Dogs on the Beach??? (Jacksonville, Miami: lease, HOA, neighborhood)

[Johnne Lee]

Are there other dog lovers on the Forum? If so, I'd like to know what your experiences are with taking your dog on any of the beaches in NEFL.

I'll tell you the truth, there are a couple of 'Pay-As-You-Go' Dog Parks in the Jax are that our dog (and We) just love. There are no such places in the Phoenix area.

Is there much breed-specific legislation there now? It was starting to get a bit weird the last time I checked a few years ago.

Thanks,

Johnne Lee

[riveree]

You can bring your dogs on the Jacksonville beaches during specific hours (the hours are posted at the ramps). All standard leash laws apply and you have to pick up after the dog. Be sure you have the dog's tags displayed on the collar - you can be ticketed if you can't display the tags.

My biggest pet peeve at the beach is loose dogs. My dogs are pit/pit mix and will easily fight if challenged, so I don't like strange dogs approaching them. Inevitably, someone at the beach will have their dog unleashed and of course they don't have the verbal control over their dog they thought they had . I'd take my dogs to the beach far more often if it wasn't for this.

BSL....

We have a statewide anti-BSL law in Florida with the one and only exception being Miami-Dade. They were able to grandfather-in their existing BSL so you cannot have a pit bull in Dade county.

In Jax, you're fine, there is no BSL here. Like anywhere in America though, that could change any day. Nothing is looming that I'm aware of though.

Here's something important to know though. If you move into an HOA neighborhood, and this could be potentially anywhere in Florida, make sure the HOA doesn't have their own dog breed restrictions. Most HOAs will have a restriction on the number of dogs you can have, and maybe a few other restrictions, but restricting breed is rare. We do have 1 HOA community that I know of that DOES have a breed restriction. Oakleaf Plantation in Clay county is reputed to have an HOA rule against owning a pit bull. Here's the kicker - you can't have a "purebred" pit bull, but you can have a pit bull mix and you can have a Cane Corso or a Presa Canario or any other fighting breed. It's madness, right?! It displays a pure ignorance of dogs, breeds, and canine DNA testing (that's how they determine the "pure" pit bull ). So.......watch for the craziness if you go the HOA route . Thankfully, this is the only development I've heard of that went this route in all of NorthEast Florida.

[mawipafl]

Originally Posted by Johnne Lee

I'll tell you the truth, there are a couple of 'Pay-As-You-Go' Dog Parks in the Jax are that our dog (and We) just love. There are no such places in the Phoenix area.

There are also quite a few free dog parks in NEFL that are nice for canines and humans. If you do a search on this Jax board, you'll find a number of threads which discuss dog parks.

[samlobo]

www.floridapets.net is a GREAT resource for each city in FL. There are litsings for all dog parks, dog-friendly restaurants, housing, etc. and reviews of each on there. There is an extensive listing of the dog parks in Jacksonville. Good luck.

[TiggnTaz]

I have taken my dogs to Mickler's beach in Ponta Vedra and to St. Augustine Beach.

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They seem to enjoy it and no one seemed to be bothered by them at all.

[Johnne Lee]

Hey Y'all,

I recall the BSL-mania in Miami-Dade. I lived in rural FL back then, and I had two, double registered AmStaff/APBTs. They were brothers, and great dogs by any standard/measure. They have passed and we now have a 6-month-old, female Miniatrue Schnauzer, but we plan to also have a large breed dog as well.

I'm glad to hear that NEFL is still dog friendly. Phoenix is not, but, of course, that is due mostly to the nit-wit dog owners who don't know, and won't learn, how to train and manage their animals.

I love APBTs, so we'll probably try to find a male pup from a responsible breeder. We are experienced, responsible dog folks. Our Mini Schnauzer will be taking her AKC Canine Good Citizen test in a couple of weeks, and she will pass with flying colors. She is 100% off-leashed responsive. She will be flying to France with us next spring.

We will check out the free dog parks, Our dog is used to using the outfield grass of a local park early in the morning as her personal off-leash dog park. Obviously, a tired dog is a good dog. A tired dog is a trainable dog. Not mention that the free-running keeps any potential neuroticism at bay.

We would both rather sleep in the street than live where there is an HOA or any CCRs/Deed Restrictions of any kind. We only plan to lease initially and may not buy in Jax proper at all. We have a "RedNeck Retirement Plantation" that we will move to a little further down the road. We wouldn't lease/rent anywhere that is not animal friendly.

After years of working with the human mind and personality I have a couple of very experienced theories regarding people who are not animal friendly. I don't want to insult anyone so I'll not post them here.

Thanks again to all who replied!!!

