Off The Leash Areas

[Monah]

No off leash parks for me. I did try one in Darwin and it was great. about 10 acres or even more!!! Marlows lagoon. lovely lagoon to swim, whole area fenced and agility equipment, and drinking water. I went during the day when no one else was there and it was wonderful.

We have none here anyway. I take mine to the softball fields in the next street where the main issue is many roos and hares and ducks! but as long as we go well before dusk there is not a problem.

I wont even go to the beach when the tide is in. Lots of dogs and no beach

Personally I dont like the whole idea of a dog park. My girls have good recall, the viz has never ever let me down, the spin has about twice when I have not called her before the preydrive has kicked in. I dont allow her off unless we are somewhere she cannot get away, or if I have another person with me, then one will walk a few hundred yards behind the other, dogs in the middle.

When I cant get to an offlead area for any reason, the girls go bikeriding and love it. (or even swimming) I find a 30 min swim or even just a 20 min bike ride leaves them exhausted.

[aussielover]

We have some great ones in our area. Unfortunately you do get the clueless people who occaisonally come. Luckily ours are big enough that there are a number of areas that you can move away to.

Most people are pretty responsible as well and do the right thing.

But of course there is always a risk of an incident.

None of the areas are fenced which generally keeps away dogs that are totally out of control.

[megan_]

I find if you go at the crack of dawn (7am at the moment) many parks are empty. I go to Brighton Beach at that time and we have it to ourselves.

[Jacquiboss&scoop]

We dont do dog parks , we were lucky enough to buy acreage a few years ago and our dogs free run at home , before we bought the dogs ran with us on bikes or on one of a few deserted beaches , I see the need for dogs to free run and have room to chase a ball or toy but no need at all to run free with dogs that are not known to us.

the risk is too big and with most breeds of dog the expectation that they will get along with every tom dick and harry dog is not fair .

I recall when the parks came into place in NSW the main reason was to allow dogs to run free , not to be a free for all

[corvus]

I don't know how I would (legally) give my dogs the chance to really stretch their legs and play the way they want to without them. Our yard isn't tiny, but it's not big enough for a good, wild run and play, and the neighbours don't like the noise the dogs make when they play. I love our local dog park. I know a lot of people and their dogs from there. We very rarely have any problems. I find the dog owners are in general on the ball and intervene early if anything odd is going on.

I have been to a lot of different dog parks and beaches and I think you have to be confident and on your toes. You need to be prepared to act on a hunch and be reasonably confident with the body language of your dogs and others. I do find it's an environment where you can learn an awful lot about dogs if you keep your eyes and ears open. And I LOVE having very well socialised dogs. They are so damn good at staying out of trouble it cuts down on my worry factor quite a lot. If there is a way to avoid trouble they will have found it. Nothing much phases them.

We tend to avoid fenced dog parks.

[pixie_meg]

We love our off leash park but that said we have had bad experiences too. To be honest i think Oberon would go nuts if we didn't go. He really enjoys a run with the other dogs.

He has been bitten and pinned on a couple of occassions but this has mainly been by dogs that were new or not regular users of the park. We are now very careful about new dogs in the park. We also have the advantage that Oberon is fast so he can easily get away from dangerous dogs. It really bugs me when people bring their dog aggressive dogs to a busy dog park. These people need to get some brains.

If we had another dog we wouldn't go as often as we do.

[Cosmolo]

What Tess32 said. Every off lead area is different- the ones we use in Melbourne have always been great. Like Tess32- our dogs NEED that opportunity to exercise in a large space so we use off lead areas for that purpose. I never let all 5 of our dogs play with unknowns at once though and really, except at our training- which is 4-5 days a week, they don't interact with strange dogs at all.

[Adnil444]

Hi, I go sometimes to a fenced dog park which is relatively close to me - however as others have said, there are just too many idiots and irresponsible owners. One of my dogs now does have an issue (which I have been successfully working on) with swfs - unfortunately the park that I go to has so many of these that have not been properly socialised and are fear aggressive and have gone for her on numerous times (the owners doing absolutely nothing!!). My girl started to think that it was ok for her to go back at them (and who can blame her, she is being attacked, she wanted to defend herself), but because she is the bigger dog, she will always get the blame even if she didn't start anything. One swf owner told me "my dog is frightened of other dogs", my response was, why bring her to a dog park if she is afraid - I suggested play dates, walking groups, obedience classes until the dog was better, but the owner had no desire to do that - too much effort.

My dogs love to run and play (especially with big boisterous labs!!). I have now been frequenting another dog park that has separate runs - 3 (all with water, good parking and high fences) that give the dogs a great workout, and other dog owners there are responsible and will always ask if they can bring their dogs in, before entering - what a relief, responsible dog owners.

