The Ongoing Dog Attack Mega-Thread

[foshizzle11]

Originally Posted by flambers

Personally, I have dogs.. We train etc.

1st step, never go to an off leash dog park.

Its a disaster waiting to happen

We personally go to lots of fun places without anyone around.

My view, these situations are all about the handlers....

This is exactly my view, even going with my well behaved older dogs, they aren't even comfortable it seems around all these crazy dogs running around and owners who cannot recall at all.

My neighbor, who is new to owning dogs, has a doodle type dog, who is 14 months old and is about 40 lbs soaking wet, he is submissive and so unbelievably nice and sweet. Anyway, she tells us stories all the time of the out of control dogs at the dog park, even the small off leash parks in our neighborhood, just so many dogs come bolting over, straight B line to her dog, who sometimes hides behind her. Last week she was bowled over by a larger dog and the owner wasn't apologetic at all, thought it was cute how they were "playing".

Basics of dog behaviour, a B line run to another dog is aggressive behaviour. They are to take a C approach and under control, that is what dogs should do. Not many do that to be honest, because they are so excited usually. Anyway, because of that B line approach, some dogs will react and cause a fight or growl/bark to keep the distance, or in my neighbors case, her dog hides and wants his alpha (owner) to protect him.

This isn't cool, and one of the main reasons we avoid the dog park altogether, most people do not understand this.

[Fuzz]

They should increase dog licensing fees enough to cover supervisors at dog parks that write tickets for all the ####ty behaviour. The dog parks would then eventually become safe spaces for owners who can do the bare minimum of responsible pet training, and eventually the others would consider proper training themselves. Any off leash action outside of dog parks could then be severely punished, instead of completely ignored.


As is, dog ownership has gotten totally out of hand, and their are no shortage of ####ty owners waiting to curse you out for telling them to control their little ball of terror.

[Weitz]

That’s an easy way to get people to just not register their dogs.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Weitz

That’s an easy way to get people to just not register their dogs.

Increase the fines then. Have vets require a registration before treatment. The big problem with dogs in Calgary is an utter lack of enforcement of any rules, that's why so many clowns have dogs they can't handle, have not trained, and leave #### everywhere. Start punishing people and that will improve. Do nothing and everyone recognizes there is no reason to follow the rules, which is exactly where we are today.

[81MC]

Making people pay for not paying, or withholding essential service for not paying, are almost never net gain propositions.

Of all the places we could ramp up enforcement, education, training and licensing, dogs is like the lowest possible return. I get the sentiment, but it’s not a very solid ROI.

Calgary has like a few thousand injuries and 15 traffic fatalities a year, plus a handful of pedestrian deaths and nearly one pedestrian is hit a day. Want to improve public safety, that’s where you spend your investment dollars.

####ty dogs suck, but they’re no where near the greatest issue plaguing Calgarians.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Making people pay for not paying, or withholding essential service for not paying, are almost never net gain propositions.

Of all the places we could ramp up enforcement, education, training and licensing, dogs is like the lowest possible return. I get the sentiment, but it’s not a very solid ROI.

Calgary has like a few thousand injuries and 15 traffic fatalities a year, plus a handful of pedestrian deaths and nearly one pedestrian is hit a day. Want to improve public safety, that’s where you spend your investment dollars.

####ty dogs suck, but they’re no where near the greatest issue plaguing Calgarians.

I'm not looking to spend tax dollars, I described a user pay system. We already subsidize dog owners by setting aside off leash areas(valuable land), where no one else dares to enter, and even dog owners here share that sentiment. This isn't to solve deaths or attacks(though it would surly help) this is to make the experience of living in a busy city with other users more enjoyable for everyone involved.

Alternatively, lets just get rid of off leash areas entirely. The current system has obviously failed, and a few selfish scrubs are the only ones benefiting.

[81MC]

Failed? By whose standard? People who don’t like dogs? ####, I don’t play soccer or like running, let’s get rid of those publicly subsidized spaces too, that’s prime land.

