USS Bullhead Dog Park

As the human mother of a neurotic herding dog, I have traversed the area for adequate dog park territory. The bottom line is that Bullhead is fine but not great.There are two areas, both located behind one of the baseball fields - one area is more grassy but fewer trees, the other with wood chips and better shade. There's a water fountain on the far east end and plenty of available trash cans and clean-up bags.I don't have children but taking your dog to the dog park seems to pull a number of similar themes with taking your kid to the playground: 1) safety, 2) sanitation, and 3) camaraderie. Safety: I don't believe it's truly fair to judge a venue by its patrons, but the pups that frequent Bullhead are "tough." Anecdotally there seems to be more rough (but generally safe) play than just trotting around, friendly sniffing, or lounging in the shade. This works for many pups, but not all. Obviously this fluctuates with the temperament of the dogs present. Know your dog and assess the situation appropriately for him/her.Sanitation: Despite the numerous signs around the park, owners seem to neglect that Rover and Sparky will probably using their playground opportunity to relieve themselves. Please, folks, clean up after your dogs. You don't want to step in that and you REALLY don't want to clean those smelly paws after your dog tramples through a pile while chasing a frisbee. Pick it up - it's the right thing to do.Camaraderie: There is a clear group of "regulars" here. They know each other and they know each other's dogs. Initially this felt a bit like the 3rd grade playground - "Who's the new girl? Her dog seems weird..." (you get the idea) but they have warmed up over time. There are only a few benches in this park along with some free floating patio furniture, so seating can be hard to come by.Overall, it's a matter of convenience that we go to Bullhead, rather than a love of the place. We'll be returning for more pup playtime and hopefully new furry friends to be made.

Great dog park overall. Easy access to water. There are trees for shade and mulch throughout. The park is also pretty big so dogs have room to run. There are two fences areas for dogs. The smaller one for smaller dog. The park is well taken care of and most people at the park at knowledge about dogs.

The Park is very nice but I just wish the restrooms were better then porter-potty's, also I wish they had like a concession stand or something. Very open! I love it!

This place varies so much depending on what time of day you come. The mornings aren't bad but there is this crowd of older people that I call the poo-nannies. They seem to think it's their sacred duty to harass everyone else if their dogs poo. The only other time I don't like to go is after work at around 5-6pm. There are a lot of wound up dogs and some not great owners. I've seen several dog fights and basically no corrections from their humans. People would rather just stare at their phones than actually mind their dogs.Also I have noticed a lot of loud bangs/shots from the base behind. Not sure if there is a firing range, but my dog does not like it at all and i can't bring him anymore.

This dog park is OK all around- great spaces for dogs to run, parking lot, and poop bags. There are also a few benches. I didn't see a water fountain (the other review says there is one), but we saw a few people bringing water and putting it into the existing bowls at the park.There are two large sections divided by a fence- once is less shaded with more mulch, the other has some trees and more grass. I didn't see any sign for small dogs vs little dogs, and the few times I've been, it was pretty mixed in both sections. That being said, owners were pretty responsible and aware of their dogs' temperaments.

What I really liked about this park is that it had grass and lots of shade. There are two big sections, but I'm not sure if they are supposed to be divided into a small and large dog area. It didn't seem to matter, everyone was mixed on both sections and got along great. It was a little hard to find, tucked in way behind the VA. Only one water fountain for both of the parks. It's not my favorite dog park in abq, but it's pretty close to my house so I'm sure we will be back

I've been going to this park with my dogs (1 medium and 1 small, both very social) for a couple of years and typically enjoy it more than the others I've been to. There are HUGE multi-use grass fields attached to the dog park, which many of the dog park patrons make use of for their more energetic (or less socially-inclined) dogs. (Of course, these are not off-leash areas -- but they are typically entirely empty and IME the dog people treat them with *much* more respect than the odd soccer or football game crowd does.) There are dozens of regulars who treat one another with caring and respect. I've found that owners clean up after their pets better here than at other parks -- and a few of us make a point of cleaning up any poop that gets left behind.There are two sides to this park, but the weight designation for the small dog side has been removed. This is often helpful in getting away from the very rough play that's more typical on the "main" side of the park, but it won't necessarily help those with small dogs that don't mix well with larger ones.However, lately I have noticed a sharp increase in dog FIGHTS, and in dog owners who couldn't care less about the safety and enjoyment other dogs and humans in the park. These are owners of very aggressive players or poorly-socialized dogs, who don't feel that the rules apply to them (or who think the disposition of their dog increases their manliness). They state, "but it's a DOG park" when confronted about their dogs' aggression. They ask for PROOF that their dog HURT your dog (in the context of human interaction, we would never ask for proof of physical injury before accepting someone had been bullied or made to feel unsafe, or for that matter if they had only *attempted* murder). There have been several incidents just when I've been there (which is only 2-3 hours/week) in which other dogs had to be seen by a vet after a tussle with or outright attack by another dog. If these owners were apologetic and wanted to learn from the experience, that would be one thing. Instead, they frequently act defensive. I have repeatedly seen dog owners refuse to immediately leash and remove their aggressive dogs, as the rules state they must do.I don't know if this is just a problem at all dog parks, now. I have never seen it happen at Tom Bolack (though I've *heard* it's common at Los Altos, as well). After a horrible experience this weekend, I will no longer go to Bullhead dog park, and perhaps not to any more off-leash parks, which is very sad for my dogs. We need to feel a sense of community at our dog parks, which is perhaps why new visitors often feel like they aren't welcome. This is the only way we can KNOW that the other dogs present won't hurt or kill our pets. We all need to accept responsibility for our own dogs, and admit that not everyone has the same perception of "safe play" and not all dogs want to or are able to handle rough play.