dididog Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I just got back from the beach with Didi and am still feeling a bit sick. We took her down for an evening dip at Altona Dog beach which is a lovely dog beach. For those not familiar with its set up, the beach has an off lead park in front of it and a car park adjacent to the park with a road and train tracks running parallel to the park. Anyway we were heading back to the car which took a while since the tide was far out and we were stopping frequently as I'm trying to train Didi not to pull on the lead at the beach when this possible Lab/Kelpie cross started bolting from the beach to the park and back again at a crazy speed. At first this was just annoying because every time Didi would relax on the lead it would run pass and she'd pull again but it started getting dangerous when he tore passed an elderly lady, coming quite close to knocking her down. Now not every dog at Altona sticks right by its owners side but most of the time people will call their dog back when it strays too far but I could not find a single person that looked like they were trying to call this dog back. Anyway we got up to the park and I realised it was the middle age couple behind us who owned the dog and had not once tried to call the dog back and now the dog was zipping in and out of the car park which was making me nervous. Just as I was going to say they should probably call their dog back as it was in the car park a train went past at full speed and this dog took off across the park, across the road and started chasing the train Some horrified onlookers in the car park tried calling it to them so they could check if he had a collar as "surely his owner would've called him". Just as we reached them and the dog, the owners walked past and called the dog to them (so it did have good recall after all) when the other people asked if that was their dog they just said 'yep' in a mind your own business kind of way and ignored us when we pointed out their dog could've just died!!! I could understand if the dog accidentally got away from them and they'd been desperately trying to call it back but these people clearly just couldn't care less if their dog was dancing in traffic! Scary to think that most dog owners worst nightmare was not even slightly concerning for these people, I hope the dog outlives their stupidity... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumof4girls Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I just don't get some people :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory the Doted One Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 And the trauma caused to whichever unfortunate driver may have hit the dog and the possible damage to their car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dididog Posted January 30, 2014 Author Share Posted January 30, 2014 And the trauma caused to whichever unfortunate driver may have hit the dog and the possible damage to their car. And everyone (including children) that were in the park watching it unfold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I would've laid into them. They have no right to ruin the off lead dog park for other users and it is people like that who don't control their dogs who cause council complaints and have dog parks closed down or even further restricted. A dog park is not a free dog sitting service either. If you are not willing to get off your arse and move around the park so you are within an acceptable distance to your dog so you can actively monitor its behaviour then you do not deserve to own one. I have no tolerance for people who deliberately ruin things for others AND put their dog at unacceptable risk of harm. I'd be taking their pic with my phone and sticking up signs around the park outing their poor behaviour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dididog Posted January 30, 2014 Author Share Posted January 30, 2014 I would've laid into them. They have no right to ruin the off lead dog park for other users and it is people like that who don't control their dogs who cause council complaints and have dog parks closed down or even further restricted. A dog park is not a free dog sitting service either. If you are not willing to get off your arse and move around the park so you are within an acceptable distance to your dog so you can actively monitor its behaviour then you do not deserve to own one. I have no tolerance for people who deliberately ruin things for others AND put their dog at unacceptable risk of harm. I'd be taking their pic with my phone and sticking up signs around the park outing their poor behaviour. I'm just a lil' 17 year old girl so felt a bit nervous confronting people/ was kind of in shock that they were so casual about the whole thing, the other people who called the dog over to them got quite angry but the owners just acted as though they regularly let the dog just run rampant as otherwise I think they would've been pretty freaked out by what happened.If I ever see them again and their dog is still like this I will speak to them about it as yes, off lead does not mean out of control but I think the problem is more the owners not being bothered to call it back rather than the dog not wanting to come back. Really upsetting as this beach has surprised me so far by being consistently really pleasant with most dogs nicely behaved/under control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Well then Terri you are excused from Grumpy Old Dog Lady Ranting! Hopefully there will be others like me at the park who are not afraid of saying how they feel! But honestly, if this happens again then don't feel bad about yelling at them to either call their dog back or control it. They just sound lazy to me and their poor dog will be the one to pay if it injures another dog or a human or if it gets hurt running free in the car park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Maeby Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I don't go to dog parks anymore. Too many morons. I feel your pain :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Letting the dog run around the carpark was silly. But nothing wrong with letting a dog run around an offlead park! If it wasn't menacing other people or dogs, as in running up to them then what is the problem. A dog running around is not necessarily out of control and it sounds like the dog did come back when called. Trying to train onlead walking in an offlead park is rather silly as you are setting your dog up to fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frufru Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Letting a dog run around a carpark is dangerous not silly and nearly knocking over an elderly person is totally unacceptable :mad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dididog Posted January 31, 2014 Author Share Posted January 31, 2014 Letting the dog run around the carpark was silly. But nothing wrong with letting a dog run around an offlead park! If it wasn't menacing other people or dogs, as in running up to them then what is the problem. A dog running around is not necessarily out of control and it sounds like the dog did come back when called. Trying to train onlead walking in an offlead park is rather silly as you are setting your dog up to fail. The dog was going extremely fast and the park is not very big and used mainly as a courseway between the carpark and the beach, you cant see the park from the beach so while