re: doggie park etiquette

Question
What is appropriate at a dog park? I love taking my dog to this local dog park. My problem is on a regular basis there are same couple who are bringing aggressive bad behaving dogs. This man and woman between the have 2 female and 1 male Siberian husky. These dogs do nothing but wreak havoc on almost every dog they encounter. They have on more then one occasion in pairs or singles attacked my goofy passive lab. One of the females this past weekend attacked another male lab as he was on his back playing with another dog. She jumped in and was on top of this poor dog going at it. Today one dog park resident asked them to leave and take their dogs. This was after one of the females huskies was doing the same to a young pit bull puppy. This almost caused a human fight. Is it okay to ask them to leave? I am afraid of getting bitten and don't know quite what to do when I see the early stages of the behavior. I am not going to let these dogs hurt my pup. I like this park and don't want a few bullies spoiling it. My dog adores going as he just loves to run and have fun. What is your advice? Is this normal behavior from this breed. Are they being loud and vocal and playing or is this bad behavior.?

Answer
The Siberian Husky is very close to type in behavior; what you're portraying is not normal.  When a dog is play bowing, every neurologically and emotionally sound dog will acknowledge that behavior.  If a dog is on his back while playing with another, the Husky might (if not properly socialized to other dogs at an early age) interfere by "attacking" the dog standing OVER the supine dog, not attacking the supine dog itself.  These three dogs have not been properly socialized to other dogs, are not being adequately managed by their owners, and are a clear and present danger to the dog park inhabitants.  If it were me in this situation, I would:
1.  Contact animal control and ask for advice: will they send out an animal control agent if people who are in the park call on their cell phones and request one?  Will animal control be able to intercede if they determine these dogs are not licensed?  (Make sure YOUR DOG IS before bringing up this point.)
2.  Contact the municipality that owns the land the dog park is on; if the municipality does not own the property, contact town hall (tax clerk) and ask how to obtain ownership information.  Is there a "at your own risk" sign posted on this property?  If not, the owner of this dog park could be sued should anyone's dog, or any person, be harmed because of an out of control dog attack.
3.  Contact the local police authority (or go in personally, that's even better) and explain the problem; ask if they have any authority and if they can mandate that the owners remove the offending dogs
4.  Approach other dog owners in the  dog park; see if you can get a petition going; see if you can get some affidavits attesting to having witnessed these dogs harming other people's dogs.  These documents can be presented to town authorities, the police, animal control, etc., putting pressure on them.
5.  Contact your local representative for that district (elected official) and ask for their advice and assistance.
6.  Get a license plate number from the vehicle these people drive; some states have no restrictions on obtaining the name and address of license plate holders.  If any dog is injured, it will be easy to file a small claims lawsuit against the dogs' owners, providing you have witnesses willing to testify.

If none of the above proves doable, it may be necessary for you to find another exercise venue for your dog.  An injury or attack by another dog can create in even the sweetest companion dog a serious fear behavior.