Dog Parks
Hi all - we just moved to Hackettstown and are wondering if there are any dog parks nearby. All the trails to walk our dogs on are great, but we were used to being able to take them to dog parks so they could socialize with other dogs as well! Thanks!
JJ&Kelly 
Jim 
luvjazz You need membership for the one in Long Valley, you have to go to the municipal building for the form, and also have proof of recent tests/vaccinations. I forget what it costs, it's not alot, but it's only good until january. Meaning, whether you joined in jan, or now, or in dec, the price is the same, and you'll have to re-join again in dec.
Neither park is nicer (for the dogs), Budd Lake is bigger, but because it's free there's also alot more dogs there on weekends. Weekdays, either is usually pretty empty. Long valley has a couple of coursing "obstacles", if your dog is into that.
Both parks require you to pick up your dogs poo, it's still amazes me how many a-holes don't.
JeffersonRepub My dog was attacked at turkey brooke farm within 30 seconds of being there. There were about 7 dogs there and about 5 of them were fighting...along with their owners. My friend is a cop in Mt. Olive and says there are always problems going on there. My advice...stay away.
ZillaI have not been to the Long Valley dog park, but have been to Turkeybrook in Mt. Olive.
Not sure what size dog you have, but they have a large and small dog section. My dog is medium size (about 28 lbs) and we have found the large dog section to be too aggressive for her on most days....I think it's pretty common rough housing for large dogs, but some of the dogs run at you and your dog pretty aggressively when you first come in. It can be a little intimidating. Mine is content to play with the 5 lb dogs in the little dog side :)
Pvmom Its only $10 for Long Valley's. Sadly we haven't been to either since we can never coordinate to have my 5yr to not be there. I know he can't be in either one not that I would want him in there in the first place. Seemed pretty calm in Turkey Brook when we stopped by biking on Sunday. I had never been that far back. Very large space:)
Blackcat I have to agree with Zilla.
I brought my Rottie puppy to Turkey Brook when he was 4 months old for socialization and three dogs jumped on him the minute we walked in. The owners were huddled together in conversation and not even paying attention. No different than the playground moms. I was very worried about this incident since a bad experience at such a young age can affect their behavior towards other dogs for the rest of their life. Fortunately, he is still sweet, affectionate, and calm now at 8 months old. He loves other dogs and gets plenty of socialization on leash in my neighborhood and at his doggy daycare where he is paired up with dogs that have the same temperament.
I was there for 5 to 10 minutes and aside from my incident, two other fights broke out. Owners let their dogs have run of the place and that means nothing but trouble. I will never go back to a dog park again.
Jazzykatt Don't they have rules at these parks, like any dog that is aggressive is not allowed?? I don't take my dog to any parks because of the vaccinations that have to be done.
4paws Rules? sure but who is there to enforce them? I was at Turkey Brook (over a year ago) and a dog attacked my dog....the owner ~ clear over the other side.....SLOWLY walked over as his dog was attacking my dog .....I had to kick his dog off of mine and it kept coming back and continuing the attack.......his response was 'she usually just doesn't like female dogs' my dog is a male........so you bring a dog to a dog park that does not like female dogs?????? did he think it was a 'male only' park......total A-hole! I called the cops.....they came.......did nothing but talk to each of us........my point in calling was that once your dog shows aggression 'the rules' state they are to leave.....have not gone back since.....its jerks like that who ruin it for everybody!
Hastings I used to take my dog to Turkey Brook all the time. She had her friends and it was fine, but eventually I went back to work so she rarely went anymore. When we did have time to take her back, there were a lot of cliquey groups that had been established. Also a lot of aggressive dogs like those described above, with indifferent owners. We don't really bring her anymore. Too much rule breaking.
Another thing that would annoy me, sometimes people would bring their little kids up to the park like it was a petting zoo. Dogs don't want to play with kids or people when they have other dogs to play with. And it's very dangerous because the dogs run around at high speeds. The only time a dog would interact with a person is if the person had food or dog treats on them, which is strictly prohibited. Oh well, another rule broken.
Tracy Ok turkey brook is out ...I also have a new puppy and was wondering about parks and was going to try turkey brook...guess not
agree Tracy! there were times I almost got knocked off my feet....you have to be really aware of who is running towards you.......a child would have no chance......I think the stated age is 8 yrs old.....but there were younger ones there often.
Well, as far as aggressive dogs go... yes- the owners are NOT supposed to bring aggressive dogs to the parks. And yes- I have encountered an aggressive dog twice at long valley (same dog both times), and kept my dog on leash until he left. The owner should know better, only go when no one else is there, and leave immediately upon other dogs arriving. But it doesn't always work out that way.
So- EITHER park is perfectly safe, provided no aggressive dogs are there. And vica-versa.
Which is why we need to get a fence next year.
Yes it is a shame that GROWNUPS do not follow the rules. (and they wonder what is wrong with the children of today)
A fence sounds good and maybe you know someone that could bring over a dog to play with yours. I would go to the Washington Township Municipal building and report the dog and he should be banned from the park.
well, perhaps we'll just have to get ANOTHER DOG to go with our fence... Greyhounds do love company...
I love Rocky Top Dog Park, a bit of a drive about 40+ minutes, but it is one of the best that I have found, the area is so large, inclusive of a pond for the dogs to swim in, and walking trail area, and very well kept. Every time I have been there, never have had any problems with other dogs.
Jean09 I have had nothing but amazing experiences at Turkey Brook Park. My dog has the happiest days of his life there. I swear he is smiling. I usually go on weekday afternoons.
observer2 Thanks for everyone's input! We had a great dog park by us where we only ran into 1 aggressive dog, and her owner took her home right away to let the rest of the dogs keep playing, so it's kind of a shame some of you have had bad experiences with that.
observer2: what time in the afternoons do you usually go? Earlier about 12 or later towards 4? It seems like it'd be a good time to bring mine to not run into any problems. thanks!
I went between 4 and 5 when my daughter was taking gymnastics. I never had a problem. The people were nice and the dogs were nice.
Great - thanks! That time of day actually works out so I'm sure we'll be checking it out soon.
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