Where to go to find places for puppys to play

[Ltleo]

Ok, does anyone know of a place where you can bring puppys and or dogs in Northern NJ to play?
I am looking for somthing where he can play with other dogs. I take him to dog parks but it has rained so much no one is around or they just have older dogs that don't play.

I would even pay a place to let my dog play with their puppys at this point lol. I am really a step away from buying a building and making a puppy/dog reck center, there is nothing around here unless you want to drive 30 mins.

I have him in class but its only once a week not enough. Anyone around my area interested in play dates please let me know?

[MaggieRoseLee]

Best idea is suck the knowledge from those other owners/puppy people in your weekly class! Making arrangements for playdates with the pups your dog likes the best works well too.

You found the Morris K9 campus yet? http://www.morrisk9campus.com/ They do tons of dog things. Look into the next puppy agility class if you want to really have fun

Since I usually have to drive about an hour to anything fun for my dogs, your 30 min sounds great! I've found that if I can really tire my pup out about every other day, then I can take the inbetween days off because my pup is still recovering

[Ltleo]

Thanks. Yes I reg at Morris and next sat we are going to their puppy play class at 9:40am. Anyone else going?

True I am complaining about a half hour, lol we just want it all lol. We are also enrolled in a petco class on Mondays (useless as he knows more then any other dog in the class already and it's not really run well) we go just so he can be with other dogs. Also we start our group classes with Hal Wheeler on the 26.

[nikko]

nike and i will be there....we did it once already and he had a great time! see you there!

[nikko]

we were there.....didnt see you.....

[pancake]

I would avoid dog parks like the plague. Dog parks are the worst. Not the concept but some of the people who bring their dogs have no control over their dog, underestimate aggressive tendencies, don't care about other dogs. And that is out of my control so I rather not expose my puppy to such an environment. Oftentimes a lot of people at dog parks are people who are lazy to walk their dog and spend time with them so once a week they just get in the car, let their dog off leash while they talk with someone or play with their phone and leave after 20 minutes. It's an uncontrolled environment and lots of fights occur in dog parks.

I have a large field I go to but it's a neighbor thing and everyone knows the person with "that" dog and first thing I ask through the fence is "is she/he friendly?" and if they say no or hesitate, then I just move along. In a trusted environment people will own up to their dogs and I've had many people be honest and say "My dog is not friendly". People are considerate and always put the dogs on leash if another dog enters the field and if they want to properly introduce the dogs to see if they get along, they can. But point being, dog parks are different because it's high traffic and "wild", much like an amusement park.
What I would do is find a regular park or field that you can go to where local neighborhood people take their dogs and after a few times you will meet owners and dogs that your dog clicks with. It only takes 1 or 2 good "friends" that frequent the park a lot.


I would also rule out doggie daycare. I took my puppy once and she came back all crazy covered in urine. Doggie daycare is basically a miniature version of a dog park but with one person supervising all dogs every now and then. The energy of dogs are contagious and my dog came back all hyper and barking because all the other dogs were doing that. It throws off training and the relaxed, composed trait I tried to instill in my dog.
The best ones that are affordable are people who do pet sitting in their own home and have a few dogs themselves. Doesn't cost too much (comparable to day care rates) and there is only a limited number of dogs constantly being watched by the owner.

Lastly post an ad on the Pets section in craigslist saying you are looking to socialize your dog. I got a few emails from that.