A Day at the Dog Park: Schuylkill Banks

Schuylkill Banks dog park was the very first park we took Harry to - you may remember him being run over by bassett hound mix, Dudley.  Though it was the most convenient of dog parks in Philadelphia as far as distance goes, we'd often end up having to bathe Harry afterwards and soak his harness overnight to get rid of the caked on dirt and dust that accumulated during his romps.  Then suddenly, the dog park disappeared and a new one popped up in what seemed like a month later! 

There's Mom & Dad!

 The newly re-habbed dog park is uber-chic with turf aka K9 Grass instead of dirt, meaning Harry doesn't have to be banned from the couch after a day of play.  A wall of concrete borders the turf where mommies and daddies can sit and watch their kids play.  Beware, because dogs with super jumping powers do and will jump up on the wall and get into the garden area behind.  Please accept my apologies if Harry was the said super powered dog.  


Getting to knowww you, getting to know all about you

Our particular visit occurred the day of the unveiling of the Schuykill Banks/University City bridge.  Crowds gathered to watch the Philadelphia Parks Commission open the bridge, beginning a 5k, and a festival.  The park housed a plethora of pups both big and small, quick and slow.  Harry got the park all riled up when he showed off his speed, unnerving parents and dogs alike.  We're still working on dog park manners, but how can you resist this handsome guy? 

A Day at the Dog Park: Freedom Park

We're running low on dog parks to visit in the city, and on weekends dog parks are clutch to get Harry tired without wearing ourselves out.  Back on a weekend when it was still warm and sunny Harry visited Freedom Park in Medford, NJ.  Although it's a bit of a drive for us Philadelphians, Freedom Park is definitely worth it.  Compared to our teensy urban dog parks, Freedom Park is like taking your pup to that farm in dog heaven, except you also get to go and he lives.  The dog park lies in the back of the park (yes, Freedom Park is a "people park" too) beyond the barbequing patio area and playgrounds.  We opened the gate to send Harry in which in hindsight was a mistake because he sprinted towards the dog party happening in the back of the park amongst the agility training puppy playground type fixtures. 

As this is the "all dogs go to heaven" dog park, there aren't any fences--because there are no fences in heaven!  An open field is surrounded by trees so if you do have the type of dog who likes to go exploring on his own (a cat-dog?) then be mindful.  Harry is the type that likes to get in all the other pooches' faces 24/7 until they start chasing him so I didn't have to watch the tree barriers for stray Harrys...but I did have to chase him around and pull him off the docile suburban dogs.  Several benches sit in the open plain area and the smart dogs show off their agility skills climbing up and down ramps and doing doggy see-saws.  The attempt to get Harry across a balance beam without jumping off failed multiple times.

A little ways behind the park is a small trail that takes you to a creek where you can let your dog swim, play water fetch, and get extremely dirty.  Harry hates water, as we learned when we took him rafting, but he loves trails and he yanked us throughout til we reached the end of the creek.  Part of the rules in the park are that your dog be on a leash at all times.  I don't see how that's plausible when playing water fetch, and I noticed that not all the dogs followed the rules, but the tail-waggers in violation were those well behaved docile suburban dogs of which Harry is a polar opposite.   

One day...I will conquer you, ramp.

We felt a little out of place with our wild animal whose pent up energy from being in a 1,000 square foot condo had to explode over the calm, gentle, golden retrievers of Medford but when you go to a dog park you already know you have something in common with everybody there:  love for all hairy, slobbering, cold nosed, fur-beasts.

Can we come back Mom?!



A Day at the Dog Park: Seger Park

Several weeks ago, the boo and I brought Harry to another dog park, Seger Park located on 10th & Lombard right behind South Street.  This park is much more well kept than our closer dog park on Schuylkill Banks and has a plethora of mulch rather than the dust that accumulates under Harry's harness when we go to Schuylkill Banks.  We parked in the Whole Foods parking garage and walked Harry down the stairs and for a tiny bit through Whole Foods to get out the front door. 

There is a dividing fence to separate small dogs from big dogs but it's much smaller than the one at Schuylkill Banks.  When we visited there were baby husky puppies wandering in there...so cute.  As soon as we let Harry off the leash he mingled with everybody there, humans and dogs, and proceeded to sprint until every dog in the park noticed him and chased him.

Water at this park is provided via this nifty red water fountain that you fill by pressing with your foot.  Harry stopped for some drinks with his curly haired girlfriend in between bursts of energy.  There is a wall that stands against the fence of the dog park about 5 1/2 feet tall that will descend down via steps along the wall so the dogs can hop up there to relax.  Harry scaled it from ground level.  We were seriously impressed. 

I was happy to find that the owners here were chill, welcoming, and responsive to their animals.  There were some humping sessions that continually got broken up and we held down Harry a few times to force him to give the other dogs a chance to catch their breath.  Above Harry gets tickled while his new friends laugh.  

Our visit was a success, and it was nice that Harry wasn't a dust ball when he left here.  Only his paws showed evidence of wild sprinting and a few dog loogeys graced his forehead from close interactions.  He was pooped afterwards and spent the rest of the afternoon snoozing.  Harry LOVED Seger Park, and can't wait til we go back.

Thanks Mom!  Can we go back?!