Dog Parks

[Guest Amy_Bee]

What does your grey do at the dog park? (I hope this works.)

[Guest ejw]

We have never been to a dog park, so my answer is based on letting the girls loose in a ballfield.

 

Gets warmed up a bit, sniffing around, and then runs later applies most often to Jamiaca. Given enough time, she usually get a good run in.

 

Sniffs around, greeting people and dogs, but doesn't run. This choice suits Tansi better, except that she doesn't greet people -- she avoids them. She's only been greeting dogs for about a year. Before that she just roamed the perimeter if any one was there. She got to the stage she would check people out by goosing them, but only if they ignored her. The last few times she would let kids pet her. Usually she only runs if there is someone or something interesting outside the fence to bark at, although Jamaica does her best to get her running.

 

I've often found other dogs in the ballfield are poorly socialized to other dogs, so I'm inclined to go up to the fence and watch their dogs' reactions before we go in. Often we just continue on our walk and come back later.

 

Unfortunately, the only place I can let them loose here is another ballfield and the vet says someone is always reporting any one who does to Animal Control.

Edited December 29, 2007 by ejw

[Guest BlackandBrindle]

We go to the dog park but only when there are not other dogs around. Neither is small dog friendly, the two closest dog parks don't have a separate area for little ones, and Spud is non-grey aggressive (which we're working on and one of the reasons that we're going to the dog parks at all).

 

Both of mine like to sniff and mark and then will run with each other. Sadie, the one time another dog came in, got to play and they ran and ran and had a blast.

 

Unless I can control the interactions, I'm not keen on dog parks.

[Guest zippsmum]

I can only talk to what my bridge boy zippy did as our new boy is a broken hock dog and is on strict no dog park till the summer. Zip was the master sniffer, and often did not run in the dog park at all. He loved to greet the other dogs and when he did run it was a joy to behold, the collies figured out pretty quickly that all they had to do was wait for him at the gate as there was no way that they were ever going to catch him. I would be interrested to see what our new boy Snap does, as he was a very good racer, whereas Zip was, by all accounts, a bit of a dud.

[Guest simile]

Chloe runs, runs, runs, pees, runs, runs, pees, runs - you get the picture. She loves the dog park and will play there all day with any dog or person that wants to play. Tip wanders a lot before he does any running. And he has to greet most of the people there before and during his running around.

[Charla]

We go almost daily, they really let me know when it's time even though I have a fenced back yard that they run in.

 

They both sniff, pee and poop, both get along with other dogs although they do have dogs that they like better than others. Carl will chase the dog chasing the ball and Grace will run like a bat out of he!! every once in a while. Interestingly, Carl who is the better/stronger runner will run slightly behind Gracie most of the time at the park. In the yard however, he goes all out!

 

They don't run if there are too many dogs in the park or if it's too hot ... if another grey or whippet comes in though, they're off and running.

[Hubcitypam]

Buck walks in, immediately poops then goes from human to human walking under their hands for pets and leaning on them. Once in a great while he will chase a border collie or other dog that is chasing a ball a few times, but that's it. My Rex used to just stand at the gate and hope someone would let him out so he could go to the car. Neither one have liked it so we don't go but once in a blue moon (mostly for the ride) and they are ready top leave after 15 minutes.

[Guest Amy_Bee]

Buck walks in, immediately poops then goes from human to human walking under their hands for pets and leaning on them. Once in a great while he will chase a border collie or other dog that is chasing a ball a few times, but that's it. My Rex used to just stand at the gate and hope someone would let him out so he could go to the car. Neither one have liked it so we don't go but once in a blue moon (mostly for the ride) and they are ready top leave after 15 minutes.

 

You've pretty much described Gretchen. She mostly likes to go to meet the people and get some attention. Every new human is her new best friend. Usually someone will say something like, "Oh, a greyhound! Here's a dog that's going to run," and I say, "Nope. I doubt it." I love when she plays at the park, but it's very rare.

 

BTW, when she finds someone who will pet her, she will stand there forever until they stop. Today someone said, "This dog is pure love."

Edited December 29, 2007 by Amy_Bee

[Guest GreytMuse]

We try to go the the Dog Park about every 3 or 4 days. I always take my husband and DD, so we can separate and keep a VERY watchful eye out, especially for people who want to bring their teeny dogs in. There is a 30 pound+ rule to enter the big dog side.

