Dog parks in society (Proceedings)

There are an estimated 1100 off-leash areas in North America. There are both positive and negative aspects of behavior of dogs at dog parks.

History of off-leash use

More recently there has been a change in human-pet interactions from a utilitarian (dogs have a use, and owners needed them for work) to companionship. Most dogs in the U.S. now are companions. In spite of the fact that there are more domesticated dogs than children in the civilized world, dog parks are not considered a primary use of land by most parks and recreations commissions. In fact, many cities have ordinances prohibiting dogs from all city parks, even leashed, due to perceived health issues. The demand for designated off-leash dog exercise areas has multiplied due to increased urban population density, decreased public open space, increased enforcement of leash laws, and increased competition for the use of the open space and community parks.

Benefits to dogs

     • Outlet for exercise!

          o Especially important for potential mismatches between owner and type/breed of dog

     • Socialization of dogs

          o To other dogs, as well as to people other than owners. People also socialize to each other!

     • Stimulation of senses

          o Enrichment of environment beyond own house or yard.

Benefits to people

     • Exercise and Socialization

     • Quality time with pet

          o Spending quality time providing for the needs of their dogs.

     • Beautification of underutilized/run-down areas

     • Potential to decrease illegal off-leash use

          o If dogs are given a place to legally run.

     • Community activism

          o Often a strong gelling point for people in a community (on one side or the other).

     • Fundraising

          o Fundraising can be done specifically for the dog park, or can be for other purposes (i.e. animal shelters, police dogs, humane education).

Potential conflicts

There are potential conflicts between dog owners who have their dogs off-leash and people who do not have a dog with them in/near the park, or with people living in the surrounding communities. There are perceived issues about safety, environment, noise, and dog waste. These conflicts, which have been profiled in the national press, has proven, in some instances, to be unnecessarily divisive.

Safety concerns – people

More dog bites occur on someone's private property, such as their home or home of a friend, than in public places. UC Davis study (52 hours of observations) showed no direct dog-people aggression (growling, biting, charging).

Safety concerns – dogs

UC Davis study showed no injury to any dog during observations. A study by Shyan , et al, described 72 hours of observations of 177 dogs in 2-acre dog park in Indianapolis. 12 dogs showed aggression, with some repeat offenders, for 28 total encounters. However, it is important to be aware of the dogs' behavior at the parks, watching for fearful or aggressive behaviors, as well as inappropriate signaling or play behavior, such as with a dog that does not read body postures of other dogs well.

There is concern regarding infectious diseases. Young or immunocompromised dogs should not be taken to dog parks. The individual park and its users need to be taken into consideration as well. Some parks are frequented by owners who do not medically care for their pets as do owners who visit other parks.

Additionally, infectious diseases not necessarily carried by dogs need to be considered, such as with Leptospirosis, which can be found in drainage ditch water, perpetuated by wildlife species.

Management of dog parks

     • Who manages (private vs. city vs. county)

          o Truly private dog parks are rare. Financial crisis in cities/counties have impacted parks systems.

     • How management got involved

          o Usually groups of dog owners approached municipalities; municipalities set aside land

     • How chose land?

          o A big problem. A solution can be to use underutilized parcels for a dog-exclusive park, or segregate a portion of an existing park. Proactively, put dog parks into the Parks and Recreation Master Plan for the community to plan when developments are built in the future.

          o Some multi-use areas, i.e. county parks that allow dogs off-leash, have potential conflicts for continued OL use, such as with equestrians, bicyclists, and hikers, so have to take all potential users into consideration.

Development and design of park

     • Substrate

          o Natural for multi-use parks, as they are usually very large and already have the substrate present. Grass is aesthetically pleasing but often difficult to maintain without letting the area have "time off" to be able to be reseeded. Decomposed granite and woodchips are easy to maintain, inexpensive, but not as aesthetically pleasing. They have a higher initial cost, but little maintenance is usually involved. Manmade substrates are also available, such as ground rubber and fake grass.

     • Design

          o Most parks' designs are based on their size and layout. A good idea would be to design the park to bring people into the park, instead of congregating at the entrances.

          o There may be a decision to have a separate fenced small dog/fearful dog area, away from the main part of the park, with an entrance into this area from the main park, as well as a separate entrance from the outside. If size permits, there could also be a third area set aside for dogs that are fearful, but too large to play with the small dogs.

          o A separate fenced "time-out" area can also easily be planned, so that unruly or aggressive dogs can quickly be placed into this area, which either is not an entrance to the park, or is an alternate entrance that can be marked as being in use as such.

     • Amenities

          o Fencing and double-gated entries are primarily seen with dog-exclusive parks. Double-gating allows the dogs to be let off their leash before entering into the park, and helps to not allow dogs to escape. Ideally there should be separate areas for small dogs, to increase safety. Fencing should be at least 4 feet tall. Entrance to the park and into the park should meet ADA requirements. The entrance, if possible, should be as far away from residences, but close to parking.

          o Refuse cans are necessary for clean-up, but the numbers of cans were shown to not be significantly related to amount of feces found in dog parks (UCD study). Park-provided bags are also a good option, either purchased bags (i.e. MuttMits®) or donated used bags.

          o Signage outlining the rules of the park is necessary, and was correlated to amount of feces found in dog parks (UCD study). A bulletin board for posting notices is also a good idea.

          o Water, if provided, should be in a receptacle that can be cleaned, and placed in an area that cannot become muddy, such as on a cement pad with the area surrounding it easily drained (large river rocks, pebbles, etc.). Water should also be available for humans.

          o Shade can be provided via trees or shade arbors. In hot climates, pools for dogs can be a nice addition.

          o Seating areas are a nice touch. However, permanent benches may lead people to sit down and not be as aware of what their dog is doing, and permanent benches may allow dogs to congregate close to them, thus leading to degradation of the surface there. Movable plastic/resin chairs may be better.

          o Lighting is a nice touch, but neighborhood and/or potential environmental factors may need to be taken into consideration.

Maintenance of park

     • Waste

          o Clean-up of feces is important. However, in the study from UCD, there was a relatively low amount of feces in parks (median 1 per 100 square meters, range 0-7). There was a positive correlation with dog density, and a negative correlation with the number of signs, but not with the number of refuse cans available. In studies done elsewhere, dogs were a much less-significant source of water contamination than were waterfowl, humans, and other wildlife.

     • Substrate maintenance

          o The maintenance time and environmental resources (i.e. water for grass) depends heavily on the substrate chosen. Grass is the most intense to properly maintain, and most of the parks visited for the UCD study that had grass as a substrate were not well-maintained (patches of dead grass, dirt, and mud). Sand also is a special surface that requires special machinery to clean the sand. Filling holes that dogs have dug is important for safety reasons, as well as for long-term maintenance of the substrate.

     • Fencing

          o Proper post alignment posts, as well as repairing any holes, is important.

     • Dog park groups

          o Dog park group involvement was not correlated with success or decrease in the amount of feces, but managers felt that their involvement was very important (UCD study). There are many types of groups – state (i.e. CalDog, www.caldog.org), local/citywide/county wide (i.e. SFDOG, www.sfdog.org; Oakland D.O.G., www.odogparks.org), park (i.e. Roseville D.O.G., www.rosevilledog.org; Point Isabel Dog Owners, www.pido.org). Cleanup days, fundraisers, public outreach.