off-leash park rules and restrictions

For safety reasons, males dogs 8 months of age and older must be neutered to enter the off-leash areas of the park. All male dogs (both neutered and intact) are welcome to attend classes and to use the self-service dog baths. We will make a very few exceptions to this rule, for example, for dogs actively being shown or dogs that cannot be neutered for medical reasons. The reason for this rule is safety: in general, neutering tends to lessen any aggressive tendencies a male dog may have toward other dogs (and lessen other annoying behaviors such as territorial marking and humping). And we find that some neutered male dogs behave more aggressively toward intact male dogs, even if the intact males are the sweetest, least aggressive dogs in the world. Why don't we have the same rule for femals dogs? Spaying a female dog does not seem to have any marked effect on the dog's behavior. Of course we recommend that both male and female dogs be spayed or neutered for health reasons and because dog overpopulation is a serious problem.

Keep an eye on your dog at all times.

Be polite:   scoop the poop!  Bag stations and trash cans are available throughout the park.

Unless you are moving your dog from one part of the park to another, the dog must be off-leash.

If annoying (to the other dog or its owner) or aggressive behavior is observed, take immediate action:  either move your dog to another part of the park, leave the park, or do whatever you have to do to prevent the behavior (time-out, redirect behavior, etc.).   

Rough play is fine as long as it is consensual.  Rough play and chasing is not acceptable if any of the dogs involved is not comfortable with the situation.  Just because a dog's intent is to play does not make the dog's behavior acceptable or tolerable if the other dog is not enjoying itself.

For safety reasons children must be at least 4 feet tall to use any part of the off-leash park other than the Kids 'n Dogs area (where children of all sizes are welcome). Carried babies no older than 12 months may be taken into all areas of the off-leash park, as well as children of all ages in strollers, but parents with strollers are warned to be very careful when an unknown dog gets near the stroller.

In the Kids 'n Dogs area kids may act like kids, but children in other areas of the off-leash park will be expected to behave in an adult manner:  no running, no chasing dogs, no petting of others' dogs unless permission is granted by the owners first. Pre-teenage children must be closely supervised at all times by an adult, and must at all times be in close proximity to their adult guardian.

Puppies must be at least 12 weeks of age to use the park.

The safest collar for your dog to wear in a dog park is a flat buckle collar (actually, a break-away collar is even safer; if a dog wearing a break-away collar should get caught on another dog or on a fence, etc., its weight will cause the collar to break, thus freeing the dog). We do not allow dogs in the off-leash part of the park to wear prong or pinch collars; these are training collars and should not be left on a dog when it plays. We highly discourage the use of choke chain collars, as these can also be dangerous (a dog in an Orlando dog park recently got its choke chain caught on another dog while the two were playing and suffocated before anyone could find wire cutters to remove the collar). Also not allowed in the park (unless an exception has been made by management) are electronic collars (shock collars).

Smoking is allowed in the park, but only if cigarette butts are disposed of properly in the many waste cans located throughout the park. No butts on the grounds; some dogs find them tasty!

Dogs should wear current license tags and be up-to-date on shots (you don't need to bring shot records).

Digging is not allowed except at the sand pit/dog mountain by Lake Bow Wow; if your dog does dig a hole elsewhere, do your best to fill it in.

No more than 3 dogs per person on any one visit, please.

No dogs in heat or sick dogs or dogs with fleas or possible contagious skin conditions..

Have fun!

(Click here for the warped humor version of the Dog Wood Park rules.)