that I know my dog inside and out, I have a degree in animal training, and am confident in my role as pack leader. My dog and I will continue to attend our local dog park and Sasha will continue to be an ambassador for her breed.
Thanks for the support! I never walk away from him at the park and am always on my feet interacting with him and whatever dog he is playing with. We don’t go to the park when I know it will be crowded just to avoid issues. Usually when we go there are 1-2 other dogs there, usually pits, which is great relief for all the owners since then the dogs will tire each other out. Just a few days ago he met a 6 mo. old Jack Russell terrier and he was so gentle and let the Jack jump all over him and they played for a good hour.
All the owners that I have met (pit owners or not) absolutely love him and encourage their dogs to play with him. I think it depends on the area and the park – I know the park we go to is VERY welcoming to pits.
I take my dog to a dog park about the same time of day. Its the same people, same dogs. They all know and like my dog, and have asked me to keep bringing him. What works for me is, if there are dogs that I dont know I stay close to mine. Anytime there is a dog that I dont trust I leave. My dog loves all dogs and all people, and i want to keep it that way.
Thanks Bullypaws, I think he is too. I hate to continue with this…but I must say. Has any of you ever been in an unexpected dog fight? Well I am a responsible experienced dog owner. We’ve bred/raised Drathars, I’ve also owned Labs, Aussies, and Rotties. I currently have a Bull Mastiff and a Pittie. Those two got along great, both are well mannered and know and responded to commands! One day everyone was out in our large backyard and I was out there supervising as usual. The dogs were at opposite ends of the yard doing their own thing. Before I was able to react the Mastiff charged across the yard with lightening speed and jumped my Pittie. Blood was flying. My husband who is not a small man and myself tried to separate them. We tried the hose, shovels, wood, a break stick on the Pittie, it can’t be used on the Mastiff(and he wasn’t about to let go) to separate them. The only way we got them separated was both of us choking the dogs at the same time till they let go. The end result was my Mastiff having a wound on his shoulder 6″ long where you could see muscle and the pittie had puncture wounds on his head, neck and eyebrows. It took 12 staples, numerous vet visits, hundreds of dollars and 3 months for the wound to heal. We now know my Mastiff has DA. He never showed signs of it before this. This happened in my backyard, now picture this happening in a Dog Park? The Mastiff wouldn’t of been blamed, the Pittie would. Most likely more dogs would of joined in and more damage. Would you want you and your pittie to be involved in that type of mayhem? During times a crisis, commands don’t always work, leashes and muzzles break! No matter how well trained and knowledgeable you are about your dog and it’s breed, sh*t happens. And I also live in Ohio, we were once a happy loving dog family now we are separated by crates and gates for the safety of everyone. This may not change anyone’s personal opinion of dog parks saying….”It would never happen to me and my dog. I always supervise my animals”. Yeah, I said that too and look what happened. Never say never. I will not put my dogs in a position to fail again. My rant is over.
hey taana, i know you are trying to protect the dogs but in this post you just said that the mastiff was the one who attacked. i was raised in pitbull fighting and is not nice but i own two pits because that and the presa canario are the only breeds i like. if you raise your dog to be obidient and to not be aggressive you wont have a problem. now if another dog tries ot be stupid i spect for my dog to defend itself. its like if your walking down the street and another person smacks you outside the head you wont do anything even if your bigger. its the same thing. you should know your dog and i think not only pitbulls but any dog that is aggressive no matter if is to other dogs or humans should be put to sleep. the same way if a human is a dager to other humans they should be put to sleep. that is the bottom line. you are not doing anything by keeping your dog alone just for him not to fight other dogs. if you dont trust your dog or trained him to be nice to everyone including dogs. why do you have him. to always be with the fear of an accident to happen. pets should help take away your stress not give you more. atleast that is what i think. the only reason i wouldnt take my dogs to parks is because of the diseases that may be out there for them not because of aggretion because the momment they show some aggretion they are ending either in a shelter or put to sleep. dont get me wrong i respect your concerns but the only reason pits keep having the bad rep is because the owners fear all the bull that is being said about them. if you know your dog all the things they say about them shouldnt even be a concern to you. pitbulls are strong dogs but they are animals just like all the other animals out there. they commit mistakes. and the bigger animals are us the humans. because that is from where everything starts how you raise your beautiful strong and bulky pitbull.
