Tuesdays With Toby: Dog Park Etiquette

Because of yesterday’s site update, I didn’t get a chance to post my So I hope you’ll forgive it being Wednesdays With Toby this week, but there’s something important I’d like to talk about stat …

Dog park etiquette.

Toby and I were at a local dog park last week just hanging out and meeting new friends. Toby trotted over to a young Husky to greet him and see if he wanted to play.

No siree.

In fact, the Husky began snapping at Toby and pouncing on him. By the time the Husky had his mouth around Toby’s neck, I’d run across the grounds and pried Toby away from the other dog.

Some more snapping ensued, and then a sharp pain and warmth in the back of my left leg.

Once the Husky’s owner got his dog under control, I brought Toby over to hang out with other dogs and checked out my leg. Fabulous—blood.

Of course, there’s no First Aid kit at a dog park, but there really should be. I asked the Husky’s owner if his dog was up-to-date on his rabies shots, because he had just bitten me. The owner assured me that the Husky was in good health but didn’t acknowledge the bite.

The smart thing would’ve been for me to call the police and make a report. Instead, I hobbled around with my dog for about an hour and told them about the

When I got home, I looked at the bite. It resembled a large snakebite with a purple and blue target around it. I disinfected it and bandaged it, telling myself to watch for symptoms like fever.

At dog parks, accidents happen. In many forms. If it’s of the natural type, etiquette insists you pick up after your pooch. If there’s a community water bowl (for the dogs), make sure yours doesn’t lap it all up without you replenishing it.

And, by goodness, if your dog is aggressive, keep him either out of the dog park or on a tight leash. If, perchance, you still take him despite knowing that he might attack, and he bites a person or another dog, at least ASK if they are OK, and make sure you give them your contact info incase something comes up.