Wiggly Field

I don’t usually leave Unilocal reviews, but for the safety of my pup and other pups I felt it was necessary. Let me start by saying I love going to this park. It has a convenient location, is well maintained, and is just a great space for the dogs to run around. I’ve met some great people through this park and my dog has always had a great time, until today. I have to agree with previous posters about the temperament issues of some dogs. I understand that some dogs are more rough and tumble and my pup can definitely be that way. With that being said, I have a lot of issues with owners who are passive when their dogs being overly aggressive towards other dogs. My lab mix was attacked today by a small, gray pit bull when she got too close to a toy the dog was playing with. My pup was squealing and Unilocaling and it was just about the worst thing I had ever heard. Luckily the owner pulled his dog off in time as I was running over and my dog escaped relatively unscathed, just EXTREMELY shaken up. She was trembling and ran over to the gate so we left immediately. As we were leaving the owner of the pit bull asked if my dog was okay and left the park as well. I didn’t get much of an apology either. I appreciate that he removed his dog, but I am incredibly frustrated that some owners come to this park and let their poorly socialized dogs run off leash and they then end up attacking other dogs. Like I said, this was not an isolated incident but this was by far the scariest one. I want to add that I have no preconceived notions about any breeds but I firmly believe in making absolutely sure your dog is properly socialized and can behave for the safety of the other dogs. I don’t know that we will be coming back here as regularly as before and it’s too bad because it is such a great dog park.

Great community at the Dog Park, fun place for my dog.
See a video I did in Wiggly Park.

I’m a new dog papa in the Lakeview area. I have a border collie, and she to say that she has a LOT of energy would be an understatement. Naturally, I am extremely happy that this park is a 10 – 15 minute walk from my place. Wanda (my baby) can run freely with the big dogs. They usually have kiddie pools set up and she really loves splashing around. Wanda isn’t that big — maybe 50 pounds — but she likes to play as though she’s 200. She will freely wrestle with Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Great Danes, and other dogs much larger than she is. The thing is — they love it.
My one and only gripe is that sometimes other owners that will freak out when Wanda (or any other larger dog) plays with their tiny purse-​sized dog. I would like to say — dogs play rough! They wrestle and bite each other’s scruff. I know it is a public park but maybe you shouldn’t bring your tiny dog there if you know the big dogs play and the big dogs play rough.
At the end of the day though — it’s a small, cozy park and the dogs seem to love it. They run, play, have fun and most owners are very nice and understand how dogs play.

I rescued a 10 month old hound mix over Memorial Day weekend, and I wanted to find a dog park to take him to, so I began to look up some of the area locations. Like most people reading Unilocal reviews I found myself skipping the good ones and concentrating on the bad ones. As a result, I was hesitant to bring my dog to Wiggley Field, but I did bring him, and I have brought him on the weekends throughout the summer. Apparently the people giving this place very poor reviews fall into two agendas: a bias against Lincoln Park, and owners of tiny dogs who feel facilities should be geared towards their particular dogs. One reviewer wrote a lengthy tirade on how «pretentious» the park is based on its location. She will only take her dog to Wicker Park (let’s be honest here, if you look up «pretentious» in the dictionary you’ll find a picture of Wicker Park). Another identified her toy breed then proceeded to dismiss the other dogs in the park as «mongrels.»
My experience over this summer has been that the park is very clean and well maintained. Owners are generally friendly and clean up after their dogs. The two pools have a hose with running water, and owners regularly pitch in to dump them out and refill them (although I still chase my dog away if he tries to drink from them). It’s not a large space, but even when busy the dogs have plenty of room to run, socialize or find a spot for themselves. As soon as my dog realizes we’re heading in that direction (or even hears an el train) he drags me all the way there. He enjoys himself thoroughly every time we go, and he’s exhausted by the time we leave. There have been a few instances of dogs that get aggressive, but I have found the owners are quick to step in and correct the behavior. I live in East Lakeview, and I wish that there was a similar park closer to home that would be more convenient to take my dog to after work.
Overall, it’s a nice, clean, friendly little dog park in a pleasant location. All the dogs seem to be having a great time when I’ve been there. Take my advice… ignore the bad reviews.

Glad I took my Raggle here because she had a blast. There were a decent mix of sizes and breeds of 6 dogs, my girl being right in the middle so I felt less nervous letting her off the leash. She doesn’t have a perfect recall but I had no trouble catching her attention as she raced around the park. There were instances I got concerned of rough play because her tail was down when she was being chased but the other owners were mindful to distract the group before it got out of control. A few benches and stone tables and chairs offered a place for two leggers to sit. Be prepared to get jumped on if you have treats out and no excuses for letting your pup be a pavement pooper. The park was clean and well maintained. The owners were polite, friendly without appearing clique-​ish.

