[LynnS]

Originally Posted by AngelBunny

The general tenor of the postings are that puppy/young dog owners are pro dog park. People with dogs take a dimmer view.

As their puppies grow up and mature, time will tell whether the puppy owners' attitudes to dog parks remain sanguine.

We have a very large off leash park 1 block away from us. It is not at all crowded and the owners are a lot more responsible than most parks I have seen. I let Bella run around with other dogs as a puppy but as she matured it became quite apparent to both my husband and I why our breeder and everyone else discouraged us from dog parks. Either some little annoying dog would not take normal cues to leave her alone and she would end up growling causing small dog owner to flip out, or a dog would start posturing and Bella would want to rise to the occasion. Luckily the only bad thing that ever happened was my husband got bit on the thumb by a Boston that was chasing my dog and husband out of the park....

That being said there are occasions where we let Bella off leash (at the beach or on some trails) but she is very well trained and we are hyper vigalent.