Dog Park Culture

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Dog Park Culture Dog Parks are a fairly new cultural wonder, and have slowly made its increase in the number of dog parks and popularity over the last decade. As a dog owner myself, I decided to settle upon dog parks as my field of research. The amount of human/dog interaction I would get and the geography of a dog park, this made dog parks the perfect field research site to learn the culture of Dog Parks. My ethnographic method of data collection will disclose the culture of dog parks and the relationship between the owner and their dogs. Using unobtrusive measure to jot down notes, my data shows; caretakers of dogs must react and negotiate problems related to assortments of dog behaviors such as aggression, shyness, mounting, and feces management.…show more content…
They are careful and adhere to the rules and regulations of the park as their identity is marked to the direct behavioral problems their dog demonstrated. Part of what makes dog parks unique and fun is the responsibility that comes with your willingness to enter the park despite the risk factors. Written rules are posted visibly right near the gate publicly holding owners responsible for their dog’s actions. These rules suggest commitment to the public dog park and a respect factor for future users of the park. However, the posted rules do not define what is expected of owners or inappropriate dog behaviors. Managing their dog in a place like a dog park puts the owners to unfamiliarity as most of the dog care is usually done from home in a comfortable setting. In a place such as a dog park, owners are required to vigilantly watch their dog’s actions such as when they defecate; a quick and prompt removal of feces is suggested and required by law. The dog park also lacked agents of social control such as rangers or polices and any action that unfolded were done in the view of the public in the presence of other dogs and people. Given these characteristics and culture of a dog park, the owners are legally and socially responsible in managing their dog’s behavioral…show more content…
People are attracted to the dog park for several reasons. Some bring their dogs to the park to have them socialize with other dogs, some also love socializing of their own, and some to exercise and train their dogs. Most people I talked to admitted to one of the reasons mentioned above whereas they all have different ideas about the dog park culture. Dog actions such as mounting and aggressive behaviors and alertness to picking up after their dog, all had different ideas from their owner as to the supervision and control of their dogs. With my research in this particular dog park, I’ve come up with few theoretical conclusions that can generally be applied to most dog parks. 1. Dog parks possess risks and are not completely safe. 2. People in Dog Parks frequently break the rules by being insensitive and callous towards other people. This research suggests that dog parks can be used to provide insight into dog behaviors, as well as human to human and human to dog

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