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3 latest news posts from our NEWS SECTION -
WHICH CAN BE FOUND HERE.
Just wanted to know that there will be a celebration of Vinnie Luna’s life at the Bark Park at 2279 Charles Page Blvd. tomorrow at 6:00 P.M. Everyone is invited!
Vinnie is creator of the Bark Park website and spent many weekends passionately volunteering to make sure everybody in the park was safe.
We’ll miss you Vinnie!!!
[Read full article here]
Join us for the ribbon cutting ceremony for Tulsa’s second bark park, Biscuit Acres at Hunter Park - on Saturday June 6th, 2009 - 11AM.
The park is located at 5804 E 91st St - Tulsa, Oklahoma 74137.
[Read full article here]
Recently we were approached by Ben Perrault, an applicant for the rank of Eagle Scout about suggestions for capital improvements at Joe station which he might do as a leadership project. With our irrigation system nearly complete, our highest priority needs are permanent shade structures to be located in the outfield. We suggested [...]
[Read full article here]
End of the 3 latest news posts. To see
All News posts, please see the NEWS SECTION -
WHICH CAN BE FOUND HERE.
Welcome to TulsaBarkPark.com where you can find out more information about Tulsa’s official dog parks. Here you will find useful information regarding all of the current dog parks in Tulsa as well as information
about proposed dog parks.
THE PARKS
Joe Station Bark Park - CURRENTLY OPEN
Location: 2279 Charles Paige Blvd - Tulsa, Oklahoma 74127 - MAP IT HERE
Joe Station Bark Park is open 365 days a year.
The park is open from 5AM till 11PM. (Winter hours are from 5AM till 9PM)
Joe Station is closed on Wednesdays till noon for maintenance.
HUNTER PARK - BISCUIT ACRES - CURRENTLY OPEN
Location: 5804 E 91st St - Tulsa, Oklahoma 74137 - MAP IT HERE
HUNTER PARK - BISCUIT ACRES Bark Park is open 365 days a year.
The park is open from 5AM till 9PM.
KNOW THE RULES!
If you are a first time visitor to this website or to Tulsa’s Bark Parks, please read the park rules that are posted at the entrance to the parks and also posted here on our website: PARK RULES AND INFORMATION.
The website you are reading right now, TulsaBarkPark.com is the central hub website for all of the dog parks in Tulsa. Joe Station Bark Park and Biscuit Acres are the first of several in the works for our great city. More dog park openings and information will be listed here as they happen. You may also want to VIEW THE LATEST PARK NEWS HERE.
To view Media Coverage of Tulsa’s Bark parks see ‘Tulsa Bark Parks - In The News’ HERE. The NEWS SECTION is updated as soon as new information about Tulsa’s Dog Parks are furnished to our site’s webmaster.
Please buy a T-Shirt!
Several months ago we featured a T-Shirt design contest. The winner of the T-Shirt design was Brett Elbon. We now have a very limited stock of the new and official Tulsa Bark Park T-Shirts! Just click SHOP anywhere on this site to be taken to our secure online shopping system where you can purchase T-Shirts and / or make donations to Tulsa’s Bark Parks. Proceeds benefit the continuing development and maintenance of Tulsa’s Bark Parks. Shipping is included with all T-Shirt orders. To get to the NEW T-SHIRT order page immediately - CLICK HERE.
Donations Needed!
We are in need of monetary donations for Tulsa’s Bark Parks right away in order to continue the maintenance of Joe Station Bark Park and Biscuit Acres Dog Park as well as funding the opening of more dog parks in Tulsa. Ready to donate right now? Visit http://tulsabarkpark.com/donate to make your tax deductible contribution. Donation envelopes, fund raising brochures and Donation boxes are also available at our Joe Station location.
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I am so happy with the dog park. My dogs love it as much as I do.
Everyone is so friendly. It is nice to visit while the dogs play.
It is great exercise for my dogs.If I ask them if they want to go to the dog park they start getting really excited.The Big dog area is nice and big. The swimming pools and tennis balls are a great fun for the dogs.
I justr wanted to thank all of you for such a great dog park! I’ve lived in Tulsa now for 20 years and remember when people first started talking about the need for this city to have one. I visited Joe Station last week and I am so happy with what all of you have done.
My dog loved the park and being with all of the other dogs!
