Bonita Springs Dog Park — Attraction in Bonita Springs

I am a professional dog park reviewer, and this was my first visit to this dog park (which has the official name of "Bark N Play Dog Park") since it opened about a year and a half ago in Bonita Springs. It is pretty good. It has three sections, based on the size of the dog (which I don't agree with, I prefer to see the sections based on the dog's demeanor and play style) -- small, medium and large. All sections were spacious. I was glad to see that the city had not wasted money on traditional dog agility equipment. All three sections had small rock outcroppings added which dogs naturally like to jump on plus they served as casual seating for the humans. Another negative was that each section was equipped with picnic tables, a big no-no inside dog parks. There were some benches. There were trees that were not yet mature, so there is not yet enough natural shade -- I would have liked to see each section have one manmade shade structure until the time years down the road that they new trees mature. There was a dual species (dog and human) water fountain in each section and a spray area outside the dog parks for rinsing off dirty dogs before they get in their owner's cars. Each section had two poop bag dispensers -- I would have liked to see a third in the back of each section, and an additional waste container in the back of each section if you want dog owners to comply with scooping the poop. The ground cover was a mix of grass and mulch, which worked out nicely. No restrooms for the humans, which is why I only rated it four stars. There was a fair sized off-street parking lot, which they will probably want to enlarge later to handle cars during the busy dog park times. Overall, it is a nice complex. Very cool dog themed art at the entrance to...

Wonderful well maintained dog park! Lots of seating, shade, drinking fountains for people and dogs, plenty of toys, and things for the dogs to explore. There are three separate sections for small, medium, and large dogs, however the only downside is that my 12 lb dog LOVES all size dogs so I wish I could let him in other in-closures with the larger dogs if or when there is no one for him to play with in the small section- the signs say it’s not allowed tho so oh well.

However, there is a woman who is a regular and visits the small dog park- she has some sort of wired brown and grey terrier (25ish lbs) beware as her dog can become randomly aggressive and she will not discipline. My dog was playing near me by the bench and her dog came in and approached us and suddenly displayed an uncalled for aggressive behavior to my dog and bit him for absolutely no reason. When I jumped in and grabbed my dog because he was crying and cowering she told me to keep my dog away from the fence entrance even tho he was next to me by the bench and her dog approached us and became aggressive. My dog showed zero signs of aggression. Please just be aware and keep your dog safe and in close proximity as you would in any dog park. It is not uncommon for small incidents to happen but some people show absolutely no care in the world and allow the negative behavior to continue. Luckily my dog was fine but a bit timid for a few min after. I will say, this kind of occurrence does not happen often, but please watch out...

I have serious concerns about what chemicals are used in this dog park. Several times my dog became ill after going there the day after the areas were "being maintained". The shower station for dogs is WONDERFUL and ergonomically designed and thus very comfortable to use for persons with disabilities. The Bonita Dog Beach Shower near Lovers Key (County Park) station should copy this dog and human friendly shower design. I like the double gate penned entries for dog safety. The lovely path around the two larger dog areas is really great to help check out what dogs are there. There are some un-neutered dogs that often made us leave rather than add stress to our play and exercise. 3 stars because of chemical treatments where dogs play and for allowing untrained, un-neutered dogs. Unless breeding is essential for a specific dog, I believe neutering is the kindest, most intelligent decision any pet human partners can do to have healthier animals, community, and decrease costs for animal shelters, etc. JMO: Un-neutered or un-spayed animals need a documented reason before they are allowed in community parks. They ruin the dog dynamics for everyone. Also solid research, experts’ opinions, and huge euthanasia expenses in dollars and animal suffering...