The Dog Lover's Companion to Washington, DC-Baltimore [Paperback]

Don Oldenburg (Author), Ann Oldenburg (Author), Phil Frank (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1998

From urban to rural, historic to everyday, the capital offers more pooch-pleasing parks than anywhere else in the country. This guide includes daytrips to the Atlantic Coast beaches of Maryland and Delaware and popular spots in Virginia and West Virginia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing; 1st edition (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573540412
• ISBN-13: 978-1573540414
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,985,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No longer have to wonder where to take your pooches, January 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dog Lover's Companion to Washington, DC-Baltimore (Paperback)

I highly recommend this book to dog owners who love to take their little four-legged friend(s) everywhere. It is well organized and the writing style used is perfect for dog lovers.

It covers almost all the parks in the Washington D.C., Virginia and Baltimore. Have you ever looked up a park on a map and it looked huge and perfect for your dog, and when you got there, you and your dog were very disappointing with the park? Well, the review for each park is quite accurate. With this book on hand, you can look up a park and find out if it is suitable for your dog before driving there. It covers important information that a dog owner needs to know about the park/area - such as the poop scoop law and the leash law.

It also contains information (ie. hotel, restaurant, pet stores, etc...) that is very useful for dog owners who like to take their pooches on vacation with them.

Embedded into the book, you will find dog adoption information. The book encourages suggestions from readers. I've already written to the publisher suggesting to include information on various rescue organizations and local animal shelters - a way to help promote pet rescue/adoption.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful and informative guide to the local area., January 2, 1999

By 

Rob Waner ([e-mail]) (Howard County, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dog Lover's Companion to Washington, DC-Baltimore (Paperback)

A very helpful guide, pointing out places and events in the local area that would otherwise pass by unknown. I've found a few tiny errors in the placement of parks on their maps, but nothing major... All in all, a great book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully practical guide for dog owners, May 31, 2002

By 

emcentar "emcentar" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dog Lover's Companion to Washington, DC-Baltimore (Paperback)

I bought this book when it first came out for a friend of mine who was moving to Baltimore with her dog. Two years later, I borrowed it from her when I discovered I was moving to D.C. I found it enormously usefull for choosing a dog-friendly neighborhood with good access to parks. The authors understand the basic qualities of a good dog park: safety, space, a group of 'regular' neighborhood go-ers, and access to a good espresso bar for weekend dog walking. Overall, the writers do an excelent job.

I have only a few complaints. One - due to the impossibility of visiting every park in this populous region more than once, I've found that the park's ratings can heavily reflect the day and time of the visit -- not necessarily what the park is like on a typical weekday at 6pm. Also, some park ratings reflect a nice place to go with a small dog on a leash, you won't necessarily have the same experience with your massive Great Dane tugging at every new smell. The writers also disapprove of dogs being off-leash, and rate more lowly some parks that are true jems for those of us with larger dogs that require more exercise.

Overall, a great guide, and certainly unique. A must for all dog owners in this area, particularly if you moving to this region.