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How to enjoy the outdoors responsibly
Spending time outside with your dog is a great way to stretch your legs and appreciate your surroundings. Make sure you’re doing your part to keep the outdoors great for everyone with these tips for enjoying nature responsibly.
Follow the rules
Now that the weather is warming up, it’s the perfect time to explore the pet-friendly trails in your local state parks or metro parks. Make sure to double-check that dogs are allowed and read up on the rules for pets before you go. While we’d love to bring our dogs everywhere and let them explore, not respecting restrictions set by parks can negatively impact local wildlife and ecosystems. In addition to any park-specific rules, it’s a good idea to practice the National Parks Service’s B.A.R.K. policy:
Bag your pet’s waste
Always leash your pet
Respect wildlife
Know where you can go
Keep them on-leash
Unless you’re at a dog park or other spaces where it’s explicitly allowed, your dog should always be on a leash. This allows you to be mindful of your pup’s safety, other people, other dogs, and the environment. Keeping your dog on their leash means you always know what they’re up to, which prevents them from chasing wildlife or eating things they shouldn’t.
Pack it in, pack it out
An important part of enjoying nature is doing our best to leave things how we found them. This means making sure to properly dispose of all food, food waste (including shells and peels), and your pup’s poop.
While it’s easy to think of your dog’s poop as being similar to waste from wildlife, it can introduce harmful nutrients, bacteria, and pathogens to the environment. Leaving poop behind can disrupt local ecosystems and have detrimental effects on local waterways.
