When I walk my dog, I always have my pistol with me. If a large, vicious, dog attacked me or my dog, I would simply shoot it. If an owner is so irresponsible as to allow a vicious dog loose to possibly injure me, then it is their fault for what happens. And no, it is not against the law to do this, IF your risk of injury is legitmate. And if I was trying to stop the attack on my dog, my risk of injury is real.

Rottweilers demand a lot more attention than any other breed of dog or they will go bad no matter how well they are treated. Very few owners have the time it takes to keep a Rottweiler occupied and prevent them from reverting back to their basest nature.

Taking a Rottweiler to a dog park and then letting him run free while being engaged in a soccer game is a criminal act IMHO.

Pamg, dog parks are "Leash Free Zones"....mostly they're just sump or retention ponds fenced in.

Ginger (left) and I go to the dog park EVERY morning around 7a.  We hit the one off University Avenue in the NE.  There's one dog there that *BUGS* my dog constantly, and the owner talks to it like a chlld.  AHHHH, that drives me nuts.  Everyone should have one word commands to control their dogs, or is that just me?  The thing is, this dog is WAY smaller than Ginger.  But it's constant barking in Ginger's face, makes me think she's gonna snap at that dog someday....and I wouldn't blame her.    The owner does leash the dog in the park though, when he gets out of hand.

Most of the dogs there are fine.  There's a gorgeous Irish Setter, and he's very majestic.  There's a St. Bernand "puppy", he's about a year old, but as big as he is, he still thinks he's a little puppy.  There's 3 Boxers, four if someone else shows up with theirs.  They are a more gentle breed than I thought, quite nice dogs.  Sometimes there's the Bassett Hounds, and so many more. 

Some people get wiped out by the dogs running so fast and they're not looking where they're going. People have broken bones from that happening.  I usually stay close to the fence.  A lot of people are out there to exercise themselves.  (Wish I could walk around 7 or more times like I use to, darn foot, I can only make it around once.).

There's times I don't think little kids should be in there AT ALL.  I'm always on HIGH alert in there.  I'm ok with the familiar dogs.  Maybe that's why I go so early in the morning, I've gotten to know the "others", but when someone new comes in, it can be very scary, because I've seen some good fights.  

 Sad story, my condolences to them on the loss of a family member.

My heart broke when I read about Grr.  My condolences to his family.  My partner and I have a mini Dachshund and 2 mini Schnauzers, and we are raising them to be lovable and non-aggressive.  Gandolf, our Dachshund, is about a year and a half now, and the most he does is bark when strangers come to the house, but he has never bitten anyone because he knows he'd be in BIG trouble if he did. 

That Rottie's owner is lucky it wasn't one of my dogs he attacked because I would have held him responsible.  Aggressive dogs should NEVER be brought to a dog park, especially unleashed and unsupervised!  That's just an ignorant thing to do. 

Personally, I don't care for Rotties and Pit Bulls.  Unfortunately, they get a bad rep because of their dumb owners.  They're raised to be viscious so their owners can feel more like "big bad men."  Sad. Sad. Sad.  Kudos to the Rottie and Pit Bull owners who are secure enough with themselves that they can raise their dogs to be lovable.

This was a terrible incident and I feel for the pet parents who had to watch their beloved Grr be terrorized and submit to the injuries.  Personally I think that Bakersfield doesn't have a real dog park here because, as usual, we are behind the times.  A fenced off sump is not a true dog park and I think some of the problem between the dogs may occur because they are closed in, in too small of an area to really run and play.  New York and larger cities have real dog parks with lakes, trails, toys, doggie water fountains, etc.  They are like people parks and although I've never been to one, I am betting the dogs there aren't nearly as confrontational as one's who are subjected to smaller play area's. 

I agree  that it's not the dog's breed so much, but the owners negligence in socializing and training that is the usual downfall to the behavior, and I also agree with Lynn that even a good natured dog can snap at any given time.  I choose not to take my dogs to the so called dog parks here in Bako, it's just too risky.

Grr's pet parents have my complete sympathy.