More Fenced Dog Parks

[Decade]

I fear I am going to be called the Dog-Poster soon as I talk more and more about how pet-unfriendly Edmonton appears to be. However, I just had to bring this one up!


While I love the River valley parks and such for walking my dog, I have a terrier. Most people with terriers and greyhounds and many other breeds that instinctually chase prey will attest to the fact that dog parks without fences can be a huge problem! My dog has decent recall (I have own work dogs before this dog, so I couldn't call his recall good compared to them), but if he saw a rabbit, he would chase that thing so deep in the trees or across a road that it certainly wouldn't be good.

Why can't we have some more fenced dog parks? Especially something near downtown for those of us who don't have backyards!


The closest thing I can find is Grand Paws indoor dog park up by the airport, but since I don't own a car it is still very far away and it costs $5 a visit (cheap, but not when you include the taxi ride).

This dog park in Richmond Hill is beautiful, and it even includes a smaller fenced in area for small dogs!


This one has lights and doggie drinking fountains!


This one doesn't have a tall fence but does have a nice fence with a cute sculpture!

This one just looks nice and clean!

At minimum, I would like a fenced in dog park somewhere near downtown. What would make it fantastic would be some tables and benches for socializing, a lil'gazebo area, and maybe some permanent agility fixtures... something for dogs to jump over or on that also looked sculptural.


I know some people would say this is a waste of tax payers dollars. However, I think some of our underutilized park spaces near downtown like Dawson Park or even a small area of Louise McKinney park could benefit from an area like this. I can definitely see dog owners forming meet-ups to socialize or play frisbee or something.

Maybe it is just wishful thinking, but what do other think of the idea? Am I the only one out there who would love this??

[Medwards]

There's plenty of off leash dog parks around the city. Edmonton is very pet friendly. Take a visit to any of the dog parks listed below...

http://www.edmonton.ca/attractions_r...ark-sites.aspx

If your mutt is uncontrollable, perhaps it doesn't belong in a park, fenced or non-fenced...

[Alex.L]

Or perhaps their 'mutt' is in the process of being trained and they'd rather not let it loose in Terwillegar Park where the dog can run literally a few km away.

I, for one, completely agree that a fenced in 'training park' with a permanent agility course would be well used.

[240GLT]

The SPCA on the west end has a huge fenced dog park.

We usually walk the dogs at Dawson Park, Hermitage, or Laurier. All great off leash areas.

[Komrade]

The dog parks are good. If you have a breed that tends to run away, I would reccomend the SPCA dog run.

I agree it couldnt hurt to put up some fencing in some of the dog parks

[240GLT]

Laurier has that giant field right at the entrance by the parking area. a portion of that could be fenced off to create an enclosed dog run.... they could do that at Terwillegar as well in the big open space.

I love living so close to Dawson park, plus I get the bonus of having Kinnaird Ravine as part of my dog walks. Several of the best dog walking loops in the city start in the area of Japser and 82 street.

[edmonton daily photo]

Originally Posted by Medwards

There's plenty of off leash dog parks around the city. Edmonton is very pet friendly. Take a visit to any of the dog parks listed below...

http://www.edmonton.ca/attractions_r...ark-sites.aspx

If your mutt is uncontrollable, perhaps it doesn't belong in a park, fenced or non-fenced...

I disagree Edmonton is NOT very dog friendly... Places like Calgary allow dogs to ride on the C train..

I am currently working on getting a fenced dog park in Oliver. If anyone would like to help Champion this it would be greatly appreciated.

[240GLT]

^ I find Edmonton to be very dog friendly.

[edmonton daily photo]

^ I don't... wanna meet out by the bike racks and duke it out ;-P

[Alex.L]

Dog friendly, but could be dog friendlier

[Decade]

I would say Edmonton is pretty unfriendly in terms of dogs. I was just in Edinburgh and they allowed dogs off-leash in their downtown. There were also places in Scotland that allowed them in restaurants. Finding a dog-friendly apartment that is actually nice is very tough in this city. I think there are dog-friendly people here, but some very non-dog-friendly policies.

[Decade]

I love living so close to Dawson park, plus I get the bonus of having Kinnaird Ravine as part of my dog walks. Several of the best dog walking loops in the city start in the area of Japser and 82 street.

