Unleash the Hounds! Or Terriers, or Labs . . .

At Annapolis's Quiet Waters Park, Jack Russell terrier Sunny and American bulldog Mila head to shore as owners Veronika and Doug Downes of Crofton chat with Annapolis resident Tina Sanders. Shirlington Park in Arlington is another option for pooches that don't mind getting wet. (By Linda Davidson -- The Washington Post)

Things we envy about a dog's life: Sleeping the day away. Licking one's bowl clean. Sniffing people without facing social ostracism.

Things we don't envy: Being sniffed. Wearing a fur coat in the summer. And, perhaps most important, being kept on a short leash.

Thanks to the abundance of dog parks popping up across the Washington area, canines can have their fun without being tethered to their owners. Dog parks -- or community canine areas, as they're known in Arlington -- are bastions of sniffing, slobbering and tail-wagging where dogs can run leash-free. Some are fenced in; others are not. Though there are many parks where owners and their pups are known to congregate, official dog parks are municipality-funded and typically have established hours (say, sunup to sundown) and rules (no dogs in heat, no aggressive pooches).

"They're not just parks for dogs," says Brian Mac Keil, an Arlington resident who in 1997 helped found the dog park at Utah Park in the Fairlington neighborhood. "They're places for dog owners to meet and exercise their dogs. . . . I like to compare it to playgrounds, where parents talk about veterinarians, day care and training."

Though most dog parks draw from the local community, you may want to try a few favorites we've sniffed out -- those with features that might put some extra wag in your pup's tail.

Looking Out for the Little Guy

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Those who fear that it really is a dog-eat-dog world will like Bowie's Enfield Chase Neighborhood Park and the newly opened dog area at Lancaster Park in St. Mary's County, which have separate fenced-in sections for small dogs and shy pups. The segregated areas are an unusual feature and one that T.J. Mahoney, owner of the pet-care service DC Dogs and Cats, wishes was more prevalent.

"It respects the nature of smaller dogs," he says. "It protects them from being accidentally trampled when the dogs start to play."

Baron Cameron Park in Reston and Quinn Farm in Chantilly specify that their small-dog areas are strictly for pooches lighter than 25 pounds; bigger dogs must stay in the main play areas.

Enfield Chase Neighborhood Park, Northview Drive across from Enfield Drive, Bowie.

John G. Lancaster Park, 21550 Willows Rd., Lexington Park.

Baron Cameron Park, 11300 Baron Cameron Ave., Reston, http://www.restondogs.org.

Quinn Farm, 15150 Old Lee Rd., Chantilly.