Only because Dog Park Etiquette was the title of the thread ... & it happened twice today at the Wildwood Park.

The quickest way to cause problems and lose friends at a dog park, is to bring dog treats. Doggie Do Run Run has a sign that prohibits bringing in "treats". All dog parks should have a sign reminding people that's it just plain stupid and dangerous.

Heh. My brother UpNort has a miniature doberman-looking thing, 10-15 pounds maybe, that regularly stands up to larger dogs. At a family get-together in Milwaukee a couple of years ago there were about five dogs, all bigger than my brother's dog, but my brother's dog ruled the roost. It would growl and nip other dogs when they got a bit too rowdy.

My brother claims his dog chased a timber wolf off his property a few years ago. My brother does tend to exaggerate from time to time.

Does your brother live by timber wolves? It probably had to get away from laughing too hard at the pin-min's Napoleon complex.

That's funny!

I recall a yard worker of some kind here in the Villages had a wolf hybrid of some kind in his pick- up bed. I kept a very long distance from it. Probably peeked at it though a few inches of front door. And it was tied up. It was the man's pet. His other probably did not want to stay alone with it at home. She/he could become lunch.

Actually, in the world of animals the "Napoleon" complex serves many very well. Ever hear of a Honey Badger? Small but can put even the king of beasts in his place. A good (very apparent potent) offense is the best defense.

Most dog parks have two gates. The idea of this is to let your dog off leash before it enters the park. Leaving your dog on a leash makes it feel vulnerable. I would not recommend this.

I wonder how the dogs would behave if they were all muzzled and could not nip or bite? Would they still chase and wrestle?

Yes. Muzzling is a preventative measure, not a calming one.

True. But knowing that dogs use their mouths like we use hands, would they still play if they could not bite or get bitten? How would they react and adapt? I don't know, but I wonder. Would the aggressive become less so? Would the shy become less so once they realize they won't get bitten?
Thoughts?

Here are my thoughts (I have no proof): it wouldn't change the basic temperament of an aggressive dog, but the dog wouldn't be able to do much damage to another dog or human. However, in our shelter there are occasional dogs who play too hard and are muzzled for play groups so they can still play without hurting another dog, which could lead to group aggressiveness. But these dogs are not really aggressive. Dogs playing with other dogs by using their mouths is a thing--nipping at necks and/or faces, for instance.

Our first Golden played like this with a somewhat aggressive rescued Keeshond who was roaming the streets before being caught and was very prey driven. They chased each other around the living room nipping each other's face and neck but never got into a fight. We didn't have to muzzle the Keeshond. The Keeshond was known to bite people, though.
Caveat: I wouldn't have engaged in this play, but the owners were our best friends, we spent a lot of time together. The dogs were slowly introduced to each other. As long as the Keeshond wasn't hurting ours, we let it go but kept a close eye.

Thanks. Keeping a close eye on things is important with all dogs, since we can't hear what they hear, smell what they smell, there is no way to know 100% what might trigger a reaction.

Incident at Wildwood dog park?
 

I was passing by your thread, and you mentioned some kind of incident that happened at the Wildwood Dogpark? I’ve been going to the Wildwood Dog Park for many years and the incident of dog aggression is fairly uncommon, so I’m curious as to what you saw?

I wouldn't characterize the results that particular day as being an "incident".

I'm characterizing the mere fact of bringing treats to a dog park, is an incident in waiting.

Agreed