I frequently take my German Shepherd to the open grassy Ryland Park (Ryland Park, San Jose, CA 95110, United States) to release her abundance of energy. Oddly enough, I as well as most of the other dog owners in the area do not take our beloved dogs to the fenced in park, Ryland Dog Park (Ryland Dog Park, Ryland St, San Jose, CA 95110), conveniently located right across the street from Ryland Park and dedicated to strictly canines. There is a wide variety of reasons which I will happily explain on behalf of myself and all of the other dog owners in the area to help better the community and ensure Ryland Dog Park does not become a waste of valuable land.

Pros of taking your dog to Ryland Dog Park:

Fenced in area to ensure the animal's safety from darting in the street as well as the safety of the people/children in case of an animal attack

Large open area to play ball and socialize with other dogs

Double gates to ensure no animals get loose

A water fountain for dogs to ensure they are well hydrated

Cons of taking your dog Ryland Dog Park:

The enclosed dog park's ground consists of dirt and mud- *this is HUGE factor. For example my white shepherd will go into the park a beautiful pearl white color and come out covered in brown filth. She becomes a very unpleasant walking dirt cloud which is a pain to deal with in any kind of living situation, but especially apartment living. Most people in this area live in apartments and condos including myself and the mess from the park's dirt makes is quite certainly a nuisance to go to. A simple solution which most have determined is to just go over to the grassy park right across the way. The solution: poor old Ryland Dog Park needs some TLC. The first step to make a drastic change for this park is: artificial grass!

Pros of taking your dog to Ryland Park:

A large grassy area for dogs to run around

Much cleaner than Ryland Dog Park

All of the other dogs gather here to play and socialize



Cons of taking your dog to Ryland Park:

Not completely fenced in and easy for dogs to escape *near a busy street, it only takes a split second for a dog to be hit by a car or even run away

Children are playing on the same grass area. Although, I'm sure many of these dogs are friendly towards children it is always better to be safe than sorry. Children's movements and dog language lack of knowledge could result in a dog attack. For example, children have ran up to my dog many time and gotten in her face/hanging on to her- luckily, my dog is very tolerable and sweet towards children, but if a child did this to the wrong dog I would hate to imagine the aftermath.

Water not in a close proximity for animals to hydrate

Ending on that note, I am not the only one that feels this way- rarely any dog owners go to the park dedicated to canines because of the dirt/mud. There will be roughly 5-10 canines present at Ryland Park while there is none at Ryland Dog Park. I have taken my dog to Ryland Dog Park quite a few times and every time I need to give her a bath afterwards with baby wipes, so she doesn't track mud through the apartment and then give her a real bath with soap and water once we are in the apartment. I would also feel much safer bringing her to the enclosed dog park, but the filth makes me go across the street with all of the other dog owners. Ryland dog park needs artificial grass so the dogs have a safe place to play. Not only this, but it will keep children safe from any misbehaved canines that are loose at Ryland Park.

Thanks for reading and I hope to help better the community by transforming this sad dog park into one that brings joy!