[Dailydrool] Bassets at dog parks

[Jane Hay]

First, pastrami at a dog park?!? You're lucky that every dog in the park
didn't mug you! For the future and your continued good health, NEVER take
any food, biscuits or training treats into the park where there are loose
dogs.

We go to the dog park regularly with the Houndettes. Jersey has appointed
herself as the park greeter and hoots and hollers a lot while we're
there. This old girl has a lot to say to all the dogs and every person who
walks in the gate. Do we like it....no. We do try to discourage it but it's
a dog park and I expect that the dogs are going to bark. Shadow is very
timid and sticks to us like glue. Once in a while she'll wander off to take
a good sniff but, once she realizes that she's more than five feet away from
us she scoots right back. Suzy loves the dog park and everyone in it. She
loves to chase and is actually very fast when she decides to run with a gang
of dogs. It's a blast to watch her! Then there's Ginger. She is our
aggressive girl who keeps us on our toes every minute. We know that she will
turn into Cujo in a heartbeat and we remove her from the park the minute she
starts to rumble at the other dogs. However, there's a difference between
our Ginger's aggression and knowing that she's about to try and kill another
dog and the typical ahroooing and growling that our girls do when they're
initiating play. They always sound like they're going to kill each other
when they're playing but it's the play noise that basset hounds make, at
least every basset hound that has lived with us including the foster dogs
who have stayed here. Certainly be on your guard and watch Snoopy and be
prepared to leave the minute he is aggressive in a negative manner but
really watch and try to discern if he's really being aggressive or if the
growling is his way of trying to get someone to play with him. Bassets
definitely are a different breed but it seems like they are generally pretty
laid back and are more lovers than fighters. I agree with Bev though. If his
aggression is intended to hurt another dog you need to immediately remove
him from the park. That's what we have to do with Ginger when we know that
she's had enough and is getting stressed. We're all very protective of our
dogs and people (including me) tend to get po'd if someone has an out of
control dog at a dog park and doesn't do anything about it.

We really enjoy our local dog park and the Houndettes love it so I hope you
can work it out with your Snoopy so he can have a good time too. Good luck!

Jane & the Houndettes
Jersey, Shadow, Suzy & Ginger
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