SECTION 1:  OFFICIAL RULES FROM ORDINANCE NO. 1705

ALL DOGS must be accompanied by a person at least 13 years of age.

ANY PERSON under 13 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.

NO PERSON may have more than 2 dogs in an off-leash area at any one time.        

ALL DOGS must be under the voice control of their caretakers at all times.

ALL DOGS must be at least 4 months of age, have current vaccinations, and a current license.

NO DOG that is sick, in heat, injured, or less than 4 months old is permitted in any off-leash area.

NO DOG that displays AGGRESSIVE behavior towards other dogs or humans is permitted in any off-leash area.

DOGS that exhibit AGGRESSIVE behavior in the park shall be removed.

FOOD OR TREATS for dogs may not be brought in to any off-leash area.

BARKING dogs shall be quieted or removed.

CARETAKERS shall clean up after their dogs.

NO ANIMALS other than dogs are permitted in any off-leash area.

DOG OBEDIENCE CLASSES may not be conducted in the off-leash area.  However, individual dog owners may utilize the off-leash area to train their dogs.

ANY PERSON having a dog in the off-leash area shall have in his or her possession a leash for such dog which shall be worn by the dog at all times the dog is not in the off-leash area. 

AT THE REQUEST OF THE MAINTENANCE PEOPLE who remove the trash and mow the grass, please place your dog on the leash whenever the maintenance people are in the park.

AT THE REQUEST OF THE DOG OWNERS, please do not bring scooters, skateboards, bicycles, roller blades, or any other wheeled conveyances (other than wheelchairs and walkers) into the park.  These disturb the dogs, and they tear up the grass.

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SECTION 2: 
HOW TO INTRODUCE YOUR DOG TO THE DOG PARK

WALK YOUR DOG AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE PARK a time or two to get it used to being in the vicinity of other dogs.  This will give you an idea of how your dog feels about being exposed to other dogs.

COME AT A TIME WHEN THERE ARE ONLY 1 OR 2 DOGS, at first.  This will help your dog to adjust to being around other dogs, while not overwhelming it.

REMOVE YOUR LEASH FROM YOUR DOG WHILE YOU ARE IN THE ENTRANCE ENCLOSURE.  A dog new to the park could be overly protective of you, or of itself.

TAKE YOUR DOG INTO THE SMALL DOG PARK, if you are still unsure of how your dog will react.

GIVE YOUR DOG TIME TO ADJUST.  Many dogs will be frightened when they first enter the park, and when the other dogs crowd around it.  It could take several months for your dog to adjust.  Limit the time you spend in the park, if your dog is frightened.

BE PATIENT with your dog.  Some dogs take longer to adjust than others.  Some dogs may never adjust.

DON’T TRY TO FORCE YOUR DOG TO PLAY.  Most dogs are like children…they do things in their own time.

LEARN ABOUT DOG BEHAVIOR.  Don’t assume your dog is perfect, and other dogs are bad.  If your off leash dog approaches a leashed dog, and your dog is in “stalk” mode, and then rushes at the leashed dog, this is NOT curiosity or fear on the part of your dog.  Don’t get upset at the other dog if it growls.

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SECTION 3: HOW TO GET ALONG IN THE PARK

READ AND OBEY THE POSTED RULES OF THE PARK.  ‘Nuff said.

PLEASE DO NOT ANNOY OUR NEIGHBORS.  Again, ‘nuff said.

FIRST AND FOREMOST, THIS IS A PARK FOR DOGS.  The dogs are there to run around, jump on the tables and play in the water and with each other.  If you do not like this, or if you have a problem with dogs being around you or your dogs, you should rethink your usage of the park.  You might consider coming at a different time, for example, when there are fewer dogs in the park.

PAY ATTENTION AND KNOW WHERE YOUR DOG IS AND WHAT IT IS DOING AT ALL TIMES.  Don’t come into the park and get on the phone and walk away from your dog, or sit and read, or join a group and talk, and then ignore your dog.