I agree with you for the most part. My 8 y/o Mastiff is not separated from the family. He is a part of our family and loved deeply, nor will he be put down for one incident. I can’t and won’t explain what triggered his actions because I do not know. He has never reacted this way to his previous housemates or with my pittie for the first 6mths together or showed aggression towards other dogs or people. We use the crate n rotate method and they both spend time with us independently. We use baby gates to separate their movement from each other. It is working great this way and neither dog is left alone. Through my rant, I was trying to explain that there are times when unexpected things may happen and in some dogs parks people take untrained dogs out so the adults can socialize and do not watch them let alone supervise. As well as explaining how fast things can become ugly. I will not put my Pittie or Mastiff in a position to fail or be blamed for the actions of another dog.
To take your dog to a dog park you n ot only have to know your dog but the other dogs as well and thier owners and the park itself. There ARE SEVERAL parks in my area and the one I would never take my dogs there. It is known to be populated with irresponsible owners. Another one is basically empty all the time and I will go there with my pack but leave when someone I dont know comes. I prefer to take long walks with them. It seems to tire them out a lot better.
people at the parks rarely watch their dogs. but i occasionally will take mine to a park. the only one that is free and open 24 hours is about a 30 min drive. so we have to plan for it.
the only problems we have really had was a argument over who gets the ball.
we also try and go later at night so there wont be as many people.the people at the park that i go to dont really mind that he is a pit… atleast they dont say anything…
I think a lot of things depend on the park you go to.
I recently took my pit to the local dog park for a dog event that was going on there. The area is kind of ritzy so it’s full of pure bred dogs. It was nice because there were big dogs (a saint bernard and a great dane) medium sized (labs and boxers) and also little dogs (boston terriers and spaniels). Sasha loves all sizes of dogs and just enjoyed running around with them all.
The only issue we had was this cute little boston terrier that insisted on hanging from my dog’s face by her teeth. lol. Poor Sasha couldn’t figure out how to play with it! She’d run away to play with other dogs and the terrier would follow her and jump up and bite at her face. Eventually she started pawing at the dog and then started dropping her weight onto it and rolling on it. The owners kept apologizing over and over. They would leash their dog for a bit and as soon as they let it off leash it went back to my dog. I don’t know what it’s deal was but Sasha was very patient with it and only wanted to figure out a way to play with it. If anything, I was afraid she might crush it by accident with her big muscle chest.
No one the whole day said anything about my dog being a pit bull and everyone there was watching their dog and roaming within the park to keep an eye on things. Several people commented that my dog had beautiful markings and was so friendly, but nothing was said of her breed. The dog park can be a positive experience for dog and owner 🙂
I currently own dachshunds and agree that dog parks are not good for any dog. any breed can cause a problem. i was once at a dog park with my service dog who is a standard dachshund when a bostin terrier charged him and freakin tore a huge hole in cotys neck. my sister has a pit bull and a chihuahua. the chi was there first and the pit learned that the chi is the boss. she took her pit to the dog park once and a german shepherd attacked her pit. thank god someone was video taping the dogs cause she had proof that her pit did not start the fight. although sarabi sure did mess the shepherd up to the point the shepherd had to be put down. now sarabi cant even be around a dog cause she goes on the defence.
I breed pit bulls to be assistance dogs and even guide dogs. my pits that people have as service dogs go everywhere with them. some of them have other dogs too. they go to the dog parks and let their other dogs off leash but their service dog pit bulls stay right by their side. service dogs undergo serious training that teaches them to ignore their k9 and breed instincts. they are the only safe pit bulls to have at dog parks
I will never take a dog to a “dog park” no matter the breed. The dogs are unsupervised and too energetic. People should exercise their dogs prior to going to a park rather than relying on the park for the exercise. All you end up with is a bunch of hyper, overexcited dogs asking for trouble.
I’m new here so first things first, hellow to everyone in this pit community. Now, I don’t know anyone who posted on this topic but I can say this. Don’t do it. I don’t care how much you think you know your pitbull, he or she is what he or she is…a Pitbull. There are the most loving animals I’ve ever owned but I know they can’t be trusted not fight and/or defend themselves. This is not because I’ve read about them or somebody told me about them, it’s because I’ve witnessed it first hand. I won’t tell the story or go in to details just trust me and the others that have warned you about the dogparks. It’s a bad situation waiting to happen. My incident wasn’t at a dog park when it happened it was a much more controlled enviroment (or so we thought). These dogs have been bred for blood sports (bull baiting, bear baiting, and dog fighting)for over a hundred years. Those genetics will take a long time if ever to go away.
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