Suburbs offering more, better places for dogs to let loose
For suburban dogs, the choice of parks has grown.
In the past decade, park districts and forest preserves have made it a priority to build specialty dog parks so owners and their pets can enjoy the outdoors leash-free.
At least 30 such parks can be found in the five counties around Chicago.
"They're certainly more common, no question about that," said Ted Flickinger, president and CEO of the Illinois Association of Park Districts. "I think people are realizing that there are certainly advantages to them instead of walking dogs in neighborhoods."
The DuPage County Forest Preserve District alone has created seven dog recreation areas.
"We have a variety of different sizes from 4 acres up to about 50 acres," said Andrea Hoyt, director of the office of planning for the district.
While there's a minimum standard that most dog owners are looking for -- plenty of open space to let dogs loose -- those who create the parks are coming up with fresh ideas to distinguish their parks.
As the Buffalo Grove Park District designs it first dog park, officials are considering including a separate fenced-in area for small dogs and agility equipment such as tunnels that give pets a chance to play in different ways.
The district has taken cues from other facilities.
"The thought was that (the agility equipment) was just a nice little something to add to it," said Mike Terson, spokesman for the district.
The Pooch Park, jointly operated by Skokie and Evanston, has such agility features and offers drinking fountains for both animals and their owners.
Sherry Besser, a Buffalo Grove resident, takes her dogs to Deerfield because agility equipment is available.
"One of my dogs loves to run up the climbing structures," she said.
Many facilities offer bodies of water, such as streams, lakes, beaches or in some cases pools, to allow dogs to swim, including the East Branch Forest Preserve in Glendale Heights.
"We've been evolving with how we've been designing these fields," said Hoyt with the DuPage forest preserve. "The first one was at Mayslake (in Oak Brook). That was four acres, and we found out that's very small."
Hoyt said the district brought in focus groups to ask residents what kind of amenities they wanted.
One thing they told the district was to anchor the fences below grade so dogs cannot dig under them.
Another important feature -- which most dog parks include -- is a double-gated entrance so animals can't escape when a new one enters the area.
Mary Reisz, a Buffalo Grove resident who is eager for a park in town, said she's been using the Deerfield facility because of its double gate.
She said one feature she's looking for in a dog park is an area with water for the dogs, but not necessarily a lake that they can jump into.
"The dog can get pretty messy and muddy, and it can be hard to control them jumping into the water," she said. "Personally, I would not need it or find it useful."
She's looking for benches and shelters so she can rest while her Labrador plays.
In response to user input, the Lake County Forest Preserve District will be creating more shaded shelter at its Lakewood facility, said Mike Pully, director of operations and public safety.
Even without the shelter, though, the district issues about 5,000 permits a year for its four dog exercise areas.
Most dog parks require a permit, with varying costs for residents and non-residents, ranging from a couple of dollars for a day to more than $100 for an annual permit, depending on the facility. The permits require owners to have the correct vaccinations for their dogs, and most are available through the respective village or county offices.
Kristin McClure, a veterinarian at the Golf Rose Animal Hospital in Schaumburg, said a lot of owners use the parks in the area to socialize their dogs and to find company for themselves.
"I had two large dogs at my house for a long time, and a dog park was actually a great way for me to get them some exercise," she said.
Although there are negatives to having so many dogs in the same area -- fights will break out and some owners therefore just won't be able to take their pets -- McClure said she believes the experience is invaluable for dogs who enjoy the concept.
"They're a better pet if they're active and tired by the end of the day," she said.
Suburban dog parks
Park districts and forest preserves are increasingly building dog parks to attract pet owners. Most require a permit through their respective towns that denote an animal has its proper shots. Many also have separate fees for residents and nonresidents. Here's a list of some of the dog parks in the area.
Cook County
Beck Lake: 8939A Robin Drive, Des Plaines
Willow Park: 3600 Lexington Drive, Hoffman Estates
Plum Grove Reservoir: On Algonquin, between Roselle and Quentin roads in Palatine
Evanston Dog Beach: Boat launch east of Church and Sheridan, Evanston
Pooch Park: 3220 Oakton St., Skokie; co-run with Evanston
Lake County
Duck Farm Forest Preserve: Grand Avenue west of Douglas Lane and east of Route 83, near Lindenhurst
Lakewood Forest Preserve: Route 176 just west of Fairfield Road, near Wauconda
Prairie Wolf Forest Preserve: Half Day Road, east of Waukegan Road, near Lake Forest
Independence Grove: Milwaukee Avenue north of Buckley Road, near Libertyville
Jaycee Park: On Wilmot Road just north of the stoplight at Deerfield Road, Deerfield
DuPage County
Blackwell Forest Preserve: On the south side of Mack Road east of Route 59, near Warrenville
East Branch Forest Preserve: On the west side of Swift Road and a mile north of North Avenue, near Glendale Heights
Greene Valley Forest Preserve: On the east side of Greene Road south of Hobson Road and north of 75th Street, near Naperville
Mallard Lake Forest Preserve: On Lawrence Road west of Gary Avenue and north of Schick Road, near Hanover Park
Mayslake Forest Preserve: On the west side of St. Paschal's Drive south of 31st Street and west of Route 83, near Oak Brook
Pratt's Wayne Woods Forest Preserve: On the east side of Powis Road one mile north of Army Trail Road, near Wayne.
Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve: On the north side of 83rd Street west of Book Road, near Naperville
Addison: One mile south of Army Trail Road on Swift Road
Katherine Legge Memorial Park: 55th Street and County Line Road in Hinsdale
Naperbrook: On Plainfield/Naperville Road between 75th and 87th streets, Naperville
Whalon Lake Dog Park: West of Route 53 on Royce Road, Naperville
White Oaks Dog Park: 111 S. Wood Dale Road, Wood Dale
Glen Ellyn Dog Run: North of Route 53 west of I-355, Glen Ellyn
Kane County
Fermilab Dog Training Area: Pine and Kirk, Batavia
Campton Hills Park: Campton Hills Road south of Route 64, St. Charles
Fox River Bluff Forest Preserve West: Just north of Red Gage Road on Route 31, near St. Charles
McHenry County
Hound Town: On Route 176 west of Route 14, Crystal Lake
Lake in the Hills: Haligus Road across the street from Sunset Park
Schweitzer Woods dog park: Sleepy Hollow Road north of Route 72, West Dundee
Sources: DuPage County Forest Preserve District , Lake County Forest Preserve District, www.doggeek.com and www.ecoanimal.com.