Sherwood Park's Off Leash Areas

Hello all. Did you or someone you know attend an IN-PERSON public engagement event in Strathcona County since 2015 such as the dog control bylaw? If so, please... take TWO MINUTES to complete my survey that will ill help me complete my thesis research toward earning a Master of Arts in Community Engagement Survey link: https://tinyurl.com/PublicEngagementSurvey About me and my project: I have worked in municipal public engagement for almost three decades and have been employed by Strathcona County for 15 years. Over that time, I have planned, implemented and evaluated hundreds of public engagement processes. My project aims to explore what motivates Strathcona County citizens to participate in in-person public engagement processes. Sometimes, these sessions are well attended by the public and other times, only a handful of people might attend. Why is that?! I hope to find out more and improve future public engagement planning in my work. Thanks so much for your time!

Visited Deermound Dog Park today around 10:30 this morning (September 30). A man, likely in his 40's, heavier set and bald was walking his german shepherd. The ...german shepherd randomly snapped and bit my dog. There were two older ladies walking near me, both who said the dog is well known to bite and be aggressive. Owner proceeded toward the trees like nothing happened. See more

Went to this Dog Park atleast 2-3 times a week and we loved it...friendly dow owners and Happy dogs...But today was so different... My Puppy attacked by other D...og,not once but twice....The aggressive owner didnt even say sorry ,but asked me "whats wrong with your dog?"answered him there is nothing wrong with my Dog!your dog attacked mine..."Train him and train yourself too... See more

Tonight I witness something that made me so disappointed in our community at the Heritage Hills Dog Park, I witnessed an adult woman state I’m letting my dog ...do that to teach him a lesson, he is bringing his dog to the park in heat about her large male, recently neutered wolfhound mounting a chasing a 1.5 year old female dog who was with a boy in his early teens maybe. (The boy said his dog was not in heat, the male dog was also recently neutered and it can take up to 6 months for those hormones to dissipate) When did we stop acting like a community that helps others, that communicates effectively, that offers helpful training tips to our peers at the park? Finally after watching a lot of the large male wolfhound dominating the female and awkward lectures/yelling at these kids, the dog was taking rests between my husband and I’s legs. . So I stood between the male and the female so the boys could grab their dog at which point the woman said Oh you think that will do anything to keep a male from going at a dog that smells like she wants to get %^&* (her words not mine) I find it very confusing the opinion was these kids were too young to be taking their dog to the park, yet old enough to be yelled and sworn at? At this point there was yelling about bylaws and how the park was going to be shut down and we left because it was becoming a more ugly situation by the minute and as a parent I would be very appalled by the way this adult treated these children. I do not like having to share this experience, but I really hope that we can remember that we are all people doing our best, we all deserve to both be respected and treat others with respect. And theres a common saying, if you think everyone around you is the problem, you may just be the problem yourself. I hope we can remember the dog park should be a place for everyone, we should all worry about our own dogs before placing judgement on others and to be kind to others. If you see someone struggling with a behaviour that they are working on, share whats worked for you. If you see a kid doing his best, don't yell at him maybe ask him to wait and do a lap outside the gate as your male dog still has some hormones and you want to avoid a negative behaviour. Overall just remember we are a community. Be kind to one another.

It’s always awesome to hear a story with a happy ending !!! Border Collie Beau was safely reunited with his owner Sandy after quite an adventure !!

