What's the deal with dog parks?

Spanky at the Great Bark Dog Park, Lafayette, CO

I’ll admit I never understood the need for dog parks prior to becoming a dog owner. What’s the big deal? Dogs just run around, sniff each others butts, maybe run after a few balls, while owners just stand around and brag about how smart their dog is. In a way, it didn’t seem much different than parents taking their kids to a playground (except for the butt sniffing part.) But once Spanky came into our lives, I realized what the fuss was about. Dog parks are like Disneyland for dogs. Running off leash is total freedom. Sure, Spanky can run around in our rather small backyard, but running around in a dog park is an entirely different experience. It reminds me of when I used to take my kids to Chuck E. Cheese. They came home feeling wiped out and happy. Same way with dogs, except they don't come with bunch of junky prizes, just a feeling of contentment and maybe some muddy feet.

We started taking Spanky when he was about 8 months old to a local dog park about 10 minutes away in a nearby town since our little town didn’t have one at the time. I was a bit nervous because so many people had warned me that dog parks were bad places for little dogs. Well, we didn’t have any issues, other than me nearly getting peed on by dogs a couple of times (I have since learned that dogs love to pee on the picnic table at this particular park and if you get hit by their pee, well, that’s your own damn fault.) But this dog park didn’t turn out to be a good choice. You see, pugs aren’t typically run and fetch type dogs, and that’s all people really did with their dogs at this park. So we tried out a few other parks. We found one out near where we took our youngest son for his weekly sax lesson every Saturday. It’s a bit of a drive, but since we were in the area every week, it worked out fine.

I swear Spanky must have a little mental calendar. He knows exactly what day is dog park day from the moment he gets up. Perhaps it’s because I’m not getting up at the God-awful hour of 5:45 to drag my boys out of bed. But even so, he seems charged up and ready to go. I was in my closet getting dressed last weekend and he was in the other room. All I said was, “Spanky, time to go to the dog park” and he came tearing out of the other room, and started pumping my leg with a big goofy pug grin. Okay, sometimes I think Spanky is a little bit dumb, but he proved me wrong in this case.

The sniffing game

One thing you should know is that Colorado, although known for its mountains, is also pretty brown and ugly for a good part of the year. We live just north of Denver, east of the Rockies, and everything here is pretty flat and,well, almost like living in the Midwest. It’s a lot different from my native perpetually green Pacific Northwest. This particular dog park is basically just a couple of acres located in a flat, grassy field. Nothing spectacular. It does have an awesome view of Long’s Peak (the prominent 14,000 foot peak in Rocky Mountain National Park.) For Spanky, it’s the perfect park. A trail loops around and he just trots along, coming up behind unsuspecting people and sniffing their legs (he’s rather skittish and likes to sniff people first, especially the ladies in areas he shouldn't be sniffing,  before letting them pet him.) My husband and I hit up Starbucks before we come, so we just take a leisurely stroll, enjoying the view and drinking our coffee. Spanky gets his off-leash time and he seems perfectly content to stay a few paces ahead of us. Some dogs race around checking each other out and playing, but Spanky generally prefers to hang out with us, and have dogs come up to him, rather than seeking them out. While he has barked at a few dogs (check out the pic of him below with the Great Dane) he’s never had one altercation. Nor have I ever seen a dog fight here. Dogs seem to know the rules and have a great time.

"Who's your mamma?"

I now get the deal with dog parks. Getting a daily walk is great, but running free is much better. If you’ve got a dog, and you haven’t taken it to a dog park, you owe to both of you to get out and visit one.

P.S. Don't wear your $100 jeans or designer sweats though. I am always getting slobbered on by big dogs and the other weekend one dog thought I was a tree. I guess that's what I get for being tall.