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Dog Parks - are they pest safe? Do any of you take your little one to a dog park? I started taking Zoey after she finished her puppy shots. She came from a breeder that had many dogs and so she was lonely to play. I had her fecal checked at about 3 months - no worms. She just turned 1 year on Dec 30 and she is full of hookworms! The vet said that dog parks keep him in business. We rescued a cute guy (mixed breed) to be her friend. They get along so well and he is not comfortable at the dog park. After all the worms are gone there will be no more dog park. Have any of you experienced this? Cherie |
What concerned me more than hookworms at dog parks...is parvo. Ours are routinely closed for periods for parvo outbreaks. I've never taken any of mine for that reason alone. |
I think it just depends on the park. I couldn't live without our dog parks. The one I go to has a $40 yearly fee (it's a state park) or a $6 one-time entry fee. It's also monitored by the park rangers, who drive by alot and respond to calls, etc (you can call a park ranger if a dog is out of control, and they will come and access the situation). I've never had any issues here. Sure, you get a little scrabble every now and then, they're dogs, it's going to happen. And you get the weirdos (people, I mean! LOL) that come out sometimes, but all in all, I LOVE our dog park. Then again, I go to another dog park that I've never had any issues with either. And it's completely free and not monitored. It's definitely more relaxed and rule-free, which is kind of nice sometimes. I got yelled at at the other park for giving Jackson a treat when he came when called :rolleyes: A person came and yelled at me and said I'm not allowed to bring treats... haha! Sooo... I love both of ours and pick and choose which one I'm in the mood for. |
I think Dog parks are wonderful, but I think they are nasty too! I think they are covered in germs!! Pnut is up to date on all his shots, but it still worries me. Plus the parks are covered in Pee, and your dog walks in pee the whole time he/she is there (kinda gross to me) Peanut always got a bath after leaving a dog park.. Pnut doesnt "really" like the dog park so I dont care by not taking him, he would rather go hiking or a long walk.. Plus you never know what temperaments of the dogs that are there, that worries me too, our babies are so small 1 bite will do harm. |
My pups are on Heartgard...it helps to prevent hookworms. But, yes, they can get them from a dog park. |
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And I was just thinking of looking into dog parks for this summer to take my 2-to. Guess not. |
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I'm not worried about germs, etc. But honestly, Dinky never has any luck at the Dog Park. He really feels comfortable only when other dogs are not very large. At our park "small dogs" include 25 lbs and under. When we have gone, usually the other dogs are too big or there are no other dogs. It is nice for him to be able to run around freely in a big space though. |
Can dogs still get Parvo after getting their vaccinations? Does anyone use Revolution on a monthly basis? My vet wants to put Gizmo on it but im torn. |
We go to the dog park every day. We have never had any worms or anything. |
When we adopted Tia this past Easter, we learned so much about the little presents she came with, giardia, coccidia, and ringworm. People may not know their pets have any of this and are spreading it. With giardia, the owner can pick up the poop, but that little thing can live right there in the ground/grass for two months. Your baby walks on the same spot and they will get it too. I didn't know Tia had ringworm...so she spread it to all of my family (people and dogs) and the cancer neighbor and her dog next door. That takes a llllooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnggggggg time to get rid of, not to mention sterilizing every day!!!! I also took Tia to the ER because she was choking on a puppy pad. A lady walked in and her dog had caught a cough (can't remember what kind) from the dog park. It was her first day in town and their first trip to the park. Maybe I'm a little paranoid because I won't take my babies there. It's just too easy for them to get something and I spent well over $2,000 last year just because of what Tia shared. |
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Being totally truthful, I am turned off by dog parks. Celine became ill after going to one. |
We've been going to a local dog park for the last year and nothing bad has happened so far. Apart from one boisterous Boxer thinking that June was a squirrel (his owner got him under control very quickly), we haven't had any problems with other dogs. I'm sometimes afraid to walk alone, considering that this is South Africa, but I just make sure that I'm there at peak time and not when the park is quiet. We haven't had any issues with worms, but we did have (and still do :confused: ) fleas. We're moving to a new suburb now with a big park two blocks from my flat, so I hope the dogs are well socialized and clean there. I deworm at least every 6 months because of our regularly park trips and the foster puppies that sometimes live here. Revolution is great against fleas and lasts longer than Advantage, but wouldn't it be bad for them to be on it permanently? |
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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