There are 2 dog parks that I take Tink to on a regular basis and she loves going. The bigger park is farther away, but there is more of a chance there will be other dogs for her to play with. I don't worry about taking Tink. I feel that these particular parks are as clean as they can be and most owners do pick up after their dogs because they want to keep the parks nice. I guess you just have to decide for yourself. I am a dog park person because I love the exercise and interaction Tink gets with other dogs. |
I took mine, once, but I've decided not to do it, again...For one thing, it has a huge sign, on the small dog side, saying "watch out for hawks"...Apple didn't like it, and Buzz was such a mr. popularity w/his love the world personality, he came home smelling horrible, because everydog there wanted to be his friend, and were all over him...I brought them home, and decided that was there first and last visit...It was fairly clean, but I still worried about disease and such... |
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Someone mentioned petsmart, I don't take mine there either. It's exposing them to unknown dogs |
I'm afraid to take Dori to a dog park because of her size. At 5 lbs, she is small-boned and I worry about her getting stepped on! Having said that, she DOES romp around in a controlled environment with her puppy class. Some of those "pups" are huge, but Dori is faster and runs circles around them. We no longer attend doggy daycare because she picked up a bad case of giardia and now I am not comfortable leaving her in their care. |
My Zoey was on Revolution but the other dr in the clinic put her on Sentinel because it covers not only heartworms but internal parasites ie hookworms which she has now. Hopefully, the second treatment will take care of them. Revolution only covers fleas, heartworms but not internal parasites. |
I have really mixed feelings about dog parks at the moment. Vinnie (my older yorkie) has always hated dog parks, so I never really bothered. But Alex, our newest yorkie, LOVES the dog park. He loves to chase his ball, run with other dogs, and just be outside. We do have quite a few great dog parks in our area, but the one closest to our house doesn't have a separate area for little dogs. This really bothers me because at only 11 pounds, Alex is a mere snack for larger dogs. Sometimes I will take him there if I don't see any large dogs around, but if big dogs are there, we go somewhere else. I have never heard of any disease outbreaks at our local dog parks, but they are generally very well maintained. |
Our two love the dog park. We have a few small dog only ones nearby that are nice. We'd like to go once or twice a week but it's usually not that often. We always check out who's there before we go in to make sure it's only small, friendly dogs. If not, we leave. We live in an apartment without a yard so they don't have any other place where they can run and play outdoors off leash. They really need that. My little one didn't like it at first but can't get in fast enough now. They've never picked up any illnesses but they do get stinky. We just try to go early in the day on bath day. |
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After Stormy got all of her shots and I took her on her first walk we went to the park, it wasn't even a dog park, just a park - and she came home with ticks! She's my first puppy so I FREAKED out. I have to take her in next week to have a heartworm test done to make sure she doesn't have tick fever. My vet said he doesn't recommend dog parks at all, but does take his to regular parks. My breeder said to keep her away from both of them, which is what I've decided to do. They do need canine companionship and mine is an only child, but I'd much rather set up playdates with my friends dogs who I know are up to date with their shots and well taken care of and don't have any diseases. Sure, you can't overprotect and shelter them, but you can and should be careful. To me it's not worth the risk. |
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Not going to the dog park anymore is sad for both Zoey and myself. She loves it but I just can't take the chance any more. Having to poison her for two months (off and on) to get rid of the hookworms just isn't worth the fun she had. Now that we have Jackson for her to play with I guess it will be walks in our neighborhood. Sentinel tabs takes care of heartworms, fleas/ticks and internal parasites. I'm going to check to see what the cost is on the Pet Meds site as three pills are expensive. Cherie |
I think Dog Parks are a good idea but I also feel that anywhere you take your dog they are at risk for contracting some form of parasite. So ensuring your pet is on preventative you should be okay. We live in an apartment so we don't have the luxury of having a yard that is only full of "poop we know". So to protect Troy, prevenatative and up to date on his shots he gets. There is one dog park I've taken Troy to and it's large and I usually don't take him off leash because he's only 4 pounds and there isn't a section specifically for smaller dogs. To socialize Troy he goes to doggy day care and he visits with my best friends shih tsu |
I agree, I do not go to them! Quote:
My vet has warned me against them and the pet stores also. He says there is no way to tell what they might pick up in those places:( |
Luckily, we've never run into a "nasty" dog park. I take every precaution that I can: Levi is on heartworm and flea preventative year-round, no matter what, we titer/vaccinate when necessary, we stay in the small dog areas of parks, and I watch him like a hawk when we are out in public to see exactly what he is getting into. I can't imagine not taking Levi to dog parks, pet stores, etc. We have plenty of friends and family members with dogs (and we live with another dog!), but I love being able to expose him to new situations. He is social and outgoing and loves going on our little adventures. |
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