People who have a Dog Park to go to

We have a dog park here in Macon- but it's really not the greatest place.
 
I've only been a few times (Just with Ogre, he's the only one who can handle it. Axl is pretty dominant towards other dogs, Pepito is aggressive to strange dogs, and Butter is too young.) and I probably won't be going back many more times. It's a tiny, dirty field with only one tree and a big "creek" running through it - the "creek" is actually a drainage ditch and if the dogs wanted to, they could get out through the ditch entrance. I haven't seen any dogs yet that seem to realize this, but it could happen. I also don't like the fact that there's this big unavoidable creek bisecting the middle of the park- with a dog as hard to groom as Ogre, I end up spending the whole time trying to keep him from getting wet and he doesn't get to enjoy himself.
 
Everyone who has little dogs is constantly yelling at the big dogs to stay away from theirs, scaring the crap out of all of the dogs there in the process. When their little dogs attack one of the bigger dogs, they usually just giggle OR get mad and somehow suggest that the bigger dog started it. [8|]
 
Lots of people bring toys for their dogs, which of course leads to problems, and I've seen several college students come, let their dog off leash, and then play soccer or catch with their friends while totally ignoring their dog. Then all of the dogs spend their time trying to take the ball away from the college students, which makes the college students angry.
 
Then people come who JUST want to play fetch or work on some kind of training with their dogs....and they get angry when everyone in the park doesn't automatically rush to keep their dogs away from that dog. Many people don't realize that in a "park" the size of a postage stamp, it's pretty unfair to take up 1/3 of the park so they can play fetch with their dog, and give dirty looks to the owners of any dog that crosses their imaginary boundaries.
 
People constantly leave toys lying around and chase and yell at dogs other than theirs who try to play with them.
 
Trash gets thrown into the park by people walking by and there is sometimes broken glass, needles, beer bottles....it all gets cleaned up periedically, but if you go at the wrong time it can be pretty unsafe.
 
And worst of all, there's a neighborhood right next to the dog park- and there are ALWAYS 3 or 4 unsupervised YOUNG kids from the neighborhood who come to play with the dogs. They run around yelling at people's dogs, ordering them to "sit," pulling their hair...then they jump off of trashcans, throw rocks, and vandalize things. alot of people end up having to leave when a pack of children shows up. Where their parents are, I have no clue. They probably told them to go down to the dog park so they wouldn't have to deal with watching them. [:@]
 
I wish I were lucky enough to have a GOOD dog park, clean, larger than a postage stamp, with intelligent dog people and rules that were actually enforced. I see pictures of the beautiful dog parks some people have and I'm envious. I've only been to mine a few times, and if I happen to go when there are only 1 or 2 other people there, it's fine. Overall though, I'm about to give up on it.

I was just down at my in-laws in CT and they have the BEST dog park. On one side is a fenced in area (not too small, but not huge either) and for the most part, the other dogs and owners were good. The biggest issue is that there is a horse stable about 100 yards away and the people ride the horses through the park and across the river to their riding area.
 
On the other side of the river/creek is a big open field and trails that dogs are allowed in as well (so are the horses though). So basically if your dog can be trusted off leash, they can go to the huge field and run with other dogs or if they need to be fenced you can go to that area as well. You just need to keep your dog from running after the horses and eating their poo....
 
 

We have a pretty great park.  It's about 7 acres.  It's divided into two parts, one is a big open gravel/grassy area up top, and the other below is wooded and has a stream running through it.
We hardly ever use the big open area.  That seems to be where all the roblem people are.  The type that don't watch or pick up after their dogs, the type that have no clue about dog behaviour or communication, or the type to bring 2 month old puppies or small children with them mostly frequent the top. 
Only the more hard-core dog nuts use the bottom.  It's wet and muddy, and there's a lot of burrs during the summer months.  I love it though!  There's a trail around it and we hike the whole time we are there.
There's a bunch of people (myself included) that help maintain the park. It's maintained by the city, but these people take it upon themselves to keep it in good shape.  There's a man that empties the garbages every few day, there's a man that picks up all the leftover poop while he's there, DH and I brought clippers and cleared burrs all summer.  It's a very nice park.  We like to keep it that way![]
 
Like any dog park, it has its problems.  It's best to avoid it during peak hours,and it's always good to try and keep to yourself.  One time this LOSER family tried to steal one of my dogs!  But I wasn't there that day, and DH wasn't watching him close enough.  That wouldn't have happened on my watch!
 
Here's some photos taken in the park. My dogs LOVE it there!  You can see why!
 
[linkhttp://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/baileymoffatt/Dogs/HPIM2576.jpg]http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/baileymoffatt/Dogs/HPIM2576.jpg[/link]
[linkhttp://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/baileymoffatt/Dogs/HPIM2606.jpg]http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/baileymoffatt/Dogs/HPIM2606.jpg[/link]
[linkhttp://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/baileymoffatt/HPIM0101.jpg]http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/baileymoffatt/HPIM0101.jpg[/link]
[linkhttp://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/baileymoffatt/HPIM0087.jpg]http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/baileymoffatt/HPIM0087.jpg[/link]
[linkhttp://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/baileymoffatt/HPIM0098.jpg]http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c57/baileymoffatt/HPIM0098.jpg[/link]
 

Our park is pretty nice and I mainly credit that to the fact that there's a pretty large group of "regulars" and when you see the same people every time you go, it's a lot harder to be anti-social. It's adjacent to a high-density residential neighborhood inside a large 400 acre park. It's a few acres divided into two sections, one with fencing that is only a suggestion and the other that is fully fenced. There's no big dog/small dog rule but because of the two sections (and each section is also large enough for you to go to one end and not have anything to do with what's going on at the other end) if there's any kind of issue where people have different needs, you can just go find somewhere else to be.

