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Welcome to Dog Parkology, a show that
looks at the concept of dog parks

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through our relationship with dogs,
with each other, and with the land.

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In our prologue, we explore
the creation of the first

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official dog park in the world.

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The Ohlone Dog Park was created to
address residents desires to let their

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dogs off leash and have a space to play.

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Since then, over a thousand
officially designated dog parks,

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and counting, have blossomed.

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I

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think the intention of Dog Parks was to
create places that could invite dog people

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to come and take their dogs off leash.

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Every concept has to
start somewhere, right?

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And then if it doesn't
evolve, it becomes outdated.

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So how do we give dogs access to
freedom to off leash experiences?

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This is Tina Patel, who runs the Dog Lando
Enrichment Center in Orlando, Florida.

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I first started Dog Lando in 1999.

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We have six acres and our
whole goal is to integrate dogs

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into a naturalistic lifestyle.

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For Tina, the question of how we might
reconsider dog parks ties to our larger

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relationship with dogs in general.

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Dog I never understood living
with animals in captivity.

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I was born and raised in
Kenya, in East Africa.

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And so my perception of living and living
amongst other forms of animals involved

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allowing them to live with wilderness.

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Our treatment towards them reflects how
we perceive them, how we think about them.

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This really facilitates a very different
kind of relationship between human

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and dog, especially in this Western
way of living with dogs where their

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rights to freedom are really revoked.

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Our laws prohibit us from taking our dogs
everywhere we go, taking them off leash.

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We live a very compromised life.

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lifestyle with dogs, and we
have to result to dog parks.

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Dogs don't need fenced in areas as
much as people need fenced in areas.

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Offer them any outdoor space.

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I think that the idea of a dog park
gives people a sense of relief.

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At least their dogs are contained.

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But your dogs are contained at home.

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Your dogs are contained
when you're walking them.

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Around the neighborhood on a leash.

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So why do we go to a dog
park to contain them?

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Isn't a dog park to satiate
a different kind of need?

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Through DogLando, Tina has
studied specialized parks.

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She believes having many forms of
enrichment could provide great benefits.

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I think our spaces need to be designed
with function, meaning with purpose.

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There can be one park that is just
botanical, and the whole park would

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be of plants and herbs and things that
dogs can eat, ingest, smell, to give

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dogs an opportunity to access this.

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Things that they should have
access to in their ecology, so

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that they can function as a whole.

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There are so many opportunities
we have now, understanding

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from a design perspective, how
we should create dog parks.

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Tina also feels that we, as humans,
need to be more involved at dog parks.

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Many people can fall victim to
bringing their canines to a dog

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park and thinking the job is done.

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But that's missing the opportunity
for so much more growth and

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enjoyment on both sides.

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I see in kid playgrounds all
the time, the parent will come

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with a child and say go play.

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But a child wants a playmate.

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A child wants somebody to play with him or
her on that swing and on this and on that.

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And the parent, they're not
engaging, they're not interacting.

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And I think the same about dog parks.

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They notice somebody they know, and
they just form little huddles and they

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start talking or sit down on a bench.

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They're not engaging with
their dogs in this park.

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My thought is, if we can't
enhance their intelligence,

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then what do we have them for?

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We're not protectives.

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I know you think we are.

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I'm more afraid of my dog not
having a life worth living.

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Dogs don't go to a dog
park just to exercise.

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They're going there and they are learning.

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They're learning about people.

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They're learning about dogs.

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They're absorbing so much information.

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If we want our dogs to have a more
meaningful experience than just

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getting their zoomies out in a
plot of dirt, it requires a more

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studied and concentrated effort.

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That brings us to the
theme of this episode.

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Guided play is a learning
concept and technique.

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The general idea is to allow the
freedom to play with innate curiosity.

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While the supervisor is on hand
to help gently steer the ship and

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assist in the learning process.

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Although guided play is a concept
typically applied to teaching children,

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there are parallels to how we can look
at our personal time spent with our dogs.

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Guided play also brings in an
objective, such as teaching awareness

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and developing intellectual, social,
emotional, and physical skills.

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And since play is naturally free and
joyous, there are positive emotional

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connections in the learning process.

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It's important to remember that
all dogs are not going to learn

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or act the same, just like with
differences among kids in a classroom.

