BY JAMIE WINTER, Photo Editor

I see your dirty looks and overly cautious behavior, but maybe your dog is the problem, not mine. Being a very proud mommy of a Rottweiler comes with a certain level of awareness of how others view my baby. I know my Rott, Boomee, will not become aggressive towards anyone or another dog, but he will react when confronted — especially when another dog is being aggressive towards him.

Do not sit there and tell me your dog just doesn’t like mine and I should remove him because he is making your dog uncomfortable. I have owned six Rotts in my life — never have they acted aggressive — so stop and think before you ask me to remove my dog.

Off-leash dog parks pose problems and no one ever seems to recognize them until it’s too late. There is a high level of risk associated with attending any dog park and even more with off-leash dog parks. Owners often forget to keep their dogs up on vaccinations or even properly deal with socialization issues.

Illness can spread fast in dogs and they can often be sick before the owner even realizes there is a problem.

Parvo is a common problem among many young dogs (Rotts have an especially weak immune system to it.) Parvo leads to deaths every year because young dogs are exposed to the disease and not properly vaccinated against it. They then go on walks or attend dog parks and spread it unknowingly. Once parvo is in the ground or in your house it takes more than six months for it to die, making a park particularly dangerous once one dog has been there with parvo, even once.

Dog parks are meant to provide an opportunity to socialize your dog with other dogs, but it should not be the first thing you do when you bring a puppy or adult dog home. It is a scary and intense situation for them and you just threw them in expecting them to be fine. Some dogs are very far from fine.

I have heard the horror stories of people taking their dogs to off-leash dog parks and seeing them be attacked for no good reason or even having seen their dog turn to aggression for no reason. I know I would be an absolute wreck if I saw my dog be attacked or attack another dog.

The fact of the matter is dogs are like children: Not everyone is going to get along and you can’t just expect them to.

Unfortunately, the sad but true story is that if a dog were to attack my Rott, he would be the first ordered to be put-down because he is the “bully” breed and there is little to nothing I could do about it once the decision is made.

I love my dog like he is my child, and I would never put him or myself in a situation where I would risk losing him, so that means no dog parks.

I know not everyone is irresponsible with their dogs, but I’m not risking his safety for something as trivial as a chance to run free with other dogs. If he wants that, we go visit my parent’s property where they have four Rotts of their own, two of which are my puppy’s parents.

I only want the best for him and that means being well aware of the potential risk that can come with his breed and the perception of it

Until people can stop judging my dog on his breed, or until more controls and restrictions are associated with dog parks, he will not be allowed anywhere near them.