I like the fully-fenced area because I have to recall the dogs a lot less and I can let them sniff to their heart's content. Just inside the fence line on one side is a wooded area, which Marlowe likes best.

The accepted behavior at the park is to stay close to your dog and to chat with the other dog owners while keeping one or both eyes on your own dog/s. And the chatter is always about dogs: your dog, my dog, dogs in general, their habits, what they like and don't like, whether how they're playing is okay or should be stopped. People definately loose points among the other dog owners there if they have long conversations on their cell phones, and I've never seen anyone drop their dog off and leave the area. The only problem I've encountered is kids. Not the kids who stand next to a parent and keep well away from the dog action, but the ones who use the park as a dog petting zoo and who's parents seem to think that's just hunky-dory. It doesn't happen that often, but if I see it happening, I'll tell the kids myself to move to the side of the park and allow the dogs to play by themselves.

Are dog parks off leash? Would Joy need a better recall? I have no idea with dog parks. I've never been to one...I always lived on a decent sized piece of land or had one nearby....please help me[sm=blush.gif]

When I think "dog park" I think a special fenced-off area in which dogs are permitted off-leash. There are some places though that have regular parks that just happen to not have leash laws, and some refer to those as "dog parks" because people take their off-leash dogs there to go walking around and play. The one I go to is inside a regular park that does have leash laws and the "off leash exercise areas" are the only places where dogs are permitted off leash (though no one actually pays attention to that and off-leash dogs plague the entire park).

However, even in a fenced dog-park I'd want a dog to have a pretty good recall because things happen all the time in which you need to recall your dog for a minute or two. A scuffle breaks out, someone is entering or leaving that your dog would very much like to follow out the gate. I recall my dogs a lot even in the fenced area for those kinds of reasons. A dog doesn't need a drop dead 100% recall if there's a fence, but a pretty good recall I think is desirable or you're going to be doing a lot of running around to retrieve your dog physically.

Mollymoo, when a lot of the dog owners here decided a dog park was needed, we started to hold meetings and ultimately started going to the city council meetings. After a couple of years, the city built a dog run  (not nearly as big as a dog park) in one the large parks - the dog run shares a fence on one side with the skate park.  Then about a year or so later, we were able to get an unused area on the edge of town.  It had been meant to be a soccer field, but it's not regulation size and it floods pretty badly in the winter so the soccer people didn't want to use it.  It was just a matter of the city fencing the field in, putting in an air-lock gate and planting a couple of groups of trees.  We still need to fund-raise for some amenities (permanent seating, a shade structure etc.) but we got the park.  Maybe if you get a group together you could approach your city council and find out if there's a patch of city-owned land somewhere that isn't  being used for anything.
 
Joyce

I think Houndlove hit the nail on the head as far as a definition for "dog park"

[] thanks...I think I'll work on Joy's recall and bring her in the sping when it opens..

I agree with houndlove, here in Nashville,TN we have great dog parks! They are great big fenced areas (no partical fencing here) with agality stuff and balls, trees and toys in them. They also have seats for owners that might want to sit down. There is also a small dog park right next to the big one if you are a little lerie of putting your little guy in with the big dogs, this way they can still go up and say hi and still feel comfortable. But before i moved here I was from philadelphia, PA where I had never heard of a dog park except in CA. I think they are the best thing since sliced bread!
The rules of the park are posted , it is all off leash...people tend to frown if you come in with a leash on they tend to think you cannot handle your dog if that is the case. Everyone will tend to come over and chat while keeping an eye on there dog and the regulars keep an eye on the newbies and let them know any thing that they might be unaware of or unsure of. I dont really have to use the recall for my dog since he is always more interested in the people than the other dogs, but it is best to have your dog know it before you go in.

We have quite a few dog parks in my area, well actually within about 30-50 miles.  I work twice a week, just a block away for a dog park, so at least 3 of the dogs go to work with me, then after work they can go and play.  All of ours are completely fenced and double gated.  Their respective city parks dept. does a great job on the upkeep.

We have a pretty good dog park right across the street from where I live.  Unfortunately Gaia is not the sweetest dog park dog, and Xerxes has his issues too.  But it's good to have a place nearby and we'll go when we can.  It's a beautiful thing to me to see them running and playing and generally beating the crap outta each other.

http://www.restondogs.org
That's my park's site.

There's one in the northern part of the city, but I generally don't take Roxie unless it's very early.  Otherwise, the poorly socialized dogs and pushy children are out in full force.  I don't like when owners bring a book or an iPod and let the dog go wherever, do whatever, and so on ... while they "chill out."  Hello -- you need to watch the dog, too. 

Funny enough, I can sometimes clear out a dog park if there are only a couple people during the morning.  One look at Roxie and they expect her to eat their dogs.  This is the only time I could care less about the idiocy of others.  It gives us free reign. 

I guess I am pretty lucky, there are 3 dog parks within 15 minutes of me. The closest one is abut a mile away and actually just got redone. It has an area for small dogs, medium and large ones. The only problem is it is VERY muddy in the winter and right when you walk in you almost fall because its so muddy...not very good especially when you are trying to hold a 70 pound dog also!  Other then that is okay its pretty much just a big primarily grassy area.
 The problem is whenever I go there are always a few dogs that whould NOT be at dog parks and it is frusterating but usually there are about 20 dogs there and the owners are typically good at watching their dogs. There is a dog park about 45 minutes away that supposedly has an agility course and other activities which would be fun, I have never gone there but have a friend that has.
 
Also the 3 dog parks close are not shady and are really hot in the summer, I am not sure why they have not planted trees...seems like a good idea to me