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Every year, somebody will call me and
the guardian will say, you need to

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come out and meet with me and my dog.

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Cause my dog hates going to the dog park.

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This is Camille Ward, a certified animal
behaviorist who works with dogs and humans

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in her community of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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And then I'll question
them a little bit more.

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Is your dog aggressive to other dogs?

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Is your dog able to be around other dogs?

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Are you able to walk your dog?

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How does your dog respond
when he meets another dog?

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And a lot of times people will
say, All of that's fine, he just

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doesn't do well at the dog park.

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He gets really stressed and he
picks fights, and he should enjoy

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going to the dog park, right?

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And I have to tell people, No,
there's nothing wrong with your dog.

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A big step in choosing the right space for
your dog is really looking at it through

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the dog's perspective and personality.

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I think we misunderstand dogs a lot.

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We label them a stubborn or they
don't get something right away.

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They're not very smart.

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All these human terms
that we use sometimes.

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to describe the dog when we're frustrated.

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Your dog is somebody who may not
like going to a big loud party or

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a karaoke bar, or they do better
one on one or with maybe a few

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close dog friends, but that's okay.

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There's nothing wrong with your dog.

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That's his or her preference.

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Camille herself has had different
experiences with her canine companions.

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Over the years, I've had many dogs.

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Marty, my first dog as an adult, the
Yellow Lab, he loved the dog park.

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Everyone was a friend he hadn't met
yet, and he was the quintessential

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dog that should go to a dog park.

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But I see a lot of dogs at dog parks
who are just managing the environment.

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They're not necessarily
loving it, but they're coping.

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And so I always try to impart to
owners, if your dog's not having fun,

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then maybe you shouldn't be going.

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Maybe you should be doing other
activities that you like with your dog.

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Maybe your dog prefers to go and do
agility or go on long hikes or do

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sniff or scent classes or nose work.

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So really looking at your
dog as an individual.

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rather than who you
think your dog should be.

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Through observing these interactions, we
can start to better understand our dog's

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personalities, strengths, and weaknesses.

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In order to truly find the solution that's
best for your dog, you have to remember

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to reserve expectations or judgments
on their behavior and preferences.

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Let them speak to you with
their actions and reactions.

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What we thought at first was
that Edie had puppy fear.

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This is Meredith May, the author
of Loving Edie, How a Dog Afraid of

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Everything Taught Me to be Brave.

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I wanted to be able to
have my fun dog life back.

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I didn't sign up for this.

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What's the point of a dog that can't
move through the world with you?

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Meredith's past experience with Golden
Retrievers had led her to believe that

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all dogs of that breed would be well
behaved and the life of the party.

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However, when she got her Golden
Retriever, Edie, that was not the case.

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Edie was too scared to interact
with other dogs, even hiding in

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the corner at a group play date.

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It got to a point where Edie couldn't
even walk on a city sidewalk, she'd

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get scared and have panic attacks, and
her fight or flight was off the charts.

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And I also thought, I've trained
two wonderful golden retrievers,

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what am I doing wrong with this one?

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Like, I'd somehow lost my mojo.

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Meredith and her wife, Jen,
tried to figure out what to do.

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They sought out a specialist who sat
them down and gave them a reality check.

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Saying they had to be more conscious
and considerate of how they planned

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their daily life with this dog.

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It was through that process that
Meredith started to reverse engineer her

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thinking around who Edie actually is.

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She realized she needed to put
her breed expectations aside

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and put Edie's needs first.

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Meredith and Jen decided the
city was too much stimulation for

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Edie, so they moved to a mountain
area with a rural, winding road.

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Once there, with more space and calmness,
Edie was able to come alive and thrive.

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We live 1, 800 feet up on a
mountain, but the beautiful thing

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is she's really come alive here.

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She can do a lot of things now
that she couldn't do before,

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just given the solitude and the
time to think about it and relax.

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And so have we.

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I am so glad my dog is
teaching me what slow means.

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It's something I have
struggled with my whole life.

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No longer feel the need to pace.

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Push this dog to be the dog that I
felt I was somehow cheated out of.

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Geez, Edie for a reason.

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We need to view every dog as
their own individual personality.

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And when we do our bonds
can grow even closer.

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Another factor that can amplify
and assist in that process is the

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design and setup of the dog park.

