as if by weird magic - dog issue today

[frizzyrazzy]

So I'm wondering what the dog people think about what happened today.

we're at the ball park, kids everywhere, watching Ian's baseball game. There are 3 fields at our park, so 3 different games going on, so the place was packed with people. One mom was there with her very large dog (don't know what kind but it was BIG and furry and almost looked like a sheep dog with curly hair) and every time a child would walk by it, it would bark loudly. it barked at me the first time I passed it. One little boy kept trying to walk by to get to the swings and he couldn't because the dog kept barking. The dog-mom just kept saying "it's ok Sofia is friendly" and meanwhile this little boy who was probably only about 5 started crying because he was so scared. His mother didn't know what to say, but I could tell she was getting irritated. I sort of sat there thinking about our conversation the other day.

so what would you guys have done? Said something? not said something? What should the dog owner have done?

[StillMamamia]

I would've diplomatically asked her if she could move a bit farther away, since my kid is afraid of dogs. Yes, even if her dog is friendly, it's just a kid, etc etc.
She should've realized that on her own, anyway.
I've 2 dogs...VERY friendly...but they're animals, with their own instincts, and you never know what might tick them off. Even the best trained animals can have a bad day...
Plus, a small kid who's probably as tall as that dog, looks like a playmate to the dog, more so than an adult, and the dog will not 'respect or obey' the kid as easily as the adult.

[MamaC]

The owner should have taken the dog home. Many, many adults are frightened of dogs because they had bad exeriences with barking/overenthusiastic/agressive dogs as kids.

Breaks my heart because everyone deserves to love a dog.

I am a big dog lover but I was scared to death of 2 dogs as a kid...a cranky German Shepherd named King and a nasty little chihuahua named Poncho. Didn't stop me from trying to break up dogfights between other dogs and getting bitten in the process. Not so bright.

~~Becky

[frizzyrazzy]

Now the question is, how to nicely tell the doggy-mom the next time that she really shouldn't have the dog at the ballfield if he's going to bark at everyone.

[valerie k]

you call the cops every time that dog does something... to you, or any child if you see it. Thats unexceptable and in reality, a death waiting to happen. Not to hard to cross the line from barking and chasing to biting and tasteing blood. Sooner or later, she will be getting the hint with many tickets, fines or animal impoundment. I love dogs, however, choose to own a pit bull, you better choose to make sure its unaccessable to the general public at large.

Baseball games have enough officials running around, next time, find one, explain and have them be billybada$$ and tell her to remove the dog or go to a secluded spot with fido. Most ball parks I have been to have signs that state no animals.

my dog also loves kids, however, she is a yappy jumpy creature of habit, therefor, she stays home, tucked into the airconditioned house, when we venture into crowded areas. I love my dog, I put up with her barks, the general public, doenst have to.

[frizzyrazzy]

yeah, obviously she's not taking the hint if she knew the child was scared.

I'm thinking she'd probably be clueless if her kids were doing something naughty too. LOL

[caspi]

Now the question is, how to nicely tell the doggy-mom the next time that she really shouldn't have the dog at the ballfield if he's going to bark at everyone.

I'm assuming that dogs are actually allowed on this property? I know they banned pets from our fields a couple of years ago, but it varies from county to county. What about contacting the parks & rec department or whoever it is that runs the fields and telling them about this? Perhaps if enough people complain, they will do something about it.

[frizzyrazzy]

yeah they haven't stated that dogs are not welcome as far as I know - since I don't have a dog I just don't really pay much attention. But this sort of ticked me off watching that poor little boy not be able to walk by.

[Lee]

As the owner of a big (humongous) polar beer (aka - dog) I see it as my responsibility to make sure people aren't scared by my dog. Mostly, little kids are fascinated with him and the feeling is returned. Usually they are scared becuase if his size, but want to pet him becuase of his magnetic personality :rolleyes:...so I hunch down and hold them why they pet him - if he were to bark at another person, I wouldn't hesitate to move him or control him or take him home.

