Is Golden Gardens Dog Park "Nasty"?
BallardGuy July 7th, 2009
One of our Ballard Blog readers weighs in with some dog park comments:
Some dog owners think that dog parks and particularly Golden Gardens Dog Park is nasty.
The dust raised on the dry summer days may not be all that hygienic. The mud after a rain bring joy to a dog and those that don’t like to wipe their dogs down before returning home don’t often return to the park.
The complaints about aggressive dogs and owners who lack any responsibility for their dog or dogs seem to create upsets with some dog owners who would rather take their dog to the Golden Gardens beach area desite the legal restrictions and fines.
Some dog owners are trying to get a bit of Golden Gardens beach area set aside for another dog park. If successful will this park too become unexceptable by those who are not happy with our present park?
Others, including myself think that the Golden Gardens Dog Park is just great. We enjoy the people there as well as the dogs. Dog people are as diverse as their dogs. And many dog people have more in common than just having a dog. We have made many friends with other dog lovers at Golden Gardens Dog Park.
In the past two years we have only encountered a few aggressive dogs who have quickly been taken from the park if their owners see their dogs heating up. Those owners who feel they can come and read a book and ignore their dog don’t stay long and are reminded to pick up after their dog.
Most dogs are boistress, active and happy to run free regardless of their owners feelings about the subject. Our dogs have never come home with a flea or had an upset from playing at the park. Their immune systems are probably higher than a housebound dog’s.
Although some dogs are just not a good candidate for dog parks, most would be if their owners were more forgiving of rough-housing , dirt, mud and occasional fights, which by the way are almost always broken up before they become serious. Of course taking a known aggressive dog to any dog park is not advised. We as dog owners are responsible for any damage our dogs might do.
Watching dogs interact is amazing. Socialized dogs are much more humane than we are as a rule. Getting to know more about your dog and its interation with other people and dogs is a great benefit.
I do take pictures of the dogs at Golden Gardens Dog Park and put them up on the website http://atthedogpark.info. This site is not for profit but for fun.
Marj
I was once “attacked” by a group of five or six dogs at Golden Gardens because I was holding a fuzzy duck-on-a-rope dogtoy. The dogs got the toy and ran away. I felt traumatized. Not a single owner intervened or apologized for their respective dog’s “wilding” behavior. BTW: My dog hates the place, too…
Golden Gardens Dog Park “SUCKS” Has for ever ever. Let it be for folks who what to have a picnic with their friends. family and animals, DOGS!!! Who know how to properly curb their animals (friends-ha)
What a wonderful small-town meeting place, whatever time of day!
Off-leash the dogs – who freely circle and sniff – and their people absorb so very, very much that may become regulars. The GGDP is an informal type of community of practice for those who show up, plus we enjoy the extra value of:
(a) getting to know several exceptional folks, children, and dogs;
(b) meeting artists whose works we’ve commissioned; and
(c) sharing books, life-style milestones, movies …
Being online provides warm souvenirs and local community history in pictures – you ought-to-be-in-pictures here.
I used to take my dog there all the time. Not anymore. I found that there were too many irresponsible dog owners. I’ve had a few run-ins with weirdos with pitbulls. It was bad. My dog was always getting picked on and/or attacked, while their owners were on their cell phones, or just completely clueless. Never again.
There are times where this dog park can be down right yucky! I’ve had 2 incidents of “odd” people. One guy was actually dropping m&m’s on the ground and refused to pick them up. Hello! Chocolate…bad for dogs! After approached he was just a total as%$#%e. This is the same guy that has picked fights with other owners. Another incident was an owner of a pitbull that sat on the bench at the opposite side of the park while his dog just bullied other little dogs at the other end.
Overall though, I love Golden Gardens. of course the dust will be nasty – what dog park that isn’t grass isn’t?! Magnuson park is the same exact way! I do think that there is way way way more poop that does not get picked up here than any other dog park I have been to.
I usually judge the situation before I enter. Let’s say that 1 time out of 10, I choose not to enter because of IDO’s ( irresponsible dog owners) or have to leave because of these IDO’s and their out of control dogs.
This has nothing to do with the Golden Gardens dog park which is a wonderful place by the way.
To the lady who yelled out “Are you going to pick that up!?” right after my dog finished using the bathroom the other day near the Ballard Community Center…get a life you rude B**** and quit staring at me and my dogs.
Is it just me or do other people have problems with pitbulls? I don’t think they are a safe enough breed to be at the dog park – they do account for a lot
of attacks and often times seem to have the most irresponsible owners. Saw a bumpersicker the other day that read: Pitbulls are for hugs not thugs!
