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?

There are loads of these near me and they seem to do really well. The only thing that I absolutely hate, is they allow people to make huge block bookings so local dog walkers/dog sitters book all the slots in advance and nobody else gets a look in. This means that whenever I look, the only slots available are between 5-6am, or after 7pm at night. If I wanted a random Saturday morning slot, I would have to book about 4 months in advance. A lot of other people have moaned about this too. If there was a way you could limit this, I would definitely recommend it

@m00rfarm I go to one exactly like this, it’s fab and I love that my dogs can mix with others in a massive, safe space.

I've been to a few secure dog fields. My nearest one has lots to do, agility equipment, toys, pool and a shelter. But it is very small. I haven't been back for a while. I'd value space over activities.

@dennydan that sounds such an amazing business!!! You're literally covering so many things there. I've spoken to planners initially today and they've said they think it should be fairly straightforward given the area, existing access etc.
They didn't go into detail as i only wanted a brief initial idea of whether it had the potential to be do able.
My next plan is to price everything up, insurance, waste disposal, shelters, toilet cabin etc and see whether i can afford to set it up.
Some really good responses thank you to everyone, defo making me think maybe less is more?

Driving in makes a huge difference

um, fencing they can’t see through along any sides with anything that’s a potential trigger and if you’ve more than one field then a gap between them too.

I wouldn’t use balls btw, I take their toys and I wouldn’t want mine using balls that god knows how many dogs have had in their mouths.

if you’re doing more than one, there’s one I go to that’s basically an enclosed woodland walk, that’s nice

things like obstacles and tyres are just extra stuff for my dogs to pee on, they’re not interested 😂 they like space to run much more - I know a few near me do one with stuff in and one without so people have the choice.

Also sand pits… any I’ve used with one, unless they’ve literally just been put in, they’re usually just empty with scattered sand . I’m sure there must be a way of having an easier to manage one, but dogs that like to dog tend to do it very enthusiastically

online booking for that day - most times I use one it’s a last minute decision, either I’m not mobile enough for a normal walk or I go somewhere and it’s too busy and I have to divert

Good parking - enough space for incoming and outgoing cars

Double gates on the entrance

poo Bins

A couple of obstacles or jumps

No to balls etc

picnic table do you can put any bag on

I agree with those that say, keep it simple.

The ones local to us charge between £10 and £12 an hour (Chilterns area). Most are on hills or hillside sites where the drainage is excellent and are fairly simple in layout - 6ft secure fencing, grass, maybe some wooden climbing structures or jumps (well away from the fences) or tractor tyres for investigating and sniffing. Good sized regularly emptied bins and a decent 'buffer' between bookings. One of our favourites has some vinyl barriers in the car park so that if you do arrive early or get held up leaving you can keep very reactive dogs out of sight of each other.

Some have vending machines (easier to prevent theft than smaller coffee machines, and the hire companies include servicing and cleaning in their contract costs). One has a little 'insert coin and twist handle' vending machine for rolls of poo bags, but I don't know what their damage/replacement rates are like. None of those extras are as important to anyone I know using the sites though as secure fencing that's small dog proof, good booking system, and knowing it's not going to turn into a swamp.

We’ve tried a few but the only one we’ve ever been back to has woodland, fields and a pond. So we can meander the paths in the woodland and end up at the field for some training and a dip in the pool.
But even this would become boring to him if we went more than once a month.
Im afraid that dog fields generally hold no benefit for us.
Im sure we’d use them more if we had a smaller dog.

Agree with this.

The only thing that tires my dogs out in a smaller area is sniffing. So some kind of sniff trail, where you could hide treats would be great.

I have a dog park in Cheshire.
5+ acres on sandy soil.
6 ft high fencing, high tensile woven wire so no sharp edges.
Plus wired underground 2ft deep.
Secure parking within the park.
A woodland area plus separate meadow, different heights of grass so cut paths and longer areas.
Always cut and removed before grass seeds to reduce risk of seeds in eyes of migrating in paws.
Free recyclable poo bags.
Checked every morning, foxes can climb six foot fences.
Clean drinking water.
Cctv.
A weekly schedule of bookings that goes up Monday morning.
Landscaped to entertain humans for the hour with seating, shelter, views and interactive photography station.

It’s helpful to live close, you wouldn’t believe the pickles some customers get into.

This is a 5⭐️ place near me... for some inspiration!

https://www.rossandfriends.uk/private-crate-escape

One near me has a dog wash off area with a hosepipe.
I prefer interesting larger fields . Woodland is a bonus. Access to water, even if it's just a paddling pool in summer.
A gate that can be latched from the inside.

Any obstacles should be as natural as possible like logs etc to avoid injuries.
Botched up 'agility ' equipment is a definite no from me. Examples include a row of fence posts as weaves and drainage pipes as tunnels. If proper agility tunnels are used please ensure that they are secured properly with tunnel bags filled with sand, 1 bag every metre ideally.