I used to live very close to Dawson park, and now even though I am farther away I still will sometimes take the jaunt down there. Beautiful area, but I am always surprised that it isn't busier. I think there would be room there to put a fenced area, and then dog owners who want a fenced area would have one, and dog owners who loved the off-leash part would still have room for that PLUS all the trails from there. It would be a good area for dog owners in downtown.

[WopMay]

EDP, where and yes I would support a dog park in Oliver! Likelihood of the old Oliver arena disappearing is huge. Put it there?

Decade, try Barclay Park in Leduc (it's in the business park), a nice water-filled, fenced-in park. Near the EIA. I would love to hear if anyone has used it, let alone knew about it.

Edmo is very dog friendly. I am unsure whether allowing pets in restaurants and on public transit is a good idea at all.

The entire river valley and ravine system is a ridiculously amazing dog park! The Laurier off-leash area is incredible.

[Medwards]

Letting your pet into a restaurant is a health hazard. It's not individual restaurants that are saying no, its the health code.

I'm sure we could have the whole city has an off leash park, if only every dog owner trained their dog well enough.

I was traveling on my bike through terwilliger park and 2 unleashed dogs started chasing after my bike, and I almost ran over one. I yelled at the dog owner that their dogs should be on-leash if they weren't able to control them. The dog owner told me this was an off-leash park, and their dogs were free to do what ever they wanted, including trying to bite my tire...

Edmonton isn't unfriendly to dogs or any pet, its just that there's so many irresponsible pet owners...

[Alex.L]

LOTS of irresponsible dog owners at Terwillegar Park. So many people think that off-leash means they can ignore their dog's droppings and behaviour.

[booster]

^^I own a dog and go to the offleash at Terwilligar as well as run through there. Drives me nuts at some of the owners and their total lack of control and respect for other users. Of course if their dog does something to me or my dog, its not the dog that will get my knuckles!

[mediabug]

I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that Edmonton is particularly "dog-friendly". I don't know of any stores besides PJ's and Petsmart that allow you to bring your dog in with you and I'm pretty sure you can't take your dog with you to a patio for drinks.

You can, however, take your dog to the Downtown Farmers' Market (unlike the St. Albert Farmers' Market).

As for fenced off-leash parks, it would be nice to have one similar to the one just off the Deerfoot in Calgary. Lots of hills and agility structures!

[240GLT]

Stadium Liquor just north of Jasper on 85 street is dog friendly. I can go and get a 6 pack of beer and my dog gets a cookie!

I don't thnk any place will allow a dog on a patio... something about health code violations.

[Chmilz]

It's not the city that makes it a friendly place, it's the owner. Off-leash dog parks are the worst thing for a dog. Stupid owners leave their dog at home all day, then drop it off at a dog park to roam with other animals, never learning obedience or who the master is because the owner is a lazy sob.

Great article about the same issue in Vancouver.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle2128706/

[Titanium48]

^ Agreed. People who can't or won't put in the time and effort needed to maintain undisputed alpha status in their relationship with their dog should reconsider their choice of pet. Cats are cute and cuddly and far lower maintenance.

[Gord Lacey]

My dog is a breed that can't go off leash, but even if he could I wouldn't bring him to an off-leash park due to the other owners and dogs there. It also drives me crazy when I go for a walk in the river valley and see dogs that aren't on a leash. Dogs definitely don't belong in a restaurant, though I have no problem with them on a sidewalk cafe (assuming it's not fenced in). You can also look at taking your dog to a community rink in the summer, just remember to pick up afterwards

We recently hired a dog trainer for our little guy, even though he didn't have an major issues, and what a difference it's made in his behavior. He just seems a lot more willing to listen to us, and better behaved, and that was only with a few sessions.

[Decade]

It is a shame that so many people don't discipline their dogs or spend enough time with them (I would suggest Doggie Daycare to these people, at the very least). My pet peeve is people who don't pick up after their dogs... soooo dirty and it ruins it for the rest of us dog owners who are responsible about that!

I still think this is why a fenced dog park would be a good idea. It keeps the dogs in a central area and away from people who don't want to be bothered by them.

[cheechako]

I wish I could bite your tire or better yet your ankle--you give the impression of being an insufferable know it all.

Originally Posted by Medwards

Letting your pet into a restaurant is a health hazard. It's not individual restaurants that are saying no, its the health code.

