Norwood Park Dog Park

The park itself is good. Not a fan of all gravel or concrete parks, but I understand that with the amount of traffic that it sees and the ratio of the size of the area that grass would be ground up really quickly.
My problem is with a couple in particular. It is an overweight human couple with a bobbed tailed white and black dog that is aggressive and picks fights with every dog I’ve seen there. They have been there 9 times out of the 10 times I’ve been there. Yelling at your dog from the bench is not going to reign in your dog.

My favorite dog park on the North Side! All sizes of dogs and very friendly. Owners have always been very kind and the regulars will remember your dogs name.
The park is a good size, gravel and concrete with trees. There is running water in the summer and benches.
The entrance is just past the kids playground

I love the set up of the newer park far better than the old one. One of my biggest complaints is the smokers. I have asthma, even though we are outside the cigarette smoke can be awful. These owners have absolutely no respect for others Isn’t it against the law to smoke in public places? I know it’s against the law at beaches. Maybe a call to the police or alderman is in order. A few «gangs or regulars“make sure others aren’t welcome. Then again there are a few others that bring aggressive dogs, don’t clean up after there dogs and LEAVE CIGARETTE BUTTS ALL OVER. Have seen little dogs munching on them. This park needs to post some clear words inside about closing all gates, no smoking, and cleaning up and not bringing their «combative dogs». Just wanted to put that out there. I want to enjoy this one benefit I have in the City of Chicago. One more point, why are non City residents allowed to come in? I know I certainly can’t go to suburban parks???

Nice people and nice dogs. Coming from New York, we’re accustomed to lots of small dogs at the local dog run, so when we arrived with our big guy and met lots of other big guys, it was a delight! Everyone was friendly and welcoming– really enjoyed it!

My husky enjoyed this dog park. We came here today around 3pm and the ground was still covered in snow. It is a little difficult to find if everything is covered in snow and it’s your first time in the area. It is behind the school. The best way to access the entrance is to walk from N Avondale Ave. There are three trash cans in front of it. There were plenty of poop bags, well organized too. I think the fountain water was frozen or too cold for the dogs to drink, so there were a ton of gallon water jugs/​cartons to pour into the bowl set up likely by the community. It’s a little loud when the train whizzes by, but still bearable. The park could have been bigger considering the giant baseball fields and school yards close by. I’m still wondering why they made it so small, especially in a neighborhood with lots of dog owners. Overall, this is great dog park less than 10 minutes from O’Hare.

This place was fine. Lots of dogs running around being dogs. Owners were friendly. One guy was giving dogs treats and owners candy canes. Fun.

Christine D is definitely right. I feel the exact same. There is a group of people there who think they run the show. It’s a dog park. Kind of ironic right. Dogs will be dogs.
Anyway, I prefer wilmettes dog beach. This place is too small for my dog. He becomes dominant as opposed to the behavior he exerts at the beach. He’s free to run around and plays with other dogs.

The park is a decent size. Very clean. The dogs are typically well behaved (dogs will be dogs) but I can’t say so much for the owners. There’s definitely a group that thinks they own the whole place. This place seems to attract bullies. Every time I go, and I go at least twice a week since the Portage dog park has been closed, I see one of the regulars harass another owner. Horrible.

I brought my dog here for the first time today and he was attacked, completely unprovoked, by a pit bull. I was appalled by how rude the dog’s owner was and by the fact that she did nothing to try and restrain her dog. Also, the overall atmosphere of this place isn’t one I’d recommend. Most of the people were nice, but they weren’t keeping very close tabs on their dogs. A few of the dogs were being kind of obnoxious (aggressively barking, humping, etc.), and none of the owners even attempted to correct the behavior. Then, when my dog was injured, they were all trying to manhandle him… one woman tried to give him treats without even asking me if she could (he has stomach issues and can’t have them), and several other people were chain-​smoking right there in the dog park (gross). It’s a shame because the dog park itself is decent and relatively well-​maintained. However, the community of people here isn’t one I would recommend brining your dog around. I will never go back here.

Oh so much nicer than the original! Bigger, different areas for the dogs and even shade! Love it!

Although I’ve never been to the original site, I can’t compare the two. But compared to the Portage Park Dog Friendly Area, there isn’t any. Norwood Park is twice the size of Portage Park DFA with room to expand. My dog Bruno actually has room to run! The Norwood Park Dog Association does a very good job of maintaining the area. Plenty of poop bags available. My only complaint is the use of gravel instead of sand.

