how to help ensure optimal ambiance at a dog park?

Post date: 2020-01-15 01:07:39

My group is organizing to start a dog park in a rural area that's sparsely populated by demographic extremes: there are newcomers who are very familiar with excellent parks, and others who come from a huntin' and fightin' background. Adding to this mix, we hope to draw from vacationers travelling with their dogs, as we're located near an intersection of major interstate highways. For various reasons, we're going to allow public access, even though the park will be entirely privately funded and managed.

What are measures we can take to make sure that the park operates successfully, by the standards of the best public parks? We plan to have a webcam (so you can see if the park is crowded and if that mugger dog is on site at the moment), and to have volunteers on hand as often as possible, to educated the uninitiated and to help resolve conflict (this last could be a tall order). The park is located near the entrance to a large public park and campground, and is very visible from the road. Some of our board members, like some of the population, object to having a primarily rule-based approach, though our signage will copy rules from another, more urban-ish dog park.

From another mefi question earlier today, this is what prompted me to ask:
"b) you will not take the dog to a dog park and will instead do leashed walks (because you understand only some breeds are socialized to like stranger dogs and you will keep your dog safe from having an interaction that will cause the dog to become scared and aggressive)--"

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