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You're going to, to embrace these
opportunities for play or learning.

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for bonding.

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My whole idea with dog parks was let's
create a dog park for dogs and people.

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Not, let's put up a fence
and call it a dog park.

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This is landscape architect Leslie
Lau, founder of Bear Grass Landscape

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Architecture, who designed the five
acre Hugh Rogers Wag Park in Montana.

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I grew up in Canada.

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From day one, I was
outdoors, hiking, fishing.

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Backpacking.

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And I had friends with a German
shepherd and the German shepherd.

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I went everywhere with that dog.

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We went fly fishing.

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I think it just cemented that I love dots.

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And that was really the start of it.

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Since then I've had 25 years of
having wire haired pointy Griffons.

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So, it really got me involved
in agility, in obedience, and

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because I have hunting dogs, they
are in the outdoors all the time.

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And they love water, they love
ponds, they like all surfaces.

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So I really wanted to design a
park that would engage dogs, get

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them interested in exploring and
learning and trying new things.

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I think when you do that with a park,
then you have a lot less conflicts.

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If you have a large enough space
and you give them options to explore

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different stuff, then play becomes
much more prevalent, exploring

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becomes much more prevalent.

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Not having anything for dogs to do, just
a piece of lawn and calling it a dog park,

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I think it's really a huge disservice.

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When a dog park is set up with
activities or ways for the dogs to

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play together, the humans can even
join in and be part of the experience.

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We're trying to create a bond between the
person and the animal, instead of just

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being static, just standing there talking
while the dogs play with another dog.

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Yeah, it's a part of it, but
it's a minimal part of it.

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I start thinking about what
natural amenities are there.

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Is there a great area for a walking trail?

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Is there water?

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Do we want water?

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Can we bring in water?

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Do I need shade structures?

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How does the community
want to utilize the park?

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Leslie shared some
examples of her approach.

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I came to Whitefish, Montana
and started to work on Whitefish

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Animal Group's Wag Dog Park.

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I provide two beaches.

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So that both small dogs or puppies
could use one quiet beach off to

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the end and then an area that I set
up huge rocks as an amphitheater.

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So, one, it keeps the gravel from
sliding into the pond and two, it

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just became a play area for people
to sit on, for dogs to sit on.

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That's just one element.

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So another element is a whole
creek area and sometimes it has

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water, it's got trees, it's shady.

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Okay.

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Then there's an obstacle area
that allows that interaction.

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And so when we see that cooperation
between the owner and the dog

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to be empathetic, to take care
of that animal, to treat that

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animal with respect, it's awesome.

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We want that to be a healthy bond.

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Really what drives me is just seeing
happy dogs, people with their dogs.

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And that to me is the biggest reward.

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These types of parks can facilitate
opportunities for all kinds of activities.

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From a simple game of
fetch to agility exercises.

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Our dogs spend a lot of time inside
and they can always use more to satiate

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their appetite for play and engagement.

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It's our responsibility as they're
humans to give them that opportunity.

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Through using the tool and approach
of guided play, we can provide a

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more complete and tailored sense of
enrichment for our furry best friends.

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Thank you for listening to
this episode of dog parkology.

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I'm Jenna Blum, your narrator.

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This show is was created by, as it
should be productions, the creators

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of dog, save the people and dog
walk meditation podcasts with

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00:15:32,305 --> 00:15:36,515
executive producer, Scott Benalio
and producer and editor Jack summer.

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Be sure to check out the entire
season of dog parkology by following

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00:15:42,935 --> 00:15:47,685
the show on Apple podcasts, Spotify,
or wherever you get your podcasts.

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You can follow us on social
media at dog parkology.

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You can visit our website, dogparkology.

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00:15:56,194 --> 00:15:59,375
com, to learn more about the
show and to buy custom designed

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00:15:59,375 --> 00:16:00,675
merch, like our t shirts.

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If you know of any great dog parks in
your area, or you've created your own

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dog parkology moment, you can email
us at dogparkology at gmail dot com.

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We'd love to hear about your
experience, and if you've enjoyed

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00:16:15,975 --> 00:16:19,190
listening Listening to this episode,
please share it with a friend.

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Enjoy a trip to a dog park today
or wherever you go with your dog

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to appreciate nature, meet others,
and make a better life together.