My parents have two border collies and live on a farm with 70 acres. Needless to say, they let them run free. Their nearest neighbor is about a quarter mile down the road and even though they go on adventures, they always stay on their property. I've never brought my puppies there because its all the way back in Ohio. I would be tempted to let them run off leash, but I'm not sure I could take the risk. Here in Colorado there is a huge off leash dog park. I'm guessing its at least 20 acres and has a creek running through it. It seems to be mostly fenced off, but I'm sure there are ways out. I took my husky mix there before we got our new puppy. She stayed relatively close to me and we stayed till she was worn out, so she had no problem walking back to the car with me. Our new puppy is full husky and only 14 weeks and I've yet to take her to a dog park (she's just getting her third round of shots this week.) I don't know if it would be safe to try that park with her in a couple weeks and would love some input.

If anyone wants to look it up, its called Cherry Creek Dog Park. Its so beautiful and I love that there are sand bars along the creek for them to play on.

The safe answer is to say you shouldn't off leash any dog. The risks are very high no matter what level of training your pup has. All it takes is one mistake to never see them again.

Huskies tend to be worse than most in this regard as they get into a kind of trace when they run. Ears back, Head low, Full Sprint. We call it Sled head.

When they get into that state of mind it can be very hard to break them out of it. They just run and block out all noise. They don't get tired and you won't keep up, so before they know it they are miles away and lost.

Many things can trigger this as well. Playing chase, they decide to just keep running. Prey Drive, They chase after a small animal into harms way. Adventure, Just exploring or following their nose.

It also tends to get worse with age. A 3 month old puppy is liable to be beside you at all times while a year + old husky who has been a gem off leash forever will suddenly take off and never look back.


I won't tell you it isn't possible with enough training AND the right pup.

Generally it isn't a good idea to off leash a Husky.

~Chris~

That's what I figured. Like I said, its fenced as far as I can see but I can't truly speak for the whole thing since its such a large area. Probably not worth the risk. It's a shame because its such a beautiful dog park.

I looked it up. From what I can tell, it isn't fully fenced.

Maybe walk around the dog park and check it out. I know I know it is very large but that is what I would do if you have any concerns about it.

When we took our pups to a dog park In Des Moines we walked the fence to make sure there weren't any way out of course it wasn't very big.

I have taken Kennedy to this park in Lincoln for over a year. She is the kind of dog that she listens if she is with other dogs, so I don't worry about her at the dog park. She has never tried to run away or pull a fast one on me or anything like that. Well, the last time we were there she found a hole in the fence. Thankfully, the dog park is double fenced in (working on adding to it) so she didn't get out..but the park is right on a highway, so I was freaking out.

Moral of the story, if there is a way to get out, they will probably find it and they will probably leave. We have had to stop going to a dog park in Bellevue because there are so many holes in the fencing. I don't understand how many times dog owners have to complain about bad fencing for it to be fixed. Then again, this park doesn't even have trash cans for you to throw away your dogs poop..so that may a clue as to why they don't care about fencing.

Like Linda said, I would just go and walk the fence line and check it out. In Orlando one of the parks is 20+ acres and I checked the fence line the first time there. It's fenced on 3 sides and the unfenced side is on the lake but they ran the fence out to where it gets pretty deep.

I know for my older husky, at a smaller dog park he doesn't run around a lot. InOrlando since its so large he runs around a lot more freely. I know mine enjoys the bigger space so he can run all out. And what it looks like from searching it, that it looks like the dogs would have a blast, since there is a stream and a forest like element. Its definitely worth a shot investigating.

Thanks for all the input!.... I will probably take a walk around the perimeter when it warms up a little bit.

Both the Chatfield State Park dog park and the Surrey Ridge dog park are large and fully fenced.

