01/Apr/2010
Dog Parks Afford Social Opportunities
the Pups and Their Proud Owners
the Pups and Their Proud Owners
By: Carrie Schultz,
DVM
The Housepet Housevet
Spring has FINALLY
come to
Baton Rouge
and with it comes warm sunshine, green grass and longer days.
To help with the
spring fever that both you and your dogs probably have, consider taking them to
one of BREC’s great dog parks for some socializing, playtime and exercise!
The reaction from the
public to the dog parks built in the last few years has been GREAT.These parks provide a place for your dogs to
run and play off-leash under your supervision with other dogs.
There are five dog
parks in the area that are either open to the public or under
construction:
•
Raising
Cane’s
Dog
Park
at
City
Park on Dalrymple (open daily, sunrise
to sunset)
•
Burbank
Soccer Complex (dog park is currently open on weekends only -- Friday afternoon
through Sunday at Sunset -- to allow the grass to completely establish itself.)
•
Forest Park off S. Harrell’s
Ferry Rd (currently closed for renovation
and relocation)
•
Zachary
Community
Park (currently under construction)
•
Greenwood
Community
Park in Baker (currently under construction)
There is a park in
the planning stages on
Highland Road ,
and Denham Springs also has a small dog park in the
South
Park
So come out to support the parks
and encourage the city to become as dog-friendly as possible!
Your pups will enjoy making new friends and
getting much-needed exercise.
Also, dogs
that are exercised frequently are less likely to be destructive at home or bark
excessively!
For your first visit
to a dog park, keep the following rules in mind:
1.
Dogs must be over four months of age, healthy,
current on vaccinations and free of parasites.
Current rabies tags must be worn on collar and dogs must be on leash
when entering and leaving the park.
2.
No
more than three dogs per owner.
3.
Females in heat are not permitted.
4.
BREC recommends that dog owners not bring
children under the age of 12 for safety reasons and strollers are not
allowed.
Children who do come need to be
strictly supervised and advised to ask permission before petting any dog.
If you have small
dogs and worry about them playing with the larger guys, some of the dog parks
have separate “small dog” areas to keep the little ones safe.
The
Burbank
dog park has a small dog area with separate entrance; in
Forest Park , there was previously a small dog
area in the corner of the park.
Hopefully
this will be part of the renovated park as well.
Being mindful of
basic dog park etiquette helps keep the parks safe and fun for everyone.
A few tips:
A few tips:
-Do
not take your dog to the park if they are known to be aggressive. Take your
pups to obedience school instead of the dog park if they have “bad manners” (jumping
up on people, humping legs, mouthing) or do not respond to basic commands such
as “sit”, “come” and “leave it”.
-Keep
an eye on your dog at all times!
Don’t
get too engrossed in conversation or reading a book or magazine.
And be willing to leave if your dog is
behaving inappropriately or isn’t having fun.
-And
of course, always clean up your doggie’s messes - bags are usually provided,
but it’s best to bring your own and be prepared.
Remember:
as the weather warms up and you and your dog
are spending more time outside, be sure that your dogs are protected from
fleas
and
heartworms
(which are transmitted by mosquitoes). Heartworm preventative medication is
very affordable and can be obtained from your veterinarian.
Effective flea prevention is more expensive
($10 to $15 a month) because the super-fleas of
Louisiana are as resistant as they come, but
your dog will thank you.
More on fleas and
heartworm disease in the June issue.
Until then, enjoy the sunshine!!
For more details on
the progress of the dog parks under construction contact BREC or check out
their web site at
www.brec.org.
