# POLL: Off-leash parks??



## SeaMonster (Jul 4, 2011)

Just wanted to know how many are taking their dogs to the dog park? 
Gracie loves it there and it takes care of exercise and socialization in one shot. But I am always nervous when I'm there. Will she come back to me? will she get attacked by a mean dog who hasn't been socialized properly? will she catch a disease? etc.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Nope. 

Keep in mind that some places like these provide good socialization and bad socialization alike. You do not want your puppy getting attacked or spooked about other dogs...


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

Try to go to the dog park at off-peak times of the day to begin with, when there are less dogs there and you can get a better idea of the type of crowd that's there. After work and on weekends, you will find most dog parks jam packed and too many dogs in tight quarters can mean fights break out more easily.

I will say if you are nervous about her coming back to you or not, you should try to stick to only fully fenced dog parks. And do make a point to follow your dog closely so you are always nearby in case of something happening. And watch for dogs that are unattended by their owner, unfortunately that happens quite a bit.


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## Door (Apr 2, 2010)

We have a great dog park where I live. Its well supervised and mainained. Also, the "regulars" look out for each other and avoid aggresiveness. Good friends and good companionship. There are people and dog there I have got to know for years now.


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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

No I do not have access to one nor would I use one if it was in my area. 

I happen to think that people are missinformed when it comes to " socialization". Most think that means your dog needs to get along with other dogs. Socialization is having your dog get accustomed to different sights, sounds, areas, people, other animals i.e. horses, cats, squirrels, birds. It is helpfull for your dog to see these animals and for you to teach them to " leave it" so they dont get hurt to run off chasing the animal and get lst or worse. Lastly your dog needs to know how to behave around other dogs. Even in most competitions the dogs are not running around loose together. Flyball is the only group ( team) sport I can think of at the moment.


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## Jamm (Mar 28, 2010)

I voted no. But I do love to give Joey off leash time. I take him to certain spots that we can bring his doggie friends and they can run around. Id only take Joey to the dog park early in the morning on a weekday.


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## Angelina (Aug 11, 2011)

I survey the park before I go in and if I am not comfortable about who is there I don't. It has agility equipment there so that is a big plus for me. I like to teach my dog is is 'ok' to meet other dogs but that it is not necessary. If I'm walking past a leashed dog on the street I keep her attention on me...they do not 'have' to say hi or even look at each other. But I am also happy she is well balanced mentally that she 'can' meet other dogs and not freak out over it. It is good to mix it up so she can go anywhere and everywhere with me...


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## GinnyinPA (Oct 31, 2010)

We have taken Ben to dog parks a few times. Because he has no dogs to play with locally, I was hoping to find some playmates for him. There isn't a dog park nearby, so he hasn't had a chance to get used to playing with other dogs. So far the experience has been sort of a bust. He gets very nervous - drools heavily and stays far away from the other dogs. It has gotten better each time we've been, but we don't stay long as he makes it really obvious he wants to leave after he has sniffed the perimeter for a few minutes. Only once did he make an attempt to chase after another dog to play, but that dog was ball obsessed and didn't respond to him at all.


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## Bogart (Nov 14, 2009)

Hi,
I don't take my dogs to the fenced in dog park. There are too many dogs in one spot and they can't get away from each other. 
I took Bogart before and he got mopped there by other dogs. I always say he has a sign on his forehead saying "Beat Me".
I do take my dog on an off leash dog trail. It's about 45 min on the trail and the dogs are all off leash too. It's not fenced in and it's awesome. 
The dogs say hi to each other and keep going with their people.
There are very seldom scuffles, if a dog tries to mop Bogart he just goes into the bushes and so gets rid of a pushy dog. 
The same park also has the fenced in dog park for dogs that can't be off leash. The park has awesome hiking trails and it's our daily stomping ground.
All the best,
Elke, Bogart and Mini Cooper


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

I don't take my dogs to a dog park, but I take them to a huge park, where there are other dogs running free (850 acres of land) but you barely come across any other animals unless you're near the parking lot.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

I don't like the dogs there.


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## spruce (Mar 13, 2008)

have stopped at a few when we're "on the road" & they mainly have had a low # of dogs. Also "surveyed" park/dogs before entering. My guys mainly interacted with each other. Have seen a couple urban dogs parks & don't think I'd take my guys there....think they'd get confused with the huge number of dogs & I couldn't trust their reaction


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

Made the mistake of taking my dogs to the park frequently. There are so many people and so many individuals that knowing whose dog has what type of temperment became impossible. As a result I now have 12-15 friends whose dogs are known to get along very well with mine that Harley and Miri can play with. I do not attend a park with strange animals because the risk of a dog biting or attacking your dog is rather high. People bring their dogs to socialize, and some bring their out of control animals and just cut them loose. I've seen enough fights and Harley has been bitten 3 times (once on the face)... I've had enough.


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## ShipIt (Jun 6, 2011)

I like the dog park I go to. Most people are really firendly and their dogs are well behaved. I've never had a problem. But I'm probably lucky.


