Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

Discussion in 'Labrador Training' started by TigersMom, May 26, 2014.

  1. Tillydyes

    Tillydyes Registered Users

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    If we had dog parks it would be the last place I'd take my pup. Teaching it off lead romping is not something I'd do.
     
  2. lynnelogan

    lynnelogan Registered Users

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    tigers mom, when i refer to off lead, there is no traffic, it is woods and field walking, :)
    from my back gate is a field, from there i can lead to a lake,woods,canal, hills,streams, :)
    i do take him out in the town centre, shopping areas,fun parks, even though he pulls me like a train :)
    i am working very hard on the lead walking
     
  3. drjs@5

    drjs@5 Registered Users

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    This is where I walk 2 mins from my front door

    [​IMG]

    Mostly agricultural farm land.
    We are very lucky to have this literally on our doorstep.
     
  4. Boogie

    Boogie Supporting Member Forum Supporter

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    [quote author=TigersMom link=topic=6254.msg82303#msg82303 date=1401137774]
    Off lead??? They won't run away and get hit by a car??
    [/quote]

    No, there are no cars where I walk Tatze :)

    She has excellent recall, but I wouldn't have her off lead near roads.
     
  5. JulieT

    JulieT Registered Users

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    I don't have Charlie off lead where I would say I'm near a road, but lots of people in London do. I call near a road, walking on a pavement alongside a road. There is no getting away from the fact I can hear the A3 running along the other side of the mere at Wimbledon Common. I reckon it sharpens my focus on my recall!
     
  6. Oberon

    Oberon Supporting Member Forum Supporter

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    I know that there is a view that dog parks are the work of the devil but they are not that bad, really :)

    You are all very lucky to have all your walking paths and off-lead areas. Where I live you cannot walk on others people's land and most of the non-inhabited areas are nature reserves where no dogs are allowed due to wildlife. It is a completely different environment and dog parks are a valuable resource.
     
  7. lynnelogan

    lynnelogan Registered Users

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    i do think we are so lucky, :)
    from my back door i have so many beautiful walks,i never realised what beautiful walks we have before i got jasper :)
     
  8. JulieT

    JulieT Registered Users

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    [quote author=Oberon link=topic=6254.msg82337#msg82337 date=1401141258]
    I know that there is a view that dog parks are the work of the devil but they are not that bad, really :)

    You are all very lucky to have all your walking paths and off-lead areas. Where I live you cannot walk on others people's land and most of the non-inhabited areas are nature reserves where no dogs are allowed due to wildlife. It is a completely different environment and dog parks are a valuable resource.
    [/quote]

    I'm absolutely sure it's about what we are used to - it does seem strange though, all that space in Australia! I guess the wildlife is more diverse, and probably needs careful guarding. But your beaches! We've seen pictures of your beaches!

    It's true, the thought of dog parks makes me shudder - I imagine wire fences, just a bare ground space, and large numbers of dogs in a big uncontrolled hoolie, which Charlie would both love and hate (he is picky about who he plays with). But then, Lisa's description of her dog park is nothing like that...

    Maybe we need some educational pics of dog parks from around the world...?
     
  9. Stacia

    Stacia Registered Users

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    I do have poo bags, masses of them and in every pocket and I pick up 'in the countryside' :) I just would be so embarrassed if they did it on a pavement, not that the probably would as they are fussy, won't go in the garden, but it is a fear I have ;D
     
  10. JulieT

    JulieT Registered Users

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    [quote author=Stacia link=topic=6254.msg82349#msg82349 date=1401143227]
    I do have poo bags, masses of them and in every pocket and I pick up 'in the countryside' :) I just would be so embarrassed if they did it on a pavement, not that the probably would as they are fussy, won't go in the garden, but it is a fear I have ;D
    [/quote]

    I see! Yes, that is an issue!

    OH was walking Charlie along a narrow street in Fowey at the weekend - so narrow that a car can't pass without pedestrians getting out of the way. Car was coming, OH stepped into a doorway, Charlie did not, and settled down for a good old poo. Car stopped. OH stood in doorway. All other pedestrians stood in other doorways waiting for Charlie to finish his poo, so the car could pass and they could step out of doorways to continue walking...door behind OH opens, and householder is now waiting too...all before OH even got his poo bag out...

    ;D ;D ;D

    I think you've just got to find it funny. That's what I told OH anyway. ;D
     
  11. Yvonne

    Yvonne Registered Users

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    Unfortunately here in the United States or at least where I live, there is a leash/lead law and you cannot let your dog off-leash anywhere. I live on Cape Cod but cannot take my pup to the beach from mid-May to mid-Sept due to tourists on beaches....guess some "ugly" people dont pick up after their pooches! I only got him four weeks ago, so am already in the "no beach" season. Yes, I would love to let my pup go and romp freely but.......no go.
    I envy all of you over in the U.K.
     
  12. Oberon

    Oberon Supporting Member Forum Supporter

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    Haha, so funny about Charlie's poo. You make 'em wait, Charlie boy.

    There are still a lot of off-lead areas in Australia - it's not too dire :) But way less than the UK, and many beaches are 'time share' as in the US.

    Some dog parks are boring and small, but some are big and very nice to be in. And the dogs are surprisingly controlled (as most dogs are regular attendees and are pretty calm about the whole thing).
     