I'm sure we could have the whole city has an off leash park, if only every dog owner trained their dog well enough.

I was traveling on my bike through terwilliger park and 2 unleashed dogs started chasing after my bike, and I almost ran over one. I yelled at the dog owner that their dogs should be on-leash if they weren't able to control them. The dog owner told me this was an off-leash park, and their dogs were free to do what ever they wanted, including trying to bite my tire...

Edmonton isn't unfriendly to dogs or any pet, its just that there's so many irresponsible pet owners...

[Alex.L]

^just because it's an off-leash park doesn't mean the owner isn't responsible for their pet.

Medwards is 100% correct that those particular dogs should have been on-leash. My little dog is no more than a foot tall and I keep him on-leash just because he sometimes doesn't listen when I call. We're training it out of him, but it's a work in progress. Until he's sufficiently obedient, he stays on his leash even at the off-leash park.

[cheechako]

What a super good idea. My area has at least 5or 6 ball/soccer/ect parks. The paths are wonderful, such a pleasure to spend time on. However I would be thrilled to let my pack (3) off leash in a fenced park. The fence at SPCA is a joke, all 3 of my guys could escape in a Minuit. Thanks to Alberta Medical Services I no longer run, walk or have the ability to chase my hounds. I would gladly pay a user fee to have a park where lazy owners are not tolerated re: clean up and aggressive dogs. Huge areas are set aside for overflow parks, berms are often used as off-leash in my area, sports and skating rinks are numerous which is a all well and good, but have a place for dogs and their owners . The fence-less off leash parks are better called **** acres, I hate to even go close to them. I try very hard to train my dogs, I always clean up, winter or summer. I hate to compare Edmonton to other cities but I do believe we could do better. The $$ spent on Hockey and Arenas and the arts is awesome, but couldn't we spread some $$ out for the love/sport of dogs?

Originally Posted by Decade

I fear I am going to be called the Dog-Poster soon as I talk more and more about how pet-unfriendly Edmonton appears to be. However, I just had to bring this one up!


While I love the River valley parks and such for walking my dog, I have a terrier. Most people with terriers and greyhounds and many other breeds that instinctually chase prey will attest to the fact that dog parks without fences can be a huge problem! My dog has decent recall (I have own work dogs before this dog, so I couldn't call his recall good compared to them), but if he saw a rabbit, he would chase that thing so deep in the trees or across a road that it certainly wouldn't be good.

Why can't we have some more fenced dog parks? Especially something near downtown for those of us who don't have backyards!


The closest thing I can find is Grand Paws indoor dog park up by the airport, but since I don't own a car it is still very far away and it costs $5 a visit (cheap, but not when you include the taxi ride).

This dog park in Richmond Hill is beautiful, and it even includes a smaller fenced in area for small dogs!


This one has lights and doggie drinking fountains!


This one doesn't have a tall fence but does have a nice fence with a cute sculpture!

This one just looks nice and clean!

At minimum, I would like a fenced in dog park somewhere near downtown. What would make it fantastic would be some tables and benches for socializing, a lil'gazebo area, and maybe some permanent agility fixtures... something for dogs to jump over or on that also looked sculptural.


I know some people would say this is a waste of tax payers dollars. However, I think some of our underutilized park spaces near downtown like Dawson Park or even a small area of Louise McKinney park could benefit from an area like this. I can definitely see dog owners forming meet-ups to socialize or play frisbee or something.

Maybe it is just wishful thinking, but what do other think of the idea? Am I the only one out there who would love this??

[mediabug]

I bit of an aside... I always look forward to the beer garden at Pets in the Park. It's the one time a year I can have a beer, dog at my side, with friends in public. I actually went to a great bar in Austin that allowed pets...

[cheechako]

Originally Posted by mediabug

I bit of an aside... I always look forward to the beer garden at Pets in the Park. It's the one time a year I can have a beer, dog at my side, with friends in public. I actually went to a great bar in Austin that allowed pets...

Sounds like a dream come true. I hope to be able to attend the Pets in Park this summer. Are wheelchairs accommodated there, I've not been. I understand there is a swim-pool that allows you in the water with your dog, is this possible. I want to scoot with the dogs on River Valley trails but I worry that we would be out of place, and annoying to the real bikers.

