It may seem like a contradiction, but an off-leash dog park in Dartmouth Nova Scotia has installed signs telling people to stop their dogs from barking.
The signs read “Courtesy Matters: “If your dog barks it can disturb neighbours and other park users. Please do not use this area if you can’t control your dog’s barking.”
The off-leash beach was chosen severl years ago after public consultation, but now nearby residents say the barking is too much.
In response to complaints from nearby residents, city staff visited the park on 17 occasions last year to record video and take audio levels.
Quoted by Global News, Halifax Regional Municipality spokesperson Brendan Elliott says that the majority of the problems stemmed from dogs “barking to have a toy or a ball thrown back in the water, and that is something that the owner can control”.
Other dog owner visitors says it’s like telling a baby not to cry.
Officials say however since the signs went up in mid-January, there haven’t been any noise complaints so it appears to be working. However others say the problem will re-occur in summer when more dogs are brought to the park. At least one nearby resident disagrees saying the dogs can’t read, and owners ignore the signs.
Halifax is also considering moving the off-leash area to another section of Shubie Park. Dog owners say there really aren’t a lot of options in the city for off-leash play for the dogs, and that dogs at play are going to bark and if they bark, you’re going to hear it.
Quoted by CBC, Michelle Connolly, who visits the park several times a week with her dogs, said the idea of controlling a dog’s barking is “ridiculous.”
“It’s kind of hard to control what your dog barks at and when they bark. It depends on what they see,” she said.
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