the couple was still on the beach they had no idea what their dog was doing and it was running up to dogs while in a friendly manner not al appreciate a large dog.running at them full speed. I didn't take much issue with it running around although it was posing a bit of a knock over hazard, the main part of the story that I think you've missed is the owners let their dog which had recall run through a parking lot, across a road and chase a train and didn't seem the slightest bit concerned. Also I wasnt training her to walk onlead as I do this on walks. I was trying to stop her from pulling as we left the beach as I always put her on leash when we leave because I don't trust her around roads yet. When we are entering the beach I don't bother so much as I know she's excited but I think a dog needs to be able to walk nicely on lead regardless of scenario but I am glad me attempting to have control over my dog was the most concerning part of the story for you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 The dog didn't knock the person over though did it? If you are that infirm than a off lead dog park isn't the best place for you. A dog knocked me over at dog school once, shit happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 The only thing I find surprising about such stories is that people are surprised by what happens in busy public offleash areas! There's a reason why many knowledgable dog owners avoid them like the plague. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxerB Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Letting the dog run around the carpark was silly. But nothing wrong with letting a dog run around an offlead park! If it wasn't menacing other people or dogs, as in running up to them then what is the problem. A dog running around is not necessarily out of control and it sounds like the dog did come back when called. Trying to train onlead walking in an offlead park is rather silly as you are setting your dog up to fail. I actually kinda agree with this. The carpack/train bit is fdef silly, but the rest, it just sounds like an energetic dog letting lose. If thats not acceptable, then whats the solution? Only dogs that walk around slowly right next to their owners are allowed in off leash areas? Kinda defeats the purpose though doesn't it? I don't frequent them often, but when i do, its so he's got a bit of freedom to wander/explore. If i wanted him next to me not doing anything, i would have him on the leash. just my 2c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leah82 Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 As I'm sure most people are aware off lead dogs must be under effective voice control. As this dog was not being monitored by it's owners then how could it have been under effective voice control? Regardless of the fact that the dog returned to it's owners once they called him the owners were clearly not in control of anything prior to that. And Jules I'm sorry that you got knocked over by a dog as a kid (I'm sure you recovered quickly enough) but I for one would be furious if one of my grandparents got knocked over and ended up in hospital because of someone's wayward dog at a public beach. BoxerB - my dogs get a bit of freedom at the park as well but I keep an eye on them and call them back if they start becoming a nuisance or get close to the (mostly empty) car park. I'm not sure why that wouldn't have been warranted in this case. Terri, next time I would call the council and say there's a stray dog running around the carpark. If the owners are not making themselves known then what other assumption could be made Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dididog Posted January 31, 2014 Author Share Posted January 31, 2014 (edited) The dog didn't knock the person over though did it? If you are that infirm than a off lead dog park isn't the best place for you. A dog knocked me over at dog school once, shit happens. The beach is a public beach that also allows dogs so anyone is entitled to be there, the dog couldve done the same to a child so are you going to say children shouldn't go to the beach? You don't have to be 'that infirm' for a large dog at high speed to knock you down and cause injury, it could happen to anyone. It wasn't the dog running around that was the problem it was the fact it was running from the beach to the park and back again and when in the park it was completely unsupervised or when on the beach 100s of metres away from its owners which is too far away for them to exercise effective voice control. Edited January 31, 2014 by Terri S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 I'm with you Terri. Dogs running loose at off leash dog parks still need to be actively supervised and just because they want to run around like crazy doesn't mean that their behaviour is left unchecked. What your dogs get up to still needs to be within an acceptable range of who else is in the park (people and dogs). You can't just let your dog do whatever the hell it wants to in a public place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 (edited) I'm with you Terri. Dogs running loose at off leash dog parks still need to be actively supervised and just because they want to run around like crazy doesn't mean that their behaviour is left unchecked. What your dogs get up to still needs to be within an acceptable range of who else is in the park (people and dogs). You can't just let your dog do whatever the hell it wants to in a public place. Acceptable to whom? A casual walk past my local dog park suggests that dogs tear arsing around with no heed to their owners is perfectly acceptable to the majority of park occupants. Edited January 31, 2014 by Haredown Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dididog Posted January 31, 2014 Author Share Posted January 31, 2014 I'm with you Terri. Dogs running loose at off leash dog parks still need to be actively supervised and just because they want to run around like crazy doesn't mean that their behaviour is left unchecked. What your dogs get up to still needs to be within an acceptable range of who else is in the park (people and dogs). You can't just let your dog do whatever the hell it wants to in a public place. Acceptable to whom? A casual walk past my local dog park suggests that dogs tear arsing around with no heed to their owners is perfectly acceptable to the majority of park occupants. For arguments sake I think acceptable offleash behaviour for everyone is what is dictated by your council. Mine says all dogs must be under effective control, mustnt menace a dog or human and advises to ask owners for permission to interact with their dog. Obviously whether people follow this or not is another story but if you wanted a distinct description of acceptable there is one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apocalypsepwnie Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 My acceptable range is where my dog can still hear me and isn't in a position of annoying anyone else and/or causing harm to them or himself. I would need to be able to see my dog at all times and have a chance at running to/after him if anything went wrong. Nothing wrong with a dog being a silly doodle running around where they have the space designated and hanging out with dog friends. However if you can't or wont exercise control over your dog you're ruining it for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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