Benny
We love the dog park. My 3 dogs love to run around and play with the other dogs. I also love the location. Thanks Tulsa!!!
Cory
I am so thankfull for everyone who made this happen. I had so much fun with my pup and I can not wait for others to follow! Everyone was very nice and the dogs looked very free and happy. Thanks!
This park is great. I hope Tulsa can get another dog park or two in operation. Is anything planned for South Tulsa?
Hi Mark,
The Tulsa Bark Park Task Force is currently working with the city of Tulsa to secure many potential locations for future Bark Parks including South Tulsa! At the moment, current plans are for building 2 more parks - One at Hicks Park south of 31st and Mingo and one near 13th and Denver. Please keep watching http://tulsabarkpark.com for more information about more parks coming to your area as well!
Tulsa Bark Park Task Force Member - Vinnie
My dogs, Lucy and Parker, are overjoyed to visit the bark park a couple times a week. Lucy is shy and watches from the sidelines, while Parker romps with every dog. They each socialize in their own way.
My concern is enforcement of the “no children under 12″ rule. People are bringing small children to play with the dogs. One lady last week even thought it cute that her toddler got in the splash pool with the dogs. I prefer to have my dogs unmolested and would like to have the public better informed about this rule. The volunteers have stated that they cannot enforce this rule, so I’m wondering who can.
Hi Terry,
You said…
“My concern is enforcement of the “no children under 12″ rule. People are bringing small children to play with the dogs. One lady last week even thought it cute that her toddler got in the splash pool with the dogs. I prefer to have my dogs unmolested and would like to have the public better informed about this rule. The volunteers have stated that they cannot enforce this rule, so I’m wondering who can.”
Citations will be issued by the Tulsa Police Department for anyone not abiding by the age restriction rule. The park rule is a law in the city of Tulsa.
I took my dog to the bark park for the first time yesterday. He was a little bit anxious at first but within just a few minutes he was running around and having a great time. He really enjoyed it! We will be going back regularly. Thanks for providing something really great for Tulsa.
The park is great. I as well as my puppy enjoyed the visit. It’s a great oppurtunity to socialize and relax. My only question would be are there any recommendations on how to handle other owners who might have an aggressive dog?
Hi Laura,
Thanks for your concern about the aggressive dogs. Aggressive dogs are not permitted to be in the park per Tulsa law. If you do see an aggressive dog, you can always politely point out the rules to the dog’s owner. If the dog owner doesn’t want to comply with the rules, I’d suggest leashing your dog and encourage everyone else to do the same. There will be tickets issued to anyone that does not abide by any of the park rules and rule breakers can also be banned from the parks entirely.
While I know that having to leash your own dog because of someone elses dog seems unfair… it is the best thing to do in the case of a belligerent dog owner because it assures that your dog remains safe from the aggressive dog. The Task Force is in the process of posting the rules in several places so that visitors that do not read the rules at the entrance of the park, will become aware of them in other parts of the park. There are several volunteers that visit the park from time to time… they wear a button that says ‘Bark Park Ambassador’ - If you see a volunteer, you can always bring the aggressive dog to their attention. The bark parks are unmanned parks just as all public parks are in Tulsa but if you see that a rule is being broken, you can also notify animal control of the situation. Tickets will be issued to the offending parties. If all of the park visitors like yourself, politely remind other visitors of the park rules, we will all be able to better enjoy Joe Station as well as all of the forthcoming parks.
If you’d like to become a park volunteer, please see http://tulsabarkpark.com/volunteer for more information.
The park is fabulous!
My dogs; Sebastian and Memphis, truly enjoyed the park. It’s great for socializing and running off some extra energy!
Thank you to all those who made this park a possibility.
Sebastian, Memphis and Wendy
i have both a large dog & a small dog, & would like 2 bring them both 2 the park. what is the proper protocol? may i bring my small dog into th large dog area?
Hi Marty,
Yes but I think you should read all of the rules posted here and especially rule #19 concerning your question: http://tulsabarkpark.com/park-rules/
Both of my two great danes and I truly enjoyed going to the dog park!
However, after only our second trip to the park, my dogs got very sick and were diagnosed with kennel cough. I am positive that the bark park was the only placed they would have been exposed to this. I know it would be difficult to enforce any vaccination regulations but I do believe it would be a good idea to remind people to make sure their dogs are current on ALL vaccinations including the Bordetella vaccine.
