Are Dog Parks Safe? - Are They a Good Idea for Your Dog (What the Science Says) 

It all depends who is there imo, making friends and networking is key

Finally! A sensible discussion about dog parks. Rather than labeling as bad hands down, this lady goes further than pluses/minuses-actually gives a broad perspective and great data.

When we got our first Whippet, she was a rather shy little pup... taking her to the dog park seemed way too risky. We worked on socialising her with strangers/individual dogs we knew first, and the next year we slowly introduced her to the local dog park. For us, it was imperative that her natural instinct to free run around our fenced up dog park was allowed-especially since it was such a joy to see her sprinting with a massive grin from ear to ear! Yes, she met a few dodgy/aggressive dogs throughout the years-I could count them on one hand-but through her 15 years she also made so many wonderful friends too. She sadly passed away last Xmas, but when we choose to get our next Whippet we’ll definitely introduce her slowly to Maggie’s best friends.

Thank you for offering a balanced view of dog parks! We have two (rescue) dogs. We had the super sociable comfortable dog first and often went to the local dog park with her and she loves it. Then we got a rather mixed up second dog. We knew she didn't freeze when she was uncomfortable with dogs but didn't look for contact with people or dogs (but was fine with us). So she too came to the dog park, we warned people to ignore her and for months she stayed apart (we play with her) but little by little she came to people and dogs and now she is like other dogs in the park,and loves to go. But I must say, we knew most people and dogs. The problem I would say in parks is people who chat and don't pay attention to their dogs. I look forward to the next videos on the subject.

We love our dog park and the dogs/people who go there. Have we had a scuffle or two, sure. Anything serious? No. The amount of “selection bias” videos of bad interactions and fights are meant to scare you and get clicks. Love the nuance of this video and actually CITING RESEARCH. ❤️❤️❤️

Bindi LOVES the dog park!! She is a staffy and one of those dogs who will adjust her play to cater to the other dog. So if we saw a bugger dog that was very rough in his or her play, Bindi would be a little rougher, if we saw a little dog who was a bit more delicate she would be very gentle. The other thing I noticed about her is her play style would change a bit... some dogs like chasing, some dogs like more of a wrestling or mouthing play and she used to be very good at adjusting herself to the other dog. She had a habit of finding the least sociable dog in the park and would bring it out of its shell for a play. I remember one time this lady brought in a small dog (we were already in a group) and she said, don't mind her because she will just walk around by herself but she's not mean she just doesn't play. Not 5 minutes later and there is this little dog for the first time playing with another dog, Bindi 🤣 We don't go very much these days. When we do we make sure there are no dogs there but hopefully your series gives us some more courage to give it another try with other dogs. Murphy hasn't had any play dates because he can play a little rough for my liking and some dogs just don't respond to that. Really loved this video Jenna and so excited that this is a series one! Excitedly awaiting your next one ❤

I was very skeptical of the dog park, but my newest dog is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi (if you haven’t met one, they are bold, out-going, extroverted, friendly, but they are cattle drovers, which can make them a little intense.) She learnt beautiful, appropriate play while with her littermates, and plays very nicely with my 12 year old golden. But besides him, the only dogs I had available for her to play with in my friend group are younger pups who aren’t very confident. Their failure to engage despite all of her play-soliciting body language was frustrating to her, so her genes would urge her to get them to move by barking, and that just freaked them out even more. Eventually there was some successful play, but I really saw the need to get her with some other, bigger, more confident dogs. So I got over my reservations and tried the dog park at a time when it wasn’t that busy. I first took her to the empty small dog area, so she could see the other dogs through the fence. I let her observe for a while, and a couple dogs came up to greet her which she readily engaged with. Once she started indicating that she wanted to go in, we went. The first playmate she gravitated to was a large male German shepherd! It was absolutely adorable to watch them chasing each other back and forth. Since then, I’ve taken her several times and it has always gone well. There are always one or two dogs who are less than appropriate, but it’s a big park and it’s easy to keep away from them. The rest of the dogs seem to have fantastic social skills-I’m very impressed-so even when those inappropriate dogs cross the line, they just get away from them without a fight breaking out. I took my old golden yesterday for the first time in his life. He loves other dogs but like I said, I’ve always been anti-dog park. He had a blast! He immediately gravitated toward the young pups and played grandpa to them. Warmed my heart. I will definitely keep taking my girl through her adolescence, and then reassess when she’s an adult whether she still enjoys play with other dogs or not.