I've also purchased a book by Katie Whiffen - Great Sydney Dog Walks - which is great. I'm taking my dogs on lots more leash walks to different parts of Sydney and have been enjoying them immensely. They are mainly on-lead walks, but some have off-leash parts to the walks. Both my dogs have improved out-of-sight with these walks, not only do they get to explore other areas, but they are meeting other dogs in a controlled situation and are learning good manners to boot.

Many dog trainers and breeders do not like dog parks for the reasons that have been stated here. You can provide dogs with lots of exercise and stimulation, it doesn't have to be in the form of an off-leash dog park. You only have to google "dog parks, good or bad" to see the many different responses and from what I've read, the negative wins.

[Guest Tess32]

I don't see how anyone can generalise - they are all different and it depends on the area.

Someone might only have access to small 'dog parks' and they are vastly different to the off leash areas near me, which are basically large reserves that aren't made for dogs, but dogs are just allowed to be offleash.

I use the one near me all the time and don't see much risk at all compared to coming across an offleash dog on a walk. The reserve is huge with good viewing distance and it's very easy to leash your dog and walk away from another dog if you see one coming.

The things that I don't like about dog parks still exist in larger ones, although if they are a massive space with dogs spread out over a bigger area I can see the risk would be less than if they were all crammed together in a small space.

Those of us with small yards don't have much option - most dogs NEED offleash exercise.

Yes I agree, it's a problem I have at the moment, we have a small yard and I would like to let my dogs run around in larger spaces but there is really no option where I live. It's small fenced dog parks or nothing. And unless they are empty when I go in, I can't use them.

Is it really anymore risk though than going for a walk? Plenty of people live in areas where it's quite common to come across off leash dogs on walks anyway.

It's really about the culture of the park - even at peak time I doubt I would come across too many dogs at mine, and as I said, they are so large it's easy to change direction etc anyway, which is the same as if you were out walking on the street.

I've yet to have any dog come up running to us, but even if I did (and it went badly), I think the very same thing could happen on the street, or at the beach or anywhere anyway.

[poodlefan]

Is it really anymore risk though than going for a walk? Plenty of people live in areas where it's quite common to come across off leash dogs on walks anyway.

It's really about the culture of the park - even at peak time I doubt I would come across too many dogs at mine, and as I said, they are so large it's easy to change direction etc anyway, which is the same as if you were out walking on the street.

I've yet to have any dog come up running to us, but even if I did (and it went badly), I think the very same thing could happen on the street, or at the beach or anywhere anyway.

I think it IS different. Arousal levels and dog numbers in offleash parks tend to be higher than out on the street.

In my experience, most dog owners who cannot control their dogs are less likely to let them offlead outside of a fenced area.

[Adnil444]

Oh I forgot to add, that I think that dog parks should be segregated into small and big dog areas. From my experience, this would solve an awful lot of issues. In the US and parts of the UK, there are members only dog parks - dogs and owners have to pass a test (and pay a membership fee) to use the facilities (and from what I've seen are very good). I'd be happy to sit a test and pay a fee for controlled off-leash exercise.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

i have a smaller dog (a boston) and i will not use off leash parks. it is too easy for my dog to be damaged and i wont take the risk as the reward is not high enough for me or the dog.

i am not saying bigger dogs cant get hurt but mine could get killed.

[poodlefan]

Oh I forgot to add, that I think that dog parks should be segregated into small and big dog areas. From my experience, this would solve an awful lot of issues. In the US and parts of the UK, there are members only dog parks - dogs and owners have to pass a test (and pay a membership fee) to use the facilities (and from what I've seen are very good). I'd be happy to sit a test and pay a fee for controlled off-leash exercise.

Some Australian dog clubs are like this. Mine is one. ;)

[Adnil444]

Oh I forgot to add, that I think that dog parks should be segregated into small and big dog areas. From my experience, this would solve an awful lot of issues. In the US and parts of the UK, there are members only dog parks - dogs and owners have to pass a test (and pay a membership fee) to use the facilities (and from what I've seen are very good). I'd be happy to sit a test and pay a fee for controlled off-leash exercise.

Some Australian dog clubs are like this. Mine is one. ;)

Oh how lucky - I would really like that opportunity and am happy to pay. I might have to look into this and see what can be done in my area.

[corvus]

Is it really anymore risk though than going for a walk? Plenty of people live in areas where it's quite common to come across off leash dogs on walks anyway.

IME the street is more risky. It might be that there are fewer dogs, but they are at their homes. They are highly likely to be territorial. A territorial dog that challenges or attacks a strange dog trespassing on their turf isn't a weird dog to me. It's a pretty normal dog. A dog that attacks strange dogs at a dog park is a weird dog to me. I have had too many scary moments with a territorial dog on the streets to count.

