The following is enlightening discussion thread from Yahoo Groups - Dog Park National News regarding rules enforcement:
I've been following Dog Park national News for months now, impressed with the quality of
thought and sharing of experience among its members. I'd like to get some
response on an on-going problem we're having.
I'm on the board of the Hillsboro (Oregon) Dog Association and we opened our
3.75-acre fenced off-leash park last summer. Since then we've had incidents
of dog-on-dog violence in our park and some cases of dog owners who have
blatantly disregarded rules, even when called to their attention. Unfortunately,
we haven't been able to find an agency that will step in to enforce rules
established by the city parks and recreation dept., which owns and maintains the
dog park. Our city police say they don't have jurisdiction unless a law is
actually broken. Our park patrons don't really have anyone they can turn to
when confronted with a difficult situation inside the dog park.
So here's my question . . .
Has anyone tried training a cadre of volunteers to patrol their dog park
during times of high usage to be a visible presence, on-the-spot educators and
arbitrators in case of disputes. This training would involve thorough
familiarization with the park's rules, etiquette and customs, basic dog training
procedures (how to prevent a dog from jumping up on someone, how to safely
intervene in a dog fight, how to detect escalating dog aggression, etc.), and –
most importantly – how to diffuse conflict between dog owners.
Thanks for anything you can share on this . . .
Michal Thompson
Hillsboro, Oregon
to Michal Thompson--
This is a difficult problem, since a certain
number of dog-dog aggression incidents will be
inevitable. The trick of course, is to know your
own dog and gain enough knowledge of dog behavior
so you can recognize and avoid bullies that come
into the park.
Let me rattle off a few ideas and observations,
since this is something that I have thought about
in our own situation here in St. Paul.
1) First and foremost, you need to develop a
stronger and more cohesive user group for your
park. You absolutely need a group of regular
users who are willing to step up and
diplomatically exert peer pressure when they see
rules broken or trouble brewing.
2) You could designate some of these people as
"park stewards" and give them a nametag. However, be
mindful that with some folks, you pin a badge on
them and they become overbearing. This can be avoided to some extent by asking someone in the
police department to give these people an hour or
two of training in basic "enforcement psychology."
It would be a mistake to regard stewards as
enforcement personnel; rather, their purpose is
one of education --- explaining the "why" behind
the rules -- and to exert peer pressure. Think of
them as diplomats, not cops.
3) You need to build a culture of awareness in
the park. That is, if a problem develops, two or
more people should go over to the miscreant -- so
the "park steward" isn't facing the problem alone.
4) See if you can organize a few simple courses
in "surviving the dog park". Most owners have at
least a rudimentary knowledge re: housebreaking,
basic obedience, etc. -- but since dog parks are
a new phenomenon, few have much understanding of
dog behavior in groups.
Many dog trainers will willingly offer a free
Saturday "seminar" in the dog park on these
issues -- as a way of marketing their regular
obedience classes. Obviously, the owners who need
it the most won't attend these classes, but for
those that do, it will contribute to creating a
sense of commitment to the park, and thus help
build this "culture" I am talking about.
5) If your park does not require a permit, I
would strongly urge you to consider getting the
city to set up a dog park permit system. Chicago,
for instance, requires a dog park permit, but
does NOT charge a fee for it (beyond the $5 cost
for a dog license): http://tinyurl.com/69yd8c
In their case it is a public health issue, but
for you, the purpose is to provide a data base
of names which you can use for educational
purposes -- explaining the dog park rules,
providing info on dog park behavior, etc. In
other words, it will help you build a "culture"
of awareness around the dog park.
6) There has been much written on this topic, and
one of the best I found is the article cited here
by Pat Miller:
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/sample/a_bark_in_the_park.html
(Pat Miller article)
Other articles:
http://www.alamedasmalldogs.org/etiquette.htm (Marty Guerra)
http://www.sfspca.org/behavior/aggression.shtml#TOP
(San Fran SPCA, various articles on preventing
aggression)
7) Finally, dog park design has a lot to do with
either fostering or inhibiting dog aggression.
Walking paths or trails keep both people and dogs
moving, and there are many fewer incidents than
when dogs are just milling around.
Hope this helps........................
Jan Carr
STPdog
St.Paul MN
Michael:
Enforcement is a big issue in dog parks. Here in NYC, where there are
currently 50+ enclosed dog parks and 88 Designated Off leash Areas in
parks. Compliance and enforcement of the rules is perhaps the number
one issue.
In NYC, dog park rules are generally drafted by each neighborhood user
group, with the approval of the Parks Department. Technically the Parks
Department should enforce the rules, but only has 53 enforcement
officers for the entire City which is woefully inadequate for anything
but the most flagrant repeated violations. Of course, the City police
could also be called, but they tend not to deal with Parks enforcement
issues.
Here's what I find works after years of careful observation of human
behavior in dog parks regarding rules:
When someone is ignoring or blatantly violating the rules, take out your
cell phone camera and start snapping photos. This has an amazing effect
on stopping the violating behavior, and frequently drives the offender
from the park. You might get a few choice words thrown at you on the
way out, but there's something about photos or video that even the
most arrogant, flagrant rule breaker does not want to deal with.
Also, in NYC, the city has just started accepting emailed photos and
video of lawbreakers to help build cases against those who violate the
rules or law repeatedly.
Some people would call this snitching or Orwellian. I call it
effective, because I've seen it work time after time.
I've also seen volunteer enforcement efforts fail. I think it has to
do with human nature. If a group of park volunteers confronts an
offender, there's often harsh words, and potentially violence. It
doesn't seem to work. And I've also seen cases where the
offender sues the City, the dog park, and individuals when their
"right" to do whatever they wish is violated by private citizens
rather than official law enforcement. So be careful there.
Hope this helps.
Michal,
Training volunteers will help up to a point. However, problematic visitors
will still give them a hard time. We have encountered the same problems at our
dog park, which is celebrating our fifth year now.
The City of San Diego's Park and Recreation Department has recognized the
problems in our dog parks after I brought it to their attention. The main
problem in our city is that the dog parks are basically 'dead zones', with no one
having full jurisdiction over them. If there is a dog on dog or dog on human
attack outside of the pens, then that falls under city ordinances. Animal
control and police get involved. However, once in the dog pens, people take full
responsibility for the actions of their dogs.
We are in the process of developing standard rules for all the dog parks in
our city. Each one will then be able to deviate from those rules by adding a
few which may deal with some specific things in their particular park. Once
these ordinances are approved by our city council, they can then be enforced at
the dog parks.
At the present time, there are rules posted at our dog parks which most
people follow. We have volunteers and staff who will speak to those who do not
follow them. However, these people know we have no way of enforcing the rules
and will sometimes be very rude. At this point, we cannot officially ban
someone from our dog park if they are not abiding by the rules, or have a lot of
complaints about them due to the aggressiveness of their dog. However, once
these ordinances are passed, they can be enforced, with fines.
We're hoping to have them on the books by next year. It's a slow process. I
would encourage you and other volunteers to contact the heads of your Park and
Recreation Departments as well as your council offices to get such a process
moving along. It is truly the only way, in your particular situation and
ours, to legally enforce the rules posted.
Robin Kaufman, Dog Park Liaison
Rancho Bernardo Dog Park