Our dog park is a large "L" shaped area. It has 2 entrances, each a small holding area to make sure a dog in the park doesn't escape the park while a new one is entering. It has also recently been divided so that a smaller area has been fenced off from the main park to create a space for small dogs to play and not have to be mixed in with the larger breeds. It is run by an association that maintains the benches (for people to sit on) and controls the lighting for night use. They do a major sweep/cleanup of the park once a week and provide poop bag stations and trash cans at strategic locations in the park so you can clean up and dispose of your dog's waste. Unfortunately, not everyone cleans up after their dogs, but I think it is more a matter of they don't see their dog doing it because a lot of the time the owners are talking to other owners or reading a book or using their cellphone. When I see a dog leaving a pile behind I usually try to canvass the owners that are there and ask them, "Who owns the *describe* the dog?" Once i find out I say, "You may not be aware of this but your dog just pooped," and then tell them where. Most owners are grateful for the info and take care of it right away. The community water bowl is actually more like a large heavy duty plastic bowl that is way too heavy to pick up! There is also a small child size pool that the dogs can jump in and out of. The area by the spicket is usually pretty messy! I always bring my own water with me. BTW - one of the rules is NO FOOD in the park - animal OR human. Most of the dogs that go there get along with each other, but when one becomes too rowdy the owner's are pretty good about gathering them up and leaving. The one thing that I really don't like is the -you guessed it- the mounting behavior. I was at the park once and there was one dog that tried to mount every single dog in the park, no matter the size. I found it be be very irritating. :| I think they eventually gathered up their dog and left. We don't go very often because it is about 15 miles from my place, but when we do it is generally an okay experience. If it is too crowded or the other dogs appear to be too rowdy we just don't go in.

My 3 year old mutt dog loves dog parks and playing with other dogs. Near where i live we have both on and off leash dog parks and even most human establishments and i always bring fresh water to the park. He is also used to meeting other dogs on walks i just tell him "say hi" and most leash intersections are brief unless the 2 want to play for a bit then off we go . I use treats to reward his good interactions and use the term "look at me" if he is reactive. He even has a facebook page full of him playing with different dogs at different dog parks. Before moving i did pet sitting and dog walking apps and he would observe my 13 yr old lab greet other dogs while he was carated and learned from her. boarding dogs while caring for my own was kind of like a dog park.

I think it's important to note that most, if not all, of the dogs in the park are unknown to you. There are really no rules or boundaries, and they're strangers. It's kind of like if we dropped a person into a prison recreational yard. Sure, most of the inmates probably aren't going to hurt you, but there are some who will, and you don't know which is which. For example, some people aren't as responsible as you. I've seen dogs with "policing" tendencies, that see other dogs running and playing and feel the need to stop them. This can easily turn into other dogs (that are not yours) getting involved, and fights start. All the while your dog didn't do anything, but is now involved in a fight. That's just one example of the fact that you don't know the other dogs or what they'll do. It's a pretty big risk.

It really all depends on the dogs activity level, tollerance to other dogs, temperment, personality, training, and the playstyle of your dog and the dogs there and how both sides respond before opening the gate. If you see a dog with a muzzle on at the park or owners not paying attention or people allowing kids to play st the dog psrk just go after hours. My dog loved it when i did pet sitting apps since most of the time it meant that he could play with a small anount of dogs in my yard when people boarded them. There is even an app called Sniffspot where you can rent out your backyard to other people’s dogs. (Most do one household or 2 at a time or have pets of their own...dog park on a small scale) Think Airbnb, but just with the yard. Pet owners can rent a yard by the hour, with prices ranging from $4 to $25 per hour. Sniffspot was created for dog owners without yards who want to give their pets a place to play. It can also be a better option for dogs who don’t do well at traditional dog parks.

My Aussie boy is wonderful in dog parks! He is the one who starts the fun, and we’ve even had dog parents thanking us for making their depressed or elderly dogs move a little because of him 😅 However, I’m limiting his time in the park to 1-2 weekly as I know he’s exhausted after!

Very interesting! Most of my fosters had no interest in playing with other dogs, they were tolerant but had no desire to interact and just ignored them. They did love going up to all the people and getting attention though, so I decided rather than take them to a dog park and risking even the slightest chance of them meeting a dog that maybe they weren't so tolerant of and something going bad, it would be better for them to get their playtime in my yard and meet people on walks and at dog friendly stores

I have been taking mine to off leash parks for 35 years and never experienced anything but a few minor issues. I am hyper vigilant to people or dogs that could cause problems and all my dogs have excellent recalls. Sometimes especially on Saturdays or holidays sometimes the vibe is off so we just go somewhere else. I also have a large group of people that we walk with it. I have far more problems with people who are afraid of dogs and screaming and acting like all the dogs are killers. My dream is to buy 200 acres and have a members only dog park.

My dog is dog aggressive but only if the owner is around. If it’s just a random dog he’s fine but as soon as people are around he goes crazy. Do you know why? Is he being protective? He loves people, too.

