Upper Douglass Dog Park

05/29/2024

THE PARK IS CLOSED ON WEDNESDAYS. No, you as an overly entitled person, cannot jump the fence and privately walk your dog in the park. It’s disrespectful to the gardeners that close it for a reason. It’s disrespectful to the neighbors that enjoy one day of peace and quiet and it’s disrespectful to those of us that have to make other arrangements for their dogs on Wednesdays. So, to the gentleman that decided to walk his dog in the park this afternoon, it’s considered trespassing and the Rangers will be called next time. Sheesh.

05/14/2024

Friends!! Scuffles between dogs happen quite often at the park. The thing to remember is that dogs are unpredictable animals but WE are humans and we have bigger brains which means we can take a deep breath, be calm and do our best to handle any situation with grace.

Be sure to give each other plenty of space at the gate and entrance of the park. This is where most of the scuffles occur. If we give each other a little bit of space and a little bit of time, it’ll be a better experience for everyone. 

03/29/2024

Hello! Upper Douglass opens today.

***PLEASE keep your dogs out of the front garden!***

Our amazing gardener Taylor has put a great deal of work into the park during its closure. One of the many projects was planting a succulent bed in the front garden of the park.

****ALL DOGS MUST BE LEASHED WHILE ENTERING AND EXITING THE PARK*****

01/12/2024

Friends! This perfect girl is on the euthanasia list at Oakland Animal Services….Take a look! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Adopt Tavi from Oakland Animal Services

12/05/2023

FOUND AND SAFE!!!

11/19/2023

Cases have been reported in Oregon, Colorado, Indiana, Illinois, Washington, Idaho, California, the Northeast and more.

11/15/2023

Friends…from a park user….

At around 3:30pm on November 13th in Douglass Dog Park, my 5 month old Aussie puppy was attacked by an older Aussie. It was very sudden and extremely violent and aggressive. I'm still shaken. The older full size Aussie had a dark brown coat. In trying to remove the jaws, I was also cut on my hand. There were several witnesses to the altercation. The owner was a young Asian man with tattoos on his arms. The owner did not stick around to check on us and just left with the Aussie. My puppy was treated for bite wounds at intensive care and I was treated for cuts to my hand.

If the owner or whoever knows the owner can they please contact me? My priority is to ensure his dog was vaccinated against Rabies. I also want others to know how aggressive his dog was and what little he did to stop it.

Thanks,
Jared (917) 449-8099

11/15/2023

The last day the park will be open is Sunday, November 26

11/14/2023

ALL DOGS must be on leash while entering and exiting the park. THANKS!

10/30/2023

Key found at Douglass. It’s on the bulletin board.

10/14/2023

Yappy Hour is back every Friday evening starting at about 4:30. Bring a drink and make some friends!

10/05/2023

Great short article that explains “hu***ng” behavior.

Is mounting or hu***ng a sign of dominance in dogs?

Hu***ng or mounting is a fixed action pattern (FAP), which are innate behaviours. These are behaviours that are common to all members of a species and require no learning. A Fixed Action Pattern (FAP) is a predictable series and stereotypical sequences of complex actions triggered by a cue - www.simplypsychology.org. www.sciencedirect.com.

Hu***ng or mounting is NOT:
Dominance
Controlling you or another dog
Alpha behaviour
Only seen in unsterilised dogs
Only seen in males
Only seen in younger dogs
To cause you embarrassment
To get your attention or get back at you

Hu***ng or mounting by male or female dogs of any age CAN be due to:
Excitement
Sexual rehearsal
Burning off pent up energy
General stimulation...yippee, something’s happening!
Stress/Anxiety/Displacement behaviour
Play
Hyperarousal
A medical issue
Boredom
Frustration
Burning of excessive energy (like zoomies)
Ambivalence about a situation or a dog
Unease
Tiredness

If you are worried:
Make a note of how many times a day this is happening.
Take your dog for a medical check up.
Contact a up to date science-based behaviour consultant to identify the triggers and the emotions to be able to develope a modification plan to improve the emotional state and hence the behaviour.
What to do in the moment - if the dog underneath seems uncomfortable and stressed then please interrupt. It may mean that the 'top dog' is unable to read the body language of the other one. Rather redirect that energy to a toy or chew as opposed to saying off. Give him something mentally stimulating to do instead. If they are having turns and alternating this behaviour with other behaviours like chasing, tumbling, play bows, etc., then leave them be.
Be careful of your dog doing it to random dogs in a park that he does not know. The unknown dog could become aggressive due to not wanting the behaviour.

Note - many Google searches for this behaviour will bring up the word dominance. The behaviour is not due to such a simplistic, misunderstood term. Dogs do it to pillows, toys or furniture - do you think that they are trying to dominate those inanimate objects? Every dog is an individual with unique emotions. The feelings and motivations for the behaviour will differ from dog to dog but it is certainly not about dominance. Don't believe everything you read on Google and check your trainer's/behaviourist's credentials. Let's not label every behaviour beyond our understanding as dominant 🙂

Most guardians rush to sterilize their dogs when this happens...it may not make a difference.

09/28/2023

Friends! This guy is coming to SF on December 2nd. HE IS A TERRIBLE HUMAN. He uses pain and force with false results. So look him up, watch his stuff, get pi**ed off and then go sign this petition.  I’m including a link of a review of his training practices for more context. 🐕🦮🐩🐕‍🦺❤️❤️❤️❤️

https://www.k9ofmine.com/dog-daddy-review-a-certified-dog-trainers-opinion/ #:~:text=This%20is%20extremely%20alarming%20poor,tugs%20to%20the%20dog's%20throat.

https://www.change.org/p/ban-abusive-dog-trainer-dog-daddy-from-san-francisco-and-sacramento?recruiter=19664077&recruited_by_id=8c5f2020-f574-012f-d8fb-40406f61fb41&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&share_bandit_exp=initial-37456899-en-US

Ban Abusive Dog Trainer Dog Daddy from San Francisco

09/25/2023

DO. NOT. LET. YOUR. DOGS. DIG.

09/17/2023

Friends! Hope you’re having a fantastic Sunday! Just want to make sure that everyone knows it’s incredibly inconsiderate to let your dog dig large holes in the flat part of the field. Many a person has turned an ankle in one of these holes this year. Be the responsible dog owners we all know you are.  Keep an eye on your dogs at all times and fill the holes that they dig. Thanks! 

08/28/2023

SPENCER BEAUMONT. You left your wallet at the park. It’s on the bulletin board towards the middle of the back of the park. 

08/06/2023

For what it is worth, this essay appeared in the NYT today. We gift it to the group as an interesting opinion. It may contain some insights that help you and your dog(s) navigate our wonderful park, especially newcomers.

It’s not an oasis. It’s a thunderdome for pooches.

08/01/2023

ATTENTION: Douglass walkers

As per DPT and RPD the driveway is for Emergency access only. Please DO NOT use or block the driveway for load ins and outs.