[Dinoz]

what is classified as good dog park etiquette?
my beagles tend to run around and explore and sniff everywhere (as they do). they are far to energetic for me to keep up with and follow around everywhere so i generally sit where i have the best view of the park. is this bad etiquette for me not to be close to my dogs?
also when other people are around with their dogs, my beagles will generally run around and follow the other dogs and play around with them. should i be there restraining the dogs or just letting them run around freely as the park is designed?
i dont want to ruin other peoples experience there so any advice is appreciated on important dog park etiquette.

 

[BergenandLizzy]

When I first started taking my beagles to the dog park I had the same exact questions. I even called up a friend who has lots of experience with parks and asked her to guide me through the dos and donts.

I think that it's perfectly okay to let them roam about and have free range over the park. I always pay attention to what the other owners are doing. Usually they are just hanging out...and their dogs are roaming around freely as well. If my beagles start to play with another dog and the owner is close by, I pay attention to how the owner is reacting. There have been a couple of instances with smaller dogs that I openly asked the owners if it's okay for my dogs to play. They are usually just fine. To be honest, that's why people bring their dogs to the park...to socialize in a safe place and to get lots of exercise.

I think the best idea is just to pay close attention to the other owners. It's usually pretty easy to tell if people are uncomfortable with a situation. At that time, use your best judgment. But enjoy your nice view...as a fellow dog park patron, I think that it is perfectly fine to enjoy yourself without chasing your hounds around.

I would just keep an eye on who they are playing with. There are often people who aren't that responsible and will bring aggressive dogs to the park. Knock on wood, this has never happened to me, but I know of people whose pets have been attacked at the park because some negligent owner brought an unsocialized, aggressive dog.

 

[Smeagle]

A dog park is not a free for all, you should still have effective control over your dogs.

I don't trust people I don't know or their dogs so I rarely use the dog park, but if I do go, I watch my dog like a hawk especially when a new dog enters the park. You need to be able to recall your dog if the need arises.

 

[araine]

In our dog park, although there are benches for people to sit on, it is a general rule of thumb to be near enough to your dogs that if it uses the bathroom or gets into a scuffle, that you can pick it up and fix the problem. Other then that, my dogs like too follow other people and dogs, but as long as they are not jumping on people. There should be signs up I would think about the rules and etiquette for people to follow.

 

[Tucker]

I try to stay close to my dogs at the Park. Back before I moved to Utah, the park was very large and we would walk aroung the edge of the park with the dogs. Most of the people did that and it worked great. THe parks here are situated like that, so I watch them close, Especially since on the the new girls, Niko, isn't a good socializer so we have to monitor her reactions to other dogs.

 

[RosCole]

Dog parks can be a positive experience, it really depends on the owners. We have been fortunate to find two excellent dog parks near us (we just moved 2 years ago). You also learn the best times to go.

I always know where my dogs are at all times but am not "on top" of them. I usually throw the ball around and play and make sure they are not bothering anyone (person or dog).

Always clean up after your dog and please NEVER bring treats. We never do but some people bring dog treats and have even seen them bring their own lunch! Not good. There are also rules posted near the enterance, you may want to check them out!

 

[Tucker]

Treats are a no no. Once someone brought fried chicken in the dog park, then got mad because Tucker tried to steal it from them. What do you expect.

 

[Mel14]

I don't ever follow my dogs around unless Colby is in one of his moods where he decides to hump the other dogs or if there is an agressive dog in the park but that rarely happens. I do though make sure I can at least see my dogs but the park is not that big so you can stand just about anywhere and see your dog at all times.

I can't stand the people who bring treats. There is even a sign that says no food but people still bring treats.

 

[Smeagle]

Treats are a no no. Once someone brought fried chicken in the dog park, then got mad because Tucker tried to steal it from them. What do you expect.

Whilst I am not surprised if other dogs are interested in any food I have on me on the rare occasions I use the dog park, you are still required to have your dog under effective control.

I wouldn't let my dog steal food, jump on people or harrass them for food at any other time or place, I don't see why the dog park should be any different.

 

[Tucker]

Whilst I am not surprised if other dogs are interested in any food I have on me on the rare occasions I use the dog park, you are still required to have your dog under effective control.

I wouldn't let my dog steal food, jump on people or harrass them for food at any other time or place, I don't see why the dog park should be any different.