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## akgolden (Jun 18, 2011)

With all the trail systems, lakes and hills to go running around in it's rare my pups are on a leash. I always have the e-collar on so I can retrieve them without having to yell but that's about it. 

If it's a more popular trail I will keep the leash with me so I can put it on them when going by a large crowd of people.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

When I lived in a city( New Haven, CT) I used to take my goldens to a beautiful offleash park. My dog Raleigh only cared about playing ball with me, but my girl Acadia had the best romps and loved it. My dog Finn is socially skilled and can get along with any dog. I would not take a puppy to this sort of party though. No I often meet friends to walk in parks where it is voice control- like Ferry beach or many woods hikes.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

You might want to go and observe the park about the time you want to visit. Go without your dog. 

It's going to depend a lot on your community and the people who use the park. 

I won't set foot in dog parks here. Too many irresponsible owners with aggressive and untrained dogs use them here. We went to one for 5 minutes the week it opened years ago and our poor dog was continually humped by one dog whose owner could care less. He came down with a ringworm shortly after and his vet said it probably came from the dog park. She said the park was going to be very good for their business too--with emergency surgeries and treating all the diseases the dogs can pick up from the other dogs or the soil in the park.


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## aerolor (May 27, 2011)

I voted "other." We don't have dog parks in England (not that I know of anyway) and I would not use one if we did - I think they are too restrictive. Our parks are generally accessible to dogs, off lead and on lead, and I think it is important to get your dog used to going to as many different places as possible; reliable around people without dogs, children, joggers, bikers, with other dogs (all sorts of encounters) - and it is my job to expose them to these things and ensure they are comfortable and safe with whatever they might come across when we are out. I am very lucky to live in an area which has a lot of open country to roam in (as well as parks) and I would be concerned that I would be restricted to only having my dog off lead in a dog park if they were available here.


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## AmbersMom (Jun 23, 2011)

I take Amber to a dog park. We love it. The park is a card entry one, so all the dogs have to be registered with the park. So they all have their shots and 98% of them are polite to each other.

Now, Amber coming back when I call....that's another story


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## tobelevski (May 10, 2005)

I voted yes but we dont have specific dog parks in the UK. I dont take my dogs to parks where they must be on a lead or are likely to come across stock on common grazing. My dogs are v lucky in this area with country parks, windsor great park, rivers and burnham beeches. What I do miss is getting down to the coast.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I've never liked the fenced dog parks in our area (coastal CT). They seem to attract a bad kind of owner who wants to exercise an untrained, unsocialized dogs. Probably 95% of the people and dogs are great, but it only takes one bad owner to ruin the fun.

There's one unfenced park that untrained dogs really can't use, because there's a road that runs along one side of it. I like that place a lot better because the owners group seems much more responsible and the dogs are better socialized. We still don't go there too much.

I definitely love the big land trust areas around here that have trails through them. We run into dogs occasionally, but there's so much going on (mud, birds, squirrels, etc.) that the boys don't feel the need to play excessively with everybody. We get to practice a lot of "leave him" when I don't like the body language of the other dog or the other dog is on a leash. I don't like my guys to greet and play with leashed dogs because it's a recipe for a tangle and a leashed dog can feel at a disadvantage and might end up acting defensive.

So if people greet my dogs, I let them greet back, but if people look nervous or have leashed dogs or don't say anything, I have the dogs leave them alone. If they have a fun, off-leash dog who wants to play and piques my guys' interest, I'll try to stop and let them play for a sec.

One of my other favorite things is to go on walks with my friends who have dogs. That way, everybody gets play and hike time and you don't have the potential dangers that come with unknown dogs.


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## Gwen (Aug 9, 2007)

I voted "NO" because my experience with dog parks has been horrible. 

I took my 9 month old puppy to a dog park along with my sister & her small breed dog. Before I even got the lead off my puppy, a male shephard/lab mix attacked my boy. I controlled the situation without any harm to my puppy. The owner of the other dog was no where to be found. 

As the dog park was very large, we went to the back of the park and within 5 minutes, a collie mix came to sniff and then nailed my boy on the hip. The collie owner was there & quickly pulled his boy off & apologized. My puppy would have fought at that point.

We then decided to leave and were met by the shephard/lab owner who jokingly said "I heard that my boy attacked yours! He's been doing that every time we come here!" 

That was my first & last dog park adventure!

(I should note that my puppy had just been in a dog show & well groomed. I will never know if the product used on him promoted this attack activity by others)


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## canine_mommy (Dec 27, 2010)

I voted No. I took Austin _once and only once_ to a park here, that too after he turned 9 months old. It was a pretty decent park, nice people and dogs... but I was on guard all the time, too much on the nerves. I don't think I will take him again. He has a lot of doggie friends where I live and he gets to play with them almost every evening.


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## Mssjnnfer (Aug 9, 2009)

Nope. Too worried.

I'm also too lazy to read through the thread (sorry) so not sure if it was answered... but what's beacon?


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## desi.n.nutro (Mar 18, 2011)

I like the concept. I hate the risk of illness and injury. Better for the big dogs than the little guys for sure.


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## GRTigger (Jan 16, 2010)

I bring my dog to the dog park. off leash.


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