Whatever – truth of the matter is that often times (not always) they are with young dumb guys who look like they want to pretend to be tough. As my
friend who is an animal behaviorist pointed out to me, the problem is that many owners can’t even control their own dogs and this can be a very dang
erous breed (meaning they do actually kill people!!!!). When they do attack, it’s a sustained attack and they lock on with their jaws. I’d love to hear
other opinions and not just from the blindly loyal pitbull apologists. I love animals but have just witnessed and known too many people who have been
bitten completely unprovoked. And after some online research I feel more worried than reassured.
Dahliamamma..pit bulls have actually been known to be great therapy dogs! Also, the lock jaw is a myth.
Therapy – http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91769901
Lock Jaw Myth – http://www.austinlostpets.com/kidskorner/2October/pitbull.htm
It is unfortunate this beautiful and loyal breed has such a bad rep because of idiotic owners and ignorant people who like to bad mouth the breed.
I’ve seen plenty of dogs that aren’t pit bulls who are pretty aggressive at the dog park. I happened to see a pair of huskies bullying a pit bull last week at the park. Should the huskies be banned? Are you saying that dogs who show the slightest bit of aggression should be banned?
(Directed to my earlier posting..)
By the way..I was going to and did pick it up.
maybe we should ban dog parks altogether?
Some of that poopy stink is from people who bring a few dogs at once, like the dogwalkers. Most of the dogwalkers are pretty good about picking up, but a couple who have too many dogs and a cell phone in their ear don’t see it and don’t bother to be proactive and poop patrol. We all have missed one at least once, but when you’ve got a dozen dogs you’re statistically just going to miss a lot more.
The pit bull thing… My dog is a pit mix and I have to admit that a lot of these pits shouldn’t be at the park. Especially the afternoon pit meetup. Some of these dogs, not all, but some of these dogs and even their owners are a bit sketchy. If you own a strong dog you have an added responsibility to make sure that you can control that dog and understand its behavior.
The “locking jaw” is a myth, but the anatomical strength of their jaws and their determination is very real. A pit bull can clamp on to something and dangle from it for longer than any dog I’ve ever seen. That said, most of the dogs that have real behavioral problems that keep coming to the park aren’t even pit bulls. Either way, it’s up to us users of the park to police it ourselves and take care of our pets, the place and each other. For the couple flaws mentioned here, there are still tons of positives so don’t think that these in any way outweigh all the good of the park.
See you at the park!
As a resident of bordering property of the Golden Gardens dog park I find it comforting to hear the voices of folks that are nearby with their dogs and kids.
I am deathly allergic to dogs, cats and pretty much anything with fur but love having the dog park nearby. I often pause on my walk to watch folks with their dogs at the park, then I walk the trail.
This might be selfish but I would hate to think what it would be like if the dog park weren’t there. I don’t think I would feel comfortable walking by myself on the trail as often as I do. The worst thing I’ve encountered on the trail was a black lab that jumped on me because it’s collar came off.
We have been robbed twice in the last 4 months- our car windows were smashed in at 3am- when things are quiet.
I’m not a dog owner but appreciate the responsible owners that take the time to load their dogs in a car, drive them to a nice piece of property to interact with other dogs and people in a safe off leash environment where they can frolic and have fun. Hats off to you folks!
I for one am all for Dog Parks. I don’t go to the dog park your talking about, but we have a small neighborhood one. Every day at 7:30 I take my dog and walk her to the dog park. Did i mention i’m 14, and the dog park is right next to my house? Well, like 5 minutes away. I sure am lucky! The same people always come at 7:30, and i cannot tell you how many friends i and my dog have made. The Dog park is closed on Saturdays and Tuesdays, but then i take my dog to a woman’s house. This woman owns a dog who is like my dogs BFF. They could spend hours playing with each other. So, by this dog park, my dog gets excersize each and every day, i met new friends, i get excersize, and i get to interact with all new kinds of dogs every day. I have never once seen a serious fight break out in all my 4 years of going their. Maybe it’s because we live in a small town, and not a huge city like San Francisco or New York, but everybody loves going to the dog park. It’s a chance to interact, watch the dogs mingle, and relax. If someone does bring a aggressive dog in, and it starts a fight wtih someone, it’s quickly resolve and the owner nearly always leaves. Their was only 1 instantce when the owner didn’t leave, and that’s when we called the police over. As long as some people can be responsible, Dog Parks can be the best idea known to man. What i believe personally is that you and your dog should go through a test to be able to attend the dog park. If you pass it, meaning the dog listens to you off leash, its not aggressive, and that you are responsible in picking up after it, then you get a ticket that allows you into the dog park. Every so often, at least once a day, the police force can send someone over to the dog park to check everyone’s tickets. If your dog doesn’t have a ticket to go to the dog park, then you can be fined.