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I have such mixed emotions about dog parks. They can be so good, and all of a sudden, terrible. I'm super lucky that there is a local dog park, with a bunch of amazing dogs. We meet up there a few nights a week, everyone watches their dogs, and reacts accordingly, so I don't stress about it. What I also like is that there is a good variety of dogs, Levi gets to play with: An English Mastiff named Sasha (9 months), a Pit-mix named Max (about a year), a really cute little Corgi mix named Bentley, and a Boxer named Shelby.
Well, dog parks are public, so the other day a dog came in. His person said he was a Border Collie/Red Heeler/Husky mix. He was chasing Levi and barking right in his face, and said that it was very typical because that's what herding breeds do. (Well, not my Aussie but I didn't bother engaging in that). He was annoying Levi, so we went to the other side of the park to play Frisbee, and Levi played with Bentley.
At one point, that dog came over and also wanted to play frisbee. I threw it, and I don't know if Levi nipped at him, or if he was just too close, and this guy RG toys a little, but he turned and flipped out on Levi to the point where Levi showed his teeth, which I have seen him do three times in almost a year. No response from the owner, and Ben and I packed up Levi and left.
We were brushing him that night (Aussie fur and dog spit is just a recipe for mats...) and he shifted away from us, so we parted his fur, and he had a puncture mark! So that bite was a little more serious than we thought. We weren't able to go to our regular vet, so we had to go an emergency vet.
It was super busy, so we were in the very small waiting room for a bit. A lady came in with her two dogs, a Doodle and a Poodle. They needed her to weigh the dogs, and we happened to be sitting near the scale. Levi was being incredibly good and was in a relaxed down-stay. The lady let her Poodle come over to say hello to Levi, and she also snapped and tried to bite his face. That resulted in the lady screaming in her dog's face, and clamping her hand around the dog's muzzle. Uncomfortable experience for everyone involved.
We finally got into see the vet, and they had to shave him and now he's on a course of antibiotics. They also told us to keep him out of water/puddles which meant we couldn't go to the beach like we had planned, so that was a bummer. It was cheaper than I thought, like 120 bucks, which was good because emergency vets can be pretty pricey.
All in all, not a great week for my poor baby. So now if that guy shows up again, we are either not going to enter, or leave right away. Levi loves dogs, and I don't want to have that be ruined.
One a side note, while at the vet clinic he met a kitten named "Little Boss" and just wanted to love up on him, which is cute, because he's never seen cats before. I'm sure if that kitten had run, it might have been a different story.
Well, dog parks are public, so the other day a dog came in. His person said he was a Border Collie/Red Heeler/Husky mix. He was chasing Levi and barking right in his face, and said that it was very typical because that's what herding breeds do. (Well, not my Aussie but I didn't bother engaging in that). He was annoying Levi, so we went to the other side of the park to play Frisbee, and Levi played with Bentley.
At one point, that dog came over and also wanted to play frisbee. I threw it, and I don't know if Levi nipped at him, or if he was just too close, and this guy RG toys a little, but he turned and flipped out on Levi to the point where Levi showed his teeth, which I have seen him do three times in almost a year. No response from the owner, and Ben and I packed up Levi and left.
We were brushing him that night (Aussie fur and dog spit is just a recipe for mats...) and he shifted away from us, so we parted his fur, and he had a puncture mark! So that bite was a little more serious than we thought. We weren't able to go to our regular vet, so we had to go an emergency vet.
It was super busy, so we were in the very small waiting room for a bit. A lady came in with her two dogs, a Doodle and a Poodle. They needed her to weigh the dogs, and we happened to be sitting near the scale. Levi was being incredibly good and was in a relaxed down-stay. The lady let her Poodle come over to say hello to Levi, and she also snapped and tried to bite his face. That resulted in the lady screaming in her dog's face, and clamping her hand around the dog's muzzle. Uncomfortable experience for everyone involved.
We finally got into see the vet, and they had to shave him and now he's on a course of antibiotics. They also told us to keep him out of water/puddles which meant we couldn't go to the beach like we had planned, so that was a bummer. It was cheaper than I thought, like 120 bucks, which was good because emergency vets can be pretty pricey.
All in all, not a great week for my poor baby. So now if that guy shows up again, we are either not going to enter, or leave right away. Levi loves dogs, and I don't want to have that be ruined.
One a side note, while at the vet clinic he met a kitten named "Little Boss" and just wanted to love up on him, which is cute, because he's never seen cats before. I'm sure if that kitten had run, it might have been a different story.
