From 2009 to 2020, there was a 40 percent increase in the development of public dog parks. Designated spots for canine exercise have become commonplace in every major city in North America — many pet owners won’t even consider renting an apartment that doesn’t have its own fenced-in pet area for their canine companions.
On the surface, off-leash dog parks sound wonderful. A safe space for dogs where our companions can roam freely, interact with their own kind, and come home tired? Sign us up!
In reality, though, these environments are a mixed bag. For years, Sniffspot has been educating about the limitations, drawbacks, and safety concerns of public off-leash dog parks. Now Sniffspot has conducted a national survey of dog owners across the country to better understand the state of public off-leash dog parks.
Here’s what to know to keep you and your furry friend safe.
While the popularity of public off-leash dog parks has been skyrocketing in the United States, so has the number of professional trainers who caution against their use to keep our furry friends safe.
Here are some of the top risks associated with public off-leash spaces.
26% of survey respondents reported that they feel other dog owners are irresponsible with their dogs in public. This is a common theme with public off-leash dog parks, where often there are a group of park attendees there with their dogs — and in a dedicated space that might make them more likely to let behavior slide.
It only takes one irresponsible owner to cause issues for other owners at the public dog park. Since these dog areas are open to the public, this limits the controls park users have available to prevent canine aggression, bite injuries, and other issues between social animals.
Many owners are drawn to public off-leash dog parks because they want to socialize their pets. We’re inundated with messages of the “perfect” friendly dog. Our social media feeds feature viral videos of animal best friends that echo the cutesy movies we loved as children — but they often show a false reality.
The truth is that while dogs are social mammals, it’s typically not natural for them to regularly engage in play with strangers. Doing so can create an uncomfortable social structure among a variety of dogs — instead of providing the social benefits we hope for at off-leash dog parks. Dog sociability can be viewed as a sliding scale:
Ultimately: It’s perfectly normal for our furry friends to not want to play with other pets outside of our families. What’s not normal is putting them into a confined environment with other canines and expecting everyone to get along perfectly. This is especially true when toys and food are involved. Resource guarding is a common behavioral problem.
We were surprised by how dangerous public off-leash dog parks actually are: 15% of dog owners report their dog having been attacked at a public dog park!
Aside from the obvious injuries and deaths that come from dog attacks, even minor dog attacks or brief interactions with aggressive dogs can have a long lasting impact on the psyche of the victim, leading to future issues with reactivity. This is especially common in urban parks or small park playgrounds that don't have adequate space dogs and pet owners to spread out.
On top of actual attacks, there are additional risks that might outweigh potential dog park benefits. Canines can be mismatched in size or inadvertently break skin while wrestling with untrimmed nails.
It’s also impossible to eliminate all infection risk, no matter how hard a city works to keep their parks clean. There’s no way to confirm that every dog entering an off-leash space has been fully vaccinated — or has had appropriate screening for parasites, like tests for hookworms and intestinal parasite infections. Bacterial diseases like leptospirosis often thrive in muddy terrain.
While effective dog park setups try to mitigate these risks, there is no way to remove them completely in any public park setting, and the prevalence of infection is often high in urban parks.
Public off-leash dog parks, being free and open, do serve an important community service in cities. Park access can enable dogs and their guardians to live a more active lifestyle — and effective dog park setups can reduce the risks of injury and transmission of disease that are inherent in any city parks. If choosing to use a public dog park, park attendees can do a lot to manage the safety of their dog:
When things go right at public parks, dogs can find benefits there:
Here are the United States’ regions, ordered from worst to best public dog park rankings, based on our survey.
The West came in last place for their public dog park amenities.
Unfortunately, other options for dog exercise are limited in the West as well:
Within the West, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, and New Mexico had the lowest public dog park safety scores. The Bay Area was a bright spot, however — none of the survey respondents there report feeling unsafe in off-leash parks.
The Northeast came in third place for public dog park safety. It scored slightly better than the West on most criteria:
There’s one exception the Northeast has going for it, though. Only 10% of respondents say they feel their public dog parks are dirty — that’s the cleanest report of every region we surveyed.
The South’s public dog parks came in second place on our survey.
Based on our survey, the Midwest has the best public dog parks.
Unfortunately, 22% of respondents — more than one in five dog owners who completed our survey — feel that local dog owners are generally irresponsible. Despite the better public dog park statistics, this reality can still make it difficult for pets and their people to safely get the exercise they need.
In order to accurately weigh the benefits and costs of visiting public dog parks, potential dog park attendees should carefully consider:
Ultimately, every owner should make their own decision and rely on their common sense about whether or not to frequent public off-leash dog parks with their own dogs. The more information available, the more thoughtful that decision-making process can be!
Sniffspot surveyed more than 1,000 dog owners nationwide about their perceptions of local public dog parks. These dog owners are not Sniffspot users; respondents were sourced using SurveyMonkey Audience.
We asked about their dogs’ sociability, if they’ve ever been attacked by another canine, how often they’re approached outside of public dog parks (like in neighborhoods and other leash-required spaces), and how they feel about public dog park safety and cleanliness overall.
Sniffspot’s mission is to make the world a more dog-friendly place. We understand that life in modern human society can be tough for our canine companions — on even a casual walk many pets are assaulted with unfamiliar noises, movements, other dogs, and people.
Public off-leash parks work for some dogs but cause problems for others. We believe every dog deserves the opportunity to have their needs met in a truly safe environment. That’s why we’ve created a community of private spaces for owners to explore.
It’s also why we’re committed to helping owners understand the risks and benefits of any activity we do with our dogs. The more we know before entering a public dog park, the better we can protect our pets.