Master plans adding dog-friendly amenities

According to the 2013-2014 American Pet Products Association National Pet Owners Survey, there are an estimated 82.5 million pet-owning households in the United States. Of these, over 56 million are dog owners.

The popularity of the four-legged friends has real estate developers and contractors taking notice.

"I've been representing Nevada community associations for the last 10 years and I've noticed that many new communities are working dog parks or related facilities into their plans," Adam H. Clarkson of the Clarkson Law Group in Las Vegas said. "In fact, we're also seeing older communities trying to find ways to create dog parks."

According to Clarkson, dog parks are one of the fastest-growing amenities among master-planned communities.

"The dog owners know they have a designated place to take their dog for recreation, which is safe for the dog and less stressful for the owner," Clarkson said. "They are great for the association when dog owners have a designated place to play with their pet they are less likely to abuse leash and other restrictions in the other areas of the community."

Robert McGibney, president of KB Home Las Vegas Division, also has noticed an increased desire for dog parks in master-planned communities.

"Dog parks are definitely trending," McGibney said.

According to McGibney, KB Home was instrumental in working with the Inspirada community and the city of Henderson for a 1-acre dog park in Capriola Park.

"We survey our buyer and other buyers in the market to get a better understanding of new trends in not only home designs but community amenities," McGibney said. "We were surprised by the overwhelming feedback we got from the current residents and their desire to have a dog park in the community."

Inspirada has a second dog park in the newly opened Aventura Park. Rated as one of the top 50 master-planned communities by John Burns Real Estate Consulting, the Providence community in Las Vegas has two dog parks, Knickerbocker and Huckleberry. Each park has a separate area for large and smaller breeds.

"The planners here at Providence had some forethought in designing and laying out the community around these community parks," Providence Master Homeowners Association Community Manager Chris DeLong said, who estimates 70 percent of residents own pets. "It's nice to be able to walk your dog to the park with grass that you don't have to mow or water, where you can safely take it off a lease to run and play with other pets."

Both Providence parks construction stemmed from resident surveys. "Residents were asked to provide suggestions on the types of amenities they a second and larger dog park was built at Huckleberry."

The new development of Skye Canyon, that plans to have the first residents move in at the end of the year, intends to develop a dog park in a future phase of the development.

"It will be in phase 2 of the development, so about two years away from construction," Vice President of Development at Olympia Cos. Chris Armstrong said. Olympia Cos. is the developer of Skye Canyon.

The trend for master-planned community's building dog parks is not strictly limited to the Las Vegas Valley. Across the Southern United States, dog parks are a sought after amenity as residents have the ability to take their dog out almost year-round.

At Hampton Lake in Bluffton, S.C., residents and their furry friends can enjoy the Dog Paddle Park. This enclosed dog park has sand pits, earth mounds and a grass field where dogs can run to their heart's content. It also features a 6-foot fire hydrant with a handheld shower to cool pets off or wash their paws.

Western North Carolina's Headwaters community offers a landscaped dog park on over 1-acre of land featuring shade trees, boulders, a tunnel with rocks that form a bone shape, weave poles and picnic tables.

The private community dog park at Rarity Bay on Lake Tellico in East Tennessee was built to match American Kennel Club design standards for dog socialization and safety.