 

Atticus runs in and smells the standing-around dogs and visits with the people, then he runs off to find whoever is doing the most high-energy activity. The last time it was 2 precious, rambunctious Labradoodles who were chasing balls -- it ended up with them chasing him, then Atticus chasing them! It was funny to see him slow down his speed so they could almost catch him.

 

Steven (our new boy!) loves to stalk the small dogs who are (thankfully) separated by a fence in their own park. He pretty much runs the fenceline for a while until it sinks in that he can't actually get to them. At that point he joins in some loping around and checking things out.

 

Betsy (our senior Golden) could care less about the dogs in the park, she just visits with the people standing around! Last time we were there she tried to leave with the Animal Control Officers...

[Guest CygnetC]

I will never bring any of my current dogs or future dogs to a dog park. There are too many idiotic owners who don't know dogs who cause huge problems.

 

BUT I am lucky enough to be a trainer and be able to do playdates with my dogs and my clients dogs who's temperaments I know.

[CleosMom]

We visit the dog park every other Sunday (DBF works alternate weekends). The reactions are all different.

 

Athena, our ADD girl ( ), likes to spend her time patrolling the perimeter of the park. She can not be bothered to join in the commoners. She would much rather spend her time off in her own little dream world. I love watching her. She always has the best time.

 

Cole likes to charm the females at the park. He does have one or two favourites (Hi Sonesta and QTesh) but he can be pretty fickle. He is very wary of strangers when at home, but at the dog park there are no strangers. Everyone is fair game for petting and leaning.

 

Cleo typically likes to hang out with Mommy and Daddy unless there is the possibility of any action...good or bad. Than she is right in the middle of the action.

[RobinM]

I personally, would never bring my dogs to a dog park. As I believe someone from this board said greyhounds and dog parks= accident waiting to happen.

 

I let mine run in a fenced in school yard. It took us 8 months to find one, but we did!

[Guest spider9174]

He doesn't really run with the other dogs. He immediately runs the perimeter of the fence...thus I try not to take him to a really big park or one with a lot of trees.

[Guest LindsaySF]

No dog parks for me. It's a recipe for disaster. I would only do play dates with dogs I know, or if it were other Greys, they would all have to be muzzled.

 

Teagan has been to a few fenced-in fields and he spends a lot of time sniffing and looking for pee mail. He might get the zoomies, especially in the cooler weather, and if I chase him. But he doesn't run as much as I would expect. Too many good smells I guess.

[kamsmom]

We try to go the the Dog Park about every 3 or 4 days. I always take my husband and DD, so we can separate and keep a VERY watchful eye out, especially for people who want to bring their teeny dogs in. There is a 30 pound+ rule to enter the big dog side.

 

Atticus runs in and smells the standing-around dogs and visits with the people, then he runs off to find whoever is doing the most high-energy activity. The last time it was 2 precious, rambunctious Labradoodles who were chasing balls -- it ended up with them chasing him, then Atticus chasing them! It was funny to see him slow down his speed so they could almost catch him.

 

Steven (our new boy!) loves to stalk the small dogs who are (thankfully) separated by a fence in their own park. He pretty much runs the fenceline for a while until it sinks in that he can't actually get to them. At that point he joins in some loping around and checking things out.

 

Betsy (our senior Golden) could care less about the dogs in the park, she just visits with the people standing around! Last time we were there she tried to leave with the Animal Control Officers...

 

 

I know of the park you are talking about, when do you go? Everytime I see it, it is packed... Also, who is Steven? I need to see pics!!

[Guest krisandzoo]

I've heard so many bad things about greys in dog parks, but really felt ok taking mine. Bentley has no interest in small dogs...even outdoors. He ignores my cats mostly. Sometimes he says hi but backs off when told to.

We went last Sunday, the first time for Bent, but my other boys have been pleny of times. My whippet went straight to running like crazy and meeting EVERYONE. He has such great social skills I feel great about his safety. He knows when to leave another dog alone or how to coax a shy dog into letting loose. He's something else!

My jack russell is ball obessive. He is ok with the other dogs, but he doesn't really care if they're there or not. I take a chuck it and some balls and he's happy.

Bentley, my grey, had a great time! He ran with my whippet for a spell, met the other dogs (although he didn't really care much for them...sniffed and walked away), and then he came over by me and seemed tuckered out. Our bark park is huge...after sprinting a few laps I'd be tired, too!

[Guest Greyhoundbaby]

Julie's entirely too aggressive when she runs and then there's Gryf...

[Guest GreytMuse]

I know of the park you are talking about, when do you go? Everytime I see it, it is packed... Also, who is Steven? I need to see pics!!