My pet peeve is other dog owners who want their dog to play with Jack. Nope, no way, ain't gonna happen - he is ALFA DOG - and therefore will not another dog broach his personal space. He actually attacked another dog out of the blue at a dirt bike race - the other dog was barking at him - and ALFA DOG just switched from my caring low key puppy to his superhero alter ego and attacked - he doesn't go to dirt bike races anymore...

[Kirsten]

Not much to add. Some people shouldn't be allowed to own dogs. I would definitely have said something. If my dog had been barking at children at a ballgame. I would have put her in a down stay. This puts the dog in a more submissive position relative to the children. If I couldn't control her, I would have left.

I have asked people to leave the dog park when their dogs were behaving aggressively and even called the dog officer and got one banned from the park. No one else would speak up, but several thanked me after the fact.

Our ballpark has no dog signs posted everywhere. Perhaps you should speak to the town/parks department about changing the rules.

Kirsten

[OSUMom]

This dog owner should have taken the dog home in my opinion. The dog was scaring the kids. This seems so completely obvious. The other option would be for this owner to move far out of the way where people are walking.

The other story - the man goes up to the dog to stare the dog down and talks about kicking his head or something? I'm sorry but I disagree that the guy from that situation was scared. He was looking for a confrontation.

[ScottB]

The other story - the man goes up to the dog to stare the dog down and talks about kicking his head or something? I'm sorry but I disagree that the guy from that situation was scared. He was looking for a confrontation.

I've been staying out of this debate but I have to agree with that. We had a neighbor that obviously was not only a non-dog person but non animal in general. One day Sharon was walking her dachshund and the dog started barking at our neighbor. You know what that idiot did? Not only did he stare our dog down but he stomped his feet at our dog too. Gee, what a brilliant idea in getting a dog to calm down .....DUHHH. I can accept the notion that a non dog person wouldn't know certain dos and don'ts about dogs but it shouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that staring down ANY animal is not a wise idea especially when it is clearly obvious that their action is making the animal even more aggressive. Add that to stomping your feet like our old neighbor did is a clear indication to me that our neighbor DID know better and was asking for a confrontation as well.

On the flip side, the dog owner who's dog was scaring kids and annoying others at the ball game should've taken the dog home and saying the dog wont bite doesn't fly either. I met a utility meter reader who's heard that a hundred times and he had the bite marks on his legs to prove it.

[thebestnest5]

We have dogs at our house and I think the lady's behavior was totally inappropriate. In my mind, her dog was showing a form of aggression. That could lead to big trouble. She should have taken the dog out of there or better yet, not have brought the dog at all!

How my DH handled an "dog" incident at our neighborhood park about a month ago.

My DH was at a park with our 4 children. A woman enters the park and her large Lab is running around and jumping and jumping on kids and knocking them down. She keeps saying that the dog is friendly and hollers to just tell the dog "down" command.:rolleyes: So, DH observes for a while and figures that the dog owner is not going to do the right thing; so he stepped in with some well chosen wording.


DH asks: "Do you have a leash?"

Dog owner: "Yes"

DH: "Well, this would be the time to use it!"

Dog owner: apologizes and leashes dog and makes a quick exit.

[saxmaniac]

DH asks: "Do you have a leash?"
Dog owner: "Yes"
DH: "Well, this would be the time to use it!"
Dog owner: apologizes and leashes dog and makes a quick exit.

That is awesome.

[frizzyrazzy]

haha.. I love that exchange. unfortunately this dog was on a leash.

we'll see if she shows up on saturday at the next ball game.

And just so you all don't think I mind nice dogs, last year Ian's teacher's son was on Ian's team and she would bring her dog to every game and sit next to me at every game (her step son was also t1, so we had a lot in common) her dog would sit and not move. he never bothered me, even sitting right at my feet. He just sat there and took it all in and never threatened anyone.

[Lee]

haha.. I love that exchange. unfortunately this dog was on a leash.

we'll see if she shows up on saturday at the next ball game.

And just so you all don't think I mind nice dogs, last year Ian's teacher's son was on Ian's team and she would bring her dog to every game and sit next to me at every game (her step son was also t1, so we had a lot in common) her dog would sit and not move. he never bothered me, even sitting right at my feet. He just sat there and took it all in and never threatened anyone.

