Being a dog walker and a dog owner, I like finding the best places to take the pups to get some exercise. When I want Riley to be able to run free we go to a lot off different dog parks. However, I find that the fenced in parks that allow you to take your pup off-leash are often overtaken but other dog walkers. I have gone to several parks and have seen 7 to 8 dogs all with one walker! I usually stay away from these parks because if just one of those dogs starts trouble, chances are the other dogs will get involved. And just one person can’t always control 8 dogs at once, but when we want to take your pup off-leash, we don’t have a lot of other options.
Green Dog is a program that is trying to help make more parks more dog friendly. They have had great success in Brookline and now are making their way over to Arlington. Basically, they are finding the parks that are not fenced in that are best suited for off-leash play. They also wouldn’t single out just one park. What is great about having several parks to go to is that it will prevent overcrowding, which is a huge problem in the Boston area with off-leash dog parks. There are several rules that would be enforced to ensure the safety of dogs and people. The parks would only have set off-leash hours that would usually be in the morning. Owners must clean up after their pup, dogs must have a collar with their tags of identification and vaccinations presented, owners must always have their pup in sight and be in control of their dog and if a dog shows any aggressive behavior towards another dog or person, that dog must be removed from the park. There is also a limit of 3 dogs per person.
I hope that Green Dog continues to be successful and make it’s way to other towns. Having an off-leash park for Riley to run free is something I would love to have in Somerville and I’m sure other dog owners would love to have it in their area as well!
Stay tuned for more about Green Dog!
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