My vet is against dog parks

My dog won't get sick from it. Right?

Wrong.  Vaccines are not 100% effective.  They're preventatives, not failsafes
 

 lus, the type of people who take their dogs to a dog park are also the type to vaccinate their dogs.

Also wrong.  People who bring their dogs to dog parks are people who want to exercise their dog, perhaps offlead.  Doesn't mean they vaccinate.  Not mutually exclusive.  That's like saying people that have children and feed them always love them and never abuse them.  There will be unvaccinates dogs at the DP just like there will be children out there that are fed and clothed but abused anyway.
 

But you can't live in a bubble. I would think a dog could get exposed to unvaccinated dogs on a walk just as easily as at a dog park. Jojo, I have to agree mostly with your stereotype--it seems like all the people I meet with their dogs at makeshift dog parks or out walking are responsible pet owners who see vets regularly and give shots. It does seem like someone who doesn't vaccinate would let their dogs languish away in the back yard.

My dog's trainer is strongly agents dog parks as well but for different reasons.  I guess she has know a few dogs that got killed at a dog park because someone took a dog there that attacked their dog.  That is a bigger concern of mine then the dogs there being vaccinated.
 
I just recently started taking my dog to the dog park but have yet to let her off her leash.  So far every time I take her there hasn't seemed to be any trouble.  I just walk her around on the outside of the off leash area so she can get adjusted to being around others.  I don't know if it will ever be safe for me to let her off leash with other dogs.  For now it's just one tiny step at a time but at the same time we both love being at the park.  I am responsible for my dog and I just hope the others at the park are responsible for their dogs as well.
 

I don't live in a bubble.  I go to kennel club, where it is a requirement that people show proof of vaccinations.  I let my dog romp with the dogs I know in an enclosed area with other dogs and handlers I trust

I am slowly becoming "against" dog parks.  I have found that people use the parks primarily for off leash exercise, not socialization and play time.  Too many people do not watch their dogs.  There are too many dog-aggressive dogs that shouldn't be there, but are.  There are too many owners that need shock collars.  The amount of disease that can be communicated is unbelievable.

On the flip side, Xerxes has been going to a dog park since he was 4 months old and had the vaccinations to enter.  He's been socialized with all kinds of dogs, though he doesn't care much for boxers and likes to puppy-haze.  And of course he has friends and "pack mates" that he likes to play with and keep in touch with.  (and Gaia has a boyfriend there, a BC cross that is as gaga over her as she is for him.-but she doesn't want me to share this with everyone...she's sleeping now so anything goes)

I don't like dog parks either for *many* reasons.  People don't watch their dogs, and they take dogs who are on lead as 'targets'.  Most of the dogs/play is way too rough and I can't do a thing about other people's dogs.
 
My reasons go even deeper -- where I live near Orlando, FL they are beginning to legislate dogs out of existence.  Down here there is such a rampant "dogs belong OUTSIDE ONLY" feeling among so many people (I've had people look me straight in the eye and tell me that if I allow a dog in my house then I must have a horrible house because dogs are filthy dirty animals.)
 
So in the newer communities that have sprung up they always plan a dog park -- this way people have a place for those dogs and they don't need to "put up with them" on the street!  You can't bring your dog to an outside cafe anymore, you aren't welcome to walk down the street with your dog on lead with a plastic baggie in your hand because "Why do you have that dog in public?  GO TO THE DOG PARK ... that's what it's FOR!!"
 
It's an excuse to deny me the privilege of having my dog accompany me in public and it's getting steadily worse -- and I hear the comments ALL the time (I'm a legal secretary and I've worked for firms that write the code enforcement laws and I have heard this discussed exactly as I'm describing.)
 
Most dog parks aren't at all well managed.  Most down here aren't on a members only basis -- they have a half-hearted fence and no supervision at all. I know a few that are extremely well run but there are no vaccination requirements other that what is posted.  But given the fact that I've had parvo puppies running feral in my neighborhood all summer I can't say the dog park is unsafe -- the streets everywhere can be risky. 
 
Sorry -- this touches an enormous hot button with me.  When you can't take your well behaved dogs who are CGC's and stop for coffee at an outdoor seating restaurant there's something wrong.  I have to breathe everyone's cigarette smoke but my well behaved dog can't sit under my feet.  *sigh*

I'm definitely not a fan of dog parks. I don't trust other people to vaccinate or control their dogs; I just won't take that kind of risk.

ORIGINAL: Xebby

My dog's trainer is strongly agents dog parks as well but for different reasons.  I guess she has know a few dogs that got killed at a dog park because someone took a dog there that attacked their dog.  That is a bigger concern of mine then the dogs there being vaccinated.

That would be my biggest concern as well.

I consider dog parks to be just as good or bad as human parks.  Many people do not supervise their kids and then sue when the kid falls off a swing and gets hurt. Never mind that the parent should be PARENTING their children, not being Susie Social Butterfly instead. These same people ignore their dogs for pretty much the same reason.

Also, many dogs become aggressive in off-leash areas.  IMHO, it's just NOT worth it.

