Tirhatuan Park Fenced Dog Park

Tirhatuan Park in Dandenong North is a large multi-use reserve with a fully fenced off-leash dog area, run by the City of Greater Dandenong.

The wider park packs in sports ovals, tennis courts, a playground, picnic shelters, BBQs and a fitness circuit, so it works as a full family outing rather than just a dog stop.

The dog park itself gives reactive or unreliable-recall dogs a secure space to run that most unfenced reserves in the area cannot.

The dog setup

The fenced areas sits inside the reserve with its own gates, so you can unclip once you are through. There are two dog parks sitting next to each other: one for small breeds and one for all dogs which is a huge with two entrances. Dog poop bags are provided and each entrance is by bins.

There are seats and shade around each end of the enclosure for the all dog parks with plenty of shade at each end, with a central water area where dogs congregate. Each shaded areas have bowls and jugs of water which can be refilled by owners as they relax while dogs play. An excercise area contains obstacles dogs can climb and weave, with an rocky outcrop on the other end.

We love that there are plenty of trees in this dog park, which allows dogs to rummage and explore beyond just playing fetch.

Council's off-leash rules apply: dogs must stay under effective voice or hand control, within sight, and more than 20 metres from the playground and any cycling path. If a club sport is running on the ovals, dogs go back on lead in the surrounding reserve.

Max: the double-gate entry is the reason we come here. Our younger dog needs the fence before she can properly switch off and play.

Getting there and worth knowing

The park is reached off Kriegel Way in Dandenong North, with parking inside the reserve and accessible toilets near the sports pavilion.

It sits on the eastern side of Dandenong, roughly 30 minutes from the CBD via the Monash Freeway, and is an easy detour from the Stud Road corridor. Weekday mornings are the quiet window; weekend mornings draw the regular crew, which is great for social dogs and overwhelming for nervous ones.

First-time visitors should give their dog a lap of the fence line before unclipping so the boundaries are obvious. The playground and tennis courts make it a genuine whole-family option if you have non-dog members in the car.

A similar fenced setup close by is Gunns Road Reserve Fenced Dog Park at Hallam, or head north to Kalora Park Oval Fenced Dog Park. More options are in the Victoria dog parks guide.