Dirty Dog Run Making Pooches Sick
The conditions at the Park Slope dog run have gotten downright unsanitary, according to dog owners who regularly visit the run, and things are only bound to get worse as the weather warms. Dog owners charge that, in addition to the general unpleasantness, the urine-soaked wood chips are to blame for giving their furry friends…
The conditions at the Park Slope dog run have gotten downright unsanitary, according to dog owners who regularly visit the run, and things are only bound to get worse as the weather warms. Dog owners charge that, in addition to the general unpleasantness, the urine-soaked wood chips are to blame for giving their furry friends parasites and diarrhea. The Parks Department confirms that all is not as it should be. J.J. Byrne Park manager Eric Greene said they haven’t been changed since November. “I don’t want to change them at all because it’s all going to be under construction,” he said, referring to the new park Boymelgreen has promised to start building next month because part of the old one was used as a staging area to construct The Novo. Nevertheless, Greene said compaints have prompted the Parks Department to drop off wood chips beside the park within two weeks. This time volunteers are supposed to change them. (Normally, he said, the department does most of the work, removing the fence and lugging out special equipment to change the paw padding. “It’s very time-consuming.”) Tony Chiappelloni, president of FIDO, an off-leash advocacy group for Prospect Park, said, “Personally I think small dog runs are basically unhealthy.”
Extreme Makeover Planned for J.J. Byrne Park [Brownstoner]
Park Slope is a dirty little ghetto.
People that know absolutely nothing about dogs are posting their opinions here. Why? Are you on plumbing forums and tree surgeon forums and tax reform discussion groups and going to medical conferences?
Dogs, as stated before, are pack animals. Therefore ‘socialization’ IS important and is not a ‘pet party’ as you’re probably imagining. A dog in isolation is miserable and often becomes a menace. They need to be ‘socialized’ to the sights and sounds of the city (including strange people and animals) and they need exercise.
As far as a ‘small dog run’, are we discussing a dog run that’s small, or a dog run for small dogs? I agree that it is best to separate the lap dogs from the large dogs.But where there’s no distinction made I believe it’s the responsibility of the small dog owner to understand that by allowing him in the dog run he’s putting his pet at risk.
Dog pee is not nearly as nasty or as likely to induce human or dog illness as much of the other stuff we step in on the sidewalk every day — trash, shit, food, sewage, bleach, oil, etc. It’s a dirty world out there. Get over it. If there’s an outbreak of some sort at this dog park, that should be investigated and corrected, but I doubt it’ll be linked to pee.
Grass or wood chips are not good ideas. Carl Schultz park has a great small dog run that is made with a green, padded plastic. The bif dog run is tiny pebbles. If a dog pees or poops you can just go and wipe it up since it is easier to see. It was my favorite dog run when my girlfriend lived up there. When she moved to the Slope we checked out old schoolhouse run and hated it. Big dogs messing with small dogs, smelly chips, jerk-off owners, gaps in the fence. That dog run sucks. Everywhere else in the city there is a big dog run and a seperate small dog run. I don’t need my 6 pound dog getting mauled by a 100 pound rotweiller.
one problem with the park in general is that until a couple of years ago, it was a barely used ghetto park for stupid teens to party in. it was covered in broken glass in fact.
the park simply has not caught up to the gentrification of the area.
so you like really aggressive mean barking dogs around you that attack other dogs and people? dogs that are locked all day sure bark more at the very least.
that’s what socialization prevents…maybe its too big a word for you.
Now dogs need to ‘get socialized’? what next already. Want medicare for when the thing gets old?
Grass in a dog run would be uprooted and destroyed within a month, tops. It simply wouldn’t withstand the activity, which is why sports fields are routinely covered with synthetics. Urine is indeed sterile, but I must agree that it stinks if left to dry in the sun. Woodchips are already a by-product of park maintenance and Xmas tree disposal. In fact, if the city chose to do so they most certainly could be further recycled, despite the urine and to claim this is impossible only displays ignorance of the recycling process.
The notion that dogs should be made to pee before entering the run is ludicrous in the extreme. Dogs are pack animals and are keenly aware of social structure. One of the primary ways they communicate is through scent ( their sense of smell is estimated to be 400x more powerful than ours) and urine is the way they leave their scent. From it one dog can determine everything about another. For a dog to enter an outdoor area that’s constantly populated by strange dogs and NOT mark the territory is asking the impossible.
With regard to feces, it is a shame that people feel entitled to leave their dog’s droppings ANYWHERE without picking them up. Not only is it the law, but it is unsanitary and downright antisocial. I have two large dogs and never neglect to pick up. It is one of my least favorite aspects of dog ownership yet one of the responsibilities to my neighbors that I don’t take lightly. When people neglect to do so it reflects badly on dog owners across the board.
As long as it remains legal to own a dog in NYC the city is wise to attempt to set aside places where the dogs can exercise and socialize away from people that don’t care for them. The alternative would certainly be dogs running off-leash on soccer fields and picnic grounds.
Look people. Here’s some facts:
1. we live in a democracy. if you don’t like dog parks, then get the city government to get rid of them. Point is, its just like anything else. there’s not “they’re not people rule” pertaining to “things that government does for a minority”. I believe that dog parks are good for everyone because they are a place for the dogs to burn energy and get socialized. (you do realize there’s gonna be people with dogs no matter what, so we might as well get those animals happy and calm). But the point is, this is just like any other issue, no matter what weird ad hoc rules about city services you can come up with.
2. I use this dog park and the reason i think its terrible is cause its so small, has barily standing fences (so dogs could potentially get out), and no drinking fountains. Also, rats live in the ground/wood chips. As long as we’re gonna have a dog park, why have one that is a shit hole?
3. This is a totally rich neighborhood with lots of dog owners, and I’m kinda surprised that there isn’t a local effort to get a better dog park, especially with the rule change at prospect park.
4. Hey Brownstoner–take a look at the rule change at prospect park (and city-wide) due to a lawsuit by Committee for Responsible Dog Ownership . I haven’t seen any coverage of this…they took away the afternoon dog hours from Prospect park due to some concerned bird watchers.