Free-running pets can pose problems at dog parks
Tela, Guinness and Malakai are taking fewer walks and avoiding the park these days.
The dog park, that is.
Mike Fischer lives in Lake in the Hills with his wife, Eileen, and 18-month-old daughter, Lillian. His three dogs – two Labs and a St. Bernard-American bulldog mix – have the run of the backyard, which is enclosed by a 6-foot-tall fence.
Fischer said he has become wary of taking his dogs for walks in his neighborhood.
“Some people in the neighborhood have dogs that aren’t on a leash,” he said.
“We’ll be walking with my daughter in a stroller with three dogs with us. All of a sudden a dog off his leash comes running up and starts sniffing Lilly. My dogs don’t like that.”
If everyone kept their dogs on a leash, problems would be avoided, Fischer added.
“A random, strange dog starts coming up to your dog, all of a sudden there’s a problem,” he said. “Unless a dog has 100 percent recall, they have to be kept on a leash.
Some Question Legoland's Offerings for Younger Children
Legoland Florida officials regularly emphasize that age range as their target audience. Since the park opened Oct. 15, though, some parents have questioned how much Legoland has to offer for children on the lower end of the 2-through-12 scale.
Amy Foltz of Winter Haven has been to Legoland twice with her son, Logan, 5½, and her daughter, Mya, who turned 2 on Wednesday. Foltz said she was disappointed that the park's height requirements limited Mya to two rides and Logan to a handful of rides without a taller escort.
Foltz said she and her husband, Todd, would not have bought discounted annual passes last year if they'd known about the height guidelines. (Mya and all children younger than 3 are admitted free.)
"If you have older kids it's OK, but what upsets me is Legoland has been promoting itself all along as catering to kids 2 to 12," Foltz said. "I think it's kind of false advertising to say, ‘We cater to kids 2 to 12.' "
Legoland Florida recently produced a flier for parents titled, "What To Do When You're Two!