  13. Lisa

    Lisa Registered Users

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    Well, my dog park is quite nice, I think. And because I live in a small town, there's certainly no danger of masses of dogs running around together in there. ::)Probably the most I've seen in there at one time is 5? 6?
    It's more likely that there is either no other dogs in the park when we go, in which case we can work on recall whistle, like we did last night; or, there may be a dog or dogs there but they are either too small, too big, or too grumpy for Simba to play with. The times that we go and Simba actually has another compatible dog to play with is actually few and far between.

    Like the rest of us non-UKers, I am envious of the walks the forum members talk about. Here it is much the same as Rachel describes, in terms of leash laws, etc. I can go for some walks off lead on some nice trails close by, thankfully, which technically are on-lead, but everyone treats them as of-lead. So, once I get Simba's recall more solid, that's where I will go for many of our walks.
     
  14. Oberon

    Oberon Supporting Member Forum Supporter

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    [quote author=Lisa link=topic=6254.msg82357#msg82357 date=1401147436]
    I can go for some walks off lead on some nice trails close by, thankfully, which technically are on-lead, but everyone treats them as of-lead.[/quote]

    Yes, lots of that here too, to which a bind eye is turned :)
     
  15. Clair

    Clair Registered Users

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    Just last night I was lamenting the lack of decent places to walk Shadow off lead where I live in South Africa! There is one decent place that I know of, a farm just for dogs to run around off lead and have fun, but it's over an hours' drive away.

    Law states that dogs must be on a lead in public areas and I'm not allowed to take her on any public transport or into any shops or shopping centres. We walk on lead in the suburbs where I live, which is challenging to put it mildly, as every yard has a dog and ALL the dogs bark at everything that passes by. There are a few little play parks with swings and stuff for kids and some people walk their dogs off lead there, but I don't feel safe there. It is just a smallish grass area, surrounded by roads, not properly fenced off, lots of stray dogs and vagrants that eat chicken and throw the bones on the ground for a puppy to find.

    Enjoy what you have!
     
  16. Boogie

    Boogie Supporting Member Forum Supporter

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    Come and live in the UK!

    Here is one of our local walks - plenty of dog walkers for socialisation (all off lead) and no cars :) The moors beyond the wall halfway up the hillside have sheep and wild ponies, but there is more than enough of walking that's sheep free too (5 miles or so). Our reservoirs are owned by the water boards who keep the surrounding countryside rather like country parks, they welcome dog walkers and provide and empty poo bins. :)

    Greenbooth Reservoir.

    [​IMG]

    Here are our local woods. We never fail to meet at least 2 or 3 doggy walkers :)

    [​IMG]
     
  17. Karen

    Karen Registered Users

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    In Germany we by law have to keep our dogs under control, and there are areas where dogs have to be on a leash. But my front door opens onto literally hundreds of square miles of beautiful forest where dogs can be off lead - we had to make an effort to use the lead to train lead walking! You have to train against hunting though, as the forester gets very upset about deer being chased or injured. In spring and early summer we have to keep dogs on the lead in certain meadows, as those are nature reserves where birds are nesting and fawns and leverets are left under cover by their mothers.

    The leash laws in Australia really make sense to me. The ecology is very fragile there; there are no native mammals, and feral dogs and cats can and do terrible damage to the native wildlife.

    I don't understand the leash law in the States so much though. There is so much space, and the wildlife is mostly big and tough and perfectly capable of looking after itself..
     
  18. Dexter

    Dexter Moderator Forum Supporter

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    You know something I realise that I don't actually have it that bad after 15 months of thinking I do!!!You can socialize your dog reasonably well when you are up against tough leash laws but it takes a bit of ingenuity.
    I've written about this before so many of you will know there is a total ban on dogs being off leash anywhere in the Country!and yet,Dexter gets off lead runs everyday ;) it might mean I have to get up at 5 am ( heat is dictating that but even in the winter ,I'm out by 6)but I made friends with all of our security men and they turn a blind eye to the group of us that use the parks 'out of hours' as long as we are under control.I managed to make friends with a decent number of people that will get out early and meet us so Dexter has had a reasonable amount of socialization.......... But I can't tell you how many people we meet who are pulling/ being pulled round by badly socialized dogs ,it's quite concerning really. ......you can't socialize your dog here unless you really get out and seek/ make opportunities x
     
  19. Lisa

    Lisa Registered Users

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    The leash laws where I live, in Canada, are mainly for the protection of people, rather than wildlife, I would say, in terms of dogs roaming the streets of a town or city.

    Dogs here do not have to be on-lead in the country, although, as Rachel has said, the land is usually privately owned by farmers and ranchers, so often you are not supposed to be trespassing on it anyways. They certainly would not appreciate their livestock being harassed by off-leash dogs. The provincial/national parks all have leash laws, again, more for the protection of people who are in the parks, but also for some of the wildlife.

    That being said, in those areas where I can go off leash that are not parks, etc, like our local trails, you still have to be careful about the wildlife. It is possible that I could encounter deer, elk, moose, coyotes, bears, cougars, or even wolves. All of those have been either spotted there, or people have seen sign of them (ie poop or other indicators). My dog could easily be injured or get chased by these animals if he comes across them off-lead, and if he's scared could come running back to me, with cougar/bear in hot pursuit! So...you do have to be careful. ;)
     
  20. Oberon

    Oberon Supporting Member Forum Supporter

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    Re: Why doesn't the UK have dog parks???

    Crikey. And I thought the odd snake encounter was bad.

    Mind you, kangaroos can do a bit of damage to a dog. I would not want my dog to ever catch up with one. There are lots of kangaroos at our local dog park but all on the other side of the fence (which is a golf course).
     

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