Yonjuro

Wow, that is horrible, I don't blame you for staying away from such parks ! It makes my little argument seem very inconsequential. I am sorry you and your huskies were on the receiving end of such bad behaviour I do have a long line and harness so I may try it out, I have been hesitant as I was worried that other dogs might get tripped up. I'll think more about it and try and work out some way to make it work. Thanks for your comments :)

Thanks Hankdog :) I am realising both sides now and I thank you for your comments.

Hi TT thanks for your comments :) I haven't been there of an evening for a while now, what school were you referring to? I walk Ronin on lead mainly around the suburbs but do get around a bit, I haven't taken him to any schools, our trainer comes to my house :)

Yes you are quite right, it is not a large park, and what is worse is that many owners congregate together paying little to no attention to their dogs. It also means the dogs congregate is a particular 20% of the park near the cluster of owners. It is a catch 22 in that I want to move to a less used area but all the fun in Ronin's mind is around the pack and I want to be near incase anything gets out of hand In my mind at the time which was possibly selfish, was wondering why this guy wanted to walk his dog in there and on lead while there is massive parks around much more suitable to his requirement - or so I would have thought? Unfortunately for me a trip to this park becomes a bit of an event as Ronin doesn't like car travel and there is no where else for a husky to run off lead. I am not saying that I have a reasonable excuse for being put out but that was my mind at the time

What a cutie, happy adoption day Jingo, I hope you get spoiled with lots of yummy treats :)

Funny you should post this as my wife has just put some in my daughters hair as she felt it was a bit dry, my wife is a beautician and likes to do as much natural and organic as possible :D I have done this with Ronin when he had a bit of puppy dandruff quite a while ago. It is pretty messy though and difficult to massage into a double coated dog. After a couple of hours I got a small towel and soaked it in calendula tea, wrung it out and wiped the guard hairs down. His coat looked great. I haven't had to do it since but he does get fed raw food, lots of fish and a teaspoon of coconut oil a couple of times per week with his food.

:thumbsup:

You are of course right LisaCC :) I gave one greyhound lady my number and hope to catch up at a quiet time.

Lots of very good comments. I always understand that some dogs (and people) simply find a husky to be intimidating and threatening. Their natural stance can be misinterpreted as aggressive, so I do bear this in mind when talking to others. Husky vocalisation is also something that can be quite intimidating to those not familiar with the breed. I have had quite a few people say to me - "oh, my dog doesn't like huskies" But because I love dogs I have a chat about their stance and vocalisation etc and understand their concerns. I am finding I have to be so hyper vigilant that it is taking the pleasure away from the park. I love so much to see him run full pelt, it gives me goose-pimples especially with the Greyhounds but the lows are difficult to manage. There might be 6 or 10 people all with different dogs , different training levels, ages, size, different expectations and every combination of temperament that just make it a minefield to navigate. I have had one person say "they don't trust Huskies" to another person when my boy was being an angel, same person said I should watch some Cesar Millan to learn about dog behaviour and a few other comments that have worn me down. In stark contrast there are many others that have said how wonderful, gentle and well trained he is - so it is becoming so difficult to work out where we stand, but many of the previous comments have helped my understanding. I guess today was the straw that broke the camels back But I am under no allusions, he is young and very energetic and can be a boofhead sometimes, maybe he will be less excited when the teenage phase is over? It has also really only been 1.5 months since his neutering so possible that there is still a reasonable amount of testosterone bouncing around :) His desexing was due to cryptorchidism not behavioural. I know I just have to have a break, stay away and stop stressing myself about park interactions. ... where I mentioned about nervous dogs I was really referring to a few that I have seen that were foaming at the mouth from nervousness or fear, and this I thought was very worrying.

Thanks TSD, I appreciate your comments :)

I thank you all for the comments, I think I better understand different perspectives now. I appreciate that I am not a perfect dog owner but I generally do try to consider others. I will reflect on the best way forward and continue to discuss and work on our shortcomings with our trainer. I don't think there is much more to be gained by continuing with this topic. Many thanks :)

You got that right :laugh: Bloody miserable copper coins ! Yes this is very true as I am realising, I don't want to be the ignoramus at the park. The highs are high but the lows are low as I now realise. I just don't want the stress or to cause stress.

Well most people think he is the opposite of rude, but I don't agree 100%. I will just have to work harder and possibly wait until his teenager phase is gone before I go back to the park. I could easily blame the other dogs that attacked mine when his was younger and was on leash at a park, however I have worked hard on making him better as is illustrated by a few people have asked for play dates with my boy.

This one doesn't say 'under effective control' but does say 'dangerous or aggressive dogs must leave immediately'. Ronin does have some great play with a couple of staffys, greyhounds and rottys he will try and instigate play with others but if they are not interested he won't keep trying.

It really is a tough one as last week there was actually a trainer at this public park conducting a puppy class on lead - there were lots of very small puppies and I was pretty surprised that someone would conduct a course there. There were very worried owners that were looking at my big boof-head in horror but luckily he was very gentle and the trainer commented to me how well behaved Ronin was. During the week another trainer was there to teach a bunch of and I quote "naughty dogs" a couple of these smaller dogs were chasing and snapping at Ronin, and again they were horrified but the trainer said it was okay because "the husky" wasn't reacting back. So I suppose some of these things have lulled me into a false sense of security, I know he can sometimes be rude but I thought because he doesn't react back and I am always on guard it would be okay. I concede that I may have been wrong in my assumptions.