DON’T LET YOUR DOG CROWD THE ENTRANCE GATE.  This presents a potentially volatile situation where the incoming dog feels crowded, and a fight could ensue.  Give people and dogs coming into the park room.

DON’T OPEN BOTH GATES AT THE SAME TIME.  The dogs that crowd the gate, and the dogs that can run fast, will get out.  It is your responsibility to help retrieve any dogs that have gotten out because you opened both gates.

DON’T HELP ANOTHER PERSON OUT BY HOLDING THE GATES OPEN.  I’ve seen many children (and adults for that matter) try to help by opening the gates whenever someone came by.  While this is a very nice gesture on their part, it causes problems because any dog close to the gate will get out.

IF YOUR DOG GROWLS AT THE OTHER DOGS WHILE IN THE ENTRANCE ENCLOSURE, it is because the dog is trying to tell you that it is uncomfortable with the situation.  If there are no dogs in the small dog park, take your dog through it to the North end of the park where there are usually fewer dogs.  If this is not an option, try to get the owners of the other dogs to remove them from the entrance area so that you can enter.

REMOVE YOUR DOGS FROM THE LEASH WHILE YOU ARE IN THE ENTRANCE ENCLOSURE.  When your dog is on the leash, it is protective of you.  This could cause an altercation when you enter the park proper.

WALK YOUR DOG AROUND THE PARK before you allow it to play, if your dog is snappy when it first comes in.  There are some otherwise perfectly wonderful dogs who, when they first come into the park, show their teeth and snap at the other dogs.  This is often done to either establish that this dog is the dominant dog of the group, or to show possession of the owner.  This can cause problems, especially since the last time this happened, my hand was very close to the snapping jaws.  After about 10 minutes the dog settled into the routine and wasn’t a problem.  (As a side note, this kind of behavior needs to be stopped, because it can escalate into an even bigger problem in the future.)

DO NOT BRING ANY FOOD INTO THE PARK, unless you are willing to share with the dogs.

DO NOT GIVE TODDLERS FOOD WHILE IN THE PARK, unless you want the dogs to take the food out of the child’s hand.  Dogs aren’t known for their manners.

DO NOT PLACE BABY CARRIERS ON THE GROUND.  Anything on the ground becomes a plaything for the dogs, and dogs do not recognize that a baby is not a toy.

NEVER LEAVE YOUNG CHILDREN UNATTENDED.  Most dogs recognize children as pack members, and will want to play with them.

DON’T GET MAD AT THE DOGS FOR TAKING YOUR FOOD, if you do bring food into the park.

DON’T BRING ANY SPECIAL TOYS TO THE PARK, unless you are willing to have the other dogs play with them.  Also, if your dog is possessive of its toys, don’t bring them into the park.

DON’T GET MAD AT THE OTHER DOGS FOR PLAYING WITH THE SPECIAL TOYS you brought in, or for destroying the special toys you brought in.

DON’T PLAY GAMES IN THE PARK THAT DO NOT INCLUDE THE DOGS.  Many times I’ve seen kids playing ball in the park and then get upset when the dogs steal the ball.  This is the dog’s park, and any game played in it will include the dogs.

NEVER HIT, OR HIT AT, OR KICK, OR KICK AT, A DOG JUST BECAUSE IT IS AROUND YOUR CHILD OR YOUR DOG OR YOU.  Remember, this is the DOG’s park.  If you don’t like a dog being around you or your children or your dogs, leave.  Anyone who kicks or hits a dog will be asked to leave the park.

DO NOT RUN OR JOG IN THE PARK unless you want to be chased by the dogs.  This especially includes children.

DON’T GET MAD AT THE DOGS FOR CHASING YOU, if you do run or jog in the park.

