Rent a private dog park in Illinois

Sniffspot's founder, David Adams, lives with a leash reactive dog and a dog selective dog. Back in 2016, he and his wife Rebecca were struggling to meet their pup Toshii's basic needs in a city environment as there was nowhere safe to let their guards down. In passing, Rebecca texted that she wished “there was an app to find places to let him off leash” — and the rest, as they say, is history.

David is heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of Sniffspot. His personal experiences have made him passionate about giving all dogs the opportunity to sniff, run, and play without fear! As long as we share a place on Earth, Sniffspot believes that dogs have an inherent right to live a fulfilling, joyful, and rewarding life just like we do.

The short answer: All dogs!

Because they're private spaces without the chaos of many public city parks, Sniffspots are especially well suited to dogs who are nervous, in training, or working through reactivity. But every pet can benefit from time with just their owners in an environment all to themselves.

Here are a few things guests commonly use Sniffspots for:

• Working on training skills, like recall, in an environment with moderate distractions (a good middle step between your own home and busier areas out in public)
• Having playdates with one or two trusted dogs, either just for fun or to help build healthy social skills
• Being able to run around in a securely fenced space especially if owners don't have a yard of their own
• Safely exposing dogs to new environments, which is a key part of proper socialization — many Sniffspots offer varying terrain like water features plus a range of objects like agility equipment that can help your pup get comfortable in more situations
• Changing up regular walking and play routines to provide more variety and fulfillment — taking the same route or playing in the same park every day in a row can get boring for our pets!

It's important for most modern dogs to have off leash exercise where they're able to engage in natural behaviors like sniffing and running. Since letting dogs off leash in city parks can be dangerous for the surrounding community and wildlife — not to mention can lead to issues with animal control or park authority departments — public dog parks are a legal way to let dogs have off leash exercise.

Unfortunately, the free and open nature of public dog parks has drawbacks. There might be unsocialized dogs displaying aggressive behavior, sick pets leading to disease transmission, or left-behind waste and other sanitation issues (since any given public dog park facility may not be cleaned regularly). All this aside, other dog owners are often inattentive of their dogs — particularly in popular parks specifically designed for pets to run off leash. Some people think of these areas like babysitters for their dogs and don't stay engaged in their pets' behavior.

For these reasons, many dog behaviorists discourage visiting public dog parks and recommend Sniffspot's private dog parks instead. Sniffspot private dog parks only allow one guest to book at a time. They are not open to the public — a reservation is required ahead of time, with both guests and hosts agreeing to certain protocols to ensure there aren't any unexpected surprises in the space — which solves many of these issues.

Dogs enjoy Sniffspot dog parks for all kinds of different reasons — spanning from physical exercise to behavior modification training to agility or other dog sports practice and more. Whatever your primary goals, there is a Sniffspot dog park for you!

There are many different types of private dog parks available. Sniffspot hosts offer locations like designated training yards; expansive fields; large, fully-fenced off-leash dog parks; indoor facilities with lights and other amenities; dog sports courses complete with agility equipment; pools and natural water features; and more. Some even have niche amenities, such as a park splash pad and dog-friendly potable water fountains.

You can filter Sniffspot dog parks by size, fencing, and distractions that might be present via our dog park locator. If your dog doesn't have a good recall, you can visit one of our fully fenced dog parks. If your dog is reactive to other dogs, you can visit one of our off-leash areas where there are no dogs audible or visible nearby. You can also filter locations to avoid other domestic animals and people! Each listing includes the park hours of operation — and by reading reviews you can understand the status of condition, for example, if a section of the fence is in poor condition or there are any park maintenance issues.

While public dog parks have a number of safety issues, such as aggressive dogs, disease transmission, and general cleanliness (often as much an issue with the person in charge as with their dog) Sniffspot dog parks are much safer environments to let your dog express their natural behaviors.

All Sniffspot bookings are private with a time buffer in between

With Sniffspot, all bookings are private — the only park users at a given time are the dog owners who signed up and dogs they bring with them in their own group. Any host dogs are required to be kept away from the spot during visits.

We also enforce buffers between bookings to ensure you aren't arriving or leaving at the same time another park user is present.

Sniffspot requires visiting dogs to have vaccinations

We require all dogs to be vaccinated or have equivalent titers.

Sniffspot listings are vetted and reviewed by guests like you

Perhaps most helpful to know exactly what you're getting into: Sniffspot dog park locations are vetted and reviewed by guests, so you can find the perfect place for you and your dog — whether they have behavioral struggles, special needs, or any other specific considerations. 93% of reviews on Sniffspot visits are 5 stars and many spots have been reviewed hundreds of times.

Hosts are able to inventory their dog parks firsthand

Hosts are in charge of keeping their park areas clean, and many go out of their way to provide visitors with exceptional experiences. Because each host can control the number of guests that visit in a given time period, they're able to maintain their spaces better than many public parks departments can. It's a win-win for everyone in the community!

The Sniffspot app makes it super easy to book time at private dog parks near you. You can create a completely free account by clicking this link! We're constantly updating our iOS and Android app experiences along with our website to provide a seamless user experience.

You can browse all of our Sniffspots here using our dog park locator. You can easily view information about the spots, including open times, park entrance details, and current conditions.

Each host sets their own price, so you can check the cost per hour on the specific Sniffspot dog park listing. Most are between $5 - $15 per dog per hour.

Prices vary based on size, fencing and amenities, such as water or drinking fountains for dogs, park benches, WiFi accessibility, and so on.

Vaccinations are required

We require that all dogs have basic vaccinations or equivalent titers. We require rabies vaccination, the equivalent of current rabies tags.

Dogs should not display aggressive behavior

We do not allow dogs with a bite history.

There are sometimes limits on number of dogs per booking

We do not have limits for dogs per owner or dogs per adult handler, though some individual park hosts set person per visit limits.

Supervision is always required

Adult supervision is required at all times.

Clean up after your pets

Dog owners are responsible for picking up pet waste to keep park areas clean (many Sniffspot private dog parks provide pet waste stations).

You must sign a waiver and agree to our policies

We require that guests sign our waiver and agree to follow park rules and policies before visiting park sites.

You can learn more about how you can earn up to $3,000 per month sharing your land here. It is just as lucrative as dog boarding or other dog services — with less work for you! Park planning can be as simple as opening up your existing yard.