This Week's Rant - Treats at the Dog Park

I have come across some rather poor etiquette in Austin's leash-free parks. I speak of those humans who bring treats to the park and who willingly give said treats to dogs that do not belong to them.

I feel I must speak up for those of us affected by this poor behavior. Please allow me to explain why this is such a bad idea.

Many dog owners and dog trainers bring their dogs to leash-free parks to practice recalls (come) in an effort to perfect the dog's ability to obey commands in the presence of distractions. Some of these dogs may be beginners who get easily distracted. If one of these dogs in training sees someone handing out free food, they will more than likely run over for a bite and here is where the problem comes in. If fed, the dog in training may not respond to the owner or trainer at all and in some cases, may run off with the new party leaving the owner or trainer to give chase.

One such event happened to me just this past week. I was with a dog who has a great deal of energy and who loves to run and play with other dogs. This dog feels it necessary to run up and meet every dog within sight and to play with them if reciprocated. At one point, a hiker walked by with two new dogs and the dog in my care ran over to say hello. The hiker fed her dogs and mine some treats and kept on walking at the same time. I kept a watchful eye on the proceedings and quickly realized that my dog was going to follow the hiker and not pay attention to me at all. As I began to call for my dog, the hiker began jogging without paying attention to what was going on. I had another dog in my care at the time and had to round him up before I could give chase. What transpired was a chase of more than half an hour that was frustrating to say the least.

When the hiker finally returned to the park entrance, she acted oblivious and didn't see the harm in what she had done. I asked her why she didn't stop running when she realized my dog was following her and she said it wasn't her fault that my dog followed her. For the benefit of all, I told her that if she must bring treats to a leash-free park, please do myself and all the other dog owners a favor...please do not feed any dog other than your own. Let's hope that she got the message so that this doesn't happen to another unsuspecting dog owner.

Coming next week..."Rant on Aggressive Dogs at Dog Parks"

Austin Dog Walker - A Helping Hand for a Healthy, Happy Dog!