Harreitt Becktell
was born in indonesia....my parents worked for the british embassey..i guess you could call me an embassey brat.................
RATING DOG PARKS
- By Harreitt Becktell
- Published 07/4/2006
My husband and I are traveling the USA and Canada rating dog parks in all fifty states. Right now we are in southern Ca usa , the dog parks in Orange county are well taken care of, we loved Huntington beach dog beach, Chewy had an endless run! I will rate it A one for our book coming out in Oct 2006. We visited long beach about a week ago. First we went to the local dog beach......nice try but it was rather anemic.first off how is Chewy supposed to understand the boundery lines? Second we had encounters with some really rude folks. A lady with a German pointer asked us not to let Chewy play with her dog because she didn't want her dog playing with other dogs. We then went over to the dog park at Long Beach Recreation park, we had heard some interesting things about it. Well it was filled to the brim with these obnoxious dog walkers-each with 20 or more dogs! Chewy was run over and absolutely terrified even though he is well socialized. My hubby asked a tall gentleman and a very short stout chubby little dog walker to please remove your dogs from Chewy. They ignored us completely and instead continued to chain smoke and pick up ugly girls for their quickie lunch affairs. I will definitely write this up as a 0 and no go for our book. We are on our way now to Santa Barbara now to visit another dog park.
Question I have for you readers? Do you think dog walkers belong in dog parks? Secondly what kind of problems have you encountered at your local dog park?
Question I have for you readers? Do you think dog walkers belong in dog parks? Secondly what kind of problems have you encountered at your local dog park?
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Comments
Comment #1 (Posted by Lissa)
Great topic... I am not a fan of dog parks...my dog was attacked twice and I have been dealing with repercussions of that for over a year now :(
I am sorry to hear that your dog had a bad experience and I hope it doesn't happen again.
I do not mind dog walkers at the park if they have max 3 dogs and are in COMPLETE CONTROL (providing that the dog's are well socialized). I think they need to be even more responsible and knowledgeable than the average owner though.
But all in all I think dog parks are accidents waiting to happen in peak hours - especially when many people go there to social themselves and let their dogs run wild! :( In theory dog parks are great but in reality their is just too many risks for me to take my dogs there!
Comment #2 (Posted by Harriet Becktell)
what city is your dog park in? We just got done visiting San Pedro Ca I was small but nicely done! Long Beach is the first dog park where we really saw alot of problems. visitor told me that dog fights are a a daily occurance,and that sometimes the parking lot is so congested with dog walker trucks and vans that there in not room for the public to park their vehicles. This is definatly a place to stay away from!
Comment #3 (Posted by Harriet Becktell)
Today, I would like to here from those of you in different states, how would you rate your dog parks, and what kind of issues are you currently having to resolve? Do you limit dog walkers to just 3 dogs ect.....
Comment #4 (Posted by Angeleyes)
Harriett, you would probably get a better response posting these questions in the forums. Just because more members check the forums regularly. Great topic though!!
Comment #5 (Posted by LIssa)
I am in Ottawa, Ontario and to be completely honest I am vary disappointed in our dog parks. I would rather pay to be a member of a park that is managed well. I hope you post on the forums becuase this is a topic that many people have know a lot about!
Comment #6 (Posted by Harriett)
ok...I am going to move to the forum, I got the message,actually I tried yesterday but the spell checker froze up my comp.and I do appologise for any lousy spelling, I can't make the spell checker co-operate. Im no illiterate just old.
Comment #7 (Posted by eric shannon)
Hey, if you're still in Southern CA in the Los Angeles area, two nice dog parks to check out are Playa Vista (in Playa Del Rey) and the one in El Segundo. When I lived there, I'd be at one of those two places all the time.
About the dog walkers - it really depends on the dog walker. If they pay attention & keep a well-behaved client list, then I've got no problem with them bringing 6-8 dogs (20 seems a bit obscene). But if they just talk to their buddies the whole time & have a slew of dogs that act as a little pack of bullies, then it's no good for anyone.
Comment #8 (Posted by Cathi)
To much high energy in a dog park, fights could start. If you want to go to a dog park first excerise your dog first before going.
Comment #9 (Posted by Moose's Mom)
I was just at a park that Moose (a 19 pound Boston) and I have gone to every day for 2 months. Today a bodybuilder muscle head brought in his obnoxious little Beagle and 2 small mixes. His dogs were horrible and I made the decision to leave. They attacked 5 other dogs and Moose was not going to be next. I warned the lady walking in with her little puppy and warned her about the aggressive dogs. Right after that, it attacked her pup. I told the guy who was socializing across the park that he needed to take his dogs out of here. He got all aggressive with me when all I simply did was state what every other dog owner was too timid to say. He got in my face yelling at me. I simply and calmly said "wow, I know where he gets it" why do dumb people bring thier aggressive/mean dogs to the park and expect it to be okay?????
Comment #10 (Posted by ghostdogg)
DOG WALKERS dont belong in dog parks! Long Beach dog Park rating 000-
Comment #11 (Posted by cocoamoma)
i think dog patks are a great idea! you can let your dog ran around and have fun with other dogs in the park (unless your dog isn't friendly) were i live there isn't any dog parks so i think there should be more dog parks!!!
