Dog Parkology

Training your dog to return to you when called or signaled is key for enjoying off-leash experiences. Whether at a traditional fenced-in dog park, or public lands in the wilderness where off-leash dogs are allowed, the ability to recall your dog to your side is a vital lesson to learn. It is part of being a responsible dog parent, to ensure safety for other dogs, wildlife, and humans alike. This bonus episode provides tips from outdoor journalist Annette McGivney, who also writes about hiking etiquette and regularly takes her dog Trudy off-leash in the backcountry woods of Colorado.

Dog parks have gone from an experiment to a full-fledged global phenomenon. We may be just scratching the surface of their potential and importance as public spaces. In this epilogue episode, we share takeaways from the Dog Parkology series and how you can bring these lessons into your everyday life with your dog.

We’ve become disconnected from the natural world around us. However, our dogs – and our dog parks – can help us reconnect to our environment in a more attentive and curious way. When we start to feel a deeper understanding of our place within the larger ecosystem, we can start to care more about protecting it and living symbiotically with all non-human creatures and wildlife.

Third places like dog parks can help us form ties and cohesion among neighbors. Developing this trust and dependability can foster communities that are more unified, safer, and friendly. It’s also important, however, to ensure that there is equitable access for all neighborhoods to benefit from this foundational support.

Dog parks provide a chance for us to meet strangers we might not otherwise. Through our shared love for our dogs and the inherent trust of meeting another dog parent, we can foster new relationships with those around us. These interactions can allow us to widen our perspectives, increase our sense of empathy for others, and come together in greater unity.