Doggy Play Park

Doggy Play Park on Tootal Road is a private-hire, fully fenced off-leash park rather than a drop-in council reserve, billing itself as Australia's first private dog park. The whole point is booked, secure sessions, which makes it a genuinely useful option for reactive, anxious or under-socialised dogs that struggle at open parks.

The rules

Access is registration-first: you sign up, get approved, then book a session before arriving, entering through an app-controlled gate. Social sessions are grouped by size and temperament, including small, medium-large, mixed and greyhound groups, and they are for dogs with no history of reactivity. Private 30-minute sessions are the ones for dogs that need space or are in training.

Owners stay present and keep dogs under voice control, dogs in season and puppies under four months are not admitted, and cleanup is on you. Check the site for current membership and pass pricing before committing.

Weekday mornings and early afternoons are the quietest for private bookings, while weekends fill with group sessions, so lock yours in early. Trial-day options are usually available for first-timers.

Max: if your dog reacts on lead or freezes at busy public parks, the private 30-minute slot is the whole reason this place exists. You get the fenced run to yourselves, no surprises through the gate.

The dog setup

There are four separate fenced park areas, with sandpits, a tunnel and an undercover area across the setup. The car park is laid out so you pull up right beside the gate of your booked park, minimising lead time, which matters if your dog is reactive on lead. Group bookings and dog-walking services round out the offering.

Getting there and parking

The site is at 100 Tootal Road on the semi-industrial fringe near Kingston Road and Old Dandenong Road. Public transport is thin out here, so plan to drive; sessions run daily from 6am to 8pm.

Close by with the dogs

For free drop-in options, Spring Road Reserve pairs a fenced enclosure with a larger off-lead area, and Chadwick Reserve has a small-dog yard.

Sip Society Cafe and Bar covers the coffee on the way home. More options are on the VIC parks guide and the Dingley Village destination page.