RUDE BEHAVIOR IS NOT GOOD BEHAVIOR, for either people or dogs.  “Rude” dogs are often not perceived as “rude” by their owners.  Rude dogs often cause dust ups, and worse.  The other dog often gets blamed for reacting to a rude dog.  Think of it this way, you don’t like people to be rude to you, and when someone is rude, you get upset.  Dogs react the same way.  Many times the dogs can sort it out themselves, but be aware of what constitutes rude behavior in a dog. 

DON’T LET YOUR DOG CHARGE THE FENCE WHEN THERE IS SOMEONE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF IT.  Many people like to stand near the fence and watch the dogs.  Sometimes the dogs are attracted to something on the other side of the fence, like a group playing soccer, and they will try to join in the game.  (My dog seems to think that the cars going by on the street contain cats, or maybe are cats.)  Keep your dog calm in these situations so that the people on the other side of the fence don’t get the impression that your dog is vicious and you, the owner, are a fool. 

BE CONSIDERATE.  People who are sitting by themselves don’t wish to socialize, but want their dogs to have some time to be off leash.  Give these people their space.  If there is someone in the park you don’t like, stay away from the owner and the dog.  If there is a dog in the park you don’t like, keep your dog away from them.

“IT’S WHAT DOGS DO” is NOT a responsible or acceptable excuse for a dog’s behavior, if that behavior is irritating another person. 

“YOU CAN’T OVERCOME A DOG’S NATURE” is another excuse I’ve been hearing a lot to explain why an owner can’t control a dog.  This is not true.  You can overcome a dog’s nature, with the proper training.  Your dog has to be responsive to you while you are in the dog park. 

IF YOU CANNOT CONTROL YOUR DOG, OR IF YOU ARE AFRAID OF YOUR OWN DOG, DON’T COME INTO THE PARK.  I had one guy come up to me while I was dragging his dog away from my dog who said that his dog didn’t like to be messed with.  He was actually afraid of his own dog.  This dog consistently caused trouble, and it was the owners of the other dogs who had to control it. 

DOMINANCE MOUNTING could lead to aggressive behavior if it is not curtailed.  It is also not funny to most people in the park, so if your dog is mounting another dog, and the owner of the other dog doesn’t like it, make your dog stop.

DON’T CONFUSE AGGRESSION WITH ROUGH PLAY.  Some dogs like to play rough, and they growl when they do it.  The growling is called “talking”.  Oftentimes during this type of play, one dog will grab the other dog’s neck.  The people equivalent is the wrestling world. 

IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THE WAY A DOG IS PLAYING WITH YOUR DOG, separate your dog, and take it to the other end of the park.  Don’t expect the other owner to remove his dog from what is considered normal play for that dog.  It is very likely that your dog will go back and resume playing with the same dog.  At this point you can separate the dogs again, or you can allow the dogs to play, and monitor the play with the other owner. 

DON’T ASSUME OTHER PEOPLE KNOW YOUR DOG’S BEHAVIOR.  Explain your dog’s behavior, and if it bothers the owner of the other dog, separate the dogs.  Monitor your dog to make sure it doesn’t insist on playing with the other dog.  If your dog persists, and if you do not respond and try to keep your dog away, you get the reputation of having an aggressive dog and of not caring about the other people.  What invariably happens is that the other dog keeps going back because it is having fun, and eventually the other owner accepts the inevitable.

LEARN HOW TO READ YOUR DOG’S BODY LANGUAGE.  Dogs cannot tell you what they are feeling.  Some dogs express their emotions with their tails, others with their ears.  Some dogs make a high pitched squeal that shatters glass.  Make sure you know when your dog has had enough, or is frightened, or is angry.  If the tail or ears are up and relaxed, then the dog is friendly and playful.  If the tail and ears are up and tense, and the dog gives the appearance of standing on its toes, the dog is in the dominance aggressive stance, and needs to be removed from the situation immediately.  If the tail or ears are down, then the dog is frightened.  If the tail is halfway up, or is all the way up but not wagging normally, the dog is angry and needs to be removed from the situation immediately.  If the teeth come out, stop whatever the dog is doing immediately, and calm it down.  If your dog starts squealing or barking or screaming, remove it from the situation immediately.