On the whole, this place is hit or miss. My assumption, though, is that most dog parks are.
Be aware that the location recently moved down to on Avondale, just past Thorndale. The new location is about the same size, but has trees for shade in the summer (yay!) and some gravel, and a few nice new benches for the people (and ocasionally dogs who I assume must be allowed up on furniture at home).
The good: lots of space for your dog to run and be a dog! I think it’s a pretty decent size. The bag dispenser is always stuffed, and I try to contribute when I go (Lord knows those bitches are only taking up space in my kitchen cabinet). Bowls for water, and tens of tennis balls, plus a few rope toys. Brooms for sweeping out pee puddles. In the summer, there are even little kiddie pools filled with water for your dog to take a dip in. This place is generally pretty clean and the regulars here are wonderful. They’ll remember your dog if you come often enough and are helpful and understanding if it’s your puppy’s first time ever at a dog park (thank you thank you thank you, amazing guy who had the courage to approach my very nervous Rottweiler-​Doberman mix and show him everything was cool).
The bad: Like any dog park, you’re going to have good people and good dogs, bad people and dogs who may not have the best manners (because no dog is really a BAD dog, just an untrained one). A piece of advice: Know your dog, and know when your dog is having an unhealthy interaction with another dog. Use these interactions with other dogs to teach your dog the proper way to interact and behave. No one here will fault you for having a dog who may not have the best manners, as long as you are using those opportunities to correct your dog’s behavior and teach them how to interact correctly.
Overall, this is a great place to meet some great people (and dogs) who share your interest, while getting Fido (or Kujo, in my case) some exercise.

I had never been to a dog park before. I provide pet care and exercise to dogs, so I thought I should at least try it. I took a client’s very large active and dominant dog, so I took great precaution to ensure he befriended dogs in a calm, disarming way. We went in the morning because I assumed (correctly) it was pretty empty. The other dog owners were quite responsible and friendly and their dogs, though large, active and dominant, got along with my dog well (after careful introductions). There was a large Christmas tree cutout on the fence, so I took a few pictures of the dog in front of the tree. There were a few balls and toys lying around, so we had a good time playing fetch. There was a bulletin board promoting camaraderie among dog owners, and the rules are clearly posted at the entrance of and around the park. I will definitely bring dogs there again, but I will be very careful; one of the dog owners in the park told me a small dog had been killed by a pit bull when the park first opened.

Oh, this place. It is a nice dog park. It is new and for the most part the people are nice. The problem with this dog park is a certain group of people that think that they own it. If they do not like something that is happening, they make sure that they voice their opinion, however, when people of their «group» does moronic stuff, like bring in dog treats to give to dogs and cause uneeded agression, then it is okay. I just had an incident tonight with a man with a Doberman that was being agressive to my golden retriever. When I asked the gentleman if his dog was mean, he started screaming at me and then proceeded to start yelling that my dog was agressive over and over again. There have been two dog attacks in the past month from my understanding, where one dog actually died. There is no running water. The rocks that they have placed on the outer parts of the concrete make it hard to find where your dog went to the bathroom. More than half of the dogs do not have tags on. It seems that the people in the evening are more agressive than during the morning hours. I think that I won’t be back, which is a shame because it is close to my house, but I just don’t want to deal with the «bully» mentality any longer.

It’s a bit small, but it’s all we have. I don’t feel the dogs of the NW side got a fair deal. Just because there are more yards doesn’t mean that there is not a need for a dog friendly area.
I happen to love it. It’s close to home and allows my dogs get out and socialize. Same for the humans. I love getting together with other people with the same interest.
All in all, the association that keeps the park tidy and organized has done a wonderful job, and it’s just a nice place to go.
Sure, there may be disagreements between a dog every now and then, but juuuust like kids, it’s mostly noise and it blows over.
What I am disappointed about is the restrictions implemented because of a few disgruntled neighborhood people. 9 a.m. — 7:30 p.m. is a bad deal for those of us that would like to let the dogs play before work or in the evening. I guess we just have to go back to tennis courts for those no-​approved hours. The dogs really don’t make that much noise, especially compared to the kids that use the park, planes and trains that go by. As far as traffic, I notice that more people walk to the park, not drive, so parking on the park (not residential) side of the street is pretty ample.
I’m going to keep on going to the park with my big, bad dogs and will continue to enjoy the company of my fellow dog lovers.

*Sigh* I hate to do this, but it has to be done. I’ve got a bone to pick. When it comes to dog parks, Norwood Park definitely got the short end of the stick. This «dog park» was clearly an afterthought and I’m relatively sure the enclosed area used to be a tennis court or some other type of recreational surface before it was given to the dogs. In fact, the only thing even remotely accommodating toward the pooches is the drinking fountain. There is a little bowl at the base of it. OK, and the «emergency» doggy bags. That’s it.
The space is big enough to host at a couple dozen dogs, but there is very little shade and absolutely no grass. The outer edge of the enclosed park has trees lining the side near the drinking fountain, but the rest of it is at the mercy of the summer sun. I’ve never seen my dog or my friend’s dog drink as much as the day we came here. We stayed maybe an hour or so, which is way less than we typically spend (2 – 3 hours at other parks). Was it because it was too hot? Not completely. It was also because there are absolutely no seats for owners.
Will I be back? Perhaps. It’s very close to my friend’s place and if I move closer to the area it would be convenient in location (that’s about it) for me. However, I think you’d be better off taking a trek to the suburbs for some greenery, space, and overall break from all the city concrete.