PLEASE PROTECT YOUR DOGS AS WELL AS OTHER DOGS!
I look forward to taking my dogs to the park in the near future and am extremely excited about future parks opening in my area. I just have one question/suggestion: is there anyway that in the future parks there could be a mixed area for both sized dogs? I know that small dogs are allowed in the larger dog area, but I would feel much more comfortable taking my smaller dog along with my bigger dog if I knew that the other big dogs didn’t mind a smaller dog running with them. I didn’t know if anyone else felt the same but thought I’d make the suggestion!
Hi Ashley,
I am not sure that I am understanding your question correctly when you say…
“is there anyway that in the future parks there could be a mixed area for both sized dogs? I know that small dogs are allowed in the larger dog area, but I would feel much more comfortable taking my smaller dog along with my bigger dog if I knew that the other big dogs didn’t mind a smaller dog running with them.’
Technically, the large dog area is a mixed area and since it is left to the discretion of the small dog owners to allow their small dogs into the large dog area, the only thing I can say is that we have never had a large dog owner complain about the small dogs in the large dog area. As a matter of fact, my dog which is a 19 pound black pug, plays with the big dogs often. I go several times a week and have never heard an owner of a large dog complain about the small dogs. Sounds like you haven’t been to the park yet so come on down and see what it’s like… I think you’ll see what I mean.
Thanks so much for somewhere to play with my friends. My mom and dad were hoping that Tulsa would get a dog park for me to go play. I was a little nervous at first but then I got the hang of it. I am a white boxer about 90 lbs and very friendly. I have black eyes and ears and am white everywhere else. So if you see me playing my name is flex. Thanks for the playtime.
Flex
I really enjoy the dog park that is now open. I think it’s a great outlet for my dog’s energy. However, I’ve noticed lately more people bringing dogs that ‘play’ rougher than most of the dogs there which tend to upset the other dog owners and/or the dogs themselves. My advise to those is if you are confronted by ambassadors of the park and/or other dog owners about your dog’s aggressive behavior, please take action to either leash,control or remove your dog from the park until he/she can calm down. This is a simple courtesy, that in the long run will keep people coming to the park. After all, everyone there is looking to have an enjoyable visit.
Hi Brett,
Most of us that visit the dog park agree with you 100%. Aggressive behavior can easily injure other dogs as well as dog owners.
I have seen this aggressive behavior several times and once again you are correct in stating: “…please take action to either leash,control or remove your dog from the park until he/she can calm down”… is as common sense as it gets my friend!
I highly recommend that anyone that has read Brett’s post above - read one of the best articles ever written concerning Dog Parks and Dog Park Etiquette here:
http://tulsabarkpark.com/park-rules/dog-park-etiquette/
If even just a small percentage of dog park visitors were to read this article, we’d have fewer aggression issues at the parks!
Some dogs that play hard but are not actually aggressive, can still endanger another dog or person. It is again best to leash your dog and move away from the dog that is playing too hard for your dog.
Everyone, please use common sense and courtesy when visiting the parks… Some dogs play rough and that is fine as long as when their play turns into aggression, each owner needs to take control of his or her dog right away to squelch the possibility of any dog or any human getting hurt.
We visited the park twice this past weekend and I think we all had a good experience but our 1 year old beagle was a bit timid. Is this common with dogs who do not tipically run loose?
Hi Val,
I asked Kelly Carter, our resident dog expert about this and he said it is very common and quite typical behavior for a dog that has never been to the park.
He continued to say…
You may want to visit the park during a less busy time, (I know weekends get real crowded!) so that your dog can explore without a lot of dogs running past and potentially scaring him a bit.
Visiting during a less busy time is a good way to acclimate your dog to the parks environment. Once he’s used to the park… you’ll have a hard time keeping him from leaving whether it’s on a busy day or not!
See you at the park!
I have a small puppy he is still a puppy but is sometimes mean to people he won’t run up and bite them but he will bark and growl. He hasn’t had problems with dogs but may still be mean. What should I do?
dlee,
I have a Lab/Collie mix and is great with everything…seriously. If you would like to work with a Lab Pup and your pup let me know and we can arrange a meeting. We have all our shos and are very good with everything! The bark park would not be a good setting until the pup has reached it’s 6 mo birthday, had all shots, neutered/spayed and is socially acceptable.
