It’s been a while since I’ve posted here, preferring to just let the Internet do what it does best, but I’ve received some comments on the blog and questions regarding the trend toward private dog parks. This is a good thing for a number of reasons.
First, responsible dog owners and people of good sense are coming to understand that public entities do a terrible job of creating and running dog parks. Animal Control agencies, particularly those affiliated with Police Departments, are becoming skeletal resulting in the dogs in these parks being increasingly not registered or vaccinated, incidents are poorly investigated and prosecuted, and dog-centric interest groups are succeeding in having liability suppressed for violent or otherwise out-of-control dogs. So what can a dog owner of good will and sense do?
Private dog parks come with access granted only after agreeing to certain contractual norms established by the private organization. There are many different flavors of these kinds of parks, but they all have one thing in common: Dog owners are responsible for all behavior of their dogs, and membership is limited to those willing to agree to high standards of conduct on the part of both the owner and the dog.
Much thought has gone into these new parks, and below are some resources for getting your own park going [Google search “dog park club private”]:
- UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Dog Park Management Guidelines
- AKC Dog Park Guidelines
- Example of a homeowners’ association dog park
- Another private dog park
- And another
- Yahoo Groups link to insurance companies who can work with you [Thanks to Bill Z.]
So have you had your fill of the neighborhood troll showing up with his pissed off pit bull while you’re trying to exercise your corgi with some friends? Check out what others have done to protect themselves, and take action make it safe for yourself and your best friend.
Danger at the Dog Park 