[chefhal]

I would think NOT, edmontonians are not pet friendly like they are NOT people friendly, I drive these streets everyday, I get honked at if I dont jump yellow lights, don't continue on crosswalks with pedestrians on them, if I come to an intersection with my Dog, no way in hell would they stop, so before YOU (edmontonians)consider yourself PET FRIENDLY, BE FRIENDLY PERIOD!

[Alex.L]

^ plenty of us are friendly. Don't paint us all with the same brush as the guy who honked at you.

[Gord Lacey]

chefhal, where are you walking with your dog? I take my down Whyte Ave all the time, and I can't say I've ever had a problem with people, or drivers.

[TheT5E]

Aside from the Humane Society on137 Ave, are there other fenced off leash dog parks in Edmonton?

[edmonton daily photo]

^ No city of Edmonton public facilities no...

Which is unfortunate.... the COE has guidelines around such things and is reluctant (at this time) to fence of areas as part of a park.

[Gemini]

Originally Posted by TheT5E

Aside from the Humane Society on137 Ave, are there other fenced off leash dog parks in Edmonton?

Hopefully you find a fenced dog park beside where you live.
Fido, live strong, live free.............................



http://www.edmontondogs.com/parks.php

[cheechako]

Edmonton could do much better for the dogs. There are miles of grassy berms and green belts. Why not fence some off so the dogs could go for a run without leash. I see folks letting their pets do this regularly. The law says you must have animal on a leash so this advantage is only for the ones who disregard the law.
I just paid a pile of $$$ for pet licences. The city must rake in a nice sum what with the thousands of pets. Pets support business such as Food stores, Pet shops, training classes, Veterinary clinics ect. I think we could have better facilities than the unfenced poop fields called off-leash parks.
IMHO

[edmonton daily photo]

^ I would agree...

[IanO]

Originally Posted by edmonton daily photo

^ No city of Edmonton public facilities no...

Which is unfortunate.... the COE has guidelines around such things and is reluctant (at this time) to fence of areas as part of a park.

Working on one for downtowns Scott property park... Will advise.

[Chmilz]

Originally Posted by cheechako

Edmonton could do much better for the dogs. There are miles of grassy berms and green belts. Why not fence some off so the dogs could go for a run without leash.

Agreed. Lots of massive swaths of land that get exactly zero usage ever. Totally devoid of any entertainment value as they are, but would get a lot of use as dog parks.

unfenced poop fields

That's the fault of the users, not the city. Any new places would be just as bad. Users need to police themselves a bit better, call out the offenders.

[edmonton daily photo]

Originally Posted by IanO

Working on one for downtowns Scott property park... Will advise.

Please do... maybe OCL could help out.

There was talk of us trying to do the same we are just so busy.

[oilersrock99]

Rehashing an old thread here...

Just wondering if there has been any news on any fenced in dog parks/dog runs in the city? We found an apartment building east of the UofA hospital, close to Whyte Ave that had a fenced in dog run.
It was great when we were training our first dog. We currently are fostering another dog and would love to let her run off leash, but she's still working on recall. We'd like to take her to a fenced in area. Any ideas, other than that one apartment building (its a bit of a small area)?

[Parkdale]

I feel very confident that an easily accessible (especially by foot) fenced in dog park would quickly become a very heavily used resource. A great place to take puppies and dogs training to recall, older pets who can't hear or see well but still want to socialize, breeds unsuited to being off-leash and also for mobility compromised owners who want their pups to run but want that extra feeling of security since they couldn't run after their dog if something happened.

[Gemini]

^You actually bring up a very good point in regards to fenced dog parks. That of disabled people. I am sure they would appreciate a park where their dog(s) can run free without them running away. When most people think of any facility they usually think of how it works for people who are mobile. Unless we have a disabled person who is in the family or a close friend the disabled are often not on the radar.

[edmonton daily photo]

Originally Posted by oilersrock99

Rehashing an old thread here...

Just wondering if there has been any news on any fenced in dog parks/dog runs in the city? We found an apartment building east of the UofA hospital, close to Whyte Ave that had a fenced in dog run.
It was great when we were training our first dog. We currently are fostering another dog and would love to let her run off leash, but she's still working on recall. We'd like to take her to a fenced in area. Any ideas, other than that one apartment building (its a bit of a small area)?

All dog focus resources are on hold while the city looks at their dog policies