Yes I agree, I just didn't explain it correct. The people that had the chicken were on a bench with their backs turned so you couldn't see the food. I wasn't there, but my wife was and she was right there with Tucker. It was as if the people thought that if you couldn't see the food, it would be alright. If she could tell the people had food, Tucker would have immediately been leashed and taken away from there. He doesn't ever try to steal food from us, but he will from someone else if he thinks he can get away with it. He will obey us and stay away if we tell him, but in this instance, we never had that chance.

Besides, at a dog park, you never know what kind of dogs will be there so you always have to watch the other dogs close. We have had times where another dog will keep pestering Tucker. Tucker will usually tell the other dog no, unless it is a small dog. We have had to leave the area and go to the other side of the park just to have the other dog follow us. Of corse the owners of the other dog see what is happening and don't do a thing. This is the exception and not the rule though. Most owners try to keep their dogs under control.

 

[dudley]

we use the dog park fairly frequently, its only a couple acres so we usually walk once around with the dogs on leash and then let them go. if they cant run and explore on their own why go? usually the people there are dog lovers and understand dog behavior. I have heard some horror stories but never experienced them. even when our jrt jumps into the lap of a stranger sitting on a bench they just seem pleased to meet her.

 

[Faiers]

Dog Park

Our local dog park is designed like a bush walk, with natural streams running through it. Most people allow their dogs to run free, but keep them in sight. We let both our dogs off the leash whilst walking with us, but as soon as we hear/see other people coming we put Penny Beagle back on the leash - only because she is soooo thrilled to see other people and she gets over excited and jumps up at them. We do this because many of the other walkers are 60+ years old and she could knock them over. Fortunately, we live in a relatively small town, so the dog park is not too crowded - enabling us to have the dogs off the leash for some time. I guess it is just consideration for others and their dogs too.
:run:

 

[msjaffacake]

Hi
I am going to get a 12 week old beagle soon, and I just wanted to know, if when your at the park, do you let the beagle off lead? If so, can you get him back when you call him??

 

[RosCole]

Our local dog park is designed like a bush walk, with natural streams running through it. Most people allow their dogs to run free, but keep them in sight. We let both our dogs off the leash whilst walking with us, but as soon as we hear/see other people coming we put Penny Beagle back on the leash - only because she is soooo thrilled to see other people and she gets over excited and jumps up at them. We do this because many of the other walkers are 60+ years old and she could knock them over. Fortunately, we live in a relatively small town, so the dog park is not too crowded - enabling us to have the dogs off the leash for some time. I guess it is just consideration for others and their dogs too.
:run:

Wow, that sounds like a really nice idea for a dog park! Wish we had something like that.

 

[RosCole]

Hi
I am going to get a 12 week old beagle soon, and I just wanted to know, if when your at the park, do you let the beagle off lead? If so, can you get him back when you call him??

We always let them off lead. It is a bad idea to keep your dog on a lead while other dogs are running free. This stresses them out.

The dog parks we have gone to are a nice size but small enough to wrangle them up easily.

Gino will follow me to the gate without the lead, which is nice b/c I can put it on right when we are ready to leave. We didn't train him this way, he just did it on his own which was really nice!

Roscoe we have to put the lead on (before we get to the gate), he likes to be the social butterfly of the park and loves hanging out with new people (notice I said people, not dogs)!

Cole has to get the lead on too, he likes to run! Many a time I had to chase him around with the lead, he thinks its a game.

 

[Dinoz]

hehe yes RosCole, i experience the same problem. The quicker I chase after Milo, the more excited he gets. I have to try turn the game around and make him want to chase me which isn't always easy to do when he is preoccupied with other things.

I'm glad that the general acceptance is for the dog to be free and running around. I do my best to keep them in my sights and be quick to react if I notice other owners (or their dogs) unhappy with the situation.

 

[Jesslyne]

Our dog park is pretty nice and big, but not overly utilized, so it's never super crowded. Sometimes, we're the only people there. But it's definitely a place for Willie to run freely (it's the only place we have where he CAN run freely; now that he learned how to jump our fence, we can't let him offleash in the backyard anymore, which makes me sad). Being offleash is really the main purpose for using the park, for us. He needs to run off his energy faster than he can while on the leash, every so often.

Etiquette-wise, we just follow the posted rules and take our cues from other patrons of the park. We don't follow him around, but we always keep him in view and are aware of what he's doing. If he and another dog are playing, we identify the owner and take our cues from him or her.

I've seen no posted rules about not bringing treats into the dog park, and I always do have a little pouch of tiny training treats with me. This is because I used all his exercise time as an opportunity to work on the things he never had been properly trained in when we adopted him. We work on his lousy recall at the dog park, and reinforcing him with a training treat when he comes as he's supposed to is pretty critical to helping him learn at this stage.