Rover Run Dog Park of Tellico Village

For members only. It's just a dog park... for real?

NOTICE: This is a PRIVATE, MEMBERS ONLY! facility that I found to be rather unfriendly (although, I admittedly and ashamedly returned the favor, and I apoplgize). Initiation fee is $100.00 and yearly fee is #35.00. It appeared to me to be a small place for people to sit and watch their dogs play, which is personally not my idea of a dog park. It is approximately one acre of fenced, relatively flat ground where there are more adult chairs than canine play things.I don't know how adults get much exercise. It is in a lovely subdivision at he end of the road where the residents appear to have built their R&R haven for dogs. Apparently there are a lot of unnecessary hoops to jump through to be a member and one cannot join on the spot. I seriously question if the association wants members from outside of their community. There is no office to go to, just a website. There are rules like no pinch or choke collars and a bunch of others that don't seem to be thought out by people who understand "dog" behavior (perhaps a visit from Cesar would help). I can understand the need for shot record verification and insurance and I carry up-to-date copies with me at all times in both my cars . I have been going to and civilly involved with dog parks for over 40 years (mostly in Wisconsin and in Milwaukee and Dane counties). Membership for seniors was $10.00 per year. Both counties had individual parks of over 100 acres! During a survey of a Milwaukee dog park, over 7,000 dog owners visited in one week! We never had a need to keep anyone out. If the park rangers checked for park licenses (tags) and one didn't have a tag, the park fine was $51.00, more than twice the cost of the tag. For non-members, there was a cost of $3.00 per visit payable in an envelope at the gate with the same fine imposed without a receipt. Yearly memberships were also available with a check with a short form with vet's name and Rabies tag number. Poop bags were provided as was water. We had rivers and lots of space for adults. A circumference of the park was 1.6 miles and everyone got plenty of exercise - dogs and humans. I can count the number of dog fights that I have witnessed in dog parks on one hand! The people that used these parks were very canine behavior savvy and were the most friendly and even-tempered people I have ever met. A number of physicians and psychologists that were members attributed the demeanor of both adults and canines to the fact that everyone got "proper" exercise. For the lady from Wisconsin (perhaps another of the Yankees that come here to change things), go back to Madison on a vacation and go to Tower Hill Dog Park off of Hwy PB on Madison's far south side, and Tolken Creek Dog Park on Madison's north side. They are two of the many parks in Dane County which I personally visited daily for 20 years! To be honest, keep your one acre enclosure.