Dogs and dog owners looking for new place they can frolic

Dog owners who love to frolic around with their pets in Sherwood Park are looking for a better play area.

Their dogs are confined to a section of the park where they are allowed to run around off-leash.

"It’s a long narrow area that’s fenced in and the dog owners have complained that it’s not the best area. Dog owners do use other areas off the park off-leash, and that’s what generates complaints (from other park users)," said local councillor Cliff Jenkins.

There have been no complaints about dog bites, he said, but "I’ve had reports of aggressive (dog) behaviour."

Overall, it is not a pressing issue in his ward, said Jenkins, however he agrees that some community consultation will help find a better solution for the off-leash area in this local park around Sherwood and Mt. Pleasant.

The discussion could include allowing off-leash hours in the entire park, during certain hours, or to have an alternative fenced off area as off-leash all the time.

Right now there are 32 "officially recognized" off-leash areas within the nearly 1,500 city parks.

While, Burk Ravine beside Sunnybrook Park is also on that list, there is an off-leash area there now that the parks department has agreed to fence-in, said Jenkins.

Recently, the city was attempting to deal with off-leash dog parks by establishing its first ever city-wide guidelines but the idea was deferred by the city’s parks committee for further public consultation.

A Dogs in Parks Strategy Report was submitted to the parks committee for review on May 4, focusing on where to put off-leash dog parks, if entire parks should be off-leash, or if a "zone" should be established where dogs can run free.

"A recommendation to establish a certain number of leash free zones per capita on a city wide basis may appear feasible; however, it may result in the establishment of leash free zones in communities that do not need them or in parks that cannot accommodate them," states the report. "The staff team agreed that the number, location, physical environment and hours of operation of leash free zones needs to be driven and decided by the community, who use the park."

If this strategy is implemented, the community can then decide if it wants to expand off-leash areas to other local parks in the area.