I used to take my doberman to the dog park.  I don't anymore.  When Sergeant was younger he was attacked by a black mouth cur for no reason.  Well come to find out this owner of the dog went to the dog park all the time and his dog attacking Sergeant was not the first nor the last.  Another reason why I stopped going is because it is a confined area and not everyone picks up after their dog.  There are some viruses and dieases that are or can be transmitted through urine and or fecal matter.  A friend of mine used to go as well.  She was taking her dog to the park and he caught kennel cough from the DP.  She had her dog vaccinated for everything (she is also current) and her dog still got kennel cough.

Well... just to play devil's advocate... I like dog parks for SOME dogs. Mal has begun going to the dog park, because I feel with him, being unsocialized is a bigger risk than kennel cough. The dog park we go to is only moderately busy and Dallas is becoming a much more dog friendly city since the first one opened. We don't EVER go during peak hours or on the weekends (except VERY early in the morning) and I think in their ideal format, they're a GREAT way for growing dogs in apartments to get to run and play at their own pace with less risk of impact injuries from more regimented exercise such as jogging or biking, which is obviously not good for youngsters. Yes, there *can* be aggressive dogs. Indy is not allowed to go to the park because he's a jerk with dogs he doesn't know. I pestered a classmate from obedience who's got an aggressive dog (poorly socialized BC- 90% of this dog's problems are caused by the fact that he is much, much smarter than his owner...) when he showed up at the park last week and am planning on giving a small lecture on Dog Park Manners (with approval from the teacher, but she'll let me ) in class next week in case he didn't get the point- some people are just DUMB.

Right now, Mal is on the small dog side (dogs up to 30 pounds) and he'll stay there for at least a few more months. Mostly we go early in the mornings (7-8:30 or so) and there's about 8 regulars, mostly older than I am, who come out and socialize and let their dogs play. Ideally, I'd like to have enough dog parks in Dallas eventually that the existing three aren't so densely populated. And I'd MUCH rather see people using dog parks than lettign their dogs off leash in other areas- not only is it not safe, they were getting us kicked out of the other parks because the irresponsible ones wouldn't pick it up. Now they don't pick it up IN the dog park but at least us dog owners aren't going to ban ourselves from the whole park for a few idiots.

As someone who visits many different dog parks all the time, I think it totally depends on what your own park is like. Living in an apartment in the city, it's an off-leash park or no off-leash time at all. Because this is the situation for almost everyone here, almost all the dogs in my area have been going to the park forever and are very well-socialized. Just as importantly, because the *owners* have to spend a lot of time around other dogs, most people know a lot about dog behaviour and training and will intervene in any questionable situation. The vast majority of the dogs and people we see at the two off-leash beaches by my apartment are dogs and people I've known since I first got my puppy - they're dogs she's grown up with. Of course there will occasionally be some people who don't know what they're doing, but we can easily avoid them and their dogs. In 7 months of going to off-leash parks and beaches pretty much every single day, I have seen ONE dog fight (which was immediately broken up and no one was hurt) and it was between two dogs who live in the same house.

I've found that dog parks in the suburbs are generally very different and I'm not as comfortable there at all, mostly because the owners and their dogs generally don't seem to have a good communication system and there seems to be a much broader lack of knowledge about dog behaviour. Which is totally expected, of course - people and dogs who spend time every single day in off-leash areas socializing and exercising are generally going to be 'better' at it than people and dogs who go once on Saturdays because of practice. There are also a few parks in the city that have dynamics that make me less comfortable than I would like (due to logistics, mostly), so we just don't go there.    The best parks seem to be those that have a fairly stable and consistent neighbourhood-based population with established community norms that regulate behaviour.  

I think the idea that dog parks are "bad" ignores the vast variety of ways people and dogs use off-leash dog-specific spaces and miss out on the really amazing, positive communities they can be. Of course there are risks, as with anything else, and everyone has to decide if the benefits or risks weigh more. You also have to decide if you and your dog are suited for dog parks and if your expectations of them are realistic.

As for the health issue, the physical and mental health benefits of off-leash parks far outweigh health risks for me.

We just started going to dog parks with Scout. Personally I love it.... Scout loves to play with other dogs and I just don't know enough friendly dogs for her to get all the play in that she'd like. So the park satisfies that socialization aspect for us.
 
The funny thing is, Scout doesn't play rough at the park like she does with her usual doggy friends. She usually finds a couple dogs around her size and runs, chases, etc.
 
Obviously there are risks but we've decided to accept them and certainly do what we can to avoid them. Scout has great recall, even around the other dogs, and she seems to steer clear of the really boisterous, rough-playing dogs. Vaccinations aren't 100% protection, but we seem to encounter just as much or more dog elimination on our walks as we do at the off-leash park.

I have never been to a dog park, so I am sure it depends on the park, but if we did have a dogs park in my area I doubt I would ever take Dasher.  Mainly b/c I fear the irresponsible owners.  I would worry that another dogs would attack or hurt Dasher.  In my expereince there are too many knuckle-heads out there that think their dog is friendly when they would like nothing better than to take another dog's face off.
 
Dasher gets play time with his agility friends, seems to do just fine with them. []  They are people and dogs I have known for years.  This is a good comfort level for me as I am somewhat over-protective []