Dogs and parks

[Grassgreendashhabi]

Ok I know dogs need to be walked, but why are the children's areas so small. And the rest of the parks the grassy areas huge.

Why is it not possible for an outside track say 4 meters wide if not larger be fenced off for dogs leaving a centre area for children.

That way children can play football etc and dogs have a huge wide area going around the park.

Our local park is really big but it's covered in dog mess. Or dog wee. The children's area had swings etc and is dog free but there is nowhere to run around

The park must be 3 or 4 acres it could easily have an enormous outer circle easily 20ft wide circling.

It just seems that the dogs take priority over people.

Navy Left to his own devices, my dog would most certainly cover you face in kisses if he met you. Sadly for him I stick him on lead or make him heel (depending on how lazy I'm feeling) so he only gets to kiss people mostly young children who want kissed.

I do have some sympathy for the OP because the grassy parks here are covered in dog poo and it is absolutely disgusting, but they lose my sympathy when they get all dramatic about a friendly dog on a lead approaching them.

As a dog owner, I don't expect to take priority but I DO expect the right to equality. I pay the same taxes as joggers or the parents of children, so why should I be segregated? especially as my dog is so much better behaved than many of the children I encounter.
I clean up poo, and as PPs have said umpteen other animals crap/pee on the grass - it's nature, it's not sterile.

I am more concerned by parents allowing their kids to run up to dogs they don't know as opposed to dogs running up to children.

Most owners have control over their dogs or they wouldn't let them off their lead.

Parents however see a fluffy dog and wants little Timmy to go and cuddle it despite not knowing if the dog is friendly or not

Thank you NeedacleverNN!
I have more problems with dogs launching themselves at my DDog, than the other way about.

No better way to get bitten but the brain dead parents blame the dog.

I saw a mother hold get child to do a poo next to the playground in the park.

I don't want my dog to go near that.

I don't tend to take my dog to parks. Usually I stick to a local walking path by the woods/river and then into a field. 10 months of the year it's a fantastic peaceful clean walk but as soon as the nice weather hits, groups of teens head into the woods and light fires and leave litter all over the place. There's usually a fire engine at the end of our estate once a week or so with the firemen going in the woods to put out the fires before they spread. Oh, and there's dirt bikes illegally racing around the paths. I quite often hate the good weather and wish it were miserable again so it would just be back to me and the other dog walkers who don't cause any trouble.

"Navy - just like on the news when a dog maules a child the owner says .... They are so good and never behaved like that.

Time and tragedy have shown dogs can and do attack"

My pelvic floor struggled to deal with this. There's many, many more children attacks and humans mauling than dogs FFS.

I love it when I'm in the local park and open minded friendly there and fathers with kids (and better, some with dogs too) approach us and play and have no problem with their kids learning how to be safe around pets. It's lovely.

If one of my dogs has rolled in fox poo and covered in it I ask them not to let their kids stroke them.

Similarly it's highly dangerous and annoying when out of control kids swarm, and subsequently panic my dogs trying to pet them and pick them up without asking first. Little shits deserve to get bitten disrespecting animals like that.

You know what? People hurt each other too. Would you like a one in, one out policy at the park to endure that doesn't happen as well? You don't like dogs and are determined to have a moan. Fine. But you are being unreasonable and TBH a bit of an arse.

I disagree Navy.

If a human runs up to another human and jumps on their back from behind, the victim will react - either verbally or physically. Why should a dog just have to put up with it because it's a dog?

For the record I try to avoid these situations, including physically holding back a toddler that tried to grab my girl's tail - funnily enough the parents didn't appreciate me trying to protect both my girl and their child

The child doesn't deserve to get bitten because its grownups didn't keep it under control (if very young) or teach them manners (if older). As I said upthread, the vast majority of kids we meet now have been properly socialised.

The OPs posts are like dog hater bingo.

Navy, no I said they deserve to get bit if they swarm round and panic my dogs without asking first. And without their parents there to supervise.

The child doesn't deserve to be bitten! But at the same time, if a parent allows their child to run up to a strange dog and cuddle it when it's on a lead, the parent should not be able to insist the dog is pts for being dangerous. That is a human error and not a nasty dog.

My nan experienced this. A man plonked his small toddler infront of her dog and walked away smiling.

Luckily the dog was soft as shit but that could have gone wrong badly

This has all reminded me why I prefer to take my dog to the park very early when the only people there are anti-social dog walkers like me. If we pass within a few feet of each other then there may be some sort of mumbled comment about the weather otherwise perfect blissful silence.

Majority dog attacks are entirely human error not the animals fault.

Majority dog attacks are entirely human error not the animals fault.

Yes but sometimes, some people are blind to their dogs fault. The dogs should have been pts long ago or muzzled in public but some people won't do it

Needaclever actually i agree. A bit. Still the humans fault. Dog can't muzzle itself.

Take kids to a petting farm and they get attacked by a goose or bit by a cow. No one bats an eyelid. Get nipped by a dog because they've been harassing it and the whole world looses its mind. Crazy.

Well of course a dog can't muzzle itself but that's when responsible dog ownership comes in.

If you are in doubt at all about your dogs behaviour, or you know they can be aggressive, you must muzzle whilst in public. If you can't handle that, then you need to look at pts. Dangerous dogs can not be around people.

A dog defending itself is not the same as aggression though.

Most dogs aren't dangerous though to be fair. Most dogs show many, many warning signs to get the person to back off long, long before it resorts to a bite. And that bite is very controlled by the animal. Even a small dog is entirely capable of ripping flesh to the bone but will control itself and bite as a warning.

I've got two lovely little dogs. They are wonderfully calm around humans. And gentle to kids. But when pushed to their limits or surprised in the park will snap (not bite, mostly noise) and growl.

A dog defending itself is not the same as aggression though

No that's true but people who aren't used to dogs don't see it like that.

And luckily like Wi said, the majority of dogs love people. It's rare to get people aggressive dogs. Dog aggressive dogs yes, but that's solved by keeping them on a lead and at a distance.

Oh, shame. How did this turn from a nice jolly thread about people sitting in urine-soaked grass into children being mauled?

Come on, let's get back to disabled people who can't bend down to pick up dog poo and ruining the OP's life. That was much more fun.