There are lots of great things to do with your pet in Darwin.

Some favourite dog friendly areas include:

• Casuarina Coastal Reserve – a beautiful beach with a large section where your dog can run off leash (check signs for on and off leash areas).
• George Brown Botanic Gardens – Explore these lovely gardens with your dog(dogs are allowed off leash but are not allowed in the children’s playground).
• Holmes Jungle Nature Park – take a walk in a monsoon forest with your dog.
• There are also designated dog parks at Marlow Lagoon, Lakeside drive, and Muirhead.

Before your take your pet out and about, it is important to ensure that they are up to date with their vaccinations (in Darwin we recommend the C5 vaccination, and also vaccination for a disease called Leptospirosis Australis), worming, and flea and tick control. With our tropical climate we see more infectious diseases and parasites than in most other part of Australia.

Speak to a vet about the best parasite control products for your dog, some products are much more effective than others. In Darwin we see lots of brown dog ticks which can transmit potentially deadly diseases such as Ehrlichiosis. Ehrlichiosis has recently been confirmed in numerous dogs in the NT, check your dog carefully for ticks and use effective tick control products.

Allowing your pet to run off leash and socialise with other dogs is great exercise, and can be great fun for your dog. However,if you let your dog off the leash they must be under your control and watched at all times.

Unfortunately, dog fights can occur if we’re not careful. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if dogs are getting along or not, even if you think your dog is being friendly, he may be ignoring another dog’s social cues and scaring them.

• Don’t allow your dog to run full speed at another dog, watch how the other dog responds to your dog and look for signs of fear and anxiety in them.
• Don’t let your dog steal other dog’s toys!
• Don’t let your dog be pushy towards a dog that is clearly not enjoying the interaction.
• Don’t ignore your dog, watch for the early signs that your dog is being rude, or is scared, and remove them before a fight breaks out.