Dispute Over Dog Treats Sparks Debate at Carl Schurz Dog Run

The weather had turned warmer and summer had finally arrived in New York. Christine Marie brought her dogs to the Carl Schurz dog run, where she was a regular. Last year, the gray crushed granite surface, which used to send dirt flying whenever dogs ran wild, had been replaced with synthetic turf. The renovation, which cost $300,000, gave the dog run a soothing green appearance.

Like the dogs themselves, the owners at Carl Schurz did not always socialize smoothly.

There were usually around twenty-five dogs in the run: all shapes, sizes, colors, and breeds. Some chased tennis balls, some chased each other. One French bulldog lay on its back with all four legs wiggling in the air. Some dogs stayed quietly, far from the “madding crowd.” At the far end of the fence, one owner bathed her dog with a hose. Other owners sat on benches talking with each other while keeping an eye on their dogs, or not.

A golden-brown Vizsla chased a Labrador mix under a bench and into the middle of the run. The black-and-white Labrador mix simply sat down and ignored him. “Come on, Max,” the Vizsla’s owner called out. “She’s not interested.” Other owners laughed.

Marie watched her dogs closely. One of them had a tendency to become territorial around treats. “I’ve politely asked a certain group of people multiple times not to hand out or throw treats in the dog run,” she later wrote on Nextdoor, “because it can trigger fights between dogs.”

Then a man who owned a corgi threw treats into the run. His dog jumped toward the treats, and so did Marie’s dog. The two got into a fight, and the corgi bit Marie’s dog on the ear. Marie said she tried explaining that treats could trigger territorial behavior among dogs. The man responded: “Why should we have to stop giving out treats and ruin our lifestyle?”

“I’ll harm your dog if he does it again,” the man added, according to Marie. Marie retrieved her dogs and left the park.

When Marie shared her story on Nextdoor, other users were sympathetic. “If you see Mr. Loony Tunes again, you should call the cops,” a user named Matt Bost responded. “He’ll instantly turn into Mr. Nice Guy when the cops arrive.”

Around the dog run, nearly everyone seemed to have their own version of what the rules meant. “The dog park rules clearly state that no treats are allowed in the run,” Marie concluded. But the rules themselves appeared open to interpretation.

The signs posted at the dog run mention treats, though they do not explicitly prohibit owners from giving treats to other dogs. On the Carl Schurz dog run website, however, the guidance is clearer: “Treats should only be given to your own dog.” The Carl Schurz Park Conservancy did not respond by press time.

In the absence of clear enforcement, the dog run often operated on informal etiquette. Sometimes that etiquette worked. “I only give treats to my own dogs because dogs might have allergies,” said Noemi Rivere, a regular dog walker at the Carl Schurz dog run told Our Town. “If I want to give treats to other dogs, I always ask the owners first.”

Other times, it didn’t. “There’s a guy here whose dog got aggressive right at the gate,” Rivere said. “They had to put up a sign to warn people.”

Dogs at the run were like children at a playground. Some were gentle. Some did not know how to socialize. “Some owners just treat their dogs like spoiled kids,” said Schyler Osbaine, another dog walker sitting on a nearby bench told Our Town. “If something happens, they always say, ‘He didn’t do anything wrong. That was your dog’s fault.’”

Just after Osbaine finished speaking, a woman in her eighties approached a man who owned a Vizsla. “Your dog is getting a little aggressive,” she said. “You might want to separate him.” The man remained calm. “I’m keeping an eye on him,” he replied. “He’s still young. Just a year and a half old.”

Though the Carl Schurz Park Conservancy had posted rules for the dog run in English, Spanish, and Chinese at both the gate and inside the run, many were loosely followed.

Dogs ran around without harnesses or collars, despite rules requiring them.

A maximum of three dogs per person was allowed, yet some walkers managed four, even six dogs at once, making it difficult to supervise them all properly.

The rules also prohibited people without dogs from entering the run, yet two middle-school-aged girls wandered inside to pet dogs “because they’re cute.”

Probably the only rules people had not broken yet involved barbecues or open flames.

Some dog owners had stopped going to dog runs entirely. But for others, these places were still essential. “My dog Frankie has a lot of energy,” Terry Kaine said. “I let her play here for two hours every day. Otherwise, I don’t think I could walk her enough.” Behind her, a French bulldog rolled onto its back again, four legs wiggling in the air.