I've been in our local dog park when there has been close to 30 dogs there. I find it's actually less worrisome when there are so many. They tend to keep to their own pack more. It's very easy to walk away and the dogs are easily distracted. I can walk the perimeter of our park when there's 30 dogs there without attracting any attention from any of them. They are too busy playing ball or whatever. If there's just one or two dogs it's almost inevitable that they will come over. Not that I mind, but there's no dilution effect and the dogs are much more focused.

The member's only dog parks overseas are only as good as the management. Some are brilliant, undercover areas with agility equipment. I would so love to have a facility like that. I'd sell a kidney for membership to such a place. I keep thinking about putting it to council. Maybe I could get a petition together. Maybe if I become rich I can build my own.

[newfsie]

We use them, but I keep a close watch on the other dogs and we just leave if there are aggressive dogs.....We are lucky in that our dogs are large and not many dogs seem to go for newfs, they just seem to make friends so easily or are very good at ignoring aggressive dogs. Our dogs are quite well trained and have great recalls or will drop on command from a distance if they are frightening a dog by their size, to make the other dog more comfortable. I love off leash beaches and we make the most of them when we travel. maybe people are worried about their dogs, because ours are so large and keep control of their dogs when they see ours ;)

[Staranais]

I think Tess32 has a point. How safe they are depends a bit on the park, I think. We have a few off leash parks here which are really big, and designed for walkers & cyclists as well as dogs. They are large enough that you can take your dog for a run in them at off peak times, and rarely get very close to another dog. I think this type of park is much safer than the smaller parks where all the dogs are crammed in together and every new arrival is automatically expected to interact with the other dogs.

On the whole I avoid official off leash parks, though. There's no benefit from an off leash park that my dog can't get in other ways, with less risk.

[Adnil444]

Is it really anymore risk though than going for a walk? Plenty of people live in areas where it's quite common to come across off leash dogs on walks anyway.

IME the street is more risky. It might be that there are fewer dogs, but they are at their homes. They are highly likely to be territorial. A territorial dog that challenges or attacks a strange dog trespassing on their turf isn't a weird dog to me. It's a pretty normal dog. A dog that attacks strange dogs at a dog park is a weird dog to me. I have had too many scary moments with a territorial dog on the streets to count.

I've been in our local dog park when there has been close to 30 dogs there. I find it's actually less worrisome when there are so many. They tend to keep to their own pack more. It's very easy to walk away and the dogs are easily distracted. I can walk the perimeter of our park when there's 30 dogs there without attracting any attention from any of them. They are too busy playing ball or whatever. If there's just one or two dogs it's almost inevitable that they will come over. Not that I mind, but there's no dilution effect and the dogs are much more focused.

The member's only dog parks overseas are only as good as the management. Some are brilliant, undercover areas with agility equipment. I would so love to have a facility like that. I'd sell a kidney for membership to such a place. I keep thinking about putting it to council. Maybe I could get a petition together. Maybe if I become rich I can build my own.

LOL - I have thought about the same thing - when I win Lotto!! I know Warringah Council is looking at setting up another dog park(s) at the old Belrose tip area - the land is being returned to the residents - large open spaces etc. I have asked the council to look at having segregated dog areas, to which they have at least responded stating they will look into it. This is some time away though still.

[Guest Tess32]

Is it really anymore risk though than going for a walk? Plenty of people live in areas where it's quite common to come across off leash dogs on walks anyway.

It's really about the culture of the park - even at peak time I doubt I would come across too many dogs at mine, and as I said, they are so large it's easy to change direction etc anyway, which is the same as if you were out walking on the street.

I've yet to have any dog come up running to us, but even if I did (and it went badly), I think the very same thing could happen on the street, or at the beach or anywhere anyway.

I think it IS different. Arousal levels and dog numbers in offleash parks tend to be higher than out on the street.

In my experience, most dog owners who cannot control their dogs are less likely to let them offlead outside of a fenced area.

And I've found the very opposite - that wandering dogs are more likely to be aggressive (particularly if near their own house) than dogs that are used to going for runs at a park.

If you confront a dog on a walk, there's not very far you can go to avoid it. If you are at a large off leash area where you can see miles ahead, you are less likely to be intruding on the dog's 'space' and you can usually walk away before the dog even sees you.

But again I point out, these places aren't *fenced* like 'dog parks', which is why the generalisations don't work because off leash areas cannot be generalised about.

[Sky_Mel]

I use them but avoid large groups of dogs or certain dogs. Even when we go to the beach I try to find my own little area so my girl can have a good run off lead so we don't have deal with any drama as we have come across our fair share of irresponsible owners and their dogs. Even if I go to the beach with my girl and friends we find an area.