By Meghan Kirsch
With the advent of summer, many of us dog owners are happy to retire our muklucks and begin the annual search for the perfect dog park. In this urban jungle, it is increasingly more difficult to find any original jungle at all. Where the concrete ends, my mission begins with the following criteria: green grass, flowing water deep enough to quench the thirst of our heavy-coated companions on hot summer days, and friendly park companions.
Toronto parks and green spaces are plagued with these dreaded words: “Please keep your dog on a leash”. If you are anything like Lady – my two year old Bernese Mountain Dog and I–we cannot be leashed. We have thus scoured Toronto in search of wide open parks and while wide open seems to be more of a subjective term, here are our conclusions.
If you are looking to make the park a day adventure, suit up, bring a picnic basket and check out Cherry Beach at the bottom of Cherry St. Chase a mosaic of other dogs through the water’s edge of Lake Ontario, sit on the sandy beach, and take in the sunshine. Be prepared to scrub Buddy down, however, as Lake Ontario is anything but hygienic and the smell really lingers. But overall, it is a great off-leash experience, and you can rest easy while Buddy sleeps the whole way home and most of the evening from exhaustion.
For the adventure seekers: dust off your hiking boots and get ready for an off-leash extravaganza. Enter at either Sunnybrook Park (Leslie Street and Eglinton Avenue East) or Sherwood Park (1200 Mount Pleasant Road at Sherwood Avenue) and make your own path as you walk. Tree lined dirt paths and hours of hiking bliss will leave more than just Buddy tired. With the potential to walk for one to two hours, you may want to consider throwing out your gym pass. As for Lady and I, we tend to venture off the beaten track in our version of off-roading: One of us jumps over trees, one of us swims in puddles, and both of us come home tired and dirty.
While it is may seem like an idyllic venture to take a day adventure with your pooch it may not always be possible. When you are short on time, you may be confined to walking to your local park.
Here then are some tips for making the most of any grassy patch: No squeaky toys necessary, just bring water, treats and a good pair of running shoes. Most of us dog owners understand that when we stand, so do our pooches, so work up a little sweat and speed walk or run to and from the park. The park is also a great opportunity to interact with your dog and learn how to play. Play for a dog is the simplest way to keep a dog happy: run, jog, skip and chase each other. Although your neighbours may question your behaviour, Buddy will not.
If breaking a sweat is not for you, simply fill a ball with treats and watch as even the most stubborn of dogs will learn to fetch, though I cannot guarantee they will retrieve the ball as they should.
For a list of all the off-leash parks in Toronto check out pets.ca; while I can’t guarantee the accuracy of the information, I have not yet been disappointed myself.