My female, Dakota, has been having issues at the dog park lately. She steals toys/sticks/balls from other dogs. She does it in an aggressive manner, not a playful one. At first I thought she wanted the other dogs to chase her, but our last few visits it has gotten ugly. She ran up to a large male German Shepard and took a stick away from him. They got in a fight and she got bit. Yesterday a guy was throwing tennis balls for his dog and she stole the ball and took off running. That dog chased her and when he caught up to her was not playful about getting it back. Luckily she was right in front of me and I pulled her away before she could start a fight again. I'm not sure what to do. She's very excited about going to the park (although, maybe she's anxious?) but she has gotten into a scuffle every time we've been in the last few weeks. Should we just not go? I hate for her not to be able to run around off leash. But there will always be balls at the park. She knows "leave it" but doesn't always listen.
Thanks for any ideas you may have.
Ginny

Well....if this has been going on continuously..you should probably stop taking her. If she really truly does go into the park in an "aggressive" mindset, she has no business being there in the first place. You are putting her and other dogs at risk by bringing her there when she has gotten into "scuffles" every time you have been there. You're playing with fire, and I would hate for it to blow up in your face.

Go walking on trails or something. Take her running. Don't go to the dog park.

This is the main reason most dog parks have a no toy policy. Our dog park has a rule that no toys are allowed in the park. My dogs have been attacked when stupid people bring them in and of course I show them to the giant sign in the front of the park clearly stating no toys.

My pup displayed this behavior when I first started to take her to the dog park as well. When she was the aggressor I told her no and when she didn't listen, we left. I also did exercises with her and the neighbor's dog...I'd give the other dog the toy and when she would try to go for it I would tell her no. When she listened, I gave her a treat and I I taught her that she is rewarded when she doesn't show toy aggression. And as the other dog played with the toy I gave her lots of praise and affection when she was nice. Also, I found she especailly showed that quality in the smaller dog parks. I've noticed when I take her to the larger parks she pretty much dismisses the toys altogether and prefers to play chase. I also think as our pups get older and learn to be more confident in themselves and what the "rules" are, they learn when a growl will suffice and when to remove themselves from the drama. Just like kids, I tell ya!

Why not just take her when there are no other dogs in the park. Our park is most crowded on weekend mornings and Friday afternoon.

Some dogs are just not cut out for the dog park and there is nothing wrong with that.

Dog parks are scary places. Lots of unknown dogs, scents, sounds etc and can be extremely overwhelming to a dog (more so a puppy) and if you have an insecure dog (puppy or adult alike), it can be a very scary place, especially when you're first entering (I'm not sure how your park is set up but many parks you enter a smaller area with a gate to the park itself and all of the dogs crowd around and basically ambush the newcomer).

It sounds like there may or may not be a bit of resource guarding (without being there I can't say for sure) on her end (she takes but isn't willing to give or have other dogs take things from her).

If this were me and one of my dogs I would gladly give up the park and instead go walking or hiking or biking etc. It's my job to protect my dog as well as other peoples dogs if mine is causing a problem. (I would also start working on the guarding if that was in fact what she's doing)