Muddy Dog Parks

[Linda]

Do any of you have the problem with muddy dog parks like we do in Chattanooga? If not, how do your cities prevent it?

[Debbie and Thomas]

Oh yeah, do we ever! Our goldendoodle Thomas goes Mon to Friday to a dog park with a dog walker. He has a ball but at this time of year he comes home VERY muddy. Spring is in the air and the doodle is muddy. I just mop up the floor when I get home.

[Linda]

I was hoping for a solution to prevent the dog park being muddy. Any ideas on how cities are preventing muddy dog parks. Or is that a oxymoron for winter dog parks?

[Debbie and Thomas]

Unless the park is paved I don't see any way of getting around this mud. We don't get too upset about the mud...as I said...my mop is close at hand all the time. The park my dog goes to is a conservation area with ponds, streams and trails. All of these fun things for him include mud ! Also...we have no carpet in our house so the floors mop up easily once a day. I am not home when he gets home so there are just a few muddy paw prints to mop up. Can't wait for the spring showers!!! My mop will be ready.

[Nina, Phil, Harlow & Lacey]

Our city puts down wood mulch on a regular basis. Doesn't stop muddy spots by benches and fountain, but keeps overall muddiness down. Though rather than mud, I do have to brush wood chips out of Harlow's coat.

[Linda]

It's not the mud in the house that's a concern to me. We also have only tile & hardwood. Webster is a therapy dog, and we go to a school once a week. I can't bathe him every time he goes to the park. I brush him off but the dirt is still in his coat. The Greenway Park where we go has trails through the woods, a prairie area, and a creek that he can swim in during the warmer months. We can avoid the muddy spots on the trails, but the park - uh uh. Webster's routine is to FIRST play fetch and run 90 miles an hour before we go for our walk. Otherwise, I can't possibly keep up with his energetic pace. Even then it's a struggle, but I know he's happy because he got in his 'fetch the ball' time.

I'll suggest wood chips or even straw to our city parks' maintenance director. .

[Camilla and Darwin]

We have this problem so we avoid the parks with mud. There is one with a lot of wood chips that keeps muddiness to a minimum. Also, another one that is completely grass, so we like that one as well. But, you could probably keep a rag by the door and wipe his paws when he comes in... ( I know, it's rarely just their paws that get muddy... ha ha.)

[Kelli, Fenway, & Dustin Pedroia]

Ours is really big so it's not all muddy, but there are definitely plenty of mud puddles for my two to find and Lord knows they do every time we go. I refuse to take them actually unless we've had two dry days in a row and lately that has been nearly impossible (we live in SC). At these times I so envy the shorter haired dogs that just get "wiped" off after they get mud on them. Oh well, guess I'm not alone so I should quit complaining! Sorry no solutions here. I bathe mine almost everytime we come back from the dog park. It's a price I have to pay to keep the energy down.

[Linda]

I guess my next question is - how and where do you bathe your dogs? That's the other part of the problem with muddy Webster.

[Suzanne & Jack]

Our park is very big, but it's divided so that if one side gets too worn down we can use the other. This time of year there is just so much ground moisture with the snow melting that both are pretty soggy.

[Suzanne & Jack]

My car is now considered a dog car. My CS, Moose, has a licking fixation and has covered the passenger door with saliva. The seatbelt in the back is chewed to a frazzle. I keep a blanket in the back to cover the carpet. When we go to the park I will take a dishpan towels, and water. Before getting in the car I can at least rinse their paws and underbelly. I also do this when they come in from the backyard. Last night we had to do the bath for the CS. Jack has shorter scraggly fur and is long legged so I can get by with a sponge bath for him. Our min. schnauzer had to have the full bath in the laundry tub, but the CS is too big. We took him to our local Pet Supplies Plus for their DIY bath. It is the best thing. If there is a Petco near you they have the same thing.

[Linda]

Petco for a DIY bath - very helpful, didn't know about that. Your dog looks very much like our Webster, so I know you have the same issues cleaning him.

I got a cover from LLBean for the back of our wagon - LOVE IT!

[Wendy and Eddie]

Our dog park has a grassy side that is open late spring through fall, more or less. Then there is a smaller sandy side that is open in the winter. So, it's less muddy, but there are still puddles that one of my doodles LOVES to wallow in and pull himself through on his tummy. So, he's a lost cause.