The Chatfield park has the state parks fee, plus a dog park fee ($2/time, or $20 annual) and has some large ponds for the dogs, but no creeks. It's listed as being 69 acres. Takes us about 30 minutes to walk the biggest loop.
http://www.parks.state.co.us/Parks/Chatfield/DOLA/Pages/OffLeash.aspx

Surrey Ridge (Also called Glendale Farms) also has some walking loops, is listed at 17 acres.
http://www.dogparksindenver.com/South-Denver-Dog-Parks/Glendale_farms.html
H2M2 was there last year once, and pictures are here:
https://www.itsahuskything.com/t6503-h2m2-colorado-sept-meet-up-surrey-ridge

Those look awesome! I'll have to see how far they are from where I live in Aurora. I'm pretty new to the forum so I don't know what H2M2 is or how to get involved but it looks like fun. Is the park at surrey ridge also free or does it have the state park fee?

Depending on the part of Aurora, the Surrey Ridge might not be TOO far. It's on I-25 between 470 and Castle Rock. The Chatfield one is near Chatfield reservoir, so probably not close at all.

Surrey Ridge is free. The Cherry Creek park, is that in Cherry Creek State Park? If you have the parks pass, the Chatfield should be included. And if you have to pay for the dog park there, and have an annual pass, I think it's also included.

H2M2 is Husky Huddle and Malamute Mingle. It's primarily run off of Facebook I think. Here's the link for the Colorado H2M2 group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/67707519125/

I frequent Westminster Hills off leash dog park. Its 400 acres!!! It may be a bit far North for you, but my girls love it. It is not fully fenced, so you have to be careful.
http://www.ci.westminster.co.us/ParksRec/Parks/ParkLocations/WestminsterHillsOffLeashDogPark.aspx

I do let my husky off leash, we have worked very hard with her from day 1 to put a good recall on her and she will come back when we call (it CAN be done!!). I usually have treats just to make sure, but I can call her away from other dogs and even off of a rabbit or bird. But you can use a long line to give your dog more room to roam if they aren't trustworthy.

Wow! 400 acres?? I'm sure they'd love that. I think it is a bit far from us though. I think we'll check out Surrey Ridge this week.

Trenton, I looked at the website. Looks great! The only thing that worries me is the warning about rattlesnakes. I'm sure you have to worry about them to some degree wherever you go. Im just wondering if you've seen any there or heard about any issues running into them.

I haven't seen any rattlesnakes there. I've only really been in the colder weather, though, when they usually aren't out. There's not much shade, so it's not a good hot weathe park.
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It looks like it's in the running for this month's H2M2, so may be a good time to check it out.

jbealer (a very active member on this board) may have more info on if she's heard about snakes or anything.

and its just random i clicked on here!
ok i have NOT been to the CC state park since you have to pay to get in. i think a small section around the water is fenced off and then the rest of the area is "off leash" only thing i have heard is if you have a swimmer they can swim out and then take off in the non fenced in area.

as for snakes they are every where, you will start to hear warnings as it warms up. just be careful and keep an eye out for them.
im getting ready to pick a place for our april meet up and it might be surrey ridge since it sucks for the summer (no shade) this might be our last chance to go.
i also stop hiking in the foot hills in the summer cause of snakes, i head to tree line to be safe.
join the H2M2 group and hope to see you!

Jennifer,

Thanks for the advice! Actually, I realized after I asked about it earlier, I joined the group a while back when I first got Nika. I just didn't know it was also called H2M2, but of course, after thinking about it, the name makes sense. I've been checking it and posting more frequently. I will definitely try to make it to the next meet up. I really want to check out Surrey Ridge now. I looked it up and its about 20 miles from me....so, not bad at all.

I'm new to Colorado and, coming from Ohio, I've never had to worry about poisonous snakes/spiders ect... Having two dogs makes it difficult to keep an eye on both at the same time so I'll just have to pick the safest places to let them off leash.

It looks like from the facebook page the next meet will be on the 27th, right? Hopefully I'll see you and the other members then!