The Most Overlooked Facet of Dog Parks

One facet of dog parks that seems to be overlooked the most is who is responsible for the community part of the dog park? It's is one thing to get the land donated or purchased, and to have a great landscape plan, fencing layout, park benches, separate areas for small and large dogs, training areas, etc etc etc. Once all of that stuff is done, how do people know it's there? How do they know the rules?

Increasing community awareness, whether it be for the park itself, or for the rules and etiquette of the park, seems to be often forgotten in the excitement of the park. Ways to support it, provide repairs or improvements, fresh doo doo bags, replanting grass - these are all needed after the park has been open and going. Sometimes the city commits to this, but it is doubtful they will help organize events that will help raise awareness for the park.

This is where the Dog Park Booster Club comes in. This should be a formal group, chartered and given some authority over the park, for its well being, community awareness, and help with whatever the park needs to provide continued support throughout the year. A group capable of soliciting donations for repairs, and also capable of organizing and executing events. These events help raise awareness, generate interest and even excitement throughout the pet community, and can grow the user base immensely.

The group should be open to anyone that wants to join, and local pet businesses should be encouraged to help out. A group chair person, as well as any other posts required, should be voted upon to keep meetings and activities running smoothly, and to spearhead events to promote the dog park. These events are a lot of work, and people may get burned out, so it's important to have as large a group as possible, and even rotate out responsibilities amongst members of the group, or have the chair person rotate.

The end goal is to have a healthy, fun place to take your dog to for exercise and socialization. Dog park events are one way to do this, as well as promote the park. Most local pet businesses will be eager to help out, or at the very least hand out fliers for you at their location. Often they will donate items for prizes, set up booths to talk about their business during these events, run games and contests, and might even help plan or organize events. The advantages for the local businesses should be obvious, as this is targeted marketing at it's finest. These events should not be considered an avenue to "sell their wares" - but simply a way to gain exposure, give away samples, talk about their business, let people know they are there.

If your dog park has not been holding pet events, don't get frustrated that the first few events might have a low turnout. It may take some time to get the word out that your dog park is an up and coming place for dogs and their owners. Over time, word of mouth will build that these events are fun and informative. Attendance can be increased by the use of "Goodie Bags" for the first 100 people to register. Charging a nominal fee could be a great way to raise cash for improvements, and if you have great goodie bags - bags full of items donated from local businesses - then your reputation will grow as an event people won't want to miss. Often these goodie bags contain items from local pet shops, like Petco, Groomers, Veterinarians, Pet Boutiques, and of course, Dog Bakeries. Coupons, businesses cards, fliers, are all great, but items that seem to be popular are the pharma branded items most vets can order very cheaply (frisbees, leads, coozies, etc), and if you are lucky enough to have a local dog bakery, get them to donate treats for the goodie bags. These kinds of products increase the value of the goodie bags, make them sought after, and will help increase your attendance.

Hitting up local businesses is just one of the tasks before a Dog Park Booster Club that it's members will have to do to get some good dog events going. Planning contests, silent auctions, soliciting donations, press releases, designing fliers, finding tables and chairs, wrangling dogs during the event, coordinating vendor booth spaces. There's a lot of work, but the dividends are a great dog park that is both popular, and well taken care of.