What makes a good dog park?

[ZippyBlueViper]

Hi
Thinking about opening up a dog park.
I've several dogs myself including one reactivate dog that i take to a dog park.

I know what i like about dog parks but what do other people like?

What in your opinion makes a great dog park as opposed to an average/okay one?

Do you mean a private field to hire for exclusive use?

A shower/ hosepipe at the exit for paws and boots

Do you mean a private hire field? If so being able to drive in and the open the car to let the hound out is really helpful plus a hosepipe and if possible a covered area for the humans incase of poor weather is always appreciated.

Yeah a private field for private hire.
Shower area is great idea thinking of a cabin with tea coffee making facilities, dog/boot shower and toilet
A sheltered area with dog treats water bowls
Balls and throwers
Tractor tires
Cones
Obstacles
Sand pit
Paddling area
Benches
Secure 6ft fencing
Secure parking so you pull into the fenced area park close gate then you get let dogs out with worrying
Online booking system

The field we go to has lots of trees and bushes and in certain areas, the grass is left long. So the dogs have lots of scents to explore. There is also a pond for if they fancy a swim.
I agree with being able to park inside the gates to let our dogs out.

I hired one whilst on holiday once. It was dirt ground with rows of trees and dozens of balls and chuckits left lying around. My dogs were bored stiff. Barely managed to stay for half an hour.

You seem to have thought of everything I would love that.
One thing I thought of but I know it's way too costly & just a little dream of mine really, was a large indoor play area for the Winter time or any cold, wet horrible days . If I had pots of money I'd create it, not just for the dogs but for the owners who are fed up with daily soakings throughout the Winter months.

Ditch the balls and the ball launchers they are the absolute worst thing for dogs. Leading cause of arthritis in dogs is balls and playing fetch. If you want to do anything positive for dogs it’s burn the lot of them.

@ZippyBlueViper Let me know how you get on with planning permission. I am having a nightmare with it.

Apart from the above I think I would add signs for those of us with reactive dogs to warn people not to come into the car park.
lots of herbs and sensory dog safe plants for sniffing time.
plenty of seating options giving food options for all weathers
differences in grass length and cut paths to make it interesting. Use planting to this effect too.
for paddling - try and have running water if possible not a pool which becomes muddy/slippy or stagnant.
look at the way the land naturally drains and make sure it’s not just going to become muddy - use bark chips or gravel to make pathways where necessary

PROVIDE DOG BINS - nothing more annoying than no bins at these secure fields.

I know this is a thing in the us and have wondered why it’s not here

are you in the uk?
I imagine buying a field, unless you have one already of course, is not straightforward
(I have looked into it)
most of them belong to mega farms and would not sell to almost anyone unless it’s for megabucks for a developer

We’ve got a few dog fields local to us. The most basic (and cheap, £3.50 for 30 mins/£6.00 an hour) has an easy online booking system, secure fence, parking spot behind the locked fence & poo bags and bin) and the least basic (most expensive is £8 for 30 mins/£12 an hour) has 4 different fields - grass & sand, obstacles, secure fence and parking, shelters and benches, bins, water, balls, can text for a coffee, doggy shower … think that’s it. We use the cheaper one the majority of the time. Don’t usually need more than a safe place to play.

It absolutely is a thing here in the UK. In the county I live in there are at least 20 probably more

Your list is good, I would just add the fencing should be opaque to at least waist height so dogs can’t see other people, dogs, animals etc

Poo bins of course!! Totally forgot the most important thing there 🤦🏼‍♀️
Love the idea of herbs and plants for scents!
Uk based and have the land already, @HappiestSleeping what problems are you having? I've not spoken to planners yet. Got a meeting tomorrow morning but from what I've seen online should be a fairly straight forward application for change of use from agricultural to commercial? No need for planning for a 3 sided shelter so long as its within certain sizes same and then just planning for a small block with toilet and shower?

I have been looking to buy a field. Planning permission for the change of use could cost up to 30k, as there are environmental studies and all sorts that need to be undertaken. If I offer pending planning permission and it is granted, that makes the land more valuable, and the seller can put the price up. Otherwise, I have to buy the field, and then risk not getting planning and then having to sell again.

