Dog body language article

Check out this article on dog body language -- an excellent primer for anyone who wants to be better able to predict their dog's behavior at the park!

Spring updates

Happy Spring to all of you!

Martha kindly donated two buckets to the dog park so that dogs can have access to water deeper in the park. Thank you, Martha! We have all experienced a crush of dogs around the water at the entry area and we recognize that it's good to have access to water farther away. It's particularly helpful to move more dogs away from the entrance to let other dogs come in to the park undisturbed!

One bucket is next to the two benches that are set under the trees deep into the park. The other one is next to the entrance and can be used to carry water for refills. We hope your dogs enjoy access to water deeper into the park!

Ilyse donated a new sprayer head for the hose. Thank you, Ilyse!

Open House this Friday Mar 25, and some Thank Yous

The Urbana Park District is holding a dog park open house at the park this Friday at 4:30. Come by for a chance to chat with UPD staff and Friends Group members about your experiences at the park. Make sure your dog has their dog park tags!

Recently some new Chuck-Its appeared at the park, gifts of an anonymous donor. Thank you so much, whoever you are! The winter and heavy use have taken their toll on the original Chuck-Its that the group donated. Group members have been gradually replacing them as they break or disappear, and we really appreciate that someone out there is chipping in. We have such a great community of people at the dog park.

Along those lines I also want to extend a thank you to Friends Group member Jory, who has been collecting used tennis balls from the local court where he plays and bringing them to the park. When you see the box brimming with tennis balls, that is due to Jory. If you see him and his terrier Ginger, I'm sure he'd appreciate a thank you!

Hope to see some of you this Friday at the Open House. Happy spring!

Friends of the Urbana Dog Park on CI Living this Friday!

Martha, Jessica, and Jessica's dog Jack will be representing the Friends group on CI Living on WCIA at 4pm this Friday, February 12. For those who can't watch live, we will publish the link to view it on the web when we get it (probably early the following week). Wish us luck with our TV debut. We're pretty sure Jack will steal the show.

Dog park open house!

Urbana Park District is having an open house at the Urbana Dog Park this Saturday, February 6, from 10-10:45 am. Members of the Friends of the Urbana Dog Park will be there to answer questions and talk with park members about what they want from the park. Hope to see you there!

Mulch mulch and more mulch!

Many thanks to the Urbana Park District for the recent deliveries of mulch. More was added today to freshen up the park entrance. We expect it to keep the entrance beautifully mud-free (or at least mud-reduced) in the spring. Thanks, UPD!

Mission Statement

As defined during our Dec 8 in-person meeting and refined on our mailing list, our mission statement is:

The Friends of the Urbana Dog Park group:

• encourages responsible dog ownership and responsible park membership;
• promotes communication among dog park members and with the Urbana Park District;
• and engages in projects for park improvement.