This week I had the pleasure of visiting the newest of central Ohio’s selection of dog parks, Godown Dog Park. I have been eagerly looking forward to this day since I first saw the plans for the dog park, shared at a “Dog Park 101” class hosted by Worthington Parks & Rec and Worthington Organized Off-leash Friends (WOOF). I was impressed at the level of dog savvy of the members of WOOF, especially regarding designing for safety and dog-centeredness. You’ll see what I mean, below.
So here are some things I LOVE about the dog park:
The hills, trees and landscape. Unlike many other central Ohio dog parks which are typically flat fields with few trees, Godown Dog Park was built on a hilly, treed lot, with clusters of mature hardwoods, stands of smaller white pine and other forested areas. The land is sloped, with mounds and hills and even a gully, and there are areas that are mulched, areas with boulders and areas that are grassy or bare.
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This means:
- Your dog gets a sensory experience, complete with sounds (birds chirping, the train passing by, wind in the trees), textures (mulch, stone, pavement or grass underfoot) and of course, smells!
- There’s LOTS of shade, which means on hot days, there are lots of different places for dogs to congregate and escape to. This helps to avoid the pitfall of some other parks which might have scuffles and fights when too many hot dogs try to cram into the same small patch of shade.
- The hills and closely-clustered tree stands in particular create a visual break for dogs, which means that even if there are 50 dogs in the park, a shy or nervous dog might be able to “feel” more secluded or safe in a more isolated portion of the park. Rather than having all of the dogs become one big pack in the middle of an open yard, the “compartment” effect created by the visual breaks can help foster smaller, well-matched playgroups.
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An example of a visual “break” created by a thick cluster of trees.
The size of the big dog yard. At a whopping 4 acres, the amount of space enclosed in the big-dog area ensures that dogs have a space to retreat to if they need a break from other dogs. Only 2 acres are currently cleared with the remainder to be opened bit by bit over the coming weeks, as Worthington Parks & Recreation clear underbrush and poison ivy from the remainder.
The fact that the watering station was OUTSIDE the dog yards. This is probably one factor that will annoy the average dog park visitor, but that I LOVED! Locating the watering station outside of the dog runs serves several functions: first, it prevents a huge maintenance mess. Watering areas are quick to get muddy and messy, and quickly create standing water and unintended gullies where runoff is channeled. They’re also magnets for retrievers and other water dogs that love to paw in the water basins, which just worsens the mess. It also means less bathing and grooming for the dogs post-park trip (a small consideration, admittedly). Finally, watering stations can also create overcrowding as many dogs cram into a small space around a few bowls.
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I hear this watering station will eventually include a wash station for Fido.
But the thing I love MOST about the outside watering stations is that it forces owners and dogs to take a break from the melee of the dog park. In my experience, I have rarely seen a dog owner take his dog out of the dog park, then re-enter the dog park. Most people come to stay, and even when a fight breaks out or a dog is being a nuisance, the options are twofold: stick it out by staying in the yard, or leave and go home.
By forcing owners to go outside of the yard for water, it makes the leave-return a novel part of their dog park repertoire. Once it is part of the repertoire, it could be used for other functions: like, say, taking a time-out after a particularly intense play session, or a quick training session teaching your dog to enter the park calmly.
Unfortunately, what I witnessed on opening weekend was that the reluctance to leash-and-leave is too great. Many owners let their dogs play for long times without taking them for water. A few owners instead packed a dog bowl and bottle of water and attempt to water their dog within the dog yard. When they did this, they were almost always swamped by ten thirsty dogs, each pushing for access to water. Once, I saw the dog bowl itself turned into a toy, as a sweet bulldog threw it up into the air and caught it over and over, in intense jubilation.
UPDATE: Two weeks later, the dog park is peppered with water bowls and gallon jugs. It’s not as bad as a single, mud-pit watering station and I haven’t seen overcrowding at the the water bowls like I witnessed the first day, but it does mean that there’s a lot of tupperware containers and stray plastic laying around. Sigh. Hopefully this gets better when the wash station is created and they turn the water back on again at the watering station.
The double-gated entry at ALL entrances. This is one of my biggest safety objections to Wheeler Park, which offers a double-gated entry on one side of the park, but two other alternate entrances are single-gated. For the safety of all dogs, all entrances to dog parks should be double-gated to prevent escape artists from wiggling out, especially when gate-crowding happens.
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I was happy to see “push” and “pull” signs added, after watching many people lift the latch and jimmy it around. It really is as simple as a shove or a tug.
