Duke Street Dog Park

I like this local dog park the best. There is grass and mulch which helps eliminate some mud but it will still happen because dogs are dogs. There are plenty of bowls around as well as some toys but make sure you bring water. The regulars that come here are all nice and I’ve only ever met one dog that misbehaved and the owner responsibly left. It’s a large circular Park so there is room to spread out and play fetch on one end while the dogs are playing chase on the other.

This place used to be our go-​to. People were friendly and the dogs played well together. In recent months, though, new owners have brought their poorly behaved dogs and it’s caused a lot of conflicts. I think owners just don’t understand the confusing dynamic at dog parks and that they need to stick close to their dogs at all times. In particular, there’s a woman who brings her two bloodhounds (not neutered or spayed). Her dogs accost other dogs, barking and howling — incredibly annoying and intimidating for smaller dogs like ours. The owner is really unfriendly and super spaced out. There’s also a man who comes with a large Husky puppy that he has zero control over. If you see either of them here, find another dog park. HOWEVER… there’s also a couple who comes just about every day to help maintain the place — a Marine Vietnam Veteran, his wife and their sweet dog Lemon. If you see them, please thank them for their efforts for keep the place tidy. They bring a jug of water to fill the bowls when they come but it would help to bring your own as there’s no fountains or spigots. I haven’t seen them much lately, though. Please also remember to pick up your trash. I’ve collected several empty water bottles and other rubbish a few times now. Park by the Harris Teeter or at the library (but watch out as I’ve heard of a lot of predatory towing around there).

It looks like this place hasn’t been reviewed in a while. My pup and I have been going here since he was 4 months old. We love it. Sometimes during the week it can be scarce, especially when it’s hot, but most of the people who come are regulars which is nice. You get to know the dogs and the owners. Bean loves it and usually goes home tired. he 1y/​o now and we’ll continue going here.

We brought our dog there this past Saturday morning (9÷8÷12) and are absolutely horrified with our experience there. When we get in the first gate to enter we are «greeted» by 2 dogs who are standing behind the second gate. I’m thinking they just want to sniff out a new friend. We open the second gate to get into the actual park and one dog sneaks out into the little «holding» area. No owner even gets up or yells their dogs name to get him back in. Luckily we are responsible and I made sure that dog didn’t escape. Maybe I shouldn’t have been as nice because that dog ended up attacking ours.
As soon as we let our dog off the leash these 3 dogs gang up on him and start chasing him. Now it was not that friendly, let’s play, type of dog chasing. They were chasing him in a bullying way. Our dog runs right back to us, absolutely terrified. We think maybe everyone just needs to warm up to each other so we try one more time. This time, though, almost all of the dogs (about 8) literally gang up on our dog and run him down, jumping on him, biting him, just torturing him. We are horrified not only because the dogs were doing this, but especially that not a single owner tried to intervene and get their dog off of ours.
Our dog runs up to us, begging for help, and I literally have to pull this one dog off of his face (the one who I didn’t let escape when we first walked in). I look up and ask the group of this is typical of this dog park, and their response was, «yea, our dogs tend to be weary of new dogs. Maybe you should come back when there are fewer dogs in the park.»
I was absolutely disgusted. These people had no control of their dogs and took no responsibility for their actions. They were so clicky and stuck up. I was appalled that not a single of of these «adults» stepped in. The sign at the entrance states that no aggressive dogs are allowed. Well almost 90% of those dogs shouldn’t be in there.
This experience has left us horrifed and we feel so bad for our dog. Luckly we went to the park in Shirlington right after and had an amazing expereince. All of the dogs there were friendly and their human parents were great too. People there have control of their dogs and have no problem interacting with outsiders.

Large grassy park where active dogs can run and play. Nice place for someone to play with their dog while the spouse shops at Harris Teeter or picks up books at the library. Bring your own water though.

We stopped going to this dog park several months ago. We were tired of having to control the behavior of unfixed male Pit Bulls with owners too busy talking on the phone to watch over their dogs.
We’re strong believers that anyone at a dog park should correct inappropriate behavior, but constantly correcting an unfixed and untrained dog isn’t our idea of having fun at the park with our dogs.
We feel sorry for the Pit Bulls — beautiful dogs with crappy owners.

The Duke Street Dog Park at Ben Brenman Park (
) is large, fenced, and easily accessible from the parking lots at both Beatley Library (
) and Harris Teeter.
There are always at least a few dogs around to play, and weekends/​summers this park is very busy! Be warned: rainy season turns the back of the park into a bit of a mud pit.
There are a few friendly-​but-​odd gentlemen who practically live at this Duke Street Dog Park and feel a real ownership stake in it. It can be mildly uncomfortable using the park if you don’t particularly feel like shooting the breeze with these two as they treat the only shady picnic table like a personal fiefdom.
Running water would be a nice addition, but generally the dog owners do a great job of hauling in gallon jugs of h2o for their four-​legged friends.

Pros:
–huge, grassy park
–fully fenced
–lots of toys
Cons:
–no running water
–no shelter from rain/​sun
–some uptight people
–no parking right at the park, but you can park at the library or nearby shopping center
Oh, and by «uptight people» I mean that if your dog like to wrestle or growl when they play, take them elsewhere. People here tend to freak out as soon as a dog growls, even if they are just playing.
I’ve also encountered a few people here that aren’t friendly. My dog likes to bring his toys to people and try to get them to play, and this is the only park I’ve been to where people will just push him away.
I also had a bad run-​in with a guy whose dog had aggressively come after mine a few times on different visits. His dog was about twice the size of mine. One day, my dog decided not to take his crap anymore. No dogs were hurt at all, yet the owner insisted it was completely my dogs fault, that my dog too aggressive, then he verbally harassed me, and took pictures of me and my dog as «proof». Proof of what? I’m not sure. Like I said, no dogs or people were hurt. My dog just decided to man up and defend himself. I left upset and was stopped by a few people on my way out to tell me my dog wasn’t out of line, that the other dog’s owner was. So I guess that other than a few uptight people, the regular visitors are pretty cool.
We might venture back when the weather cools off, but with no water at the park, it’s rough during the summer.