I will be happy to help!
goofy Lab Pup foster mom (L)
Per the park rules,
11.Any dog within an off-leash park area shall not be under four (4) months of age, and shall be currently vaccinated against rabies and have a current City of Tulsa license affixed or attached to the dog’s collar or harness.
As far as him barking or growling - it would be a good time to take your dog for proper training. All dogs bark and growl from time to time - but if the barking or growling is excessive or constant towards people it could be a sign of something else. Talk to your vet and see if he / she can advise you better. I also agree that the dog park wouldn’t be a good idea until your puppy is socially acceptable.
(to the foster mom) i am not sure but my dog likes another lab puppy a lot so he might like yours.
dlee
i think this website is soooo like cute im in school and i want one of the puppys on the front page its soooo cute
My new dog “Daisy” loves the bark park!
I bought a bag of tennis balls to donate to the park and on my second visit I just dropped them into the toy box. I assume this is Ok?
Yes!!! Thank You!!! It’s because of people like you that donate items and funds that Tulsa can have more dog parks! Without public financial support through donations and without the donation of services (and tennis balls!) there is NO WAY we’d be able to do what we are doing.
The parks are a COMMUNITY EFFORT. The parks are not paid for by our taxes. The City of Tulsa does maintain the grounds as far as mowing the lawn and enforcing park laws but building the actual parks can only be done with your help… Thanks again!
See you at the parks!
http://tulsabarkpark.com/online-shop
Speaking of donating
My maltese also picked up kennel cough from the dog park (in response to a post I noticed here a week or so ago). She has all of her shots up to date, including bordetella, but the vet diagnosed it today.
So everyone that goes out there.. please keep this in mind if your little one starts showing symptoms!
I really hope that we have a BarkPark South and/or East someday! Joe Station park is a long ways from me and my dogs.
Hi,
Awesome site. I have a few questions. I do not live in Tulsa, but my dogs and I do come to Tulsa to visit. They are UTD on vaccs (with proof), but we do not have a city license, b/c our town does not require this. Can we still visit the park when we are in town? Also what breeds are considered banned? My dogs are Dogue De Bordeaux’s (French Mastiff’s ) and wanted to make sure they weren’t on the naughty list! Thanks!
Hi April,
Thanks for the comments on the site… I am doing my best to keep up with it
As for banned breeds - There are no banned breeds, just rules not permitting aggressive dogs. http://tulsabarkpark.com/park-rules .
If Tulsa Animal Control were to check for licenses, then you would just let them know that the reason why your dog is not licensed is because in your city, you are not required to have a license. They would probably then ask for identification to show that you are not a resident of Tulsa. But you really should direct your inquiry to Tulsa Animal Control at: 918-669-6299.
I have enjoyed reading about the park, but have not been able to get to the park since it opened. We keep reading to see if you will have one open in South Tulsa but the plans to open new sites still seem so far away. We just wanted to share the hopes of so many other dog lovers in this area (91st to 101st and Yale).
I live in South Tulsa too. I read that there will be one at Hicks Park which would be a lot closer to me but yes, it would be nice if we had one in South Tulsa as well.
The only problem with the Joe Station site is the distance. It’s about as far from me as it could be and still be in Tulsa. I certainly hope a location in south Tulsa is next before than another one north/downtown. Hunter Park would be ideal for many of us.
There is emphasis on getting the parks up first that take less to get going. We know Hicks Park will probably serve a large sector of Tulsa and sectors of Broken Arrow and Owasso. It just needs water features and partial fencing to begin operation. It still needs funding.
Please remember you can make donations earmarked for a particular park.
It is private funds that are building the parks. Hunter Park is a park that with neighborhood and Park Board approval will have a Dog Park if funds can be raised.
What happened to the park??? It looks terrible now. I thought everyone agreed that there are few small dogs that use the small dog area…plus, they are SMALL. Why was the park reconfigured (chopped in half!)? You had it right the first time. I’ve been to many parks, the large dogs always have the biggest park. Logic. The small dogs always use the large dog area anyway. Plus, this theory that we need to switch it around all the time to watch the grass grow is BOGUS. No other park that I’ve seen wastes most of their park. Look at the old “big dog” area…there’s still just as much grass there as the old “small dog” area. Please just change the park back to its original published configuration. It makes sense.
