What's your opinion on dog parks?

[Sowa]

Do you take your dog(s)? I've heard people say it's great for socializing, but also I've heard it can treat your dog bad behavior and isn't a good thing.

I usually walk Clover on a path, which people take their dogs. But it's more of a passing thing, she sees dogs for a few minutes in passing and we keep going. I've been a little busy lately and haven't been getting Clover out til dark so I've been taking her to the dog park. I just wish I knew more about which growls are ok and which are aggression so I can keep Clover away!

So what do you all think? Good or bad?

[Karen]

It varies park to park and dog to dog. Some of them are great, it all depends really on the people who participate. Any fenced in area where a dog can burn off energy is a good thing, and dog parks can help socialize a pup and get it used to meeting dogs of all sizes and kinds.

But if the humans using the park don't pay attention and don't control their dogs, it's a bad thing for everyone concerned.

There's no easy answer!

[FurkidsMom]

I take my sweetie to an off-leash dog park not far from my house. Very nice large area, completely fenced and Mindy loves it. The good part is the large area, chance to socialize your dog and let your dog be a dog. The off-side is been dogs will be dogs and there will always be not-so-responsible owners but they seem to find that they aren't welcome back. My little 30-lb spaniel mix was attacked by a very large mixed breed dog who was being aggressive. I've seen dog owners who never should never have their dogs there but I would say for the most part, they are great for the dogs. The rule at my dog park is if a dog is aggressive, they're to be put on leash and leave immediately. As far as learning bad manners, it's really up to the owners, not the other dogs. Yes, they do learn from each other but the owner has the ultimate say.

[luvofallhorses]

I personally wouldn't take my personal dogs or the dogs I have in the future to one! It's a personal preference for ME. There are better ways to socialize your dog with dogs you know that your friends or family have. Not with strange dogs. Not all dogs require dog friends. JMO.

[Sowa]

As far as learning bad manners, it's really up to the owners, not the other dogs. Yes, they do learn from each other but the owner has the ultimate say.

What can I do to prevent this? She is very friendly with other dogs, and the trainer I'm going to says she has good "manners". I'm worried about another dog bullying her. Sometimes I think they're hurting her but half the time they're just playing and it just sounds bad. I can't tell the difference sometimes.


luvofallhorses: I don't take her often, but for me it's more so for exercise. Her recall isn't 100% yet so there is only a few places she can go off leash. If it's after dark is pretty much has to be there. She goes nuts with out off leash time. I'm hoping to limit it more once she listens better, I agree it's probably not the best place to go.

[Freedom]

Karen said it best, depends on the dog and the park.

I have small dogs, and around here, most of the parks do not have a separate area for small dogs. And every one of the parks has had an issue in the past 3 years of a small dog being harmed or killed at a dog park. I just don't even consider it.

I have a fenced in back yard and invite folks over; and I have a friend who does the same. So that gives our dogs play time in a safe environment.

Many places offer doggie play times. Usually it is $5 for an hour, you may want to look in to options; even if you don't go, just to find out what is available in your area! These are usually places which offer obedience classes and / or doggie day care. The play times are either Saturdays or evenings during the week, and are indoors. Again it is a safe place.

Another option is to search on meetup.com for a doggie play group near you. These may or may not have a fee, depends on who runs it, where it meets and such.

[Varga]

I personally really like taking Taggart to the dog park and he gets great enjoyment out of it too. I agree it depends on the dog though.
Taggart spends most of his time running and enjoying being off leash - that's the main reason I bring him there, because he gets such a rush from just running and that's the only place he can do that
He also seems to really like greeting every single dog and person there and that's most definitely helped with him not getting overly excited when we meet dogs on our regular walks because meeting dogs is less of a big deal when he gets to interact with them on a regular basis.

I wouldn't worry too much about the growling. The majority of dogs growl while playing and that's normal. Look at the complete body language and it shouldn't be difficult to see if it's play or not - if the body is stiff and there is growling, it means "back off". Growling while "wrestling" is just play-growling.
I personally don't intervene that much when Taggart hangs out with other dogs because he's good at speaking his own language and if a dog growls at him and tells him to get lost, he will do so.

[SWHouston]

I've been to several, and I'm not really happy with any.
I'd love to find one which was really "accommodating" but...

My first complaint is that there isn't enough separation in the Weight Sections.
My guys are pretty little, and the "Small Dog" side usually is from 0-30 lbs.
I'm a little apprehensive about my little Becca, possibly crossing up with a 30 pounder,
specially if both were off leash, which is the idea.

Next is the Maintenance, She could slip out from under some of the Fencing that I've
seen on the ones I've been too. I'm not going to go, if I'm worried about them, I'd
like to have as much fun as they do.