I have many varieties. My first, older mix breed girl has never been all that dog social. She's WAYYY way way more people oriented. So she really didn't play with other dogs at the park and stuck by our side and would get easily overwhelmed and feel like she had to defend herself to get the dogs out her space. We stopped taking her because she clearly didnt enjoy it on any day. Didn't matter what dogs or how many dogs were there. She enjoyed the smells if there were no dogs there but that's it. My other boy. A male GSD wasnt afraid of anything. He had some serious ball drive though so he'd pick training to earn his ball being thrown by me any time, even if all the dogs were running all around him. But once we stopped playing ball he also had no problem running chasing and playing very very well with just about any dog that came in. He made multiple regular dog friends, one of which I started dog sitting for and they became besties. My current and most recent boy A golden retriever. Is a shy nervous thing overall. But hes also really socialable. We take every new enviorment and situation slow and with lots of encouragement and reinforcement. But also giving him the ability to make his own choices. That included the dog park. Our first visit with him we went with no one there. Gradually one or two dogs showed up before we left. Now he isnt hesitant at all to go into the dog park. He knows which dogs he can interact with and play with and have fun with, and which ones are 'to much' for his personal preference. If a dogs pushing him to much and wont back off he comes to me and goes between my legs and I block them, and we move away. Then hes good and he goes back to playing with dogs he likes. So I've had dogs that don't like the dog park and ones who do. I've SEEN other peoples dogs who love the dog park and ones come in SO overwhelmed they start dog fights at the gate. (Small. Nothin serious. Just the overwhelmed dog telling the others back off and the others being confused and snapping back) There's always way more positive then negative though. And the only fights are dogs who don't even wanna be there. So if owners recognized and listened to that, there wouldn't have been fights at all.

My dogs love the dog park, I would probably still take him, but I live in San Diego and find the beaches are less condensed, people also seem like they pay attention to their dogs at the beaches. I have Aussies so when I did take them I would have to bike with them first to get some of that energy out first.