 

We usually try to go mid-week when everyone is at school/work! There's usually at least one other GH there, too.

 

Steven is our newest boy, a GALThound, of course! Pics soon, I promise!

Edited December 30, 2007 by GreytMuse

[Magdalene]

Dazzle and Summer will both be pretty much yanking my arms out of their sockets, trying to get off-leash and go play with the other puppies.

[Guest HeatherDemps]

Dempsey immediately sniffs around and then pees and poops several times. He's almost 12, so he doesn't run a lot but he will trot around a bit. He cares more about getting pets from the other people there, rather than interacting with the other dogs. We don't go to the dog park very often anymore because it gets too stressful- we tend to run into too many people who don't watch their dogs and don't do anything when their dogs are jumping on other dogs, etc. I usually warn people that Dempsey will eventually snap at their dogs if they keep letting them jump on him, but they are usually oblivious. Demps gets grumpy, I basically say "I told you so" and we leave. There are rarely other greys there- mostly border collies, boxers, labs, and mixes.

[Guest darlene]

We have 2 Animal Shelters here, and both have dog parks beside them. The larger one is on a steep hill, and I'm not comfortable going to that one anymore, because it's always packed, and if there's a problem, well, I can't run as fast as my 3 greys to get up, or down the hill to them. I like the other one much better, and the shelter is closed on Mondays, and the park is usually empty, so if we get there early enough, most people won't come in while we're there due to the fact that the greys are muzzled. They have a section for small dogs too, so it's not like we take the whole thing. Sometimes, people will sit and watch for awhile, and if their dog is well behaved, they'll venture in.We take my daughters 2 small dogs with us, and my dogs run and have a ball. In the summer they put out swimming pools for the dogs. My dogs love the dog park!

[Guest TBSFlame]

My answer is based on Beecher. We don't go to dog parks but have when we are at the beach. The last time we went to the beach with Beecher, we were at the dog park with other greyhound people. The hounds were running all around the dog park but Beecher was trying to play with 2 labs. the labs owner was throwing a baton into the lake and the labs would go get it and return it to their owner. They were very focused. They would swim out retrieve the baton and try to come ashore only to find Beecher play bowing at the edge of the water. They would swim around him to try and get out of the water only to find him bouncing over in front of them. It was really funny. The labs owner took them home, as I am sure that greyhound bouncing around at the edge of the water was keeping them from their training workout. lol. He never did run with the hounds that day. Once he stepped out of their way as they ran by him. He just doesn't care much for running. He raced till he was 4.5 and when he retired he retired.

[Guest RocketDog]

there are a few off-leash parks in SLC, but I'm not comfortable going to any of the ones close to our house. They are all single-gated, and there isn't any grass, just wood chips thrown on dirt. Lots of irresponsible owners will take their poorly-socialized dogs and I'm just not trusting enough to let those dogs 'play' with our hounds. I mean, our greys play with their mouths, and 'wrestle' on their own, but they're still thin-skinned and fragile compared to the bully mixes and husky-type dogs that a lot of people have in our area.

 

I have taken our dogs to enclosed ballfields for 'big runs' in the past, but the city is really cracking down on letting dogs into the fields, even though we always clean up any poops we see (whether they're 'ours' or not) and other people will let their dogs dig and tear up the grass... we do have a good friend with a large yard, and we take the dogs up there 2-3 times a week for zoomies, since our yard is too small for galloping.

 

I wish there were some grey-safe off-leash areas around here, but for the time being, I'll make do with walks and zoomies...

[Guest IrskasMom]

 

 

We have a Dogpark close by and my Son insist of going there at least once Week. When I have been there

with him , Morty sniffs the Perimeter or he hangs on my Leg the entire time. Not worth going there.

[Guest sweetrn621]

I have a question for everyone. We're seriously considering adopting a grey and we have a dog park about 20 minutes from where we live. We do not have a fenced in yard, so most of the greys time outside will be leashed. I have been very hesitant to ever take the last dog we had to the dog park simply because other dogs hated him. I don't know what it was because he was the most submissive, non-confrontational dog I've ever seen, but I had to be very wary of other dogs around him. As far as a grey I think I have reason to be concerned as far as people coming and going, the dog park is fenced, but you have to be able to get in and out and I don't want to take a chance on my grey getting loose. Can anyone make any recommendations as to what to do with my grey to protect him when we go to the dog park, or if we should even risk going to the dog park?