‘Ma’am it’s a dog park. Not a babysitting zone for your kid’: Dog owners vent about entitled dogless parents who missed the “dog” part in dog park

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Etai Eshet • Editor
Apr 22, 2025 6:00 AM EDT

Most places in life are labeled well enough that even an overcaffeinated bunny could figure them out. That's how we know Cookware is for cooking. Bathrooms are not for eating. The bus lane is best left un-cartwheeled. Conference rooms are for PowerPoints, not power naps. And, of course, dog parks are for, you guessed it, dog.

The beauty of these spaces is that most of them don't require a manual. But sometimes, a hero arrives determined to test the boundaries of self-explanatory spaces, and it's never a good move.

These dog owners' frustrations are more than understandable. After all, a dog park is supposed to be the one place your furry pal can unleash pure, undiluted chaos without risking a lawsuit or the fate of an overpriced vase. But add a free-range toddler into the mix and suddenly playtime turns into an obstacle course of parental glares and potential court summonses. It's all sunshine and laughter right up until a sixty-pound mastiff, fuelled by three days' worth of pent-up zoomies, into a child whose only protective gear is a Spiderman t-shirt. Then it's scratches, tears, and lawyers exchanging business cards by the "doggy" bag dispenser. 

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  • Maybe we can keep dog parks for the dogs. This way, everyone gets what they’re looking for: dogs get to romp, parents stay stress-free, and children avoid being’ flattened by thirty new furry friends at once.

  • "This isn't a playground, dogs might jump or nip"
    via Leo_Visions
  • Took my dog to the usual dog park and this random mom shows up with her toddler. No dog, just a toddler.
    via cuteselinah
  • Kid starts wandering around near the dogs and she goes “It's fine, he loves puppies."
    via cuteselinah
  • I said "This isn't a playground, dogs might jump or nip."
    via cuteselinah
  • Cheezburger Image 10496525312
    via Rui Alves

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • She goes "Well maybe they shouldn't be so aggressive then??"
    via cuteselinah
  • Ma'am it's a dog park. Not a babysitting zone for your kid named Braxxon.
    via cuteselinah
  • Cheezburger Image 10496524288
    via Leo_Visions
  • JTBlakeinNYC We had to put a sign on the gate to our dog run banning children under 12 because parents were treating it like
    via JTBlakeinNYC
  • a petting zoo. What idiot brings a small child into an enclosed area with dozens of big dogs running pell mell off-leash??
    via JTBlakeinNYC
  • Cheezburger Image 10496533760
    via Leo_Visions

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  • robopirateninjasaur "Well maybe you shouldn't be such an incompetent parent letting your kids around aggressive animals then?"
    via robopirateninjasaur
  • Cantteachcommonsense Dog park I used to go to frequently we had a guy pull up with a van full of kids and a pizza on a sat. We refused to let him into the park. He threatened to call the cops, we told him we would call for him.
    via Cantteachcommonsense
  • Cheezburger Image 10496535296
    via Monika Simeonova
  • catdistributinsystem Oh man, what is it with entitled parents and dog parks? I was at one with a friend that required first- time visitors to check their dog in with the county staff
    via catdistributinsystem
  • in a little building next door to ensure they had all the dog's vaccinations up-to- date and on file. It was also where they could pay the $5
    via catdistributinsystem
  • annual use fee which gives them a card to swipe on the gate to unlock it and enter the park. As my friend and I entered the first gate into
    via catdistributinsystem
  • the "airlock" zone between the interior gate, some entitled mom sent her toddler running up to grab the exterior gate and keep it open.
    via catdistributinsystem
  • Mind you, there's a MASSIVE sign and a camera saying to close the gate after each person and that anyone who violates that rule can be banned from the park. I didn't want to violate their
    via catdistributinsystem
  • rules, so I told the kid "sorry bud, I have to close this now." And gently shut the gate on him, locking him and his parents outside. The dad was chill and just waved, but the mom LOST HER SH.
    via catdistributinsystem
  • She started yelling at me for "shoving a child" and being "stingy" and "r de" etc etc. Unfortunately for her, I didn't care. I looked her straight in the eyes and said "maybe next time you'll learn to keep control of your children. The sign says I have
    via catdistributinsystem
  • to close it. You can use your own card to get in.” The mom started yelling about how they didn't have their card with them and that she was going to tell the staff on me and get us kicked out of the park, blah blah blah, just absolutely losing it. I just smiled and said "Go ahead, they can check the cameras."
    via catdistributinsystem
  • confabulatrix My lab once gently stole half a sandwich from a toddler's hand in the dog park. The dogless mom was so mad at me.
    via confabulatrix
  • Connect_Office8072 I would have told the mom, oh good, they haven't been fed yet, glad you brought them a snack.
    via Connect_Office8072
  • MollyTibbs A few years back someone was complaining on a local fb group that they took their toddlers for a picnic to the beach and were overrun by dogs. After a few people commiserated someone asked which beach. It was
    via MollyTibbs
  • the local dog beach, very heavily sign posted as dogs allowed off leash etc. SMH. Needless to say all sympathy vanished and the poster got dumped on to the point they deleted their post.
    via MollyTibbs
  • agent_smith_3012 Then, when fuggin Braxxon gets bit, she'll sue. Get her outta there for your safety
    via agent_smith_3012
  • Peppyrhubarb Amazing how they only see the situation from the viewpoint of their child liking doggies. They can't take in any other view point.
    via Peppyrhubarb

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