First, you never fail to create well educated content with a lot of substance. Also, i agree with every point made. I tend to be very passionate and have a more firm training style so im going to try hard not to draw you into a debate when your content is accurate, well presented and will benefit a lot of people tremendously. I just wanted to say that ive actually weighed all of those things and i still dont support dog parks in general. There is a portion of the population who will have lifetime positive experiences at dog parks and we both agree on that. Awesome points made in this video * let the dog decide ( i want to introduce a variable that may provoke some thinking about this further) * not so much for puppies So im actually an animal enthusiast in general and have studied wolves my whole life. While pondering on the dog park trend i concluded that dog parks are very unatural for canine psychology. Perhaps you will do a video on this? Perhaps you feel differently. But in 37 years ive seen several wolf behaviors that directly are opposite of what a lot of dog parks are about. Now i could be wrong when you consider the hundreds if not thousands of years of canine domestication, and perhaps domestication has changed key psychological components of the modern dog as opposed its wild relative. I could see this holding wait if their brains are drastically different but im not convinced they are. I also am not comfortable presenting my case as a fact because ive not really done formal research into this specific question of whether dogs no longer function socially as their wild relatives. I would also want to speak to people who have studied both dogs and solves and done formal studies on how they think and socialize. So i do believe our beliefs although polar opposite are both strong cases, i dont consider mine as fact but almost as if it were due to a lifetime of observation of humans, dogs and wolves on documentaries. Another reason why i dont particularly like them is because i believe they are often the first step in a dog losing its home. When some people find their dog isnt a social butterfly im sure they get rid of it and i actually think positive training has caused some of this unrealistic expectations in dog owners which is both ironic and sad and defeats the purpose of positive training. At the end of the day i am old school in that i believe the canine should acqiest to the demands of its master. But far too many canines are going to fail with a master with an average or below average skillset and i just dont like that. I kinda feel like its making a kid take a test that they were not prepared for. Can you imagine not being educated and then taking a bar exam? That would feel unfair. Thats how a lot of dogs are taken to the dog park. They are set up to fail before even arriving...there is so many steps one should take before even considering it. Like learning heat cycle, deciding to spay or neuter, building recall or at least name recognition, having a well fitting collar in case a quick retrieval is necessary and the appropriate type of collar for the individual dog, if they are not vax their should be a non vax program in place, it doesn't need to be formal, if they are vax the status should be known, there should be instances of passing canines so one can feel out the personality. A game pit should never go unless no other dogs are present...once they arrive it should be removed. An adopted dog should have some safe informal meet and greats especially if hes a turkish kangal and some sled dog breeds can be quite toy possessive so id want to know i can quickly remove him if someone unwitingly introduces a high value toy. Plus if my dog is 150 lbs i know hes not gonna have a blast with the Chihuahua. Id also observe the play before entering...if you know your dog hates face nips ( in play) its going to correct that or cower upon entering. If the people there are not nice... I would not expect their dogs to be any better. You have to be very realistic about who is there and why. If the people are pleasant their dogs will probably have their owners disposition...if they are not then if something does happen, you cant even get them to assist you in making sure the dogs have the direction and support they need. Just like there are bully parents who are not going to be fun to spend liesure time with..there are bully dog parents that you should avoid. The best socialization there is the opportunity to work on paying attention to you and great recall because that won't be fun. And most people im sure just want to have a fun safe time but when you are in public you cant control who shows up. From children, strollers, wheel chairs, cars, high value toys and dogs in heat there are a lot of before things one should do prior to showing up. I remember i was at petsmart and a owner found his dog was high value toy possessive only when it lunged at her binky or something and didn't want to let go. I had to physically separate them by pulling her from under him. Hes not necessarily a bad dog but dont you agree he probably missed a ton of precursors before walking in to a petsmart where he was going to be flooded with variables beyond his level? So now imagine he was unleashed and it was 20 dogs and my baby niece. It could have been a fluke...no matter how well trained they are still beasts. The owner didnt necessarily knowingly bring him in that way. So this means no one noticed the dog was very possessive and yet he was set up to fail before his master sufficiently knew him or prepared him. Dog parks are a situation of chaos and wolves abhore chaos and dogs who are more wolf like wont tolerate it. I acknowledge there have to be some dog parks who are entirely not chaotic and perhaps its not pc but maybe owners should discuss honestly amongst thdmselves about which dog parks are particularly frequented by dog lovers who are involved and ready to intervene if necessary. Until we admit all dog parks are not necessarily the same we cant fully improve the situation. And if there is a park that is a repeat offender it should be dealt with or shut down entirely. If people cannot properly take care of a privilege then they should not have that privilege. I think a marriage of personal real life events and formal study renders the best resource to decide. And not being afraid to find out if possible what dog parks are more problematic than others and avoiding them. You may have to drive a bit to a better park..dont we do that for our children? 😊 Btw, if every dog owner was YOU i would fully support dog parks. lol But they are not. If you have a dog for a purpose...and you take it to the dog park. You have to have the skillset to nix scenarios where your dog will be shaped into a personality you dont desire. A overly friendly protection dog, a service dog who completely ignores you for her new playmate is not going to bode well, a attacked dog who lives with a toddler can become a fear biter and these dogs are particularly unpredictable and one of the rare cases i support unable osners rehoming...but these things could be avoided by treating the dog park as you would a school for your child...research...research...research....be picky...dont take the fur baby just anyway....leave if someone shows up and you feel its best to leave. You are not being mean...you are avoiding potentially disadvantageous events by being observant. If you know 3 fights took place last week take your dog to the park where no fight took place for 3 years. Talk to the other people....are they nice? Ask about their dogs likes and dislikes and always be willing to correct your own dog and leave if another dog is in terrible need of redirection they are clearly not getting. Its quite similar to having a child. My boys play best in supervised structured places with similar personalies. They both seek direction and need it...they both would not have fun in complete chaos ( my human sons). Btw...again this was a very well put together video with information i respect and i thoughoughly enjoyed the interview. I incorporate a lot of your input into my program although we fall into two seperate schools of thought. I call mine relationship based training and i hope it catches on. lol

Great content, loved the interview. Nothing is perfect in life , good sides too dog parcs and not so good. The kennel cough vaccine doesn't t work in the fall I avoid the parc all together now . It's great for exercise and play . Every now and then little things happen that makes me feel uncomfortable . My dog was overly friendly not so bad now she s 4 . We cut down the frequency of the visits and I feel she s more interested in us now .

Our rescue LOVES the dog park. He thrives off playing with other pups. His favorite is being chased by them. When he is running, he is at his happiest. HOWEVER, the last 2 times I've taken him, he lifted his leg to pee on a person. He is over a year old and that was the first time I had ever seen him lift his leg to pee (he still squats like a puppy or female.) I don't know what to do. I don't know how to teach him not to do that (he is deaf so I can't correct him verbally and I can't physically get to him in time.) Do I stop taking him to the dog park because I can't stop this behavior?

Loved the video! If it comes to dog parks - maybe you could record a video commenting on Senza Tempo Cane Corso and their videos showing a dog park's reality? For example the one titled 'teaching Admiral to behave around small dogs' or something like that, I can't remember the exact title right now. I don't support the way she handles those dogs, but I'm really curious of how you would approach the subject. Take care 🥰

Please do a review/guide on doggy day care. Are they beneficial? How to pick a good one? Is there any influence on going to doggie day care and leash reactivity on walks? I don’t see a lot about day care and the facilities I’ve found so far don’t seem fantastic

I want to say at the outset that I really miss having CC available on this video. :(