Op-Ed: Keep toddlers out of dog parks
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Off-Leash dog parks allow dogs to be dogs, together
By Susan Will, Richmond Beach Community News Editor
Besides
having wide open space to play with your best bud, off-leash dog areas
provide a long list of enriching opportunities, many of which come from
your dog interacting and playing as part of a pack. The pack teaches
individuals what is socially appropriate dog behavior. Watching
increases your understanding of canine communications. Just seeing each
dog’s personality crystalize and shine is a big treat.
Lately, some dog owners are expressing concern about increased sightings at off-leash areas of a creature so nerve-wracking it can clear the park: an off-leash toddler.
You don’t have to be a dog or toddler
handler to understand that excited, playful dogs of almost any size are
not a fair match for small, unstable humans. What’s worse is that small
humans react to excitement in ways that can ratchet up a dog’s
excitement. Running and yelling invites most dogs to chase and catch
you, after all.
While everyone who enters an off-leash area does so at their own risk, dog owners are responsible for any damage or injury their dog does.
You can be confident of how your dog behaves around other dogs, adults and children, and yet it is far too easy for him to knock over and trample a toddler while he’s in play mode. It is easier to make those types of introductions in a controlled setting.
In the interest of safety, some
Richmond Beach residents are asking Edmonds and Shoreline to provide
better signage. Though both cities have rules posted at their off-leash
areas, the single points in each regarding children are nebulous and
buried in a long list.
More prominent and clear signage would at least help ensure parents know what they are walking into. That might go a long way to making everyone more comfortable and able to enjoy the park.
More info
To learn about nearby off-leash dog areas, visit the city websites as well as the nonprofits that support the off-leash areas.
Follow the Off-Leash Dog Area link from the Parks page
Edmonds
Parks Department
Follow the Dog Friendly Parks link from the Parks page
Follow the Dog Friendly Parks link from the Parks page
Express your opinion
City of Shoreline
17500 Midvale Avenue N
Shoreline, WA 98133-4905
City of Edmonds
121 Fifth Avenue N
Edmonds, WA 98020
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7 comments:
Well said. And when toddlers of irresponsible parents inevitably do get knocked over or play-mouthed, it's certainly not going to the be the toddler or parents who are fined, quarantined, or worse.
My wife and I do, occasionally, take our 2 year old son to the dog parks. However, when we do, we do not let him down on the ground. As you said, the dog park is for dogs. If our son is with us, he is in our arms. That way, we don't have to worry about him, and the dogs can be as rambunctious as they like.
I would also like to point out the issue of off leash dogs at school grounds. The same issue applies. Those places ARE for kids to run around. Even with new "No Pets" signage at the old North City Elementary School, I see off leash dogs all the time. Take those dogs to the dog park! That's where they belong!
Then the reverse should also be true, people need to stop bringing their dogs to playgrounds. I am not sure why people do this. But I have seen this at Paramount Park and Greenlake. People might treat their dogs like kids, but they are not, they are dogs. I once had to drop-kick and choke-hold dog at Greenlake that charged my child who was playing with a frisbee.
Greenlake is a walking path for all to enjoy but the dogs need to be on a leash.
Go to Greenland by the playground, people always have their dogs b offleash here all the time...right next to the playground equipment. Dogs are not more important than kids, no matter how many sweaters you dress them in.
Greenlake is in the City of Seattle, as I am sure you know, and not subject to the City of Shoreline code and regulations.
And to think people in Shoreline get a raw deal from Seattle, I see people from Shoreline all of the time at the Magnuson off-leash park.
There have rules for years requiring dogs to be on leash at Greenlake - the fields and the trail. Seattle has better off leash enforcement, but they can't be everywhere. Off leash dogs in Shoreline are a problem too on the playgrounds and ball fields.
As an adult who was knocked to the ground by a "pack" of running dogs at the dog park, it does make me a little concerned when toddlers are walking around large animals of any kind.
And I will continue to take my dog to the school grounds where there are wide-open, under-utilized green spaces. Rest easy - the dog isn't off-leash when kids are playing, and he doesn't get to poop there.
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