DO NOT PICK A DOG UP IN THE PARK, unless you want the other dogs to jump all over you trying to get to the dog in your arms.  Exposing the belly to another dog is a sign of submission, often seen when a shy dog rolls on its back when another dog comes around.  Having the dog in your arms sends a signal to the other dogs that this is a weak animal.  The dog in your arms could respond by biting you.  (Yes, it’s been known to happen.  Ask the guy who got his ear pierced for free.)

DOGS ARE SENSITIVE TO YOUR FEELINGS.  Try to keep calm under all circumstances.  If you are nervous or afraid, your dog and the dogs around could pick up the vibes and react.

REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE NOT YOUR DOG.  Your dog might like some things that make you feel uncomfortable, like wrestling.  Let your dog tell you what it likes and doesn’t like, and let it be a dog. 

RECOGNIZE YOUR DOG’S LIMITATIONS.  If your dog doesn’t want to socialize, don’t force it.  Some dogs like being off leash, but would just as soon be off leash ALONE.  My dog loves being allowed to run loose, but she really doesn’t want to be around strangers.  Bringing her to the dog park has improved her “skills” around people to the point that, instead of snarling or growling at people, she’ll just not look at them and walk away.  I can take her into crowds now, and have confidence that she won’t bite hands that may come close to her.  The most important thing about the dog park is getting your dog used to being around people and other dogs so that it isn’t a nuisance. 

ASK SOMEONE.  If you have concerns about the way your dog, or another dog is behaving, address these concerns with someone who is familiar with dog behavior.  Check with your vet, or online at some of the training sites, or talk with a park official.  Don’t wait until a behavior escalates into fighting with another dog, or until another dog owner gets angry.

BE COURTEOUS.  Rudeness just aggravates things.

BE RESPONSIBLE.  Pick up after your dog.  If your dog injures another dog, either through play or through a fight, or if your dog destroys an article belonging to another person, don’t walk away.  Offer to pay for all or part of it. 

DO NOT BRING ANY FEMALES IN HEAT INTO THE PARK.  There is about 4-week period where the odor associated with being in season drives other dogs nuts.  The odor remains for weeks after your dog has been there, and the result is the number of fights increases.  Check with you vet to make sure the dog is out of season before you return. 

YOU MUST BE THE ALPHA DOG, at least as far as your dog is concerned.  It will look to you for protection as well as for what is considered acceptable.  If you are not the Alpha, then your dog will not behave while it is in the park, and you will not be able to control it.  One way to establish that you are the Alpha is to do the Alpha stare – grab your dog’s head on either side and stare into its eyes.  DO NOT LOOK AWAY.  The dog should look away within 2 seconds.  If it doesn’t, it does not recognize you as the Alpha.

DON’T GET ANGRY AT YOUR DOG if it doesn’t understand what you want.  Anger directed at the dog makes the dog afraid, and a fearful dog can be a dangerous dog.

DO NOT DISCIPLINE YOUR DOG AFTER THE FACT.  I watched a person discipline a dog that was sitting next to him.  Five minutes before, the dog had done something the owner didn’t like.  Since he waited, the dog thought he was being punished for sitting next to the owner, so it ran away.  After that, whenever the owner called the dog, the dog ran away, and the owner got angry.  You have approximately 20 seconds to discipline the dog.  After that, they associate the discipline with whatever they are doing at the time.

DON’T USE PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT FOR INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR.  There was a dog that was annoying my dog by trying to mount her.  My dog kept moving away, but the other dog wouldn’t give up.  The owner started to hit the dog on the rear with a hard plastic toy, and that startled the other dog into a fight with my dog.  Hitting a dog doesn’t correct the behavior, it just makes the dog mean or frightened and makes the situation worse.

DO NOT TEASE ANY DOG.  Do not allow your children to tease any dog. 
This aggravates the dog and the owner, and you WILL be asked to leave the park.

