Comments on: Is Golden Gardens Dog Park "Nasty"?

By: The14yroldboy

The14yroldboy — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 06:00:43 +0000

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.

By: Kristi

Kristi — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:31:17 +0000

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!

By: SPG

SPG — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:14:02 +0000

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!

By: not impressed

not impressed — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:18:03 +0000

maybe we should ban dog parks altogether?

By: the guy with the white dog

the guy with the white dog — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:37:59 +0000

(Directed to my earlier posting..)

By the way..I was going to and did pick it up.

By: the guy with the white dog

the guy with the white dog — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:32:51 +0000

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?

By: dahliamamma

dahliamamma — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:40:08 +0000

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.

By: the guy with the white dog

the guy with the white dog — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:34:36 +0000

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.

By: luv2travel

luv2travel — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 05:07:33 +0000

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.

By: nettieboop

nettieboop — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:48:20 +0000

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.