Do Landscape Architects consider dog behaviour in the design of dog parks?
Balancing Act Adelaide has completed 25 dog park audits in South Australia, 2013
Over the last 12 months we’ve observed and analyzed the interactions within dog parks. These include: dog-dog, dog-human and human-human interactions.
How many Landscape Architects and other open space designers consider dog behaviour in their design process?
We go further than the commonly reported human conversations and connections made in dog parks to incorporating dog interactions and behaviour. Why? because this informs the design and management of this type of recreation park.
From our audits, dog behaviour appears to be one of the missing elements in current design practices. This limitation only serves to exacerbate potential conflict in the park, and increase maintenance costs.
Designing a dog park is similar and different from a human park. In the design of a dog park we must integrate both dog and human needs and link dog behaviour to design.
We can no longer design dog parks from a human perspective – we must consider the animals needs.
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