Kids and the Dog Park

The Buderim Dog Park is a brilliant facility at the base of Buderim on the road to Mooloolaba.

One reader has contacted the Buderim Web Site with a valid concern over the use of the park. The answer (Rebecca feels) is to put a sign up to protet dog owners, saying the use of the park is at your own risk and that children should be kept away from strange dogs for their own safety.

Perhaps a sign which says "Children should be kept on a leash in this park" is in order ;-) (ed).

Here is her letter, what do you think?

I am a resident of Buderim who regularly uses the wonderful park with my pups along with the many others that love the park.

On a few occassions lately i have been concerned with small (very small) children in the park. I have no issue with children in the park, (as long as their parents supervise them) its great to see them as future dog lovers, but the occassions that have upset me are with tiny kids of crawling age placed on the ground and kids on the ground using the sand as a sand pit. Sometimes groups of 15 dogs are running and it is very scary as they can knock an adult over.

Last week a boisterious group of ususals (german sheppard, 3 staffies and a boxer) were playing and a family was there with a tiny baby of crawling age and had her on the ground. I said to them before i let my dogs go that i wouldnt leave her there as they all play very rough. 'thats ok, she is used to dogs' they owned two very small dogs. I told them that whilst my pups are small they are strong and can knock a little kid over.
Sure enough the group of dogs were running like crazy ( adults need to look out too!!) and the baby was left to crawl on the grass and then had one of my pups jump over her then all over her. Whilst its all friendly, i dont have kids, so my dogs dont know how to be extra gentle. Its just another person to play with to them. The baby didnt have a care in the world but the mother was very angry and kept kicking any dog that come near the table after that, including my 7 month old pup several times. zmy dogs dont speak english and dont understand ranting and raving but do understand commands which are nicer then being kicked at.

Whilst i feel bad that my pup jumps on kids, im doing my best to avoid it and teach better manners, but the dog park is one place where you can go where you know there are other dog lovers who understand dogs and are all there for the same reason and dont mind if you get a little dirt on you.
It has been a great and essential socialising tool for my boys and they love it. Now i feel on tenderhooks each time i go. This same incident happened to a friend of mine who owns a staffy x daschound and the child cried this time and she felt obliged to take her dog and leave the park.

Whilst everyone is welcome in a community park, some responsibility needs to be taken and it needs to be noted that it is a dog park, not a playground. And there are hardly any places where we cna let our dogs run like this.
As we all know you should never leave your own child unattended with your own dog, let along a pack of strange dogs. Also i imagine the ground in that park is not a very hygenic area for kids to play in the dirt let alone crawl in it.

A few other i have spoken to have had issues with kids chasing thier dogs or screaming which puts owners on edge (especially those with new dogs or who dont have children)

Im worried it is an accident waiting to happen and maybe some sort of signage would protect and make us responsible dog owners more at ease when visiting this great place.