Has anyone stopped going to dog parks because it seemed to make their dog more anxious?

I’m genuinely curious about this because I’ve kind of changed my thinking over the last year.

I used to assume dog parks were automatically good for socialization. More dogs = more exposure = more confidence, right? But I’ve seen a few situations (including one pretty close to me) where the opposite seemed to happen.

Instead of getting more confident, the dog started getting more on edge. Super alert around other dogs, overreacting to fast movement, struggling to settle afterward. In one case the dog even became more reactive on leash outside the park over time.

I’m definitely not anti–dog park. I think they can be awesome for the right dog in the right setting. But I’m starting to wonder if they’re not neutral — like they either really help, or they kind of amplify whatever baseline stress the dog already has.

Has anyone else noticed this? Did you end up cutting back or stopping park visits because of it?

Would love to hear real experiences either way.