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: Departments : Department of Public Services : Parks and Recreation Division : Resources

What is a Dog Park?

The Dog Park is located at Hawthorne Ridge Park in Westland (Hines Drive, west of Merriman Road)

The ideal dog park is a designated, fenced-in area where people can bring their dogs to play and run off-leash. A dog park can be a great place to share and distribute information pertaining to dog care and training. For dog owners with limited mobility, it can be a place to socialize with other dog owners and exercise their dogs.

Why have a dog park?

A report on off-leash dog parks by Portland Parks and Recreation states that "There is a newly identified parks user group: Dogs and their owners. This user group is drawn to parks for open space, fresh air, exercise and socialization for themselves and their pets. Coming to a park is their chosen form of recreation, much the same as jogging or biking. They are legitimate park users."

Community benefits:

Socializes and exercises dogs in a safe environment
Promotes responsible pet ownership
Provides elderly and disabled owners with an accessible place to exercise their companions
Enables dogs to legally run off-leash
Promotes public health and safety.
Provides a tool for realistic enforcement of dog control laws.

Typical dog park rules:

Aggressive dogs are not allowed
Owners are responsible for cleaning up after their dogs
Dogs should not be left unattended
Dogs should be up-to-date on vaccinations
No food is allowed in the park
Small children are not allowed in the park
- Older children are allowed in the park with a parent.

To see the complete list of dog rules and to obtain a copy of the Dog Park registration form, please visit our Dog Park Forms Page.

For further information on Dog Parks on our local communities please visit detroitdogparks.com.