CRANBERRY TWP — Some dogs in Community Park have had a “ruff” go of it.

The dog park, in Community Park North, has little shade, making it nearly im-paws-ible to stay cool on the hottest days.

So, after consulting with dog lovers in the township, Cranberry Township on Thursday approved the development of a new space in Community Park North — just 300 feet or so from the current dog spot — for pups, big and small, to play.

“We've been talking about improvements and upgrades to Community Park North,” said township manager Dan Santoro. “One of the next steps in accommodating the needs of our canine committee is to upgrade the dog park. We'll build a new dog park that's larger. It's still in Community Park North, but this moves it to the other side of the property.”

With divisions into a small-dog section and a big-dog section, the township's new pup park will feature a series of improvements. It will be tucked into some tree-lined areas, and Cranberry will keep most of the existing tree canopy to ease the dog days of summer for four-legged visitors.

Also in the new section will be a dog-washing station and a larger pavilion, said Ron Henshaw, township planning and development director.

“This is a great improvement in Community Park,” Henshaw said.

The new dog area will overrun a small section of trail, Henshaw noted. But with the extensive trail networks in Cranberry's parks, he wasn't too worried.

Others, such as supervisor John Skorupan, said they have nothing to bark about the new park.

“I'm looking forward to it,” Skorupan said. “It'll be great. We have a lot of dog lovers.”