Another sad reminder to be wary of large dogs

[QuickSilver]

The woman who runs Thor's doggy daycare lost her chihuahua this weekend to a pitbull mix. She was at the dog park, and the large dog attacked her chi. This large dog picked him up, shook him, and that was it. Her dog died within seconds of a broken neck.

I love big dogs just as much as small ones, but this has definitely made me think twice about how close I'm going to let Thor get to another animal that could kill him in the blink of an eye. Please be careful out there.

[143julz]

Oh my that is so sad....I love both big and small, had both, but never have i let my guard down around another dog with Dudley, you just never know.

[AprilLove]

OMG!! That is sad. I will never take mine to parks that allow big dogs in same area as the small dogs, and dogs I'm not personally familiar with. I love ALL dogs, but am very overprotective of the small ones because of stories like this

[hnybun128]

That's so sad. This is exactly why I stay away from dog parks. Even if I had a big dog, I'd never go to a dog park because you just never know what another dog could do.

[cally930]

That is so so sad. I can't imagine the feelings having witnessed this and not being able to do anything. I love all dogs, but no matter what they are animals and you never know what triggers them.

[Melcakes]

How devastating and sad. I'm glad little Zoey hates big dogs and whenever spots one jumps up on my leg to be picked up!

[gemy]

Originally Posted by AprilLove

OMG!! That is sad. I will never take mine to parks that allow big dogs in same area as the small dogs, and dogs I'm not personally familiar with. I love ALL dogs, but am very overprotective of the small ones because of stories like this

I am so very sorry for her loss. I have rethought about leash free parks, not only because of large dog vs small dog dangers there, but because so many owners are clueless about their dogs. There is nothing very pretty about large to small aggression, or large to large aggression.

.

[Ringo1]

OMG. What a tragic loss. I'm in the process now of putting up a big fence around my new yard. Everyone here has underground fences but there are big dogs on both sides of me.

New neighbors are not thrilled with me having a real fence . . . but I cannot take that chance.

I've thought about dog parks but only if there is a small dog park and not sure about that.

[kdhawks]

That is such a sad story. Levi LOVES big dogs (he thinks he's about the size of a Great Dane ) but I am very cautious about letting him approach/play with big dogs, and of course, I'd never let him play with a big dog without close supervision. I love big dogs as much as I love small ones, but you just never know what could happen.

Levi loves going to the dog park - I think it's a shame that not all parks have separate areas for large and small dogs. We only go to parks with separate areas; luckily, we've found a few great ones. I can't imagine letting him run loose with the big dogs.

[QuickSilver]

San Francisco has NO small dog parks! Can you believe it?

[camile]

I'm not sure I would take mine for the very reason you told, but where I live there aren't any for any size dog. I'm in a very small town however, I'm just across the river ( 5 min. ) from Louisville, so you would think there would be one close by.

[kdhawks]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

San Francisco has NO small dog parks! Can you believe it?

Wow! I can't believe that at all!! Charlotte has at least three parks with small dog areas, and Durham, NC (where I lived before) has two in proximity. Much smaller areas than San Francisco - crazy!!

There was a chi mix killed by a big dog at a park in Charlotte within the last year or so - at a park with a small dog section. The chi's owner had the dog in the big dog section which is literally adjacent to the small dog section. I can't get over that - I don't understand why she would have her chi in the big section when the small section is one fence over? This was at probably my favorite park in the area. The small (and large) dog sections are both awesome.

Even some small dog parks have their issues - we can't go to a couple of them because Levi is small enough to squeeze through the gate, and smart enough to know he can escape!

[yorkie_mama22]

Never ever been to the dog parks in our city. It was in the paper that lab drank some sitting water at one of the parks and got very ill and passed away.



I was at the jungle gym with my daughter few months ago with Lola and Zach and this huge german shepard ran up to me I had just enough time to pull my two up by their leash and harnesses because this dog was loose. The owner shouted from across the field " She's friendly, don't worry " while she was running over. I said to her " How do I know your dog is friendly or WHAT she could do, all I know is I see a loose HUGE dog running towards my two TINY little dogs, of course I am going to react that way!! " She was offended by my reaction but I said I am not an idiot and it is very dangerous, what if your dog attacked them!

[rik20101]

I'm sorry this happened, and I'm sorry for your scary stories.....but, you should see my 105 pound Great Dane and my 4 pound 'Morkie' play. They are the best of friends.

[kdhawks]

Originally Posted by rik20101

I'm sorry this happened, and I'm sorry for your scary stories.....but, you should see my 105 pound Great Dane and my 4 pound 'Morkie' play. They are the best of friends.

Levi has plenty of friends who are big dogs ...a Dane, an Australian Shepherd...but I know the owners, I know how the dogs are raised and trained, and I supervise their play. Just like you know your Great Dane will be sweet and gentle with your Morkie. Levi's Austalian Shepherd bud is the calmest, gentlest dog ever when they play together.

It's the unknown large dogs approaching Levi that make me apprehensive. I don't know anything about their temperament, their background, the way they were raised... There are far too many irresponsible pet owners that allow their dogs to misbehave and don't monitor what their dogs are doing.