10 replies to this topic

[sanford]

Ruffy and I both enjoy going to the dog park. He gets a good workout and I want to keep using this park, but I have some misgivings based on the fact that he's by far, the smallest dog there, (18 lbs.) and would be at a great disadvantage in a fight with one of the large dogs.

Ruffy will never play with small dogs at the park at all... he's completely attracted to engaging with the really large breeds. We have quite an assortment: Mastiffs, Labs, GSDs, Great Danes, Pit Bulls, Afghans, Rotties, Goldens, Dobermans, etc. Ruffy's play style leaves something to be desired; he obsessively chases the large dogs and furiously growls and constantly barks loudly in their faces and jumps at them. Some of the other owners are somewhat alarmed at this, (and I am too). Although his loud incessant barking and growling sounds aggressive to my ears, none of the dogs seem to mind, so I guess they don't see him as angry or threatening, but I watch Ruffy closely and separate him when he appears to get over-excited, which he does, repeatedly.

During the many months we've been going to this run a few scuffles have occurred between some of the large dogs, which were quickly halted by their owners. Ruffy has never been threatened, but one time a Doberman growled softly in Ruffy's face and Ruffy immediately stopped barking in its face and rolled onto his back and left the Doberman alone after that. I was alarmed at first, but this incident ended almost before it had begun. I breathed a sigh of relief and interpreted it as an appropriate correction on the part of the Dobie and chalked it up as an example of good canine communication.

I'm uneasy with the idea that Ruffy could get hurt, so we use this dog run late in the evening when there aren't many dogs there... maybe 6-8 at any given time. I know most of the dogs and the owners are conscientious and responsible, but occasionally unfamiliar dogs appear so I worry.

I would appreciate seeing any reactions/responses to this situation. I value the opinions here and was hoping for some guidance.

Thanks!

[lindasue]

Pegi is exactly the same way w/large dogs - she has NO interest in dogs her own size. She always wants the goldens, and even the mastiff in our neighborhood! The fact that she rolled on her back for the doberman probably shows she is all talk - and smart to know when to back down.

I always tell people that Pegi thinks she's a rottie.....

[pkcrossley]

your caution is very wise, ruffy is clearly in good hands. redmon does not like to challenge other dogs, but years ago i had a little lhasa apso who could never pass up a chance to harass bigger dogs, most of whom just blinked in mild surprise and looked around for something interesting to do. my old shih-tsu, even smaller than the lhasa apso, barked like an attack dog at a huge deer who got stranded in my yard. and a westie and cairn i had before redmon would act like they wanted to tear limb from limb any shepherd or lab who ventured past the property. big dogs are mild-tempered and clearly don't fear terriers (i think fear or at least apprehension is the motivator in most terrier posturing), but what always worries me is that there is the chance of that one big dog who hasn't heard that cairns are all bark and no bite when it comes to big dogs. i don't know the answer for the dog park, but i think you are on the right track with your caution.

[hheldorfer]

Buffy goes to the dog park regularly, where there are sometimes dozens of big dogs. She has only submitted once - to a pair of Dobermans - and otherwise has earned the respect of the "regulars" who no longer treat her like a small toy. Whether or not she "misbehaves" is a subjective question. Yes, she can be aggressive with big dogs who violate her space (excessive sniffing, trying to mount her, etc.) and has corrected them with a quick nip and lots of Cairn posturing. If Ruffy submitted to the Doberman, he definitely has a grasp of dog language and knows how to react appropriately. Why he feels the need to harass the larger dogs is the question - maybe he's just being a typical Cairn, telling everyone he's a rough and tough s.o.b.; maybe it's his way of trying to get them to play with him. I agree with PK that you need to keep an eye on him but, if he hasn't gotten himself in serious trouble, he's apparently not being considered a real threat by the big dogs. This is something that will probably change with time as he becomes more socialized.

[Islander]

I see very similar behaviour with Gus at the dog park - he only wants to play with the big dogs and if they ignore him, he will bark, chase them, etc. I don't see this as aggression. Just yesterday he tried to take a huge stick away from a huge GSD and got told off in no uncertain terms. One woof was enough to get him to back off.

I think there is always the chance that things will get out of hand in a dog park (like I used to tell my sons, "Play fighting turns into real fighting.") but if the owners are conscientious there's usually no damage done.

The thing that bothers me more about Gus is his tendency to "pick on" big dogs that are unusually timid. It's a bullying trait that isn't very attractive!

[IGotAHome]

Sorry I can't help much. We live near a very large park with a golf course. No closed off section for dogs so Malcolm is always on the leash at the park. He barks at any size dog. His favorite target though is a Cane Corso (Italian Mastiff). Maybe it's because you can see him from a distance, he looks like a small horse. I don't let Malcolm get close to other dogs, I'm not sure if it is all bark and no bite.

