Small fenced green/park? (Navan Road/Cabra/Blanch/Inchicore etc)?

Freckley201

I have a english springer that I normally walk in the Phoenix Park but unfortunately due to a leg injury she's under vets orders to be on limited exercise for 3 months which means I can't take her off the lead anywhere she might go for a good run. I've been walking her on the lead instead but it has not been enough for her and she's going a bit stir crazy.

Our garden isn't secure so I've been driving her to the dog park in Rathfarnham in the mean time which was doing the trick but it's a good distance from us here on the Navan Road and they close at 5pm so I'm searching for an alternative.

Does anyone know of any small fenced green somewhere closer? Even private ones that I could apply for access to from resident associations etc or a church grounds. anything like that? The smaller the better!

tk123

Is it worth the risk letting her off lead at all though? When my dog was restricted after surgery for 3 months at a time - I did loads of training with him to tire him out and fed him with kongs etc. What do you feed her - some foods will give the dog tons of energy to burn if they're packed with fillers?

Freckley201

It's a fine line alright. She hasn't had surgery yet, it's exactly what we hope to avoid. We had kept her on the lead for 3 weeks or so, and kept her as busy as we could with shorter walks/playtime/kongs/bones etc but she started getting more and more stressed at night since she wasn't as worn out as she's used to. To her the leg is fine, so right now it's about trying to find the balance between keeping her sane and giving her leg time to get stronger.

The 20 mins off the lead just twice a week at the dog park seemed like a small enough risk and was really helping to take the edge off and keep her a happy and healthy dog, if only I could find something closer.


(She's on a higher end, grain free food (Taste of the Wild), since even though she's 11, she's still a springer and doesn't need any help keeping her energy levels up! )

tk123

What ever happened with the dog park in millennium park in Blanch I wonder? Or is there a playground in any park near you that you could take her to when it's closed - our park in Drumcondra leaves one of the gates open after dog owners petitioned for it so there might be a park near you that does the same thing? The only thing is that I personally wouldn't go into our park in the evenings after it's closed - I've heard too many stories of people walking dogs that are out of control/viscous because "the park is closed so they can do what they want'... That said I walk my two in the park most mornings before it opens and it's the same few dog walkers and runners every morning so no problems.

Freckley201

I hadn't heard of the one in Blanch until now, it seems sometimes its locked up but I'll definitely give it a go. The playground thing is a genius idea too. I'll do some more research. Thanks so much!

muddypaws

I thought dogs were banned from playgrounds?

tk123

muddypaws wrote: »

I thought dogs were banned from playgrounds?

Well if teenagers are allowed to sit at the mushroom table and drink cans and the bootcamp guys are allowed to do jumping jacks on the bouncy rubber floor and pull ups on the monkey bars I think it's ok for a dog to run around it when the park's closed. Obviously assuming the owners are picking up after the dogs. In our park anyways dog poo and wee would be the least of my worries in that playground from what I see when we pass the park on a dark evening!:eek:
I don't let my two in btw - I'd be afraid they'd make a beeline for it when the park was open and it was full of kids. A couple of times (when the park was closed) they've wandered in when the gate was open - say after getting the scent of bread near the river don't realise where they're going and have gone mad because the ground is bouncy!:rolleyes:

Knine

I would have said limited exercise meant on lead walking. There is a park opposite Waterville in the ground of Blanchardstown Hospital that is not too big for running in. Just watch out for the Swans!

I would not take my dogs into a children's playground to be honest.

Mean Laqueefa

The bogies cabra (John Paul Park, Nephin Road) plenty of space, been years since ive been in there, cant see an issue once you clean up after your dog.

Ive a lovely staff here in uk and live connected to a dog park and sadly i can not ever let her off her leash. They leave the tennis courts unlocked for such dogs, all fenced in its perfect maybe try something like that ?

muddypaws

Mean Laqueefa wrote: »

The bogies cabra (John Paul Park, Nephin Road) plenty of space, been years since ive been in there, cant see an issue once you clean up after your dog.

Ive a lovely staff here in uk and live connected to a dog park and sadly i can not ever let her off her leash. They leave the tennis courts unlocked for such dogs, all fenced in its perfect maybe try something like that ?

How come you can't let her off her leash in the dog park? Is it always too busy with other dogs?

mosi

Mount Bernard Park between Cabra and Phibsboro might be an option. They have public tennis courts there that might suit you. I don't know what the set up with access to the courts is, and how busy they get, but it may be worth checking out.

Mean Laqueefa

muddypaws wrote: »

How come you can't let her off her leash in the dog park? Is it always too busy with other dogs?

Its always super busy and some owners don't care what their dogs do and i cant take the risk of letting mine off. Shes a rescue and was fought then bred to near death, obviously very un-trusting of other dogs. Every time Ive tried let her run free with other friends dogs lets say the owners finally agree that my warnings were justified, she seems to have no quit once something attacks her

Please don't get me wrong, she is a wonderful dog and amazing with people and especially children, but as a resposible owner i wont take the risk of her hurting someone else's pet, and a muzzle is a no-go. So i take measures like using the tennis courts within the park as precaution and sure nothing like seeing a dog that looks like it grew up doing push ups jump over a tennis net chasing a ball with no worry's of accidents