Thank you so much :) I really try, but know that I am far from perfect. You really make a lot of sense with your comments - much appreciated

Yeah, I hear you :) I suppose we just need to keep working with our trainer on these things. My trainer thinks it's a bad idea going to these places but the highs of most of the times have be so great, but now I am doubting everything and conceding she is probably right.

Thanks for your comment, perhaps because it is a specific fenced in area where it seems to be pretty much a free-for-all I have allowed myself to become too complacent. I don't go to normal on and off lead area as it is just too stressful having my boy on lead. So this is the only place he can have a real run until we start mushing. I don't go in the late arvo early evening time anymore as it really is very chaotic.

And I wouldn't be allowing your dog to chase others either. The nervous dog are also entitled to have a space to run. Can you call him off? Thanks for the comments. Normally it is chase and be chased play a game he and the greyhounds and their owners there love. We work hard with our trainer on recall but I will be honest and say that recall is not something I can rely 100%. I am always attentive and try to be in the immediate vicinity so I can grab the handle on his harness. Obviously being a Husky he is never off lead except in this enclosed area.

... So I have just come back from the off-lead fenced in dog park and had a brief argument with an older chap. Here's what happened. I am at the park with my 11 month old Husky who is very energetic. So I see this guy standing at the gate watching my dog, so I smiled and said "Don't worry he is not aggressive he will be fine". He replies, "Well he wasn't last time!" so I was a bit and confused and then remembered this chap's dog (Lab) is older and has had a hip replacement and my dog bounced over wanting to play and put a paw on him. The guy asked me at that time to put my dog on a lead so he could walk in this park in peace. To which myself and a couple of others put our dogs on lead. This time I was a bit taken aback and said "Oh, that's right you dog has an injury" He said yes. So I said "Do you think this a good place to bring an injured dog?" To which he replied "This is what this park is for and he has every right to expect to be able to walk around and not be bothered by other dogs". My ire was up by now so I said " Why would you want to, he could get more injured" and he replied "If that happens you will know all about it!" So I left rather annoyed about it as I pretty sure my boy would want to play . I walked my boy around the large oval that is next to the fenced in area and he left around 10 minutes later. I don't know what to think, I am very conscious of other dogs and their owners. I have numerous smaller dogs snap at mine but I never am worried about it or get angry as Ronin doesn't react back. He is very fast and agile so he just springs out of the way and then may tease the other dogs. I don't know what to think, I partially understand his view, but on the other hand this is the only place I can let my boy have a good run off lead and a husky loves to run. Surely when you enter a fenced in off-lead park like this you would expect some robust play ? I just can't understand why you would bring an injured elderly dog to such a place There are numerous people at the park who comment on how well behaved Ronin is and that their dogs love playing with him, but I am noticing a few now that bring in very very nervous dogs that scream when my boy chases, so sometimes I just have to leave. But it gets frustrating when people bring in dogs that are very nervous dogs thinking it will help them get over the nervousness :( I do concede that a Husky can be very intimidating to other dogs and owners, especially when they vocalise. An elderly lady came in the other day with a small white dog, and the lady was quite nervous and worried as was her dog. I stayed close and I don't know whether Ronin could sense something but he was a complete angel, to the small dog the elder lady was so happy and we chatted for half an hour or so. But I will be honest and say there is one particular beagle that sometimes comes who Ronin doesn't like, so we leave, having said that, there is a lovely lady with an Aussie who also leaves when this particular dog comes in. So sorry for a rambling post, I don't normally get upset about things like this but today I am

Oh dear, I feel enabled. Do you think the pro brush F/F is going to be significantly different, better or a worthwhile addition to the kit I have mentioned above? :) all I can say is the les Poochs brush and a comb are my two most used pieces of kit (and believe me when I say I have lots of different brushes....). Iit is by far the best slicker I have used ever. Though I will say that for a double coated dog the blow dryer is your absolute best friend. I do more grooming with a dryer than anything else. They are not expensive these days and you can pick up a reasonably decent one for under $200. They are worth their weight in gold. Thanks, I do have a forced blower and agree that they are a great bit of kit. Just need to decide if I need the Les Pooch as well as my CC slicker LOL

I like your posts, there is always something great to learn and store in the memory bank. FWIW my Doggie medical/health kit basically consists of Calendula Tea Slippery Elm Turmeric Coconut Oil Probiotics TA 39 Jarrah Honey High Potency Vitamin C (for dogs) Lucas Paw Paw ointment Betadine 3% Hydrogen Peroxide So far the only thing I have needed to take Ronin to the vet for was removal of an undescended testicle and Vaccinations. I did however have him fully checked out at the appointments before the surgery and a good checkout while he was under. Interestingly the vet was very interested in Calendula Tea and also AA Superboost after he commented positively of his condition, and asked me what I did that his coat, teeth, eyes and weight were all in such good condition!

Oh dear, I feel enabled. Do you think the pro brush F/F is going to be significantly different, better or a worthwhile addition to the kit I have mentioned above? :)

Happy Birthday Laci :)

Yep +1