[Stop dog park attacks]

Hello everyone!

I was pleased to find this off FB community, which seems rare nowadays.

I have two wonderful pups, a vizsla and a Supermutt both going on 6 years but no one apparently told them because they still have a lot of puppy energy and play in them.

Ever since they had all their puppy vaccines we have been going to dog parks to play and exercise. For a couple years we lived near a huge dog park with walking trails that we would visit twice a day. We enjoy dog parks since they're great for stretching the legs as well as socializing and we all have made friends there both human and dog alike. In fact just this past week we ran into some old dog park friends we haven't seen in over a year and the dogs went WILD zipping around and jumping in excitement, very fun to see.

The unfortunate downside of dog parks though is they're really never perfectly safe and at least on the public park side they seem to attract people who have untrained and/or dogs with aggression problems. I am quite successful keeping my two away from danger but not a day goes by it seems where I don't see or hear what is either a dog attack on another dog or a knock down drag out dog fight. It is always unnerving and sad to see since I think we all consider our dogs members of the family and love them dearly. Sometimes dogs just don't get along but many times one of the dogs in these interactions clearly has no place being in the dog park. The owner may have good intentions of socializing or training their dog but frankly we are *not willing participants and don't deserve to have ourselves and dogs put at risk.

What to do about it though? There is very little accountability. Even when an injury results from an attack or fight usually in my experience the offending dog owner is quick to disappear. The worse the attack or injuries the faster they pull a ninja vanish only to reappear at the same dog park a few days, weeks, or months later at the same park! If the dog starts another fight or attacks another dog chances are the new victim has no idea about the prior incident(s) with that dog. In hopefully rare cases the authorities really need to get involved for our safety but there is no record available to assist anyone interested in trying to hold irresponsible dog owners accountable, especially when they're owed restitution for veterinarian bills.

So I am starting a passion project to create an online reporting mechanism and database where people can create dangerous dog profiles with dog and owner info and incident reports associated with city, state, and dog park. If it can gain some traction maybe the thought that someone might post their or their dog's photo online as an offender is enough to dissuade some people from habitually and recklessly putting other dogs' safety at risk.

The project is in its infancy. The concept came to me after one of my dogs was attacked, unprovoked, at our favorite dog park on Sunday this past week. The owner didn't seem concerned in the least and rebuffed me when I told him he needs to get his dog on a leash and under control (really, out of the park) and said "the dog is still in training" ☹.

If anyone feels inclined I would love to get feedback. Would you use something like what I have described? Would you prefer using a website or an app? What are some features or functionality that you would like to see?

For anyone wondering, this is absolutely not a commercial endeavor. It is a passion project that will generate losses and consume a fair bit of my time but I am excited to do it and hopefully create disincentives through accountabiliy for irresponsible dog owners that will give the rest of us and our pups some greater margin of safety.

Thanks for reading! I look forward to your thoughts and suggestions.

Regards,
Matt

 

[Stop dog park attacks]

Good luck.

Personally, I avoid dog parks, there are invariably dogs with no manners, and owners who are oblivious to escalating tension, whether that's because they don't understand canine body language, or because they are just not paying attention. And, of course, the risk of disease spreading.

Thanks Joanne. The 6 years we have been going to dog parks for sure have been worth it. Risks can be mitigated in a lot of cases but everyone has to make their own call on what is best for their pups.

 

[Stop dog park attacks]

Users generate content. There may be a community validation feature. Public spaces are public. We're all aware of youtube. It is filled with video content showing events that some people featured in the video may find embarrassing. There are websites with mugshots and full names for people booked (not necessarily convicted). This isn't going to host videos, it is going to contain descriptions, potentially with photos provided by users. Part of the point of the site is to act a deterrent.

 

[Stop dog park attacks]

Hi Joanne. Thanks for providing your input. I would really value feedback from people who use dog parks.

 

[Stop dog park attacks]

Hi Emeraldecho. Valid points that it isn't always or often unprovoked. There will be the ability of the community to provide ratings which combined with the number of incidents reported ought to act as a way to temper what is reported and make it not entirely one sided. Given enough data trends do emerge though. One of the intents is so that victims where there is an injury can find one another. There is always two sides to a story for sure

 

[Stop dog park attacks]

Thanks for the feedback and sharing your concerns.

 

[Stop dog park attacks]

In Roswell, New Mexico where I live, We have a very nice dog park. And there is a sign posted at the gate demanding that any dog showing aggressive behavior must be removed immediately and if a fight starts and if you or the other dog's owner can't break it up, call 911. and it is strictly in-forced!

Legally in all states any domesticated animal that causes damage or injury is civilly and criminally liable. Also, check with your local animal control department as to what can be done.

Wow, well that's awesome. I unfortunately felt the need to call once a year or two ago about an incident at a pubic dog park. I called animal control and they said call the cops. I called the cops and they said call animal control. It was a frustrating ordeal. I suppose everywhere is different.