To think that each area should have one dog free park ?

[Didnotlikepurple]

Each time I take my dc to the park there are so many off road dogs bothering us , no recall and a nuisance. The school can’t run or play on the grass due to dog mess and on a hot day it just stinks as the sun warms it up 🤢

can’t have a picnic either due to dogs trying to get at the food.

we once went to a lovely park up in London that was dog free and it was amazing, kids could run about. I’m not saying all parks should be like this but one in each area would surely be fair ?

I'm a responsible dog owner but think the sort of dog owners that people rightly dislike are the people who'll take their dogs to a dog free park.
Unless the council's are going to find money to staff 6am-6pm patrols in the park, how are they going to enforce it?

Or just keep dogs on a short lead in public places.

Yes! Except they never will.

I've avoided my local park and play area for a while now because of all the "friendly" dog who "just want to say hello" but we went back this week because of not wanting to drive in the heat, and thinking it might be quieter for the same reason.

Nope, we were jumped on repeatedly, looked at like I was ridiculous for asking a man to call his dog off a toddler - I dragged one off by the harness and took it to the owner at one point and he laughed at me.

Nothings going to be done until there's rules for owners. We stick to NT type places now where there are strict rules about leads etc.

YANBU! Our local beach is dog free between Easter and September and it's wonderful, I wish they kept part of the beach dog free all year round. When we get decent weather just before Easter out of control dogs just make the beach feel unsafe and dirty. I once saw a dog piss up a woman's back, owners thought it was funny.

Unfortunately shit dog owners won't care if it's dog free or not, that's basically why humans spoil everything! In an ideal world there would be a child free park for dogs who don't have any interest in other dogs and don't want bothered by the "it just wants to play" crew , a dog free park for children to play in and yes that includes the mother's with any "poo/doodle" crossbreed who think it's OK to take them into the fenced off/no dog signed area, and one other park for the chavs, chav kids, and chav dogs. Oh for an ideal world.

Why on earth have child free parks?

Utterly bonkers. Dogs are not important enough to be indulged no matter how loud their owners whine.

I'd be quite happy with that. I'd also suggest that one park is made picnic free and the drinking alcohol in parks is actually properly policed.
My dog is a scavenger and I have to keep her on a lead so she doesn't bother picnicers. It's fine but it does mean she doesn't get to run free. She also finds bits to eat after people have left because they rarely clean up properly after themselves.
Most picnicers don't want to be bothered but some want to say hi to her. I have to explain that is not a good idea. I also have to keep an eye out for people drinking alcohol. She is very friendly but a group of drunk strangers standing over her and petting her would be stressful for her.

It would also help with me being tarred with the same brush as inconsiderate dog owners. The other day I was walking her past a group of picnicers with young kids and babies. We stayed a good distance from them so I couldn't hear exactly what the woman said to me. But essentially she was telling me to call my dog away. Except it wasn't my dog. It was somebody's else's free running dog who was allowing her dog to bother them. I shouted words to that effect back and she put her thumb up. So far, only one arsehole here then (person with botherer dog). Except that after walking a few metres more, my dog happened across a little scavenging opportunity: a used nappy. I put some treats down for her, pulled out a dog poo bag, picked up the nappy and put it in the bin a further few metres away. My conclusion two thirds of all people are inconsiderate and half of those are dog owners.

If councils enforce car paring by employing traffic wardens then they can do the same with park wardens.

What we need is massive fines for not cleaning up after your dog. Plus dog licenses and control on violent breeds maybe to the extent you can't walk them other than in controlled areas. That would give the public confidence that whatever is running around is at least friendly if slightly hyper.

Also you do realise dogs have to be trained, it's not an overnight thing that the first time you let them off they come back perfectly. But if you don't let them off you can't train them to ignore other people or dogs when off the lead. Parks are ideal for this initial training as if you go down say the woods to let them off you are more likely to lose them than a contained park.

At the beach I once had a parent complain as their kid picked up the dogs ball and was shocked they got jumped at by a loopy spaniel who thought he had found someone else to play with.

I'm surprised- I ve never seen a dog in a 'no dog' play area.
But I have seen them on restricted beach areas, though the be fair, on a long stretch it's hard to understand which parts are restricted (I'd prefer it if they restricted the whole place), or when the No dogs rule comes in (as usually open to dogs outside of summer).
Agree about dog mess - I just do not understand why people don't pick up, or if they do leave the bag in random places. I have two dogs and always keep an eye on them if off lead in case .

I have a pretty severe dog phobia. Yes I know this is my problem but every time I mention it to a group of people, there are at least one or two with the same fear.

There is a lovely river walk where I live but I can’t go there because there are so many large off leash dogs. I’ve also noticed a lot more bulldog types recently.

My view is that dogs should be on leads in public areas. I also feel that taxpayers rather than dogs should be able to enjoy the dwindling green spaces. Yes I know dog owners pay tax - but their dogs certainly don’t!

We have a park near us that has a dog free area that’s fenced off and an area for dogs to use.
I have a dog and I think this is a good idea. However you get lots of people using the area for dogs for their kids to learn to ride bikes etc that then get annoyed that the dogs are running about!

Yawn. Love me love my dog.....😴

We do have a dog free dog park-lovely area, lots of play equipment etc.

In exchange can the screaming, stick waving small children stay away from the park where we are allowed to walk our dogs off lead.

I always found it weird when people who didn't like dogs went into the play area and then didn't close the gate behind them so dogs could easily get into that area. Sometimes people just don't help themselves.

I totally agree. I dont bother taking my kids to the park any more because it's covered in dog shit. I take them to the local playgrounds that aren't inside the parks.

It would be great to have kid free areas as well then. Whole parks just for adults.

We always walk our dog on a lead and find it hard to use parks because of off-lead dogs that come charging up to her (she's afraid of most other dogs - she's an 8 year old rescue with a dreadful past history). Even in the park surrounding a local stateley home, where signs clearly state "Dogs must be kept on leads", some people clearly think it means "Except you". What's worse is that there are deer in this park.