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SECTION 4:  WHAT TO DO IN THE EVENT OF A DOG DISAGREEMENT

Doggy disagreements are going to occur, because dogs are just like children.  The important thing is to know your dog’s limits, and remove it once those limits have been reached.

Many disagreements involve “chest thumping”, where teeth are shown and the dogs bounce off each other, but the teeth never make actual contact with the other dog.  In these cases, separate the dogs, and remove both dogs from the park until they calm down.

On rare occasions, there could be an actual fight that draws blood.  These are terrifying to the owners of the dogs, reason will go out the window, and panic will set in.  In many cases, people start to kick and hit at the dogs, while trying to separate them.  This type of action, while understandable, could result in human injuries as well as dog injuries. 

There are several methods that are recommended to separate fighting dogs:

GRAB THE BOTTOM LEGS OF BOTH DOGS AND RAISE THEM OFF THE GROUND.  Obviously, this requires at least two people.  Once the dogs’ hind legs are off the ground, there are several things that can be done.  One is to start slowly pulling the dogs apart.  Don’t pull very hard, because this will result in tearing of flesh.  This is the method my family used whenever our dogs would fight.  Unfortunately, in pulling the dogs apart, one or the other, or often both, dogs would end up with cuts needing stitches.  The other method, which is the best method, is to throw a bucket of water directly in their faces.  This will get the dogs to let go of one another and allow the people to pull the dogs away from one another without causing additional damage.

THE FIRE HOSE EFFECT alone will work on many dogs.  This is the method advocated by the Animal Control Officer.  Simply throw one or more buckets of water on the dogs, then rush in and grab your dog away.  After seriously damaging a show dog’s ear by pulling, my family started employing this method.  It was quite effective for our dogs.

THE “EAU DE SKUNK” method is the one I like, because it requires no physical contact with the dogs.  Some dogs, like people, are not sensitive to pepper spray, but get something smelly in front of their nose, and they will release and back off very quickly.  According to the Internet, smelling salts are used by Jack Russell Terrier owners to break up fights.  I carry a supply with me when I walk my dog, but I hope to never have to employ it.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU START A FIGHT WITH THE OWNER OF THE OTHER DOG.  This accomplishes nothing, and results in all the dogs in the park packing to “help” the people settle their differences.  The biggest fight I ever witnessed started with two dogs growling and showing teeth, but no contact.  The owners overreacted to the situation, and started arguing and almost coming to blows.  Most of the dogs in the park ran over to join in.  I ended up having to step between the two to stop the episode from escalating into a free-for-all.  I was not amused.  Both the dogs and the owners had to leave the park.

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SECTION 5:  OKAY, YOUR DOG GOT IN A FIGHT AND BLOOD WAS DRAWN.  NOW WHAT DO YOU DO?

GET HELP.  Chances are you are going to be in a panic, either because your dog is bleeding, or because you are trying to get your dog out of the park.  Enlist someone to get information for you while you get your dog to the vet.

IF YOUR DOG IS THE VICTIM OF AN ATTACK, get the following information:

1)         The attacking dog owner’s name, address and phone number.

2)         The license number of the car.

3)         Ask the owner if the dog has had its shots, and if it is licensed.

4)         The license number of the dog.

5)         Names of witnesses.

Then, report the incident to Animal Control as soon as possible.  Save all receipts from the vet to submit to the owner of the attacking dog.

IF YOUR DOG IS THE ATTACKER, show responsibility by giving your name, address and phone number and other information to the person gathering the information.  Call Animal Control and report the incident.  Ask for copies of the vet bills so that you can assist the owner of the injured dog financially.

The laws governing dog bites differ from city to city, but after your dog is reported to Animal Control as having bitten another dog or person, you would be well advised to avoid a situation where you and your dog are at risk of a fight.  The dog will be confiscated after a certain number of reports.

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©2002 Dogpark Survival Guide - Paula Peacock