OMG!!! I'm glad your cutie pie is ok! Did you have him checked out with a vet? What did the owner of the other dog do???

I took Couver to the dog park this weekend, and it was one of the most stressful things. There were two great danes, and a bunch of huge dogs. Even an aggressive pit bull. One dog even attempted to bite Couver! :eek:

I am going to stick to my small dog play group that we arranged where we meet at a gated in park. I feel a lot safer with him playing with dogs his size.

I don't like much dog parks. IMXO, it is not safe for yorkies. Last year one yorkie was killed by retriver in dog park. Yorkie wanted just to say "hi":(. It happened in first seconds. Both owners were just shocked:eek:. The only exception is one park where we go all the time. It is NOT an official dog park, all dogs must be on leash, however all owners let their SMALL dogs play and run. We don't have many big dogs.
Usually, we prefer to go to other parks with no dogs.

Lexie and madison have the privilege of going to the park every weekday to play with 5 other yorkies, a poodle, a spaniel, and 2 shi tzu for an hour. its not a desginated doggie park, but for that hour its our doggie park. they run, play, sniff, and get to be dogs. do they get dirty? yes some days. other days no.
I've taken periodic stool samples in to the vet to see if they are 'catching anything' and no they haven't gotten anything put socialized and pooped from all the romping and playing they get to do. :)

I chalk up their ability to be around other dogs and people in a balanced state due to our daily hour of park play.

We go to Marymoor Park, the biggest off-leash park in the country, all the time-- several times each week when the weather is nice. I've found that the key to being as safe as possible is to go at times when it is not as crowded. Weekends tend to be insane, but weekdays there are always fewer people there-- and the weekend dogs tend to be a bit less well-trained than the dogs that one meets on weekday mornings. When we're there, I try to steer clear of owners who look like they don't have much control over their dogs, or dogs who don't look comfortable and easy-going. Thankfully it is a very large park with a lot of trails, so it is easy to dodge folks when I have a bad feeling about them.

Penny's a little bigger than most of the dogs on this board though-- I don't know if I would dare take her if she was extremely small. Even at 11lbs she is often the littlest one in a playgroup, and a couple times bigger dogs have tripped over her even if they didn't mean any harm by it.

Oh:animal-pa, We also go to Marymoor too sometimes, but never to off leash area. My Jessica doesn't like too many dogs around. But she DOES love that park :thumbup:

I've always taken my Tiffany to the small dog park (I have one across the street from my condo). We've been going since she had all her puppy shots. She's 11 months now and 3.5 lbs. She does great and we've never had an incident. I make sure that I'm near her..watching every dog that comes in the gate. I'm not just sitting on a bench talking to the other dog "parents" or chatting on my cell phone. I guess since I'm a new dog owner, I didn't really think of all the negatives everyone else has mentioned on this thread but I knew to be alert in case something did happen.

She loves going there...and is very outgoing and good with the other dogs and their parents. I've gotten a lot of compliments from the people there saying how well she does. I find it works for me because I'm single and don't have another dog for her to play with. It's a great time for her to greet other people/children and play with other dogs.

Saying that...I will definitely take what is being said into consideration. I didn't know she could catch anything if she has had all her shots. I'm also new to the area but I will look into getting into some play groups.

Woo! If you ever see a short brown-haired girl with a bouncy teapot in a purple harness, shout "Sara" and see if I turn around! The dogs could have a yorkie conference. :aimeeyork:aimeeyork

I take Genghis to Butcher park almost everyday. It has Faux grass and a separate area for large dogs. If there is an aggressive dog I take him to the less busy Los Gatos Creek Trail dog park that has the same small dog/big dog set up, if there that park has aggressive dogs I take him for a leashed walk on the trail.

He used to be very nervous about the dog park and stay on the edges, but now he LOVES it and gets excited when he realizes where we are. I know and make sure my dog has all his shots including bordetella, which are supposed to prevent most of what he can get at the dog park.

The thing that I dislike most about the dog parks is when people bring their kids there and think it's ok for them to feed MY dog their treats without permission. How do I know the treats aren't poisoned? or how do they know the dogs are not allergic to the treats. I watch Genghis like a hawk at the dog park and he is pretty good about not approaching strangers unless I am comfortable with them and talk to them, but the treats makes it an uneven playing field. Also how are the dogs supposed to get exercise if they are busy begging for treats? Also treats make some dogs aggressive/possessive. and fights start breaking out. In general if I see someone bringing in treats with the intention of feeding other peoples dogs, I leave. It's a dog park not a duck pond.

Going to the dog parks makes me understand why many breeders do not let their puppies go to houses with small children. Some children are pretty rotten and I think they all hang out at the dog park. Not just the dog park but the small dog park side. you don't see them messing with the great danes and mastiffs on the other side.

With all that said, I will still take Genghis to the dog park. It has done more good than harm. He meets up with his doggie friends and there is always someone there to play with. I love meet ups but they require planning, and Genghis needs exercise/fun everyday.

Way too paranoid to take my two to the dog park.
In fact, I don't even know where one is.
We walk around our own neighborhood.
Not to exciting but at least we are out!! :)

I am like others, a worried mom about my lil one possibly getting fleas at our local dog park, so I had checked with my vet and his response was.... "She will get more than just fleas if you take her to a dog park, so I would definately advise against it". I also have a park next to my complex, but there are alot of dogs that use it also and who knows what may lurk in the grass that our lil ones can sniff or eat... :eek::eek::eek: I guess I just need to find a safe, clean, possibly indoor area that she can run and be free without the worries of her getting something. Wonder if there is such a place:confused:

We take Molly to the park usually twice a week, but ALL dogs must stay on their leash. And it's law that All dog's must have their vaccinations and tag's!

So this prevent's things like that. We love the park.

Our city make's sure it's safe and everyone does their part.

;)

I'm glad I saw this. I was thinking of taking the pups to a dog park that has a 'small dog' area this weekend. After seeing this I have changed my mind. Also I remember hearing somewhere about someone putting antifreeze in a water bowl at a dog park and some dogs died. If you go to a dog park please bring your own water and don't let them drink from a community dog water bowl.

Wow! That's horrible!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, thankfully at our Dog Park the only thing 'community' in the park is the doggy stations, which is just 4 or 5 little areas throughout the park that has poo bags and a waste can. Very convienent! And makes sure that every owner does their part. ;)

Our dog park in Alpharetta (burb of Atlanta) is very nice also. It is part of a three acre community park called Wills Park with hiking trails, tennis, swimming, baseball, running trails and even a horse park.

As some you also mentioned ours also takes excellent care of the park including the dog areas. We have parks for both small and large dogs with probably 5 dog stations in each. You must have a current rabies tag on your dog (they check, community volunteers monitor the parks). Also no dog toys allowed in the dog park and no children under the age of 8 are allowed (older than eight must be with an adult).

As someone else mentioned most dog owners stick pretty close to the area their dogs are playing. If an agressive dog comes in most times the owner get the dog under control and will leave, if not one of the community volunteers will "suggest" leashing the dog or taking it out on the hiking trails.

I take a water bowl that I purchased from Petco, it folds up into a small pouch and is perfect for the dog park.

So far I have had great luck with our dog park of course I never go in the evenings or on the weekends, it is to busy. From reading the other posts I am very lucky to have such a fabulous park that offers so much less than a mile from my house.