DOG PARKS' BITE WORSE THAN BARK? CONFRONTATIONS ARE COMMON, SAY REGULAR VISITORS TO OFF-LESH FACILITIES.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Staff Writer

ENCINO - Alan Goldman had always looked forward to taking his corgi-Lab mix, Joy, to frolic in the dog park with other pooches.

But their fun turned into horror last week when a pit bull mix twice Joy's size tried to steal her Frisbee, burying his fangs in her neck. Goldman was badly bitten, too, as he intervened.

``The dog parks are not as safe as people think,'' Goldman said last week. ``People don't know about the dangers of doggy parks.''

It certainly isn't the Westminster Dog Show.

In the past 12 months at the Sepulveda Basin Off-Leash Dog Park, the city Recreation and Parks District has logged only one call of a child bitten by a dog, five dog-on-dog attacks and two calls for owners not taking reasonable control of their pets.

But Los Angeles police said they respond to an average of about four dogfights per month at the Sepulveda Basin park. And at the Beverly Oaks Animal Hospital in Sherman Oaks, 20 to 50 dogs are brought in each year that have been injured by other dogs at some of the city's five off-leash parks, said the manager of the pet hospital.

In some cases, customers bragged they bring their ferocious dogs to the parks to train them for fighting, said the manager, who asked not to be identified.

``You get those punks who seek out dog parks. They go to these parks to field-test the fighting dogs,'' he said.

Lynn Stone, president of the advisory committee of the Sepulveda Basin Off-Leash Dog Park, said the problem of ruffians with vicious dogs has been solved.

``I think at one time, that may have been true. Groups of guys would come and bring pit bulls and fight them. We got that cleaned up pretty quickly,'' she said.

``These parks have assumed risks. You can get knocked down. You can get bit. And you can get peed on. Those kind of things happen,'' Stone said. ``Occasionally, you see a person with an aggressive dog, and we don't let them stay in.''

And some owners police themselves.

Frank Bonnell has lived across the street from the Sepulveda Basin dog park for a decade and has witnessed the fights. Because of the potential for problems, he keeps Josie Wales, his 2-year-old mastiff-Lab mix with a mean bark, away from the park - except on a rainy day when few dogs are around.

``He gets dominant if other dogs get around him. He gets mad,'' he said. ``I love animals and I don't like to see dogs fight. But it happens. It's in their nature.''

It is largely up to the dog owners themselves to make sure their canines and others are safe.

Rules are posted on signs at the front gate, but not everyone abides by them, officials said. And no city workers are permanently stationed at the park, leaving it up to dog owners to police themselves on the five-acre field that has a fenced-off area for smaller and more timid dogs.

Up to a dozen volunteers - including Stone herself - are there to supervise the dogs. But they have no set schedule, Stone said.

Charles Shorts, acting chief park ranger for the city's Recreation and Parks Department, said his rangers act immediately when hearing about a dogfight.

``It's community involvement. They need to report to us ongoing problems and we will respond to it immediately. We try to monitor all the facilities the best we can,'' Shorts said.

But the reality is whatever action is taken is usually left up to the owner's discretion, Stone said.

Some owners choose to share the vet bill, others go to small claims court.

Stone recalled one case years back in which Judge Wapner of TV court fame ruled in favor of three Irish wolfhounds who attacked a small dog at the Sepulveda Basin park. He determined that the smaller dog should have been placed in the smaller dog park area.

Even the regular park visitors who report few problems want more consistent supervision to prevent fights.

Sitting in a lounge chair under a tree at the park with her pet beagle, Mollie, snuggled on her lap, Paula Goldstein said she had seen dogfights as recently as a week earlier. In one of the two fights, two men started throwing punches, she said.

``I think there should be somebody here at all times,'' Goldstein said.

Cheryl Stengel of Reseda brings her 5-month-old Catahoula leopard breed dog to the park every day to ``socialize him,'' even though her other dog was attacked by a pit bull at the Laurel Canyon Off-Leash Dog Park a few years ago.

``Some dogs make me nervous the whole time I'm here,'' she said at the Sepulveda Basin park. ``I think there's a lot of machoism involved here - who's got the tougher and bigger dogs,'' she said.

Other dog owners brush off the fights as doggy roughhousing. Some people indulge in letting their pets run free as they sit in lounge chairs socializing with their friends.

They exchange recipes, meet dating partners, host canine birthday parties and arrange play dates for their pets.

``This is like a little piece of heaven. It's great. Everybody knows everybody. They need more of these around,'' said Jay Crane, who travels 1 1/2 hours from his Frazier Park home once a month to the park with his two dogs, including a pit bull mix named Barbie.

If you go

Here are some tips and rules to make sure your visit to one of the city's five off-leash dog parks is safe for you and your dog:

If your dog is aggressive, don't bring it to the park.

Report aggressive dogs immediately to rangers at [phone].

Do not bring in female dogs in any stage of heat.

No dog or human food allowed inside park.

If dogs get into a fight, avoid sticking your hands between them. Rather, try to have a person grab each dog by the hind legs to pull them apart.

Carry an air horn to distract fighting dogs. When using it, hold it up in the air, rather than further agitating the dog by blowing it in the dog's face.

Place a harness on your dog to more easily lift your animal away from a fight. Spiked collars can also be placed on the dog to discourage other dogs from biting in the neck area.

Keep small and timid dogs in the smaller play area of the park.

No more than three dogs allowed per person.

Dogs under 4 months old are not allowed.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Park

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo: (color) Alan Goldman's dog, Joy, was hospitalized after being attacked by a pit bull mix at the Sepulveda Basin Off-Leash Dog Park.

Owners keep an eye on their dogs while dogs keep an eye on other dogs at the off-leash dog park in Encino.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer

Box: If you go (see text)