Rough Encounter At The Dog Park

[LeviTheOutlaw]

Yesterday was an interesting day at the dog park. I take Levi and Xena to the dog park every saturday and sunday so they can get out and really stretch their legs. They love it! we go as soon as the sun comes up before the big crowd of dogs get there. We find a nice spot in the back where there's a picnic table and plenty of shade. Levi chases his ball and xena runs around and sniffs EVERYTHING lol. We usually stay an hour or two and then come home for a nap.

There's a number of regulars that we see and they get along with. Yesterday there was a couple with their dog that I hadn't seen before. The dog was very friendly and the people kept a close eye on the dog so I don't think they were at fault for anything, but Xena and their dog (which was levi's size) got into a fight. The dog had Xena penned on the ground and she was fighting back and very upset. I couldn't get the dog off and neither could the dogs people. Levi was about 30 feet away getting his ball I had just thrown. As soon as he heard the noise he dropped the ball and came barreling across the park. He tackled the other dog and rolled him off Xena. Within seconds He was on top of the other dog and sounding more fierce then I had ever heard him. I yelled "Levi Off!!" (I've never trained him with that command) and was amazed he just quit and got off and stood between me and Xena and the other dog. Luckily no dogs were injuried. I checked them both over very well and the other people checked their dog. They apologized greatly and said they didn't know what got into their dog and moved to a different part of the park. No feelings seemed to be hurt.

First I was amazed and pretty proud that Levi was right there to protect Xena. I didn't praise him because I don't want to encourage him to be aggressive but I kinda did want to cuz he really protected her and kept her from possibly getting hurt.

Just wanted to see what y'all thought...

 

[Dogster]

Wow. That is a GREAT story. I'm pretty sure the couple won't brin their dog to the dog prk for a while... And HOORAY for Levi!!!! That's awesome that he protected Xena. Dogs never seize to surprise us, eh?

 

[LeviTheOutlaw]

I'm really proud of him. I have wondered if he really would protect me or Xena if the need did arise and now I am sure he will. And again I don't think anyone did anything wrong. Their dog seemed very sweet and socialized.

But I do wonder if I should have praised him for doing that. I don't want to encourage that behavior unless absolutely necessary. Once he got off the other dog I just sorta "brushed off his knees" so to say and went about what we were doing before. I didn't make a big deal out of anything.

 

[Dogster]

I'm not sure if you should praise him for it either. On one hand, he protected Xena, but on the other, he pinned down another dog.Hmmm..... Yeah, I think just going back to your usual buisness would be the right thing to do.

 

[LeviTheOutlaw]

Ok good, thanks. Thats what I was thinking too. Although later that after noon we went to the Dairy Queen and they gave him a puppy cone hehe Levi loves his puppy cone...

 

[tigerlily46514]

http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/blog/dog-park

i'm glad your dogs are okay. ^Not everyone thinks dog parks are great for dogs...

 

[LeviTheOutlaw]

Yeah, I definitely agree with you there. I read the article you posted and I agree with it. I'm not a big fan of dog parks. Unfortunately, Right now I live in an apartment and I don't have any place to take my dogs to run and get exercise (other then drive an hour and a half to my parents property) I have looked around for alternatives in the area but there just isn't any around. That's why we go super early in the morning before other people get there. Often we are the first and only ones there for about 30 minutes. It's a fairly large park, so we got to the back end where very few people go and get our exercise and then leave before it gets crowded. Hopefully, before the end of this year I will have a back yard again but for now I just don't know what else to do.

Oh and we do go for long walks every day but I can't go as fast as he wants to go and it's just not the same as chasing the ball.

I do think I am going to start leaving Xena at home tho. She wants to meet the other dogs so thats what started the whole problem. Levi doesn't care about other dogs. He ignores them. Just wants to fetch the ball.

 

[dogcrazy]

I am very happy that there is freindly dogs at our dog park1

 

[Anneke]

Protecting the pack Well done Levi!!
I think you did the right thing. Not make a point about it, just go on with what you are doing.
Like you said, you don't want him thinking he has to do this all the time.

 

[tigerlily46514]

oh, i so understand about needing to take your dogs somewhere to exercise! My dog is a total gangster, and he can not be brought to dog parks. I sort of suspect that dog who attacked your dog, might be a gangster dog, too, and that dog should NOT be brought to a dog park. My dog would most likely attack your dog, too, or at the least, yell at her. Not everyone who owns gangsta dogs realizes they should NOT bring THEIR dog to the park....

so i have had to find areas for him to enjoy, to run free off leash, where no dogs are.

One of my favorites is a local school yard, which is amazingly big, and has a walking track for me to do laps while Buddy runs free. It is completely fenced in. Of course, i bring a doggie bag and leave area as clean as i found it.


Another place, are old ancient cemetaries, also fenced in, and no one ever visit ancient ones. This works out for me and my dog, as neither one of us believes in ghosts. I can practice his recall, and long distance recall, and lots of cues while we are there. Buddy loves that place. If we go to a newer one, i carry a leash, and if anyone arrives, i leash up Buddy, and just walk him, or we leave.

Also, i am always looking around for fenced in fields, school yards, parks, river walks, or out in the country, we have tons of fields, so far from traffic, i can let him off leash there, too.

Lots of "people" parks allow dogs.

 

[LeviTheOutlaw]

Thats a great idea Tigerlilly.

I live very close to the "country" I need to drive around and see what I can find. That does remind me... at one time while I was living in Michigan, My back yard was backed up to an old cemetary. I used to take Abbey there all the time. She loved to run and since she was a rescue and very dog aggressive, I couldn't take her anywhere near other dogs. It was a great place to romp around. And I always made sure to take the doggie bags with me.

 

[TiflovesBCs]

I find it hard to find any enclosed spaces near where we live. And I can't just take them out to the moors (live near them) lol because a, I'll be come lost and b, the sheep and lambs are out. which with 3 bcs is a no no. Really hard to find places dog free where I live.

 

[LeviTheOutlaw]

Thats unfortunate Tif. There is a couple places around here that have indoor "dog parks" and if you want to have an area to yourself for just you and your dogs, they will do that. However it gets pretty expensive. I haven't gone there cuz it's in Houston city limits and I live on the outskirts of Houston so its a bit of a drive plus I would have to battle traffic the whole way. No one wants to do that.

 

[TiflovesBCs]

I live in the uk, we don't have dog parks as such just parks where everyone can go. Which I always cringe at incase little kids suddenly appear or something unexpected.

 

[Dogster]

There are indoor dog parks here too. (Well, 1)

 

[LeviTheOutlaw]

I suppose the indoor park will come in handy this summer when it is blazing hot outside. better start saving my money. lol

 

[bekah1001]

My mom took Brody to the dog park and he did not like it at all (he was a puppy at the time). He was kinda rushed by other dogs and I think it really scared him. It also reminds of a time when I took Riley, Brody, my brother's dog Jenny, and Huxley (One of Riley's pups) to a park and there was a dog off leash who kinda started sniffing Hux and wouldn't leave him alone. The other dog tried mounting Hux and Jenny ran over barking at the other dog like crazy! I've never seen her do that before but I was happy that she protected him.
And I've never heard/seen an indoor park, that would be something fun to do.

 

[LeviTheOutlaw]

Yeah, there's only a couple here in houston that I have found. The one that is remotely close to me is still a 45 minute drive with normal traffic. They charge $10 for 30 minutes to an hour depending on the day and that is during the community time. To get it alone it's $15 for 30 minutes. they also have unlimited for $75 a month but it's a lot of money to me. Especially with it so far away.