Thats my 170 lb baby right there!

[Kirsten]

haha.. I love that exchange. unfortunately this dog was on a leash.

we'll see if she shows up on saturday at the next ball game.

And just so you all don't think I mind nice dogs, last year Ian's teacher's son was on Ian's team and she would bring her dog to every game and sit next to me at every game (her step son was also t1, so we had a lot in common) her dog would sit and not move. he never bothered me, even sitting right at my feet. He just sat there and took it all in and never threatened anyone.

That's how it should be. If more people would train their dogs, dogs would be allowed to go more places.

Kirsten

[dbz2988]

Well, I have 3 dogs and I wouldn't even think of taking one of them because he has the same issue. Barks at everyone (although we use a bark collar, I know some people think it's inhumane but it works). He was also abused so if he gets the wrong vibe, he'll nip, not bite, but nip. He slowly needs to be introduced to people and is great once he knows them.

Having said that, the owner should 1) not have brought the dog, she probably knew he was going to react that way (I'm sure it's not the first time) or 2) brought the dog home.

If it were my child, I would have said something to her and asked her to relocate the dog to an area that wouldn't have people walking by to cause the dog to bark if she wanted to keep it there.

I think that is just rude and inconsiderate of others.

[thebestnest5]

haha.. I love that exchange. unfortunately this dog was on a leash.

we'll see if she shows up on saturday at the next ball game.



Yes I understand, the dog was on a leash and it the owner was allowing it to be obnoxious and scary to children.:( The owner needed to be corrected and to remove her dog from the situation.

I think my DH would have had no problem saying something just as witty and effective to that woman, too.:p My DH has a great personality for dealing with those kinds of issues.

[frizzyrazzy]

Yes I understand, the dog was on a leash and it the owner was allowing it to be obnoxious and scary to children.:( The owner needed to be corrected and to remove her dog from the situation.

I think my DH would have had no problem saying something just as witty and effective to that woman, too.:p My DH has a great personality for dealing with those kinds of issues.

maybe he can give me some witty words?? lol. I kept quiet that day because my first inclination was to yell and scream at her, much like the guy who said the dog needed to be kicked, only certainly not that cruel. I wanted to say "your dog doesn't belong here" but I didn't want to cause a confrontation.

I wonder if she'd get the hint if I turned it around, "seems your dog is uncomfortable with all the kids around...poor thing...he'd probably be so much happier at home."

[saxmaniac]

The owner needed to be corrected and to remove her dog from the situation.

Maybe the owner needed a bark collar.

[Mary Lou]

We have only one medium-sized dog now, but have always had dogs. big dogs. Dogs that make most people nervous (Rotties :D ). My dogs have always been highly trained and usually spend time in public laying down and quiet.

That being said, I never took any of them to a kid's ball field. Maybe to a practice once I found out that no one was afraid of dogs or would be nervous about having them there (I love to think of my dogs being ambassadors of good doggie will).

But my current dog is a little skittish, and a little jumpy, and well, she's a boxer, which means she hits. Seriously. With her paws, a quick one-two-punch just to say hello. She isn't fit to be taken out to groups of kids. I wouldn't dream of it. :D

Dogs that bark or demonstrate other behaviors in public that are undesirable should stay home.

Can you ask a coach or umpire or referee to tell the lady that her dog is scaring kids and she should take it home?

[frizzyrazzy]

We have only one medium-sized dog now, but have always had dogs. big dogs. Dogs that make most people nervous (Rotties :D ). My dogs have always been highly trained and usually spend time in public laying down and quiet.
my fil's girl friend always has rotties and honestly, her two dogs have been the gentlest dogs I've known. but they have been highly trained dogs and didn't move from her side unless she gave them the Ok to do so. I have pictures (good thing I wasn't there) of my oldest as a 3 year old sitting on the floor reading the dog a book. eeek.


Can you ask a coach or umpire or referee to tell the lady that her dog is scaring kids and she should take it home?I think if it happens again I will have to do that.

