Playground for dogs opens in Dubai

The country's first off-leash dog park offers pets the chance to socialise and roam freely.

Michelle Creasy operates Paws Pet Planet at Dubai Investment Park, where the doggie playground opened today.

DUBAI // After spending years trying to find a safe and suitable place to take their dogs to run and play freely, pet owners in Dubai are finally being offered a solution: the emirate's first "dog park" opens today.

Public parks, beaches and pedestrianised recreational areas are all out of bounds for canines. Most dog owners are resigned to taking their pets on short walks on even shorter leads in their local neighbourhood - allowing for little interaction with other dogs or people.

Convinced this lack of socialisation is taking its toll on both the animals and residents - many of whom are nervous of dogs because they rarely mix with them - Michelle Creasy, an animal behaviourist based in Dubai, is opening the country's first "off-leash" park at Paws Pet Planet, the business she runs in Dubai Investment Park. "It can be pretty difficult to socialise your dogs, and that causes anti-social problems," the 32-year-old Briton explains. "The fewer places you take your dog, the more fearful they become, and the more over-excited or defensive they feel when they are out. That is why I decided to open the park."

The 14,000 square foot indoor and outdoor dog park boasts agility equipment, including hoops, bridges, toys, tunnels, balls, ropes and splash pools. It is separated into different areas for dogs of different sizes and temperaments. Qualified staff will patrol the park, and every dog granted access must first have undergone an assessment by a qualified member of Ms Creasy's team in order to ensure the safety of patrons - both human and canine.

"If a dog has behavioural problems, we will try to work on that with a view to them being incorporated into the park or day care," Ms Creasy says. "I know a lot of people who come to Dubai with sociable dogs and the dog has become more unsociable as time has gone on because they only go for short walks on a leash." Ms Creasy, who moved to Dubai from the UK 14 years ago and has three Dobermans, says that while using leads in public spaces is very important, it also makes the dog more defensive because its owner has taken control of its actions.

"If it wants to go up and sniff another dog and then we pull it back [on the lead], the action raises the dog's head, which is viewed as confrontational to the other dog," she explains. "We interfere with its body language." Dr Martin Wyness of the British Veterinary Centre in Abu Dhabi said: "Off-leash activity is highly desirable to improve the quality of a pet's life, especially when it comes to more active and energetic breeds".

The capital would also benefit from "proper dog parks", he says, adding that "if there was a managed area with access to behavioural assessment, that would be a huge bonus". With land at such a premium on the island, he believes this may be difficult to achieve. Properly structured and regular interaction - especially if organised from an early age - is the solution, Dr Wyness believes, to what he sees as a "cycle of avoiding situations" which makes dogs, owners and residents in the UAE more apprehensive.

"A properly socialised animal is a joy to have around, while a nervous individual is a liability in many ways and harder to live with," he says. "Old fashioned ideas about isolating dogs before they are vaccinated are no longer seen as appropriate by behaviourists or enlightened vets, who now recommend as much interaction with healthy animals and exposure to as many situations as possible from a young age."

Entry to the park costs Dh50 for the first dog and Dh30 for additional ones, and it will be open on Fridays and Saturdays between 9am and 5pm.   It is also accessible during the week to those dogs using Paws Pet Planet's doggie day care facility, where dogs are fed, walked and are able to play with other dogs between 7am and 7pm. Ms Creasy is hoping the park will also provide a social role for dog owners. "[They] are not able to exercise their dogs easily or go anywhere or do anything with them," she says. "They cannot enjoy their dogs. This will allow them to speak to other dog owners and compare notes."