Just on the point of meeting aggressive dogs: If anyone is ever told by a dog owner to be cautious of their dog I would never doubt them for one moment, and would say 'Thanks for letting me know" and either pick my dogs up and leave or get them away immediately. I'd never allow a dog to go up to someone who has given a polite warning about a dog's behaviour.
Karlin, did it sound like i was using the kind of poor etiquette you were warning against here?! It seems like you could have been responding to my story. If it sounded like what you were talking about, oh dear! That's not what happened. I guess it could have sounded that way. I should provide some more information.
I had previously met this man and his dogs at this and at one other dog park. He had never mentioned this issue before. He enjoyed and welcomed petting zack in the past, the first time i met him, zack was up on a picnic table he was sitting at and he was enjoying and encouraging zack to come to him, he was talking about wanting to get a cavalier and asking questions about them.
On the occasion of the attack that i related here, this was at least the third time I'd chatted him, and one of several times i'd seen him and his dogs.
When Zack approached him, he did not warn me. He reached toward zack to pet him and with both arms, to hold him, and as he was doing that, he mentioned in a semi-humorous tone that one of his cockers was always friendly except if he paid attention to another dog, and immediately, while he was holding zack, his dog began threatening and snarling, it happened so fast, and then his dog backed off as he pushed her away and Zack was approaching him again, and his dog attacked.
This was in 2 or 3 seconds time. Then I picked up Zack and left.
Zack is very consistent and good on recall. I don't know why, it surprises me, but ever since we've been going to dog parks (and Yappy Hour) since the age of about 6 months, even when he's in the midst of dogs playing, if i call him, he comes, before having had any training. Now he's had training and he continues to respond immediately when i call him. At the time of the attack, i called him and he tried to crawl toward me, but the other dog was on top of him, i was picking him up, it happened very quickly from beginning to end.
As for the kind of owner/dog behavior you were cautioning against, i certainly agree. Fortunately it's rare that i have encountered what you were describing at the dog park. Usually, dogs are well mannered, and owners watch them closely and are nearby. maybe that's why no one has been hurt there, and the rare snarling dog fight is quickly stopped by owners.
In this case, it wasn't a strange dog we had not met before, and it was an owner who did not give any warning until the situation was quickly erupting, he had given the opposite signals, even after the first indication of a problem, and if he had used a different body language and been more emphatic, I would've understood faster--it was just seconds in which it happened.
I don't know what yours and others opinions are about this, but i think if an owner is aware that a problem of violence and viciousness can happen in such a hair trigger way, the dog should wear a muzzle at the dog park, or else go for walks and exercise elsewhere. This man comes often to the parks and acts casual and friendly, lounging around, talking with people, and there has not in the past been any warning from him to be careful of his dog, he has eagerly sought to hold and pet Zack before and his dog did not attack. However, as i think about it, he has two cockers that color and size. Maybe he didn't have the problem one with him when i saw him before. I guess it's possible. I can't remember now, it's been a while.
Surely his dog, and all rescue dogs and other dogs, need to be walked. but if a dog is known to be likely to attack under predictable circumstances, i think they should wear a muzzle or be otherwise controlled by their owner, and the owner should, as you described, warn others of a problem, and do it proactively, not just after the dangerous situation has been allowed by him to unfold with the other parties unsuspecting.
The culture of our dog park is that dogs run free and they approach other dogs and people freely. I know that, he knows that. It's a huge park and there is room for people and dogs to separate if needed, including a small fenced park within the park. All dogs are off leash in the park, that's why people go there. In a culture like that, i consider it the responsibility of owners to make good judgements about safety. No one at that park expects anyone to keep their dog on lead or to be closely controlling their dog, unless there are behaviors in need of control. What Zack did was just normal expected behavior for that park.
Obviously if i see the man and that dog at the park again, I will keep a distance. He brings his dogs into the small dog park within the big dog park, sits and chats with people for hours, and the only problem i've seen with this in the past is that he has a large bassett hound who is undoubtedly larger than the weight limit of the small dog park, and who slobbers heavily and constantly, and frequently approaches people, strangers, people chatting with the man, and puts his face in their laps or rubs his face on their legs, because he wants to play fetch, and he gets slobber all over people, the only example of this I've seen at this park, he's friendly and sweet and disgusting. I've watched people frowning as they get huge amounts of slobber on their clothes which i can easily see from a distance. I've heard people complain out loud. I have looked at the owner to see how he reacts and he is ignoring the problem or not seeing a problem, perhaps thinking people are jokiing when they complain. When i encountered them the night of the attack, i was worried about the bassett hound, hoping he would not run up to me.
:grnyuk: :*gh:
I have petted his cockers before, chatted with him about them, admired their beauty, their color, and never known or had any reason to think there was a known danger with the one dog.