To the Editor:
I wish to reply to the question posed. “Do you think there are suitable dog parks available in The Villages?”
I am a professional dog trainer and I work with many people and their dogs in The Villages. I have been a dog trainer here for five years. In my opinion the dog parks in The Villages are not suitable for the true needs of people and their dogs.
There are so many dogs and people living in The Villages. Each day I see an increase in the amount of behavior problems which ultimately result from lack of exercise, lack of socialization and inadequate places to actually; be a dog. Many people are moving here from places where they had more property and land and therefore need to adapt to their dogs being on leash and very, very limited places to explore with their dogs off leash.
It is not normal for dogs to be kept behind four walls (fences) for most of their day and more and more people are not able to adequately exercise their four-legged friends due to many medical and physical ailments as they age.
I would not call a leftover piece of square footage with no trees, dirt, sand a suitable dog park for the number of dogs that are coming to our communities. What the dogs in this community really could use are many acres of land with grass, trees and trails for our humans and dogs to explore together. I am talking heavily treed acres of fenced land for the dogs to run free for their exercise each day. It is hot here six months out of the year, shaded areas with lots of trees are needed. A nice big salt- water pool or filtered pond would be a delight for dogs that would like to cool off. I cannot tell you how many dogs spent the hot months inside four walls with very little exercise this past Summer. It was a lot!
Dogs wake up with a certain amount of energy each day and if they can’t release it in a place where they can use their nose and their muscles running and exploring; they will become quite frustrated and some will develop behavior issues as well as medical issues. Our dogs do so much to enhance our lives and they don’t have a voice, so I will be their voice for this question. The dog parks in The Villages are pretty darn sad if you look at it from a dog’s perspective.
Anybody with any ideas, lots of money to help find a solution to this dilemma is welcome to contact me.
Tammy Smith
Be the Leader of the Pack LLC
Village of Virginia Trace
