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.