SUGGESTED INCIDENT REPORTING GUIDELINES: What to do if you or your dog are victims of an aggressive dog / owner attack at an off leash dog park. 1) Stay calm ...and request the name and phone number from the owner of the aggressive dog in case your dog has suffered any injuries as the result of the attack (sometimes a wound or soft tissue / joint injury isn’t noticed until after you are at home and have had an opportunity to do a thorough check of your dog). Do not engage with a defensive owner, it will only make the situation worse. 2) If the owner refuses to share their contact information with you, downplays the incident, becomes hostile or behaves in any way other than remorseful for the actions of their dog, it is important that you remain calm and try to get as much identifying information as you can on both the dog and the owner. Pay close attention to the colour, size, breed, gender, name and any distinctive markings as well as the height, hair colour, build and approx. age of the owner. Also try to take note of the direction they are walking. If they are heading towards their vehicle in the parking lot, discreetly try to get the make, model and license plate number of their vehicle or snap a photo of the same (again, keep your safety and well being the top priority in this situation as aggressive dog owners are all too often aggressive humans). If other people are nearby who may have witnessed the incident, approach them and ask if they would be willing to serve as a witness*** and to share their contact information with you for your incident report. 3) Return to your vehicle and complete a thorough check of your dog. Seek veterinary attention if needed. The newly opened Pulse Veterniary Specialists and Emergencies in Sherwood Park is highly recommended. Call 780-570-9999 4) If your dog is ok, document the details of the aggressive dog and owner into a note on your phone or a piece of paper while your memory is still fresh. If you have the time, position your vehicle in the parking lot so you have a good view of the entrances / exits to the park. 5) Remain in your vehicle and watch for the return of the owner and dog and gather additional identifying information as well as the make and model of the car and license plate number. 6) Call Bylaw Services at 780-449-0170 if the incident occurs during typical work week hours or the non emergency RCMP line at 780-467-7741 to report. You may also use the County Connect ‘Report It’ option: https://www.strathcona.ca/countyconnect/ . Follow any directions given and if applicable, complete and return the incident report. 7) Once home, post as much information about the incident on the Sherwood Park’s Off Leash Dog Park’s FB page and any other social media groups that you choose. Consider creating a poster with the same information and post it on the bulletin board at the Deermound Dog Off Leash Park. (make extra copies and check daily that it is still posted as these will often get removed by the owner and their friends or family who are trying to protect them). 9) Hug your dog and give yourself a pat on the back for helping to keep all dogs safe from harm as the result of future incidents. *** If you happen to witness an incident involving an aggressive dog / owner, please offer support to the victim by providing your contact information should it be needed to verify the validity of the attack. Please observe the same steps to document the incident for reference if needed.

TODAY’S RANT !!!! There is a pervasive type of negligence in dog ownership that is becoming more and more common within our off leash parks and sadly it seems to fall on deaf ears. After decades of going to Deermound Dog Off Leash Park (as well as other off leash parks such as Sally Stewart & Fort Sask), I have never seen more instances of aggressive dog behaviour as I have this past year. My senior rescue dog has been cornered, stalked, chased and attacked a number of times... by dogs whose owners are either no where near their problem dog or are too busy with their noses in their cell phones to notice what’s going on around them. Here’s my opinion and it is my opinion only ~ once the restrictions were lifted and the off leash park were opened - it unleashed (no pun intended) a massive amount of untrained dogs (and owners) who were previously cooped up in their homes. Suddenly, these fulltime workers had time on their hands and likely had their eyes opened to the needs of the dogs... thus believing the off leash parks were the solution. And so, our parks were filled with unsocialized dogs given full reign and owners who had no idea of how to handle their adult dogs... not to mention the abundance of those thinking ‘now’ is a perfect time to add a puppy to the family without knowledge of how much training goes into developing a well socialized dog. It’s been disastrous. I tried to post information on the bulletin board on what to do in the case of an aggressive dog attack and it was removed by the County. I will repost it to this group. Additionally, I urge everyone to use County Connect to report any and all of these situations. We must get the County more involved, have them doing more patrolling and issuing tickets for unlicensed and untrained dogs and their irresponsible owners. https://www.strathcona.ca/countyconnect/ See more

Around 3:50pm, today, September 17th, there was a woman and her daughter, with a Boston Terrior type dog. That attacked by Havanese mix dog twice. Then I witnes...sed the same dog attack a small Yorkie type dog. That owner grabbed his dog quickly into his arms and the Boston Terrior jumped and nipped the yorkie near the behind. I spoke to that owner, and he said their dog was okay. The owner did nothing to control her dog. The second time it sprinted across the grass to get my dog, I tried to keep it away from my two dogs, and it tried to bite me. The owner finally came and grabbed her dog by the collar but didn’t apologize. It was the first day I forgot my phone at home, so there are no photos. I later spoke to another couple who told me they witnessed the same dog, attack two other dogs, one was running with their owner around the park. My dogs are both good, no skin was pierced. I was wondering if anyone at Deermont today, around 3:50-4:30, managed to get a photo of the dog, similar to a Boston Terrior? It was the first time I witnessed anything like this at a dog park.

Just found a dogs rabies tag in the grass at the sally Stewart dog park by Costco. I just left it on the first picnic bench.