Good luck with change of use. Depends where you are but some areas are a nightmare changing to anything with dog use. Been there done that!

You will need full planning permission.

You will need to have fencing

Waste management and disposal which will need to be documented and fully discussed. I would get this written and researched before any meetings.

Access and traffic and be ready to discuss noise from the dogs and neighbours complaints.

We are three miles from neighbours we stil had objections to noise!

If you have catering and electricty in the field that will issues to your insurance with the dogs.

Ditch the ball thrower!

Sorry reread that you were planning on putting a toilet block in again have fun with the planning consent!

Do get more advice for you local area before you make any assumptions on this being straight forward

Fencing that drops into the ground, some dogs will dig to get out! Make the great escape! 😂 A clear 6ft above ground. Depending on location, opaque to stop dogs seeing others in other fields to 5 ft.. big dogs can see over! If more than one field a 'fire gap' between fields, One locally to me the dogs can get at each other over the top. There is no gap between fields.

The one my son takes his dog to you can choose from 4 private fields - one has dog agility equipment, one has a lake, ball pit, sand pit etc. They have a warm indoor shower and drying area included in the price. They run events during the year - they had Father Christmas, the Grinch - all with photo opportunities. There is a cafe with dog and human treats. Lots of parking in a lovely quiet area. They also have a general public enclosed field where dogs can mix together. I think they are a fantastic idea.

@HappiestSleeping ah I see what you mean, difficult decision as to whether to risk buying!
@dennydan I've got a meeting with planners tomorrow so will see what they say. I perhaps naively didn't think people would have problems with a dog park! You say you're 3 miles from neighbours and still had complaints, are you a dog park owner then?

It’s not free to swap land use from agricultural to commercial - you will also need to show you have plans in place to dispose of waste (both human and canine) as you can’t just put the dog poo in a normal bin when it’s part of a commercial operation. You’ll have to pay external companies to deal with both.

Also think about the cost of land management - fence repairs, what you’ll do in winter when the ground is a waterlogged bog and can’t be used properly etc.

Dog treats is a potential law suit waiting to happen if the dog has a reaction.

Coffee machines go rank if they’re not cleaned regularly - you sure you’re up to that? What about the wasted pods, freshwater cleaning supplies for it? Toilet block?! Who’s going to be cleaning that and supplying toilet roll?!

Ball launchers are bad for dogs joints.

Keep it simple: field, trees and bushes, poo bins and a shelter with two chairs. Job done. People don’t want more than that, and if they do can be sure they even won’t pay for it or they’ll leave it a tip.

I wouldn’t use anything below 2 acres - but that’s personal preference!

Our local one is 3acre field, a shelter, poo bin by the entrance, tress and bushes. It’s on good soil - which is the absolutely most important thing as if you have slow draining soil you’ll get no bookings in winter as people won’t want to stand in a big - and has space for two cars. £7 for 40 minutes. Need about two weeks notice to book!

One a bit further away has all the extra rubbish no one needs (other than toilets and a coffee machine 😂) and it’s £12 for 40 minutes and I could actually book it today for most of the day - that’s how few bookings it gets

Consider all (ALL) sizes of dog when you do your fencing especially gates.

The amount of "secure" places I have come across where the gate and gate posts have gaps in it that would only be secure for a lab sized dog 🙄

I wouldn't bother with all the fancy extras. The field I use has enough trouble trying to get people to pick up their dog's poo. Tea/coffee areas, toilets, showers will all be used and abused. Dog treats will be stolen.

If people want to play with balls, they can bring their own.

And I may be in a minority, but I don't even need or want a shelter and chairs. I'm there to walk my dogs, so I walk for the hour. If I sat down in a shelter, my dogs would mill around my feet instead of getting any exercise.

Of your list, all I want is parking and a secure fence. Access to drinking water would be nice, but isn't essential. I carry it on other walks, so I can carry it in a private field too.

I have a dog training business which incudes secure dog walking fields, training faciilities, dog walking, dog hydro etc.