Prevalence of Enteropathogens in Dogs Attending 3 Regional Dog Parks in Northern California

Hascall, K.L.; Kass, P.H.; Saksen, J.; Ahlmann, A.; Scorza, A.V.; Lappin, M.R.; Marks, S.L.

Three hundred dogs were enrolled in this cross-sectional study: one hundred dogs from each of 3 Northern California regional dog parks. The dog parks all had chain link fences, separate small and large dog sections, water spigots with water bowls, light tree cover, free public access, and benches. The 3 parks were approximately 1.5, 2, and 2.5 acres, respectively. One of the parks had artificial turf, whereas the other 2 had natural grass. The 2.5-acre park with grass would occasionally become flooded in the winter season due to poor drainage; however, fecal specimens were not collected from any of the parks during the winter season. The mean AE standard deviation (SD) age was 3.9 AE 3.2 years (range 3 months to 17 years) and differed significantly among dog park groups (P = .049). The mean AE SD ages of dogs attending each of the 3 dog parks were 3.5 AE 3.2 years, 3.5 AE 2.8 years, and 4.5 AE 3.5 years, respectively. The majority of dogs were mixed breed (54%). Forty-nine purebred dog breeds were represented, including Labradors ( , and there were no significant differences in dog breed distributions among the 3 dog parks. All other breeds present had a frequency of 5 or fewer dogs. There were 172 males (57%) and 128 females (43%), and the sex distribution did not differ significantly (P = .056) among parks.