Off-leash dog parks: what makes them successful (abstract)

Melissa J. Bain, DVM, DACVB; Benjamin L. Hart, DVM, Ph.D., DACVB;

 Kelly D. Cliff, DVM; Lynette A. Hart, PhD

Corresponding Author:

Melissa J. Bain

University of California – Davis

School of Veterinary Medicine

Center for Animals in Society

1 Shields Avenue

Davis, California  95616

(530) 757-8440

mjbain@ucdavis.edu

The demand for designated off-leash dog exercise areas has multiplied due to an increase in competition for the use of the open space and community parks.  Site visits to the 17 parks within 4 major metropolitan areas in California were conducted by 2 of the 4 investigators for the following data collection: 1) interview of the park manager; 2) survey of physical characteristics of the park; 3) scan samples of park activity during heavy use; and 4) interviews of park users.  Interviews were performed using a structured format. 

Of the parks visited, 12 parks were fenced, dog-exclusive parks between 0.5 and 3 acres, and 5 were multiple-use parks, between 5 and 21 acres.  Investigators spent 51 hours visiting the parks, observing 680 dogs and 682 people, interviewing 189 park-users.  No dog bite, or other type of injury to people, occurred, nor any dog growled or snapped at a person. There were no dog fights observed.  There was no correlation between noise levels during peak times, nor mean increase in decibel levels, with derived investigator ranking, user scores, and manager scores of park success.  The median number of feces/100 m² was 1, and correlated to the number of signs at the park, but not to refuse cans.  Maintenance and proper choice of substrate correlated with successfulness.  Half of the people said that socializing with other people was an important reason for them to visit the park.  Guidelines will be developed to distribute to park groups and communities.