Dog Park Central

It may seem like a minor detail, but don’t forget to make sure that your dog walker or dog sitter is properly insured. Whether they watch your pet in the house, take them for walks around the neighborhood, or visit a dog park for exercise and socialization, it’s important that they carry insurance. They should be able to tell you exactly what they’re covered for and where.

Are you a professional pet sitter? Take a look at a few companies that offer you specialized liability insurance. Also, if you transport animals in your car, be sure that either your cheap car insurance or the sitter insurance will cover any accidents with your or someone else’s vehicle. Similar to the free auto insurance quotes that you can get online, you can request a custom quote for your pet business insurance.

It is not the norm in any average community to plan for off-leash spaces when considering a new park. Just as much as it is almost always the case that any new park entirely dedicated to dogs is created in response to some sort of public outcry or as a result of some individual or groups overwhelming generosity. Let’s face it… it costs more money to allow for dogs in any park because of the fencing, permits, EPA regulations, plumbing, planning, hardware and maintenance. We as dog owners must request, if not demand that our pets have the freedom to be true to their species and be allowed some part of public space to simply be themselves. There is much that we can do but we have to be willing to make our request and allow for the financing in the way of taxes for public spaces. It is our responsibility to ensure that our local government knows that we want dog parks and off-leash spaces for our pets and that we’re willing to pay for it. Just as it is up to us to be responsible dog owners with well balanced dogs and train our pets well so that we may overcome any stigma that may exist as a result of bad dog owners before us…

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Dogs of all ages need exercise. Nothing can replace a good walk with a human companion, but all dogs really want a chance to run and really stretch their legs. If they can enjoy the camaraderie of other canines at the same time, that’s even better. And that’s why dog parks are such a great place for your pets.

Let’s look at some of the good reasons to use your local dog park, as well as a few precautions you should be taking, too.

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By Karen Soukiasian You have a month, before you should bring your puppy to the dog park. Most puppies are not fully immunized until they are 4 months old. Getting a puppy into a positive reinforcement, punishment-free Puppy Kindergarten is a responsible first step and a wonderful way for a puppy to learn socialization skills. [...]