The (Unwritten) Dog Park Rules We All Wish You Would Follow

As someone that enjoys going to the local dog park almost as much as my dog, there are quite a few written and unwritten rules that we wish other patrons would follow. We glare, whisper, and comment, but people do not seem to understand our frustrations. These rules are common sense--well we think so at least, but I guess to everyone else, they are not.

1. Do not bring human/dog food into the park.
I can understand forgetting and bringing a few dog treats into the park, but to the people that bring entire picnics into the park, they are asking for trouble. Most (if not all) dogs are motivated by food and are not below stealing food from an unsuspecting visitor. THIS IS A DOG PARK, not a family park where you can have a picnic.

2. Keep your children right next to you or at home
Most puppies and some older dogs do not understand how to interact with small children. They often see them as other puppies due to their size and will try to wrestle with them. This does not mean that the puppy is aggressive, it means the puppy is a puppy. Dogs will run and chase each other and if your young child is in the way, they will not necessarily notice and you kid might get run over. There is a reason that dogs must be leashed in a children's park--for safety reasons. This exact reasons is why there are dog parks. If your child is not tall enough to push a dog off of them or able to understand dog behavior, they are too young to be even six feet from their parents in a dog park. Remember, THIS IS A DOG PARK, not a children's park. Keep the kids off of the dog's play toys.

3. Do not bring anything with you that you would be afraid that would get destroyed
Dogs that are playing are not attentive. They run and play--often running into people or their items. THIS IS A DOG PARK, this is a place where they do not have to worry about ruining furniture.

4. Do not bring toys that you would not want to share with other dogs
Dogs steal and share toys. THIS IS A DOG PARK. There are a lot of dogs and they all want to play with the same toy. You can't expect the dogs not to be interested in the new looking toy.

5. Not all "Aggressive Breeds" are actually aggressive
Stop assuming "aggressive breeds" are actually aggressive, it depends on how they were raised.

6. Watch your dog!
You never know when your dog might get into trouble or decide to leave a large present in the middle of the field. Your dog is your responsibility. It might be a dog park, but the dog still needs to be supervised.

7. Pick up after your dog
This is self-explanatory.