[Mary Lou]

my fil's girl friend always has rotties and honestly, her two dogs have been the gentlest dogs I've known. but they have been highly trained dogs and didn't move from her side unless she gave them the Ok to do so. I have pictures (good thing I wasn't there) of my oldest as a 3 year old sitting on the floor reading the dog a book. eeek.

:D:D HA HA!!! Brian used to "slide" down their tummies and tug their ears. The best dogs I have ever had (even though they were prone to licking off the high chair tray!!)

I think if it happens again I will have to do that.

I think you are right to try to do something. Hopefully the woman just won't bring the dog back...

[frizzyrazzy]

:D:D HA HA!!! Brian used to "slide" down their tummies and tug their ears. The best dogs I have ever had (even though they were prone to licking off the high chair tray!!)

I think if it happens again I will have to do that.

I think you are right to try to do something. Hopefully the woman just won't bring the dog back...

maybe they are just highly intelligent? Are they? or maybe it's the opposite? I dont' know anything about dogs (we've discerned that already, right?) but is it easier to train a smart dog or a dumb dog?

I would have thought that her rots we're going to be "in charge' type dogs, since that's how they look, but clearly they knew that their place was below people -all people, even little kids.

[ScottB]

Maybe the owner needed a bark collar.

I'm not so sure that would help. Years ago we had an "invisible fence" device set up inside our house to keep the black lab we had at the time out of certain rooms and one of the devices was a shock collar. Our boys got the crazy idea to try it out themselves so they took turns strapping the collar around their own necks and jumping through the area where the "fence" was set up and getting zapped in the process. They didn't tell us about it until the day after but those goofs thought it was fun. I'm telling you, there's never a dull moment around here.

[kyleesmom]

She shouldnt have had the dog there, or at least not so close to the crowd. It drives me crazy when people bring dogs like that to sporting events. If your dog is going to bark at everyone and everything, leave it at home, its not appropriate. You would let your kid scream at every person that walked by, why do people think its ok to let dogs do it. I have a dog that I absolutely love, but if someone is at my house and they are afraid of him or he barks at them a lot, he goes into one of the kids rooms. Hes a little Shih Tzu, and at 10 pounds, hes not exactly scary.

[Abby-Dabby-Doo]

Usually dogs (or animals) aren't allowed on the premises. Do you know if there is a sign posted? If a sign isn't posted, I would call the ball park board and see what can be done. I'm an animal lover, I'm not trying to start an arguement, but animals don't belong there.

[Mary Lou]

maybe they are just highly intelligent? Are they? or maybe it's the opposite? I dont' know anything about dogs (we've discerned that already, right?) but is it easier to train a smart dog or a dumb dog?

I would have thought that her rots we're going to be "in charge' type dogs, since that's how they look, but clearly they knew that their place was below people -all people, even little kids.

Rotties are definitely smart. My current boxer is cute, but a litte dumb. I think their demeanor goes further in determining trainability than intelligence, as I've met some pretty smart, but bratty dogs.

I think that responsible pet owners who have a dog like a Rottie feel very strongly about how people are afraid of them and go out of their way to ensure that the dog knows the pecking order and where they stand (and where they don't) in it. I was always nervous about Dexter scaring some little kid and then I'd BIG trouble.

[Lee]

maybe they are just highly intelligent? Are they? or maybe it's the opposite? I dont' know anything about dogs (we've discerned that already, right?) but is it easier to train a smart dog or a dumb dog?


OK -my dog (who is going to a ball game tonight!) is super smart! Way to smart - he is so smart that he knows when he can get away with things

We go for a walk - he is lazy so he drags behind me 1/2 the time - then he hears a car - runs as fast as he can in front of me, the car drives away - he falls back behind.

He sleeps in the garage at night cause he is a barker - a LOUD barker- so, everynight at 9pm, I go to put him in the garage - he gets up and runs to the woods the moment he hears me open the door...

We have an underground fence (the only kind that will hold him - I have tried them all!) and whenever hte battery starts to die - even just a little, he makes a mad dash to freedom so I have to go bail him out of jail!

Is he well trained, yep - is he to smart for my own good - definitely!