Good thing Ruffy will back down. That is good to know. If he is anything like Malcolm (I hope Ruffy is not, Malcolm is a nasty dog) I would always be on alert.

[Idaho Cairns]

My only concern with this behavior wouldn't be about the repercussions from the larger dogs but the feelings of the other dog owners. If your Cairn is bothersome to other dogs--large or small, they will probably deal with him without any injury. However, as a visitor to the dog park I would not be happy with another dog harrassing my dog constantly. It is annoying and I would always be concerned that my larger dog, reflecting my frustration, might harm the little dog.
I understand the problem clearly, my dogs are extremely hard to control in this situation they get over the edge quickly --not so much with the barking and growling but with the chasing and jumping. I have noticed that they will respect any "non-players" space but if a dog is willing and responds to the play with play it is Katy Bar the Door. They often irritate me and there is no telling how much they irritate the other owners. If a ball is tossed, my dogs want to be the first to retrieve it and are aggressive in trying to take them away from the other dogs.
I haven't had a lot of success solving the problem--if it gets too wild I will leash them for a time out and if they continue the behavior, I leave the park and come back when it is less crowded. The fewer the dogs the easier it is to keep things sane. The larger the area the better as well--golf courses are great because the dogs do tend to stick within reasonable distance of us so another dog can simply go over a couple of holes and it is no problem. Small enclosures can be a chore.

[sanford]

This feedback has been so helpful & reassuring. Without this forum, I'd never be able to understand that a lot of Ruffy's behavior is due to his breed. The more I read on these pages, the more I realize that cairns really ARE different. I was comparing Ruffys rough play style to the other breeds he runs with and I was (unfairly) building up as case against him. I owe Ruffy an apology , but I'll continue to monitor his play with the large dogs, and step in when he gets too pushy, barky and bossy!

Thanks, everyone for the wonderful feedback!

P.S. I know what you mean, Idaho Cairns, re the feelings of other dog owners. So far they have been a very tolerant bunch. A few have (understandably) expressed some concern about Ruffy's behavior and constant barking and I always put Ruffy on the leash when they do. But the large majority have gone out of their way to say things like "I don't mind at all", commenting that "it's OK for dogs to bark here and let off steam... That's what the dog run is for!"

[Tami]

Fearghus chases after the big dogs at the dog park all the time. He also jumps up at them and usually everyone's very tolerant of it. The other day we had to switch over to the small dog section because a mid-sized dog kept rolling Fearghus. Sadly that dog just didn't understand Fearghus' cues to cut it out. (Lots of teeth and growls from Fearghus.) A larger dog even got into the mix and growled at Fearghus. I guess he didn't like what was going on. It was easy enough for us to scoop him up and walk to the other section. Other than that incident we've had no problems with Fearghus mixing it up with the large dogs. I just watch to make sure that no one is too aggressive. Usually they're more active and do a lot of running while the small dogs are more placid. That doesn't do any good at all in keeping Fearghus occupied. He likes to be active.

[TazTalk]

Sounds like you are taking the right approach by being very watchful - best thing to do in this situation. I think we all hope that the other owners feel the same way and keep a close eye on their furkids too.

Our park separates the small and large dogs. But even with that, over a year ago Taz and a Beagle had a very ferocious fight over a ball. I jumped in to pick up Taz without thinking twice and got bit. In our case the problem with the park is extreme ball obsession, not the other dogs (until there's a ball involved). So we pretty much stopped going. There were other times too that Taz snapped over the ball and I could read the other owner's faces. That made me very uncomfortable.

Maybe we'll give it another try soon though. Perhaps Taz has matured over time????

[cairnzma]

Found our dog park for the first time sun. when I took my grandaughter ice skating. It turns out the dog park it just a short drive down the road and even has a nice size hill for the kids to sled on. This park has an area 25 Lbs and under on one side, larger dogs on other side and both sides are extremely large. They actually have a fire hydrant on both side and they are authentic too. I'm wondering if they turn them on in the summer to cool the dogs...won't that be fun! With the cold temps (38) not to many people where there so my two cairns played by themselves, was hoping they would get to meet some new dogs. I am no sure how our male is going to get along, he is usually aggressive to larger dogs. He did go to the fence and manage to not get wild when the larger dogs came near so it may help get him over some of this behavior. Owner are to have their leash in hand but dogs are not allowed to be leashed within the play area. One of the reason we adopted our second cairn was our minature poddle and my sil's shitzu didnt like to play with our cairn. Our two make great playmates but its always nice to have them around other dogs so they are more social....like me! ;o)