The rule prohibiting children under 9 years old. If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you realize that one of my BIG causes is preventing negative dog-child interactions . The dog park is simply too rough-and-tumble an environment for young children to navigate safely. Even if you have a tough kid who likes to play rough with your dog, it is not the same thing as being plowed over by a pack of unfamiliar dogs, many of which likely outweigh the child.
Furthermore, many dogs are not socialized to children, or are socialized to associate them with negative consequences. These dogs and dog-owners should have some environment where they can predict that they will not be exposed to children. If you must take your child to a dog park, all three of Columbus Recreation & Parks’ dog parks allow children, when accompanied by an adult.
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The rule prohibiting toys, treats or food of any kind. You heard it. Godown Dog Park says “no” to all toys (yes, balls included!), treats and foods. This will prevent a LOT of fights, given the number of scuffles involving balls, ropes, Frisbees and the like. It also prevents treat-motivated dogs from fixating on the treat-toting human in the yard. This, in combination with the landscape, also gives Godown Dog Park the feeling of a nature park. I liken other dog parks to neighborhood parks: instead of swings and slides there is agility equipment and toys. Godown feels more like a metro park, complete with walking paths and sloped terrain.
The dog behavior info on the entrance kiosk.
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I bet more folks would read it if it was inside the fence. Of course, then they wouldn’t be watching their dog.
At the entrance to the park, there is a three-sided kiosk. One side is dedicated to WOOF news, another side is dedicated to Worthington Parks & Recreation information. The third side is dedicated to sharing public information about dogs, dog behavior and training.
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One of the gems on the dog behavior side of the informational kiosk: how to break up a dog fight.
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The things I didn’t love about the dog park:
The gate latches. There is no locking mechanism on the gate latches at the entrance/exit areas. A person entering the double-gated area need only push lightly, and the gate opens.
The way the latches are configured, a dog can push its way into the park, but cannot push its way out of the park. This creates a couple of problems: first, an overly-zealous dog might push its way into the park before its leash is removed. This could lead to a leash-induced scuffle or at worst, if the first gate hasn’t been closed prior to the dog pushing through, it could lead to an escape! This concern can be addressed by owners allowing less slack in their leashes on entry, but the risk still remains.
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These latches make me nervous.
Secondly, for the nervous dog that might dig at corners, it could mean an escape. If a dog isn’t gung-ho about going into the park, and instead returns to the first gate and paws at it, it is quite easy for the dog to pull back the gate enough to get its nose in and open more. Again, this can be addressed by close vigilance on the owner’s part, but the risk remains.
Almost all entrance-area mishaps can be fixed by slowing down, not crowding the entrance and allowing the owner enough time in the double-gated area to unleash and take any other safety or calming measures with their dog.
The rule prohibiting treats. I admit it! I love, love, love to train Roo at the dog park. Much of the headway that we’ve made on his recall is due to our weekly training sessions in high-distraction dog park environments. I worry whether praise alone will be enough to maintain the strength of his recalls, stays and other obedience within the environment. But that’s my training issue to be overcome, and certainly doesn’t outweigh the problems that treat-toting can cause in the dog park.
So there you have it: my review of Godown Dog Park. I am particularly interested in seeing how a few things unfold:
First, I wonder what the demographic of the dog owners will be. Will there be a strong culture of dog aficionados that will help keep the park pleasant and safe? Or will there be enough bad actors to sour the experience?
Second, what will the changes of seasons be like? I’m curious what leaf-fall will be like in the autumn, and if the gullies will fill with water in the spring. I’m also curious if the trees will have any wind-blocking effect in the winter, which may contribute to the comfort of the owners.
Third, I am curious how the terrain will hold up. This is a concern for all of our dog parks, since dog claws and quick turns and skids can do a number on the turf. It’s hard to judge from the drought-ridden ground I saw this weekend whether the grass will be hardy enough to withstand the wear, and whether four acres is enough ground to disperse the damage.
Finally, I am curious what the traffic will be like. The park is situated in an area easily accessible to a huge population of dog owners, and will likely draw visitors from Upper Arlington, Clintonville, Linworth, and other near-north communities. The first weekend, there were times of day when it was sparsely filled with dogs, and other times when it was packed.
Only time will tell! Tell me readers, have you visited Godown Dog Park yet? What did you think? What’s your favorite central Ohio dog park and why?
**Special thanks go out to Jennifer Lyon and Worthington Organized Off-leash Friends (WOOF) for their tireless effort to make this dog park a reality. Thanks for having me out to play on opening weekend!
Image may be NSFW.
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