I spent 10 years going to dog parks in this city. The only failure I see is that they’re not all fully enclosed and there’s the occasional ####head. I see worse behaviour by the cyclists on the River pathway, could we stop subsidizing them too?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Failed? By whose standard? People who don’t like dogs? ####, I don’t play soccer or like running, let’s get rid of those publicly subsidized spaces too, that’s prime land.

I spent 10 years going to dog parks in this city. The only failure I see is that they’re not all fully enclosed and there’s the occasional ####head. I see worse behaviour by the cyclists on the River pathway, could we stop subsidizing them too?

When 9 in 10 dog owners ignore the on leash areas in parks like nose hill, that's a failure. I get chased by at least one dog every time I'm up there. Dog #### abounds, in bags and lose. When zero dog owners know they are required to have their dog on leash if they are on a pathway, even if they are in an off leash area, AND have them under control(not on a 10 foot leash), that's a failure. When dog owners in this thread say they have had so many bad experiences in dog parks that they don't go anymore, that's failure. You must have pretty low standards.


I was in Scotland and every dog I encountered was well behaved and under full control of the owner. We should be aiming for that, not whatever canine free for all we have going on now.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

When 9 in 10 dog owners ignore the on leash areas in parks like nose hill, that's a failure. I get chased by at least one dog every time I'm up there. Dog #### abounds, in bags and lose. When zero dog owners know they are required to have their dog on leash if they are on a pathway, even if they are in an off leash area, AND have them under control(not on a 10 foot leash), that's a failure. When dog owners in this thread say they have had so many bad experiences in dog parks that they don't go anymore, that's failure. You must have pretty low standards.


I was in Scotland and every dog I encountered was well behaved and under full control of the owner. We should be aiming for that, not whatever canine free for all we have going on now.

You just gave me flashbacks back to when I used to work summers for the parks board and part of my job included green space maintenance. I can't tell you how many times I would be weed whacking around the perimeter of a park and would hit a bag of hot, wet, rancid, maggoty, dog crap. Sometimes not in bags, both were bad, but the bags made it really pop. Have you ever hit one of those with an industrial weed whacker? Dog #### everywhere! In your mouth, in your eyes, in your hair, in your lungs... just covered head to toe. And it would happen several times a day.

If someone wants to make a municipal worker feel like human garbage, keep leaving your dog #### laying around. Nothing makes you feel like a worthless human being than going home every day covered in Sparky's ####.

[Fuzz]

Ya, I mowed my dad's lawn once, unaware they had a dog over earlier who shat up the place. So nasty.

[CliffFletcher]

I’d wager far more Calgarians enjoy using off-leash areas than find them intolerable. The one I’ve been going to for 15 years is used by hundreds of people a day, and almost all use it regularly. It’s a community. My wife knows more than 20 regulars there by name.

A bike path runs past it, and I rarely see dogs chase a cyclist. I ride through off-leash areas all the time, and rarely have dogs chase me. If the dog doesn’t come immediately when called, the owner always apologizes. And I say “no problem.” Because it isn’t actually a big deal if a dog runs besides me barking for five seconds.

Off-leash parks are not perfect, but no public spaces are. And IMHO, dog owners are a lot more respectful to other path and park users than cyclists are.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Off-leash parks are not perfect, but no public spaces are. And IMHO, dog owners are a lot more respectful to other path and park users than cyclists are.

Lol. Hey, they’re scum but at least they aren’t cyclists. That’s a low bar to clear.

Ultimately though, a false claim. Dog people are far more annoying than cyclists.

Cyclists might be aholes but they know they’re aholes. Dog people think their #### doesn’t stink and are the biggest aholes around. That’s a brutal combo.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I'm not looking to spend tax dollars, I described a user pay system. We already subsidize dog owners by setting aside off leash areas(valuable land), where no one else dares to enter, and even dog owners here share that sentiment. This isn't to solve deaths or attacks(though it would surly help) this is to make the experience of living in a busy city with other users more enjoyable for everyone involved.

Alternatively, lets just get rid of off leash areas entirely. The current system has obviously failed, and a few selfish scrubs are the only ones benefiting.