Johnne Lee

[Johnne Lee]

Originally Posted by riveree

My dogs are pit/pit mix and will easily fight if challenged, so I don't like strange dogs approaching them.

It's madness, right?! It displays a pure ignorance of dogs, breeds, and canine DNA testing

I knew there had to be something that made me like you!!!

I don't mind loose/strange dogs if the owner has voice command control over them. As you probably know that type of response is readily trainable. When either my Dear Wife or I say "Kellee, get busy." our Mini Schnauzer does her "business" within 5 minutes. She also eats or drinks on command (and will refuse food unless the provider is pre-approved).

Unfortunately, ignorance is rampant. Most dog owners don't have a clue. Nor do most any type of animal owner. I was raised on a ranch. We bred, raised and trained Blue Tick Hounds to point, tree, retrieve and recall to voice or whistle commands. Our Leo-line QHs were all "dead-broke and dog-gentle" as my GrandPa used to say.

I am always appalled by the vast number of totally unschooled dogs and horses. My BLM mare, and my Dear Wife's Appendix QH were far better schooled/responsive/behaved than most American adults.

I'd love to meet your Pits, R! If you have any breeder referrals we'd love to have them.

Thanks,

Johnne Lee

[riveree]

Originally Posted by Johnne Lee

Hey Y'all,

I recall the BSL-mania in Miami-Dade. I lived in rural FL back then, and I had two, double registered AmStaff/APBTs. They were brothers, and great dogs by any standard/measure. They have passed and we now have a 6-month-old, female Miniatrue Schnauzer, but we plan to also have a large breed dog as well.

I'm glad to hear that NEFL is still dog friendly. Phoenix is not, but, of course, that is due mostly to the nit-wit dog owners who don't know, and won't learn, how to train and manage their animals.

I love APBTs, so we'll probably try to find a male pup from a responsible breeder. We are experienced, responsible dog folks. Our Mini Schnauzer will be taking her AKC Canine Good Citizen test in a couple of weeks, and she will pass with flying colors. She is 100% off-leashed responsive. She will be flying to France with us next spring.

Johnne,

I just want to give a little more info to you regarding the above.

APBT breeders: Pits are very popular in Jax and you will find a slew of non-reputable breeders here, there are backyard breeders all over. This leads to a ton of homeless pits in Jax - we have a serious, serious problem at our local shelters:

//www.city-data.com/forum/jacks...ng-family.html

I hope you will at least consider adopting a pit from our local kill shelter. My 2 are literally off the street - people had abandoned them on the streets of Jax and I took them in. Street dogs and shelters dogs can be as healthy and sound as any breeder dog, sometimes even moreso. You'll be saving a life if you go the shelter route and you won't be promoting further breeding while shelter dogs die. Sorry for the guilt trip, but the canines can't speak for themselves .

Tell your schnauzer Good Luck on her CGC!

[somebodylookingtomove]

Dogs and the Jacksonville Beaches:

Just be sure to know where one beach ends and the other begins. For example, in Atlantic Beach, you can take a dog on any time as long as they are leashed. However, Neptune Beach (which begins pretty much where Atlantic Blvd ends) only permits dogs after 5pm. I have seen people get tickets for breaking this law - so watch out!! I'm pretty sure Jax Beach (next to Neptune) has the 5 o'clock rule, too.

The best rule of thumb is to go in the evening, bring a leash, and remember to scoop your poop!

[Johnne Lee]

Hi,

My Dear Wife and I really appreciate the feedback.

Hey R,

I understand about the Shelter dogs, and if I can find the right dog I wouldn't hesitate. In fact, my last AmStaff/APBT was a young shelter dog and I didn't find out about his back ground until after the fact. I would NEVER get a shelter or breed rescue dog in Arizona, however. The rescue groups/shelters will tell you any convenient lie in order to get a dog adopted. As I'm sure you are aware, in more cases than not that results in the dog being back in the shelter, or out in the street. I'll see what the shelters look like in Fl when we get back. I adopted my last guy, the Pit, in Florida.

Although, it is very kind to rescue shelter dogs, it does nothing to promote responsible breeding/training. If responsible breeds are not supported, and their considerable efforts at maintaining the breed are not recognized and rewarded they can become irresponsible breeds, and the breed - as well as individual dogs - suffer.

There is no easy answer. And there are many considerations.

Thanks,

Johnne Lee

To Somebody...

Thanks for the additional information. I'd better check the rules closely. I am a VERY early bird and I'll want to be on the beach long before sunrise on many mornings. My dogs are always leashed in public and I never leave a trail. (My military experience had mad me far too paranoid!)

Thanks again!!!