In response to the East Sooke writer appealing to Sooke for a Dog Park.
I hope to strongly squash her belief of the myth that dog parks are designated places for dogs to ignore their persons’ call to come or exhibit other out of control “rambunctious friendly behavior.”
Whether 90 or nine pounds, dogs all have the same number of teeth and four legs. They can be unpredictable no matter how much we dog lovers like to delude ourselves otherwise.
The issue is not that some people do not want off leash dogs but they do not want to feel unsafe. The solution for the person was to not go to public places with her dog but the real solution lies with enhancing her dog’s life and hers through training and ongoing supervision.
Since there is a dog population explosion in our culture we need to applaud those who spend time and money to ensure their dogs training and social needs are met so they are welcomed to public places.
If a dog park ever did become a reality in Sooke, the absolute rule must be that dogs play and run in a safe secure area because they have earned the freedom to be off leash in the dog park and continue to be supervised. Non compliance cannot be explained away by one’s dog being people and dog loving. While managing exuberance can result in temporary deafness toward humans, dogs do have social rules about interactions with their own species. Size has nothing to do with a dog correcting the disrespect of space and behavior boundaries being crossed.
I can only assume the writers racing 90- lb mass of dog racing up to other dogs was at the receiving end of a few such encounters. A visit to Whiffin Spit or some walking trails in other municipalities post signs “dogs must be IN CONTROL’. At present voice or leash control is acceptable. I suggest to the writer that her energy be better spent training than soliciting for a dog park. Penalizing an animal’s exercise and social needs due to one’s own tunnel vision is just neglect.
Carmen Neumann
Sooke