Dogs parks seem like such an idyllic place for dogs: lots of room to roam and plenty of doggie friends to meet; not to mention its pretty cool for us humans to meet other dog owners. While the allure of dog parks is strong, they are actually a very bad idea in my opinion. And yes, I am aware that many of you reading this have taken your dog to a dog park for years and have never had an issue. That is great! However, bad instances at dog parks are all too common. I always have to look at RISK v REWARD when doing something with a dog and when it comes to dog parks... It is simple: Dog parks pose more risks then rewards for dogs. RISKS of dog parks: 1. Dog fights and the ramifications it has on
True Story: I was at a Charlotte, NC local hiking trail (different day then the picture) with a dog in training for dog reactivity. The dog in training was ON LEASH. I also had my two personal Pit bulls with me for part of the rehabilitation process and they were off leash (and they have been properly off leash trained). From about 50 yards away I saw a woman hiking with her Yellow Lab coming around a bend in the trail. The Lab was not on leash. The moment the Lab saw me and my dogs it took off full speed right towards us. I told my personal dogs to "sit" and "stay." They did. The Yellow Lab was still charging. While my own dogs were sitting calmly I backed away with the reactive dog in trai
