Every city I've ever taken my pup to doesn't allow intact dogs in their parks (without very heavily restricted registration). Dallas, Ft Worth, Austin, and Houston all ban them, but College Station has nothing to say beyond "don't bring dogs in heat". This is done for two reasons - to prevent accidental breeding, and to limit aggressive dogs. Both of these aspects are frequent issues at dog parks in College Station.
Sadly, there are tons of terrible pet owners out there. A lot of people think they know what they are doing but don't, and many others just don't care. This is a reality at dog parks, unfortunately. Allowing a statistically significant category of aggressive dogs (both unfixed males and unfixed females) makes these incapable owners exponentially more dangerous.
This afternoon, I took my (fixed) female dog to the park off of 2818. There were two other owners with their dogs, and they all got along well. About half an hour later, I heard a commotion at the main gate and looked over to see a young woman bringing her two dogs towards the dog park. Both were off leash while still in the non-dog portion of the park. Both dogs were not under verbal control, and went over to a woman with two small children. The two dogs proceeded to knock one of the small children over before the owner could control them. She then herded them into the double gates of the dog park. Seeing that this was clearly going to be trouble, I leashed my dog and stood off to the side of the entrance, around the corner of the fence, and waited for them to get through the gates before I left. One of the dogs, an unfixed male, immediately lunged through the gate and attacked my dog. He bit her neck and tried to bring her to the ground. The owner did nothing to help, and I had to separate her dog from mine. The owner's only comment was "sorry, he doesn't like other dogs."
After seeing this happen, every other owner in the park practically fled. I left to take my dog to the vet, and called CSPD non emergency. They said they would send an animal control officer over immediately.
After coming back from the vet, 45 minutes later, I observed the owner still in the dog park with her dogs. She left with the dogs a few minutes later, and I spoke to other owners who were there. Animal Control did stop by, and apparently spoke to the owner, but left with them still in the park. Two other owners complained to me that this same dog had attacked one other dog in the same manner, and had been aggressive to two other dogs. When the owner left with her two dogs, both were off leash again and ran into the neighborhood traffic multiple times.
I understand that dog parks come with - sometimes serious - inherent risks. What I don't understand, however, is why aggressive dogs (and intact ones) are allowed to escalate those risks so dramatically.
Sadly, there are tons of terrible pet owners out there. A lot of people think they know what they are doing but don't, and many others just don't care. This is a reality at dog parks, unfortunately. Allowing a statistically significant category of aggressive dogs (both unfixed males and unfixed females) makes these incapable owners exponentially more dangerous.
This afternoon, I took my (fixed) female dog to the park off of 2818. There were two other owners with their dogs, and they all got along well. About half an hour later, I heard a commotion at the main gate and looked over to see a young woman bringing her two dogs towards the dog park. Both were off leash while still in the non-dog portion of the park. Both dogs were not under verbal control, and went over to a woman with two small children. The two dogs proceeded to knock one of the small children over before the owner could control them. She then herded them into the double gates of the dog park. Seeing that this was clearly going to be trouble, I leashed my dog and stood off to the side of the entrance, around the corner of the fence, and waited for them to get through the gates before I left. One of the dogs, an unfixed male, immediately lunged through the gate and attacked my dog. He bit her neck and tried to bring her to the ground. The owner did nothing to help, and I had to separate her dog from mine. The owner's only comment was "sorry, he doesn't like other dogs."
After seeing this happen, every other owner in the park practically fled. I left to take my dog to the vet, and called CSPD non emergency. They said they would send an animal control officer over immediately.
After coming back from the vet, 45 minutes later, I observed the owner still in the dog park with her dogs. She left with the dogs a few minutes later, and I spoke to other owners who were there. Animal Control did stop by, and apparently spoke to the owner, but left with them still in the park. Two other owners complained to me that this same dog had attacked one other dog in the same manner, and had been aggressive to two other dogs. When the owner left with her two dogs, both were off leash again and ran into the neighborhood traffic multiple times.
I understand that dog parks come with - sometimes serious - inherent risks. What I don't understand, however, is why aggressive dogs (and intact ones) are allowed to escalate those risks so dramatically.