When you become a dog owner it doesn’t take long for you to realize that some dog owners are clinically insane. Well… I ran into one of those owners at Wiggly Field the other day. She was the self proclaimed «Chicago Doodle Lady» and her dog looked like it was waiting for the first chance it got to make a break for it.
My point for mentioning this is that crazy or bad owners are unavoidable at dog parks and a lot of the negative feedback this place gets is due to those people. That shouldn’t reflect this park itself cause it’s really a good one.
It’s spacious, has both concrete and mulch surfaces, and at any given time there’s always at least 10 or so dogs to socialize with. There’s free doo doo bags and even a special timeout area if your pup gets a little too riled up.
The only thing I don’t love about it is the fact that it’s right underneath a train so every couple of minutes you can’t hear a thing over the track noise. Other than that though this place is a great spot to let your pup play for a few hours.

I don’t know what it is about this dog park, but my dog adores it. We first discovered it when it was shellacked by several inches of winter ice, but it seems like it will be just as lovely in the summer.
And whether it’s something in the air, or just the kind of dogs this neighborhood attracts, this park seems to put our dog on her most energetic, most social behavior. That means I love coming here too.
(N.B. the trains run right by the park and are kinda loud. This freaks some dogs out, though not ours.)

My dog Fiona loves coming to this doggy park! We live in a apartment so I try to take her here a few times a week to get her exercise. It is a nice size so she can run around and get all of her energy out. Everyone here is super friendly as well so I always have a great time coming here.

Located under the El, I thought this park would be unpleasant. Not so, it was great! My dog did the full sniff and wary checking out for a good 20 minutes as he got his bearings. And then he settled in.
The nice thing is that there ended up being enough dogs there that he found a nice bunch of dogs to play with, so then he relaxed. The other owners were nice, not super chatty but still quite friendly.
The surface is rubberized with pea-​gravel around the trees. That made it nice and clean. For once I did not have to give my dog a whole sponge bath when we got home from the park (it’s been wet lately).
The park is smallish but spacious enough because it is divided into different spaces. Even with a good 20 – 25 dogs, there was no crowding.
I recommend this highly, and so does my dog!

Had bad experiences with aggressive dogs before at this park, but today my dog was attacked by a pit bull out of nowhere. Totally unprovoked. The park seems to attract people with aggressive pets that need to get out of the house. My dog was happy one minute, fighting for her life the next. Bleeding and shaken. Owner didn’t even apologize just calmly left the park like it has happened before. Beware of aggressive dogs.

Yeesh! I’m really surprised to read some of these less than savory appraisals of one of my favorite Chicago dog parks! We live all the way in Hyde Park but trek to Wiggly Field pretty regularly, maybe once a weekend, to bring our Berner out to play for an hour or so. It’s worth it to us.
Every time we’ve ever been, every owner has been attentive to their dog. Of course, like all dog parks, many pooches don’t quite have their recalls down pat, and occasionally an owner will bring toys for their somewhat possessive dog to play/​taunt other dogs with, but for the most part, this park has a lot that other Chicago dog parks lack.
The poop bag dispensers are well-​placed and always full, there’s a nice «watering hole» towards the front gate where pups can sip and/​or splash around, and there’s a decent amount of seating for owners to sit and chat. People that tend to gravitate to the park are also usually friendly and the park is surrounded by a pretty nice slice of Lincoln Park with nearby patio restaurants, abundant street parking, and larger parks for family picnic lunches. There’s really not a better location for a pooch park in this area, at least to my eyes.
I’d suggest that anyone who has managed to have less than an ideal time at Wiggly try a return engagement before the Deep Freeze returns and see if maybe they weren’t just victims of a rare experience. Regardless, we’ll keep treating Lily to one of her favorite Chicago spots!

I haven’t been to any other dog parks before, but I’d say this one has everything your furry friend needs to have a good time in the city. It’s pretty spacious for a fast zoom from end to end. The dogs who come, and their owners, are very friendly and respectful. There is water, poop bags, and garbage cans available, but despite everyone’s best efforts, there are sometimes poopoos on the ground where owners perhaps didn’t notice. A nuisance about this place is that it’s right underneath the El tracks, and with the red line coming very often, it can be quite noisy.

My dogs and I have had nothing but good experiences at Wiggly Field. The trees provide ample shade and there are benches for owners to relax on. It would be nice if there was some grass for the dogs to run around on.
There are complimentary waste bags, so owners don’t fret if your pup makes a deposit, you can clean it right up. The doggy pool is another plus and though my dogs don’t play in it it’s fun to see others enjoy it.

Never had issues with this park, however, it’s pretty small considering the amount of dogs that come. My 20lb beagle is initially shy and scared of bigger dogs so it’s much like he’s trapped with no where to go. There’s boards that section off areas with trees, however, I saw a large dog run so fast over one of the boards and hurt his leg.
Poop bags conveniently placed throughout the park. There’s a small pool and water bowls. There’s also a time out area if you want your dog to run around alone. Some places to sit for owners as well.

