Should Training Be Required to Attend the Dog Park?

In light of yesterday's crazy trip to the dog park, I ask, "Should training be required to attend the dog park?"

Craig and I try to make it to the dog park at least once a week so that Eddie can get in some socialization with dogs other than the ones he plays with at the daycare. So it was rather frustrating when we pulled up yesterday and saw the small dog side of the park was empty and there was only one dog in the big dog side. Needless to say, we decided to break the unwritten rules and venture over to the big dog side so that Eddie could play (or at least sniff) the Beagle that was over there.

After being at the park for about five minutes, a gentleman walked up to the gate with a large mixed breed dog and warned Craig and I that his dog, Rocky, played rough and that he was really interested in small dogs. He even offered to take Rocky on the small dog side by himself just in case he was too rough with Eddie. Craig and I insisted that was a ridiculous offer, and that if there was trouble we would be the ones to take Eddie over on the side of the park designated for small dogs. Keep in mind his man's entire conversation was with us, and unfortunately, not with the middle-aged woman with the Beagle.

Upon Rocky entering, Eddie showed his teeth (in typical Eddie fashion) and Rocky got the hint to stay away from him. In the minutes following, the Beagle started antagonizing Rocky, and the Beagle and Rocky ended up in a bit of a quarrel. I watched (and Craig tried to help) for a good two or three minutes as the dogs went at it, all the while the fight escalating, as the woman who owned the Beagle kept shouting, "He's biting my dog! He's biting!!" I can understand her fear of jumping in between the dogs, even though her dog was the instigator and needed a serious time out. I cannot though, for the life of me, understand why Rocky's dad was doing absolutley nothing!! I felt as though I was watching a train wreck, and both owners were watching helplessly as their two dogs were going to mame each other.

I kept shouting, "You need to get in between them!" and "You've got to do something!!" to Rocky's dad. His meek reply was, "We're trying." Maybe he was frightened as well, probably never having seen dogs act this way (which can be overwhelming), but I could not just stand there and watch while these two owners let their dogs attack each other. So, with a rush of adrenaline, I swooped in and grabbed the Beagle by the collar picking him up into my arms. Once the Beagle was no longer instigating Rocky, he calmed right down and his owner had enough time to get a hold of him safely.

Now, I am not claiming to be the hero or that what I did was even the "right" thing to do in that situation - I am no dog behavior expert. But I can tell you for sure that if someone had not gotten in between those dogs, they would have both been seriously injured. I judged the situation and decided that the risk of me getting hurt was less than the risk of the two dogs getting hurt if no one intervened.

Craig, Eddie, and I spent the next half hour on the small side of the dog park, alone, trying to analyze what had happened. It was all too fast to completely understand what caused the Beagle to go off, but Rocky was just trying to defend himself. I just wonder what would have happened if Craig and I weren't there to help. It seems clear that the owners of the dogs involved did not know enough about dog behavior to understand the gravity of the situation that was unfolding, and neither of them was prepared to stop if from continuing.

So, readers, what do you think? Should there be some sort of animal behavior training when people register for the dog park?