3 Reasons I Don't Like Dog Parks Near Me

Many people love dog parks and I'm guessing many dogs do as well.  At one time, I did too.  My dog did not, and after several attacks (on him), my happy-go-lucky boy turned into the park jerk.  At the time I lived in an apartment complex with dog parks for the potty areas, where residents socialized while their dogs played.  Since the parks were so popular, it was tough to get an empty park, making every day a challenge.  Once I moved away, we were thankfully free from that experience and I haven't been to a dog park in about 20 years, and here are my 3 reasons why.

Honestly, I could probably list many more reasons, but they all lead to the 3 reasons below. I tried to put them in order of importance, but I can't because they are all equally important to me. 

1. My relationship with my dog is important to me

This is huge and may sound weird if you've never considered your pet ownership as being a relationship.  I expect things from my dogs and they expect things from me, so yes, I consider it a relationship. It all starts with puppyhood.  When I have a puppy, we have several short play (training) sessions a day, pretty much every day.  It's my favorite part about having a puppy! Watching the wheels turn and learning how that cute little pup thinks.  This is also the time my puppy is learning how awesome it is to play with me, that I'm pretty predictable and nothing bad ever happens when we're playing.  

As my puppy grows up, it's important to me that I maintain that trust and allow my dog to confidently assume the world is safe, because it always has been.  (See Reason 2 for why  I don't think dog parks are safe).

As a result of the time I spend playing with my dogs one-on-one, they have no interest in playing with random dogs.  If I went to a dog park, they would just follow me around waiting for me to do something fun.

2. Safety

Call me a control freak, but I cannot put the safety of my dog in the hands of strangers who may not monitor the behavior of their dog while in the park. Going back to when I lived in an apartment, one day two dogs kept circling and biting my dog, they were too fast for me to stop them or to block access to my dog - there were 2 of them and one of me.  The owner was 5 feet away and did nothing until I screamed at him.  I really think he thought it was cool that his two Rotties were bullying my dog.

While living in the apartment, I saw many other people allow their dogs to bully other dogs, which is too normal.  Either they don't know, because they aren't familiar with dog behavior or body language, or they don't know how to manage the behavior, so they choose to ignore it. 

I've even seen people play chuck-it inside dog parks.  I can't even get started on the many poor choices that will increase the likelihood of things going terribly wrong in a dog park.  That's just too long of a topic. 

Keeping my dogs safe is my responsibility.  They didn't pick me, I picked them and it's my responsibility to keep them physically and mentally, safe and healthy.  Putting them in a fenced-in area with unknown dogs whose owners probably aren't paying attention is too risky for their safety and for the relationship I work every day at maintaining.

Back when Dog Fancier's Park was gradually transitioning from a for rent park into a public dog park, I trained there and witnessed some horrible attacks.  First, I would hear the screaming dog and then I would look over to see all the people trying to separate the dogs.  This happened too many times and I'm completely fine to never hear those screams again.

3. training

Dogs are smart and are always learning, even when we're not training.  For dogs that don't get regular training, then especially when not training. Dog parks are the perfect environment for picking up bad habits, either from other dogs or from the dog realizing their person has zero control in that environment.  My dogs are a big part of my life and bad habits create challenges in everyday life, so I want to avoid situations that are going to create bad habits. 

Many people don't agree with off-leash time on trails or regular parks but my dogs enjoy their off-leash time and since they have not learned to run up to other dogs to play, they don't.  Dogs do what they learn to do, and running up to other dogs is rude, dangerous, and a big thing that dog parks teach. My dogs have no history of that behavior, so they do their own thing and come when I call them (because we work hard on recalls).  Of course, when we're out and I see other people with or without dogs, I leash mine up until we pass.  But, I can trust that my dogs will come when called, even if a rabbit hops by, because, again we work on recalls ALL THE TIME.

I definitely don't recommend off-leash time for any dog that doesn't have the most solid recall EVER in the most chaotic environments or a dog that goes to dog parks.  The last thing you want your friendly dog to do is run up to another dog when you're hiking - or really anywhere.  There's a very good chance the other dog is not going to appreciate the approach and there may be consequences.  by consequences, it could be a reaction to your dog or damage to the dog's confidence causing reactions to future dogs that are just trying to walk by on the leash.  This also goes back to number 1 - the relationship and confidence. It's important for a dog to feel safe when out.  being approached by a strange dog unexpectedly can impact their confidence and damage the relationship with their human by taking away that trust.

So what are dog-safe activities?

Honestly, there are risks no matter what you choose to do with your dog.  Playing fetch can be dangerous for some dogs.  Hiking can be dangerous.  Pretty much anything can take a wrong turn.  So my advice is to know your dog, assess the benefits and risks of the activity you want to do, and make whatever adjustments you can to make what works for you and your dog as safe as possible. Yes, vague, I know.  But there are always risks and you have to decide whether or not the benefits outweigh the risks for you and your dog.  For example, in the cooler months, I walk in the desert with my dogs.  They are off-leash and there is a chance of running into a coyote or other loose dogs that may not be trained or could be aggressive.  But I choose locations and times that give me the best chance of not seeing any people or coyotes.  I don't do desert walks in the summer, because adding the risk of a rattlesnake encounter tips the scales too much and now the risk outweighs the benefits.  In the summer, I do leash walks from my house, but I've had some really scary experiences in the past with loose dogs, so I carry a taser (hoping the noise will scare off approaching dogs), and in the winter I switch to desert walks because based on my experience, I feel my risks in the desert are lower than in town.

It's also easy to get comfortable doing the same thing over and over, or maybe that's just me?  I don't know, I get in ruts and I walk the same walks, do the same activities, etc.  But I've found that mixing things up a bit is nice for my dogs. 

Occasionally, I pull out the indestructible ball.  It's hard plastic and is not something I can have out all the time because of the barking, wearing on the teeth, and just the obsessive behaviors that could lead to injury by over-heating or crashing into an object.  When I do pull it out the dogs have a blast.