off leash dog parks

does anyone else have off leash dog parks nearby that you and your dogs go to? we have a big yard so our dogs get plenty of exercise at home, but sometimes it's fun to go to "dog park" too so they can socialize.

I am just curious if other regions have these, or maybe we are just lucky. Some communities I know are reluctant to set them up for various reasons such as liability and supposed harm to the environment.

 

there are dog parks in lots of areas of america......one in my hometown in south florida. but where i live now there is NO dog park and i so wish there was one! i would like to see about getting one started but i dont even know where to begin.

 

some of us had to fight quite a bit with our city to open one. no one wanted it in "their" neighborhood. (one dramatist likened it to opening a "Jurassic Park" lol, at a city council meeting). I think you might have to come to your city council with some sort of petition in hand, but I'm not really sure. I know it depends too on what sites may be available, and if your community/city council is willing to do their part, financially and otherwise.

My dogs and I are fortunate that we have neighboring towns that have dog parks, that are actually much better than the one my city has now, but it was such a major event to drive 30 minutes to another town for "dog park" (my dogs know those words and get so excited that the 30 minute car ride feels like 3 hours).

I will try to find out the process...dogs parks are worth the trouble, especially for pooches and their owners in cities who have nowhere to run "legally."

 

well currently i live in a small nothingness type of town surrounded by rednecks....these assholes leave their dogs to live outside tied to chains or in small kennels so i doubt i'd get many ppl here interested in having a dog park. (i hate the idiots in this town!)

the nearest city is a 40 min drive and there are many people there that i know that would love a dog park.....the annual SPCA fest in the city park was packed with people and their dogs...however that city is also in another state and even tho i work in that state i dont technically LIVE there so i dont think i can do anything petition wise (i was considering that some time ago)............

my dog lily would LOVE a dog park....she loves other dogs. petsmart is also a 40 min drive and usually i go straight after work since i work only 10 minutes from there but sometimes i wait untill the weekend and then i take lily...she always gets SO excited and has the best time.

 

WE have 2 offical dog parks and one kinda a dog feild
all I have todo is say DogPark and my dog is going crazy at the door! now we live in the woods so it is not such an issue but she LOVES the big dog park it has a 1 , 2, 5 mile loop we usually take all the dogs from the old house and do the 5 mile loop it is a blast

 

There are no dog parks in my area, but I have a nice yard so it is no big deal. I would not take any of my dogs to an off leash park though, because no matter how good your dog is, everyone thinks their dog is perfect and it is really unsafe. I would definitely take them to a leashed park if there was one in my area though.

 

My dog doen't behave well enough around other dogs to have him off leash where other dogs are. I've considered taking him to a trainer. I've tried to get him to associate with friends dogs, no luck. Any advice? I feel lucky living here, Allegheny National forest, plenty of room to run my dog.

 

my dog daisy is the same way...she always has been. in her life there has been maybe 2 dogs that she actually liked (one was our neighbor dog named snickers and snickers came over to play everyday) but i think some dogs are just not social dogs (with other dogs that is). just like people they pick and choose who they like and who they dont. now my dog lily loves just about any dog......

 

Bringing another dog into the household may be benificial for all. I love them.

 

yeah i brought lily home after 8 9 years of daisy being the one and only dog. she took to her a hundred times better than i had thought she would. but lily is also toy size and i think that helped....so as not to intimidate daisy (who is a med -large size). the only dogs daisy has liked in her life have both been tiny

 

I'm afraid Rio would eat a smaller dog, hahaha. The humane society will accept dogs back that don't work out. I might try it. I'm afraid if it doesn't work out that I would build an addition onto my house just for it, I'm too compassionate, especially toward dogs.

 

can i make a suggestion? instead of bringing a dog home first and then having to take the dog back if it doesnt work (that can be upseting for a dog) bring your dog to the humane society and set up a meeting. most if not all HS's will allow it. of course your dog may need some time with a new dog to get used to him/her and then all will be fine but the other dog may have issues as well like being very afriad of your dog or being aggressive in return and usually you will be able to see that right away so bringing your dog there first might prove helpful. good luck!

 

Elle, I have tried to take my do to others homes figuring that getting him on anothers turf would make him accepting toward another dog, after 2 hours of him going spastic I gave up. I think that the option of ramming another dog down his throat maybe the only way. But I'm not going to do that now, till I learn more about it.

