Hillside Dog Park — Attraction in New York

As far as dog parks go, this place is decent. There's a large, fenced-in, mostly dirt-covered space with a bit of an incline as it's on a hill. Trees and shrubs are scattered around the perimeter. There are also a few picnic tables, as well. Most importantly, there is plenty of space for dogs to zoom around, chase balls, and wrestle with each other.

Next to that field is a smaller fenced-in space meant for little dogs. The downside is that sometimes people bring their big dogs in there, which leaves no safe space for little pups like mine that are skittish around dogs that tower over him.

One time, little dude and I were on the small field playing fetch. We caught the attention of a giant dog who was roaming around there while his unobservant owners knocked back beers. Clifford got a hold of our mini tennis ball and completely demolished it when he chewed it up like it was nothing more than a cookie dough. I feared the dog might swallow it. This  particularly concerned me because of a different incident that occurred my first time visiting the park.

At that time, I hadn't realized an area existed for small dogs, so little dude and I were in the large area. I tossed him what I thought was a standard-sized tennis ball until an indignant woman with the tone of a neighborhood busybody lectured me about the non-standard size of the ball. She said it posed a danger to large dogs like hers who loved to chomp on balls and could accidentally swallow my offensive sphere, choke, and die. (What a lovely welcome to the park. Sheesh!)

Given that history, I wasn't looking to have any issues with Clifford making a meal of our mini ball and being injured. Nor was I interested in potentially being the recipient of ire from his beer-soaked owners. (If this is even a fraction of what parents of human children go through with other parents, I'm glad I don't have kids!)

Still, we continue to visit Hillside. Most of the time, my dog and I have a fun time. He gets to happily bounce around leash-free and meet other little dogs, and I make small talk with...

I really love the size of this dog park which is great for the larger dogs to really stretch out and run around. Again, really thankful for this park! I feel the group, city, or organization overseeing this park do a great job to maintain it. I noticed this spring it had been replenished with mulch, which is great for keeping the dirt level down as the big guys get to running around and playing. I feel this dog park is well maintained and cared for overall. On a bit of a different note, there are a couple of dog walkers that come there with many dogs each around midday and they sometimes don't do the best job managing their dogs from bothering other dogs. It's a bit annoying, but not a huge deal. I am pretty sure that our dog got kennel cough after visiting this dog park as well. Our dog is fully vaccinated yearly and is current on everything including lepto and bordatella, but still developed kennel cough. Thankfully, with a bit of tlc and care, our dog was over it in a few days. Please be sure your dog is fully vaccinated before bringing them to a popular dog park like this or allowing your dog walker to bring dog if not current on the dog's vax. If your dog does develop a cough or symptoms, from what I read they should be kept away from other dogs to the extent possible for a couple of weeks. Aside from typical people/dog issues, this dog park is great, well maintained, and cared for. Thank you to Hillside Dog Park for the upkeep and care for our fur friends to enjoy...

This is a tough one. I mean, if you're really looking to find "that special dog park" - well then, chances are you don't live around here. I mean, really. Who commutes with man's best friend just so he/she can evacuate bowls/bladder and play nice with the other perros?

It stands to reason that this is frequented by folks within a 1 mile radius, and it surely must be a luxury to let fido off the leash. I mean, no one near here has a backyard to speak of, so this replicates what the suburbanites have on a day-to-day basis.

You don't come here expecting a tableau of impressionist verdance. The primary hues are earthen.

You DO come here to "let the dogs out" as it were - and give yourself and your pooch confidence that urban confines, while a reality 99% of the time, can be placed on hold while you're within these chain-linked fences.

If I were a dog-person, I'd come here. It just so happens that I married into dog people, so it's slowly becoming...