Dog park equipment makes your dog park a fun place to hang out and get exercise. See our promotion below on how to receive a FREE DOGGIE FIRE HYDRANT (pictured above) with the purchase of a Dog Agility Kit

In its annual survey of park professionals conducted by Recreation Management magazine, dog parks continue to rank high for scheduled improvements.

The survey is conducted by the magazine every year and asks park and recreation managers about such topics as budget increases, expected park participation and scheduled projects.

Here's the list of the Top 10 planned projects on average and the percentage of park managers who reported they will be working on these

How the first dog park was founded and how it led to a boom in doggie playgrounds across the US

Few people know that when they are at play in a dog park, there was one woman, Doris Richard, who played a major role in the development of places for canines to play in America.

In fact, Doris was the founder of what is considered the first city dog park - Ohlone Dog Park in Berkeley, CA.

The first dog park had an interesting start.

The area chosen for the dog park was initially a vacant piece of land that remained after the construction of a BART subway station.

BART planned to use the land for residences. But a group of activists took over the property and called it "The People's Park Annex."

Part of the "People's Park" was used as an off-leash

King of the Hill ramp is just one of the agility pieces with today's selection of Dog Park Equipment

If you don't have a dog park with dog playground equipment in your neighborhood or multi-family community, you may want to organize a group and build one - for the benefits of both canines and owners.

Because here are some interesting statistics.

We all know that dogs benefit from having a designated space for them to play. They get out of the house. They can run around unleashed. And they can socialize with other dogs.

When you add in dog playground equipment, such as ramps, tunnels and hurdles, there are even more benefits. Dogs learn new tricks that stimulate them mentally. They interact with their owners, which they love to do. And they burn up all that pent-up energy from sitting indoors.

"My cats inspire me daily. They inspire me to get a dog," - Greg Curtis "There ain't a man livin' who hasn't talked to his dog." - Hank Williams "Dogs have boundless enthusiasm but no sense of shame. I should have a dog as a life coach." - Moby "Every dog is a lion at home." - Henry George Bohn "I poured spot remover on my dog. Now he's gone." - Steven Wright "We've begun to long for the pitter-patter of little feet - so we bought a dog. Well, it's cheaper, and you get more feet." - Rita Rudner "Asthma doesn't seem to bother me any more unless I'm around cigars or dogs. The thing that would bother me most would be a dog smoking a cigar." - Steve Allen "What a dog I got, his favorite bone is in my arm." - Rodney Dangerfield "My fashion philosophy is, if you're not covered in dog hair, your life is empty." - Elayne Boosler

Dog park equipment such as hurdles are equipped with an adjustable bar for different dog sizes and breeds

Here is a handy preliminary checklist for those interested in starting a dog park and adding amenities such as dog park equipment.

There are apparently more than 1,000 dog parks currently in the US. From 2009 to the present, the top 100 cities in America saw nearly a 75% increase in the number of dog parks added.

One reason, a super large number of people own dogs. Nearly 50% of households in the US own at least one dog.

The total number of dogs is estimated to be a whopping 89.7 million.

That's a lot of canines.