That’s not a subsidy it’s a park…. And they are well used parks. If you disagree with the activity going on in a well used green space open to the public that doesn’t make it a subsidy.

[81MC]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

When 9 in 10 dog owners ignore the on leash areas in parks like nose hill, that's a failure. I get chased by at least one dog every time I'm up there. Dog #### abounds, in bags and lose. When zero dog owners know they are required to have their dog on leash if they are on a pathway, even if they are in an off leash area, AND have them under control(not on a 10 foot leash), that's a failure. When dog owners in this thread say they have had so many bad experiences in dog parks that they don't go anymore, that's failure. You must have pretty low standards.


I was in Scotland and every dog I encountered was well behaved and under full control of the owner. We should be aiming for that, not whatever canine free for all we have going on now.

It actually sounds like the failure is the lack of dog parks if owners are using other green spaces? I’m being sort of obtuse, but consider 1145 hectares of dog park, with over 130 000 dogs (135K back in 2016). This is about 13% of total park space. So the amount of space, per dog, is maybe a little bit more or about equal to the park space per Calgarian (if I’m think straight).

About 1 in 10 Calgarians have a dog. Most dog owners shoot for at least 1 good walk a day, really the more the better for everyone, so there’s 130K+ dogs being walked everyday. Meanwhile, less than 40 000 cyclists commute routinely in the nice months, 16K dedicated. There’s far more dogs walking than cyclist cycling.

[Fuzz]

Why does every dog owner in this thread reference cyclists? This isn't the cyclist shreds an old lady in her back yard thread, it's dogs.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Why does every dog owner in this thread reference cyclists? This isn't the cyclist shreds an old lady in her back yard thread, it's dogs.

You invited comparison when you complained about being chased by dogs when you’re cycling. I routinely ride through off-leash parks, and I’m chased by a dog maybe 1/20 of the time. Meanwhile, I’m passed by cyclists who don’t use their bell or say “on your left” about 15/20 rides.

You expanded the conversation beyond dog mauling to annoyance with dogs in parks and pathways, and suggested off-leash parks should be closed. You got some flack and now you want to wind back the conversation to dog mauling. Classic motte and bailey tactic.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

You invited comparison when you complained about being chased by dogs when you’re cycling. I routinely ride through off-leash parks, and I’m chased by a dog maybe 1/20 of the time. Meanwhile, I’m passed by cyclists who don’t use their bell or say “on your left” about 15/20 rides.

You expanded the conversation beyond dog mauling to annoyance with dogs in parks and pathways, and suggested off-leash parks should be closed. You got some flack and now you want to wind back the conversation to dog mauling. Classic motte and bailey tactic.

You are so daft it's not even worth discussing issues with. You are also gaslighting my experiences with dogs. The last time I was on Nose hill some lady had a massive dog spot me from a few hundred feet away, and I watched it almost dislocate her shoulder as it took off towards me. I had no idea what this thing was going to do, so I stopped and it ran into me. So I just wait until she comes by an apologizes, clearly not the first time this has happened. This lady should not won that dog, full stop. It's too powerful for her.


And FWIW I ring my bell all the time.

[81MC]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Why does every dog owner in this thread reference cyclists? This isn't the cyclist shreds an old lady in her back yard thread, it's dogs.

There’s some parallels:
Public spaces designated for their use
Frequently pushing their luck with their skill
Always seems to be one around
Look silly
Make pathway use unenjoyable for the other group
Frequently in areas they aren’t supposed to be
Spotted using the bathroom outside

But mostly, it’s something I know you like to do so it’s an obvious place to position an argument.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

You are so daft it's not even worth discussing issues with. You are also gaslighting my experiences with dogs. The last time I was on Nose hill some lady had a massive dog spot me from a few hundred feet away, and I watched it almost dislocate her shoulder as it took off towards me. I had no idea what this thing was going to do, so I stopped and it ran into me. So I just wait until she comes by an apologizes, clearly not the first time this has happened. This lady should not won that dog, full stop. It's too powerful for her.


And FWIW I ring my bell all the time.

First time, huh?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

First time, huh?

Just reminding myself.