 

its always better to have them on neutral turf so there's no threatening energy...however some dogs are just not fond of other dogs and would be happiest without any other dogs in the home. if you've tried and tried and she still hasnt come around i would guess she is one of those dogs who wouldnt be happy with a "friend" in the house.

 

We have 3 in our area. (I'm in northern IL). The dogs LOVE it. It's fun for everyone.

 

an off leash dog park would be great because my dog behaves alot better without a leash. hes 8 years old and during that time weve never had tags or a collar on him. when he wears his harness he will pull every which way, get very anxious and sort of "spaz out". of course a dog park is not nessisary because the whole lot i live on is about an acre as are 3 lots beside mine, so basically hes got 4 acres of territory that he only has to share with two other dogs (a small, gremlin like crackheadish boston, and an "old people dog" of some kind on the other side) fenced in on two sides and bordered by thick trees and bushes on the other and he knows to stay away from the street. yes, wishbone is free to chase tennis balls, piss on trees and chase squirrels all he wants. on the other hand, interaction with members of the same species is a good thing

 

some reasons a dog park is NOT a good place to take your pet. well that is if you are a responsible pet owner you wouldnt atleast..

1.heartworms
2.hookworms
3.tape worms
4.roundworms
5 whipworms

all of which can be caught when you come in contact with these dangerous parasites every time you take me out for a walk or to go play.

and if thats not enough to scare you try some other nasty little bugs out there.
1.a. adenovirus
2.a. bordetella
3.a. coronavirus
4.a. distemper
5.a. leptospirisis
6.a. lyme disease
7.a. parainflunza
8.a. Parvovirus

and if thats not enough to scare you cause you think those dinky 3, 5 or 7 in one vacsanations you give your pet are enough how about the the mean dog turned loose there that thinks tossing poodles and terring yorkies to bits is great fun cause they look just like the squeky toys he has at home.

sure your dog may be well trained and obey your every command but who is to say the other guys dog is the same.

now another argument for not having goverment funded dog parks.
why should all the tax payers provide dogs a place to go have fun and spread illnesses? wouldnt that money be better spent funding animal shelters or something?

If the dog owner dont have enough personal property, or know a person that does, to give their pet excersize . maybe they dont have any buisness owning that pet.

 

rather than for purely excersizing my dogs, a dog park is a good opportunity for her to meet and play with other dogs. the dog park ive been to before has two sections...one for large dogs and one for small dogs....so that way there can be no big dogs tearing any little ones to bits. also, the it is required that all dogs in the dog parks have proof of their rabies vaccination.....my dogs are also vaccinated yearly (for distemper, bortatella, etcd)and stay on heartworm preventative. dog parks are very popular and im sure if it was nothing but a place where dogs were picking up diseases they would be shut down and obvioulsy wouldnt be such a magnet for dogs and their people. also, doggie daycares are super popular, and they wouldnt be making so much money if the dogs were catching things all the time,b/c people wouldnt be bringing their dogs. those places would be shut down if disease was so rampant!

as ive said, no dog park here, but there is a place called the "botanical garden"
nearby and they are having an entire month for dogs and their humans to come by together and take the trails...they will also have an area set up for doggie play.

 

They're finally building a dog park near me, but my dog doesn't play well with others. Whenever she's around other dogs, her insticts come out and she starts trying to herd them by colliding into them with her shoulders. It's amazingly cute but she's built like a tank and can bowl me over, so I'm worried about what she would do with other dogs.

 

I can relate to the small dog/large dog separation....when we went to dog park a few weeks ago (when I first posted this) my very small foster rat terrier was getting pounced on repeatedly by 2 much larger half grown golden retriever puppies. I was pushing them away to scoop up my little guy (so we could leave then), and the woman with the goldens (who was not even watching them at all before the fracas ensued, she was chatting with other people) says "quit pushing my dogs!!" well, hell lady, I'm just trying to protect them!! My little ratty would bite their ears in a second, he was getting riled, and he thinks he is a big tough guy.
we had to leave the park even, over this. So a separation of sizes would be a good thing.

This little ratty is fine with dogs his own size, but he will attack bigger dogs if he feels threatened. Hopefully he will get adopted next week though. He is a great dog, just overly feisty, like many terriers. I wasn't sure how he would do at dog park, but he was fine as long as the other dogs didn't harass him too much. He is a good little dog, except when defending his food, for the most part. Or when rambunctious 50 pound puppies are pouncing all over him. (he weighs about 15 lbs).