[JMCsGirl]

I love our little dog park. It has restrooms on site, several water spigots, a spigot at the front with a little slow draining bowl so the doggies can get a drink, and a separate little doggy space. It is also less than a year old so still in good shape. In a few years down the road we will see how well it is maintained. It is on our local park grounds so I am hoping that makes a difference in maintenance. There is one group of dogs that if I see them we will turn around and go home, or go in the little dog area if there is no one else in there. Other than that group everyone else has been awesome. I do have to keep a close eye on them because if Foxy is greeted by a dog who is too "friendly" she gets rather snippy. She likes the slow sniff your butt type of greeting not an in your face HI WANNA PLAY! greeting. If Autumn gets nervous she still comes over and hides behind me, but those have become less and less as she gets older. We don't have a lot of friends around here who have dogs so this has been a very big tool to Autumns socialization. She was starting to have issues with strangers and this has helped us a lot! I even think it has helped with Foxy as she has always been shy to strangers but opens up a little bit at the park. It has been a great tool for us but of course use your best judgment.

[Bonny]

I have been to a dog park just to observe & if I was to take my dog to one I would do that first of all. I sat & watched the owners as well as the dogs. I found the whole experience entertaining. There was every breed of dog you could think of & every size dog running around having a great time.

I also notice the manners of the owners. If someones dogs cut another off the owner would apologize to the other owner. There must of been 30 some dogs on a 5 acre fenced in area with side paddocks fenced in with one gate, maybe used to get your dog started in & used to the situation? I didn't see anyone use them while I was there.

[Taz_Zoee]

I only take Taggart to the dog park when Zoee is not around. So we've been a couple times in the past month. Since Taggart doesn't have Zoee at home to play with and get his energy out, the dog park is the best place for him.
I've seen owners not pay attention to their dogs. But there hasn't been any HUGE issues with this. Back before I got Taggart Zoee got into it with a Husky one time. The owner seemed to think it was Zoee's fault. Zoee's never been in a fight with another dog in her life!

Our dog park has separate areas for big and small dogs. Sometimes someone will bring a small dog on the big dog side. I just shake my head. That's their decision. Poor dog.

We went to the park Sunday morning before we got lazy and watched the Super Bowl. I expected to stay for about an hour. After 30 minutes Taggart came over to me and just stayed there. I asked if he was ready to go and he ran to the gate. LOL

Anyway, dog parks aren't for every person or dog. Just use your best judgement and if you don't feel comfortable..............leave.

[Roxyluvsme13]

I have taken Brennan to the dog park near my house; however, I will only do so if there are absolutely no other dogs there. No chance in risking a fight, but it helps him burn off energy since we don't have a fenced in yard.

If there are other dogs there on the large dog half of the park, absolutely not. That's too much risk for Brennan.

Lily has never been to one, but we used to take her to a baseball field and let her run when she was younger. Now, she just doesn't care. She's happy with a small walk around the neighborhood.

[IRescue452]

I've gone to both area dog parks for over 13 years, sometimes with 3 dogs in tow. I've rarely seen or had any problems. One park is 12 acres with a pond and 3seperate sections and is usually pretty slow. The other is almost 20 acres and has 4 fenced sections including a wooded section, two fields, and a small dog section. The second park can have over 200 dogs at one time. I love the dog parks and so do my dogs. The thing is, I live in an area where people who don't take great care of their animals is the minority. People here do everything with their dogs. In fact, until this bad economy started hitting, we had less adoptable dogs in shelters than there was demand for. You used to have to drive within a few hour radious to find a dog to adopt. All of our area dog shelters and rescues are still no-kill (except for health) because they are not the least bit full.

[Alysser]

I didn't know there were people against it, I think dog parks are great concepts when used properly by sane people.

They're a great tool for socialization, exercise and down-time. Of course the dogs need to be watched, and of course if your dog isn't good with others you have no business being there.

As for the risk of fights at Dog parks, well yeah you run the risk of that. But you run the risk of that in a multiple dog home, a doggy day care, playdates with friends & families dogs, even walking down the street.

I've been working at a Doggy Daycare for about 2 months now and if you want a much more controlled environment I'd suggest that. Not everyday, just a couple of times a week or so. It burns PLENTY of energy, trust me. It also helps a great great deal with socialization, both with strangers and dogs alike. We foster plenty of rescues there who originally were listed as "not good with dogs," when that has changed them dramatically. Two of them are now MUCH better behaved when around other dogs and they play fight rather then actually start a fight. Of course there are little spats here and there but nothing major. The dogs are supervised very well and you can even find one that has cameras so you can watch your dog online. If your dog doesn't like it, the workers will be very honest with you. They want your dog to be extremely happy to be there.

As for "reading" dogs, well that's a difficult one. You can't always tell what the other dogs are doing and if it's good or bad. At work, if we don't like what's going on we spray them with water bottles and if it escalates we use a hose, etc. If you don't like what's going on YOU have to judge it for yourself. They might just be playing but even then they could hurt themselves or another dog. You have the authority to stop something your dog is involved in.
It's only a suggestion though, good luck in whatever you decide.

[Sowa]

I live in a pretty small town. I'm not sure that we have doggy day care or places for dogs to have play times. We have kennels that board but I've never heard of doggy day care around here to set up play times. We're just about to open our first petsmart. Do they usually have stuff like that?