GENERAL OLA GUIDELINES….
IT’S ALL ABOUT SAFETY & RESPECT

BE SAFE – HAVE FUN – RESPECT OTHERS

1. YOUR behavior can make or break it for all other off-leash area (OLA) users.  Abide by all the rules so we can continue to have OLAs in the future.  Don’t take OLAs for granted – they CAN be taken away.
2. Boundaries:  Respect OLA boundaries by putting your dog on leash any time you are outside the boundaries.  It is NOT NOT NOT ok to have your dog off leash between the OLA gate and your car.
3. Area preservation:  Areas barricaded for recovery are important to respect if you want quality surfaces instead of mud to slog through.
4. Small children in OLA’S should ONLY be at their parents’ sides and should NEVER approach dogs.  CLOSELY supervise young children.  Some owners don’t learn that their dogs are alarmed by children until the dog has already reacted.
5. Clean up after yourself plus 1 other.  You can’t be 100% sure that you got all of your own dog’s waste, and you make the area nicer for yourself and others.
6. If bags are brought in by volunteers, be sure to bring in bags yourself if you use some.  Or just bring them if you have extras.
7. Meeting other dogs:  Avoid packs of dogs.  Give your dog a chance to start off by meeting one dog at a time.  An inadequately socialized dog on a leash will typically be more aggressive on leash than off.  One explanation for this is that in this anxiety-producing situation, the fight-or-flight response reigns, and since they can't take flight, guess what's left to protect themselves with?
8. Aggression/timidity:  A standard OLA requirement is that aggressive dogs must be leashed and removed from the OLA at once.  Remember that your timid dog may react aggressively out of fear. 
9. Hours:  Respect the good neighbors who allowed or helped this OLA to be located there by using the area solely during authorized hours.  Would YOU want someone slamming car doors and calling their dog at 3am outside your window?
10. Quiet:  Reasonable quiet during all hours is another way to respect folks.  They may also have pets who start barking in response to your dog's barking -- mine would.  If your dog is a real noisemaker, find an OLA to frequent where noise is unlikely to bother neighbors.
11. Tags:  Typically dogs must display current tags for both licensure and vaccinations.  They should also have dog name and owner contact info.
12. Numbers of dogs:  It is common to limit a handler to three dogs at a time to the OLA.  It's hard enough keeping track of one, let alone three dogs.  And if any of your three dogs gets into an altercation, there's a good chance the other two will join the fray, either to protect their family pack member, or for the excitement of it.  Dogs are pack animals, and a lot of damage can occur before you extricate all three, which will likely have to be with the help of others.
13. Health and safety:  Do not bring unvaccinated puppies or female dogs that are in heat.  Likewise remove pinch or choke collars.
14. Take responsibility for damage or injury caused by your dog.
     

Abuse it? You could lose it.
Don't take your Off-Leash Area (OLA) for granted.
Be a good dog neighbor
 

These two dogs are having fun in the winter Off-Leash Area at Gabriel Park in SW Portland.  This winter area is all sand, which  means it is well drained.  This park is plenty spacious and even has chairs (see photo) and other amenities.
 

Sheffield and Gwendolyn are experts at giving dad Larry Fellows a good ball-throwing workout at the Cherry Park Off-Leash Area in SE Portland.  Although we saw primarily small dogs at this site, it is a large site that works for any size dog.

Terms you need to know:

OLA:  Off-Leash Area - a more accurate term than Dog Park to describe many of the sites where dogs are allowed to run.

Dog Park:  A name often given to a fenced or unfenced area where your supervised dog can run off leash. 

Pet Exercise Area:  The name given by the State of Oregon to the off-leash areas in six of their parks.

The significance of terminology: 
We prefer to use the term OLA (Off-Leash Area) because both "dog park" and "pet exercise area" convey that the recreational area is being granted solely because the animals need recreation or exercise.  Instead we think it's very important to recognize that exercising your dog is very important for both dog and human. 

Dog walking, for example, is the second most practiced pedestrian recreation in the state of Washington.  It's second only to walking without a dog.  In other words, for comparison, this means there are more people who walk their dogs than play in the organized sports that have so much play area in parks.  As long as people antagonistic to areas for off-leash recreation do not understand how it benefits humans, they will continue to oppose areas that support this important leisure activity.

Historically dog walkers have tended to walk by themselves rather than in organized groups with other people.  This lack of organized groups is why recognition of the prevalence and need for off-leash recreation has only occurred recently at public parks.  In part it is due to users becoming more vocal and organized, and also in part due to parks departments conducting more surveys to see that they are meeting the needs of the users.  Dog owners are speaking up more and more.