Hi Mark,
Joe Station was modified to allow for preservation of the grass and the sides will be rotated on a regular basis so that the large dog area will be rotated with the small dog area from time to time and yes, this was primarily done to help preserve the grass. The amount of traffic that the park has experienced has been overwhelming and we hope that once more dog parks are opened that the congestion will be relieved when that happens. It will take a lot of time however for more parks to open because to date, while we have received some donations from the public, we are still not near where we need to be in order to build more parks.
You said…
“Plus, this theory that we need to switch it around all the time to watch the grass grow is BOGUS.”
Would it be better to continue to let the grass deteriorate to the point that after a rainy day, your dog ran through mud as opposed to healthy grass? I can sense your frustration Mark - change can be difficult but at this time since Joe Station is our ONLY park, we are trying to do as much as we can with limited resources, limited funds and limited volunteers to keep Joe Station in optimum condition for dogs and their owners. The change was necessary and not done in haste and not done without consult with other dog parks.
You said…
“What happened to the park??? It looks terrible now. I thought everyone agreed that there are few small dogs that use the small dog area…”
It really depends on the time of day. We have seen an increase in the number of people that are bringing in small dogs as well as large dogsd. In additiona, the numbers of people that have taken our online poll also shows an increase in numbers:
http://tulsabarkpark.com/pollsarchive/
As the numbers continue to grow and as more people become aware of the park - we can’t predict that the majority of the dogs will be large dogs or small dogs but the margin appears to be narrowing more and more.
To be fair I must state that I am a small dog owner but it doesn’t really matter to me how the park is configured. I just love the fact that we finally have one and can learn from the first one - improve on it, learn from mistakes perhaps and then continue to build some more.
My Doxie Mona just loves the bark park… She hated it the first 4 times and wanted to bark at every dog that looked at her but the 5th time she ran around on her own and played! We have had problems with people bringing their small children though. Anyone who is irked by this should realize, we only care about the safety of YOUR children! As someone who has been hit by running dogs and knowing someone almost knocked over by a running dog I know the damage they could do. Children go to KID parks, Dogs go to DOG parks! Anyone who would subject their kids to dogs that out weigh them (and or may bite little kids) running at full speed shouldn’t even have dogs let alone kids.
I do love the lay out of the park and I would suggest to anyone wanting to bring small/large dogs to the other sides that you simply try it, we always go back and forth and have rarely had any problem. Some large/small dogs will get along great with small/large dogs and some won’t but more people should feel welcome to let their dogs see the whole park.
Hi Amalia,
Glad that your dog finally took the the park. As for your comment about the kids. We have seen many park visitors ignoring the park rules, especially the NO CHILDREN UNDER 12 rule but no matter how many times anyone warns people about the law and / or about what can happen to a child in an off leash facility, we still get parents that ignore the rule. The rule is a city law, not just a park rule. I wonder if the parents know that the Tulsa Police Department can ticket parents for child endangerment for violating the rule.
I disagree with the age limit at the dog park. I think any child under 18 years old should be admitted and be supervised by an adult. This is the same rule at our public pools and this is a public park; if it were to be privatized then the rules can be whatever the private origanization wants.
I have kids and dogs and I believe children must learn to respect animals at an early age. Many adults don’t respect animals because they were never taught this as children. It is the parent’s responsiblity to teach their children not to approach unknown dogs and all animals and to teach children animal behavior including when an animal has had enough and needs a break. Many adults do not know anything about dogs and they can visit the dog park. It is the parent’s responsibility to protect their children. The dog park is for families (including children) to enjoy with their dogs.
I was there in the large dog area October 5 (regarding Amalia’s blog) and saw a family with a child enjoying the small dog area. The father was watching their two dogs and the mother was watching the child. The mother and child never got near any of the dogs; they played away from the dogs but they still got to enjoy the dog park.
I know many families who would love to visit the dog park but they can’t come because they have children under 12 years old. These families would love to have more dog parks and donate money but they will not donate or support more dog parks unless they too can enjoy them.
I understand safety but everyone who visits a dog park is at risk! You must remember dogs do not bite unless they are provoked! I have been to the dog park many times and I have seen adults provoke the dogs more than I have ever seen the children do it!!!
My suggestion is to have a family area at this dog park or change to age rule. Everybody takes a chance of being knocked down or bitten including the dogs!!!
I think the Tulsa fair grounds would be a great place for a dog
park. Has there been any discussion about this location?