I used to go to this park a lot until I found Puptown.
Some of the owners here do not pay attention to their pets. I understand that the dog park can also be a place for pup parents to socialize, but it’s also important to supervise your dog.
My little girl generally leaves this place with scratches and bites… with some resulting in some pretty nasty looking scars. I am by no means a fru-​fru, overly sensitive owner. My pup generally romps around and wrestles with other dogs. It just seems that some of the dogs that come here have some temperament issues so we stopped visiting.
Putting aside my negative experiences, the overall park is great. There is lots of room for running and has to be one of the biggest fenced dog parks I’ve seen in the city. There is lots of shade for the hot summer days and there is usually a kiddie-​pool for the dogs to cool off in. The owners are really great about dumping and replacing the water if it gets too dirty or their pet has used the restroom in it.
Proceed with caution (as you should with any dog park)!

It’s pretty smelly and gross. I have tried a few times to bring my small dogs here and they hate it. They may be a bit snobby but it is mostly really big dogs. I so wish they had more natural (i.e. unpaved) spots and maybe it was parceled off… half for big dogs, half for small. I’m nervous as I know some big dogs have gotten a bit too aggressive with small pooches. If they re-​did park, I wouldn’t mind paying a small fee to enter if I was assured my dogs would be safe. Overall, I don’t recommend if you have a small dog and certainly do not bring a puppy here.

As a new puppy parent, I love bringing my Maggie to Wiggly Field. Not only does she get to socialize, but so do I! Maggie takes her time warming up to other dogs and is sometimes scared. Other dog parents have offered helpful tips and encouragement which I really appreciate. This has been a great place to meet up with my friends and their dogs.
The only concerns I have about Wiggly is the 1) occasional irresponsible dog parent who doesn’t pay attention and control their dog and 2) the parasites that puppies can pick up from drinking the water there.
Poor Maggie got Giardia, a parasite, which is not dangerous to healthy adult dogs, but dangerous for puppies and older dogs. She has been quarantined while on meds. I think I’m going to start bringing water for her as I have seen other dog owners do.
Overall, I like the park and will be back with Maggie.

First time taking my pup to a dog park was Wiggly Field and we both had a great time! It’s probably one of the best in the city proper that I have seen as it is truly catered to dogs and not just a fenced in lot. This park truly had thought put into the construction and design. Plenty of trees, kiddie pools, room to run, and they have 3 separate areas for dogs: time out area (which I thought was hilarious), a dog training area, and the play area.
Of course like any dog park, there will be mishaps due to irresponsible owners but I won’t let that affect my rating as it is not a reflection of the park itself. It doesn’t take long to identify which dogs belong to whom and which dogs to stay away from. I don’t mind a mishap as long as the owner is being attentive, but there have definitely been a couple times my puppy has been freaked out by overbearing dogs. I have never seen my puppy growl or be aggressive in the entire time I’ve had him until this one dog was just going crazy and going after him while the owner had no idea what was going on. The point is to socialize not traumatize! Outside of the couple instances, my puppy has had some great times and made some great friends and is always exhausted by the end of his time there and that’s all that matters to me.
Lastly, if you are a parent with a child, it might be a good idea to train the kid on how to behave in a dog park (for his/​her own safety). Not every dog is friendly and most parents are always quick to blame the dog when it’s the child that should have known better.

Ifi took my dog to Wiggly for the first time recently. It was packed with dogs which was great. Most were big dogs which is to be expected. I have a small dog (13 pounds) who isn’t afraid of big dogs and likes to play with them. We were there for less than 10 minutes when a big dog decided my dog was a chew toy. The owner kept holding the dog back but this dog would not leave my dog alone! I picked my dog up and went to another area of Wiggly to sit only to be followed by this other dog who found two other dogs to torture. Finally the owner got a hint that her dog sucked and left the park.
After that, my dog had a great time with the other dogs and the people. Most people watched their dogs carefully. It was relatively clean with water and bags. Parking was annoying and the el noise was annoying. Nevertheless, we will definitely be back.

It was Maxwell’s (friend Jeff’s gray Weimaraner) first time there. Maxwell would give it two paws up. I’m not a dog care giver but I enjoy playing with dogs.
Normally, Maxwell goes to Pup Town, but needed new sights and new butts to sniff and play with.
The park is not level which is great since it tired Maxwell out faster. The wading pools were great. The park is nicely laid out.
As side from the asphalt surface, there are area with wood chips under the trees for the dogs to rest on. Sure the noise from the El train can be annoying but what noise can’t be?
So let Cujo or Fifi enjoy themselves at Wiggly Field.