A few places have gone to the dogs

Hobbes, of course, is a dog - a burly, very friendly mastiff mix with a brindled coat. A recent adoption from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, he needs his share of training and socializing. He doesn't always come when called (not yet, anyway). Where should he go when he needs to burn some 1-year-old energy?

Dog owners know only too well that their best friends are not always welcome in public spaces. West Newbury is reconsidering its decision to allow dogs off-leash at the Mill Pond Recreation Area, and residents of Manchester-by-the-Sea have been at odds over the winter time use of Singing Beach by dogs and their owners. Then there was the recent case of the Newburyport farm owner who shot an unleashed German shepherd mix that got into his chicken coop.

Still, local dog owners have abundant resources, provided they know how to sniff them out. From Saugus to Portsmouth, N.H., Rovers of all shapes and sizes have plenty of open space at their, uh, disposal, as long as their owners bring the doggie bags.

Hardest to come by are fenced dog runs, where canines can exercise off-leash without intruding on non-dog people and, importantly for some puppies, can learn how to behave in the presence of other dogs. While big cities often have community dog parks - the Joe Wex Dog Recreation Space in Boston's South End, for example, is a real treat for pets and owners alike - people living in the suburbs and smaller, more residential cities sometimes feel hemmed in by their daily walks around the block.

A recent addition to Saugus' Breakheart Reservation, with its wooded trails just off Route 1, is the Bark Place, a fenced "barking lot" in a sunny grove between rows of towering hemlocks along the edge of the Cedar Glen Golf Course. The dog run has benches and plenty of balls and chew toys, as well as a relief station, of sorts - an actual fire hydrant.

In Salem, the somewhat hard-to-find Leslie's Retreat is a good-sized, double-gated dog park tucked by the railroad tracks off Route 114, just before the overpass on the North River. On a recent weekday, several mixed breeds romped together while one chocolate Labrador named Shelby played alone at the far end of the park, endlessly chasing a tennis ball.

The sandy dog park at South Mill Pond in Portsmouth, N.H., draws visitors from a wide area. Retired Army Major Chuck Constance of Dover Point brings his two pooches - Jesse, a chunky "Lab and everything" mix, and Charlie, a tall standard poodle - at least a few times a week. The park can get crowded on weekends, says their owner, so he goes during the week.

Elaine Lacourse operates a Salisbury-based dog-walking service called Anytime, Anywhere. She takes Dylan, her whippet, and a regular play group that includes a yellow Lab, a golden retriever, a Boston terrier, and a tiny silky terrier puppy named Putter to several sites, including West Newbury's Mill Pond, Amesbury's bucolic Woodsom Farm, Old Town Hill in Newbury, and the Salisbury Beach State Reservation.

The Merrimack River side of Salisbury Beach is one of the few waterfront areas that allows dogs year-round. Water-loving dogs are welcome to frolic alongside the fishermen, "as long as your dog isn't affected by wanting to eat bait," said Lacourse, with a laugh.

For many dog owners, their local getaways are hidden gems that they'd just as soon keep that way - hidden.

"We don't want anybody to know about this place," said Lynn resident Delores Ragucci, only half-joking, as she stood in the parking lot at the Pennybrook Road entrance to Lynn Woods Reservation with her stately, droopy-eyed, 100-pound Bernese mountain dog, Jesse.

At 2,200 acres, Lynn Woods is enormous. As a result, say residents, visitors often let their dogs roam deep inside the park, despite posted notices requiring leashes.

"It's wild in there," said Ragucci, noting that she and Jesse recently came face to face with a stray coyote.

But their long walks together are as beneficial to the owner as they are to the dog. Because if your dog is fat, as the saying goes, you aren't getting enough exercise.

Correction: Because of incorrect information collected from websites, information accompanying a July 27 article about popular dog-walking spots listed Woodsom Farm in Amesbury as "dogs allowed off leash." Amesbury has a townwide leash law.