The Unwritten Rules

Every dog park has a sign posted at the entrance listing the rules, obviously for the purpose of making the dog park a safe and enjoyable experience for all. In addition to these listed rules, in my humble opinion, there is a need for a certain amount of unwritten etiquette as well. For example, in almost every dog park bunch there is certain to be at least one dog I like to call "the humper." This is the dog whose activity of choice consists of mounting every dog in the park. If you are the owner of just such a dog, it is your responsibility to pull your offending dog away and not just stand back, giggling nervously and proclaiming "Oh, he always does that, I don't know why." Hmm, I wonder.

Worse yet are the people who seem to have less sense than their four-legged companions. Today we took a trek out to the big park, which was packed with dogs and owners, Charlie had a great time, I, however, was dismayed by the fact that two people chose to bring their small children with them to the park and by small I mean not older than three years at the most, one even younger. Now, I am all for the dog park being a family experience, but there is a huge issue of safety, especially when dealing with very small children. Charlie is not an aggressive dog, but he LOVES small children, loves them so much that the minute he spots one he makes a beeline, drawn like a magnet, and jumps up to lick their face. Of course anytime we are in public he is leashed and so he is not allowed to leap on children. The dog park, however, is a free space where he can run wherever he pleases, it is made for him and other dogs, not for children, but when a child enters a dog park and is injured, either intentionally or accidentally, who is to blame? I certainly don't want to take the risk of finding out and so I can't help but think that children so small should not be allowed in, or at the very least should not be able to walk around on their own two feet. If you are smaller than a small dog, then perhaps you are too small. 

Today I was appalled to find that not only was one little girl allowed to run free in the park, but she was not even there with a dog! It's one thing to have your child accompany you and your dog to the park, but to enter the park without a dog is irresponsible and just plain rude. It's not a petting zoo for crying out loud. It's a park... for dogs.