My dog definitely prefers to go off leash whenever possible. We used to love going to dog parks and running around, meeting new friends... but there are so many people who see the parks as a place their pets who have either not been trained properly or who have been poorly socialized or who are just bullies to blow off steam and it makes the dog parks a much less fun place. I think that every time we have gone to a dog park there has been at least one pet there who is ruining it for everyone, and it only takes one naughty dog to send the whole group into a tailspin.

So I am going to have to say that we much prefer long hikes with a few good friends, both of the human and canine variety. The dog loves it because she gets to see new exciting things (we had a recent experience with a deer that astounded me. They went and got within about 6 feet of each other!) and she gets to run around a little bit in the great wide open.

We also do a lot of doggie play dates at various peoples' houses where they can run around in groups or if we are going to be gone for most of the day, we leave the dog at a group day care facility where they spend the day playing and swimming.

Bottom line: if we can do it off leash and in a group we love it. boring walks in the neighborhood as a last resort.

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