Recently, a member of this group (Cari) asked about the presence of blue green algae at Deermound... short answer is NO. That being said, there is stagnant water which should be avoided. Below is a response from another member (Bonnie) with information for pet owners to take into consideration: "There is no blue green algae at Deermound but I wouldn't go in the bush area on the trails as there is stagnant water teaming with all kinds of disgusting bacteria!! The ground is so... saturated that the water is just pooling, which is a great place for all kinds of microbiotic creatures to grow. My friend and I went in the bush with our Goldens this past week and were okay with the fact they would get muddy and we also had our boots on. But not again until fall will I attempt to walk in there. And that's due to the stagnant water. The water hole in the middle of the field is fine, just muddy water." See more

such a heartbreaking loss :( ...

Some super sweet Basset Hound fun today! OMG this big boy was awesome! . Thank you again, @savinggraceanimalsociety for finding me and giving me a 2nd ch...ance at a happy fun filled life! . #yeg #edmonton #sherwoodpark #yegpets #yegdog #yeggers #doggo #deermounddogpark #alberta #dog #deermoundoffleashdogpark #doglife #dogpark #bassethound #puppy #puppiesofinstagram #rescue #savinggracerescue #yeglocal #canonphotographer #albertaphotographer #dogs #canadianphotographer #yegphotographer #friends #yeglife #edmontonphotographer #canon #rescuedogsofinstagram #rescuedog Sam Myers Photography on Facebook (587)227-2274 @sammi19760 on Instagram If anyone would like a free copy of their pet’s images - I’m happy to send to you - or if you see an image of your pet on my page and want it removed please let me know

Some serious puppy playing today!! - too cute!!! . . I need to carry a pen and paper so I can write down all the new dog friend names + breeds - I lose tra...ck! . . #yeg #edmonton #sherwoodpark #yegpets #yegdog #yeggers #doggo #deermounddogpark #alberta #dog #deermoundoffleashdogpark #doglife #dogpark #puppy #puppylove #puppiesofinstagram #rescue #savinggracerescue #yeglocal #canonphotographer #albertaphotographer #dogs #canadianphotographer #yegphotographer #friends #yeglife #edmontonphotographer #canon #rescuedogsofinstagram #rescuedog Sam Myers Photography (587)227-2274 @sammi19760 on Instagram If you see a photo of your pet and would like a free copy sent to you - or if you’d like any images removed please let me know

My name is Jake! I am a recent rescue I am a chow lab cross they tell me! I am about 2 years old I was found in Saskatchewan as a stray several months ago a...nd I have found my forever home in Edmonton - my humans seems cool - I am settling in very well - I am very well behaved and low key and love people and pets - friends to run and play with! I am utterly obsessed with the off leash dog park! I often can’t contain it and bark/ talk a big talk - story! One of my humans is actually a newborn and wedding photographer - they take a lot of photos at the park Thank you @savinggraceanimalsociety for saving me and giving me a 2nd chance at a happy fun filled life! . . #yeg #edmonton #sherwoodpark #yegpets #yegdog #yeggers #doggo #deermounddogpark #alberta #dog #deermoundoffleashdogpark #doglife #dogpark #puppy #puppylove #puppiesofinstagram #rescue #savinggracerescue #yeglocal #canonphotographer #albertaphotographer #dogs #canadianphotographer #yegphotographer #friends #yeglife #edmontonphotographer #canon #rescuedogsofinstagram #rescuedog . Sam Myers Photography on Facebook (587)227-2274 @sammi19760 on Instagram If you see any images of your pets and would like a free copy or if you’d like the images removed please let me know

Happy Canada Day from your friends at One Pack Pets!

Since this is a puppy page... I thought this would be a great place for discussion. We have a 1 year old lab... he shows great signs of being a super good puppy... but something flips in his head that he must destroy everything in the house when we are not around Anyone experience a great dog training company that they would recommend and why? Thanks

Not offleash relates directly but if anyone on here use the riverside trail between sherwood park and fort sask please be aware that there is an aggressive coyo...te in the water treatment plant area. Two days ago it rushed the fence at us bark-howling than followed us back toward our vehicle for about a km and than today again it rushed the fence and stood there snarling at us. I yelled and made myself big but it wasnt afraid and still stood there. It continued to follow us almost all the way back to our car. I was advised by strathcona county to report it to fish and wildlife..which I have but was told that they likely wont do anything about it unless an actually altercation occurs. So just be aware and if you have dogs keep them on leash (it is an on leash area anyway but most people dont follow it). I didnt report it the first day as we initial startled it while it was hunting and we are in its territory but the increased aggression and it not being afraid of me worries me for anyone walking small dogs in the area. See more

...sending healing (((hugs))) to Kylie