This is a question Charles Sturt officers get asked a lot. Often dog owners feel the by-laws are unnecessary because their dog is friendly and well trained… or small… or old… or needs to toilet… or is a puppy that needs to learn and socialise… We’ve heard them all.
In fact, we’re sure “It’s okay, he’s friendly” are words every dog owner has heard on their walks, or perhaps yelled in haste as their own dog approaches another person or dog in the distance.
The phrase is well intentioned - designed to reduce any worry the other person might feel about being approached by an unknown dog. But it misses one small and incredibly important concept – it’s not about your dog at all.
While we understand a dog owner’s frustration that their well-behaved dog can’t explore to their heart’s content, it is important to remember we have an equal number of people who are unable to relax in our public spaces without fear of being approached by a dog. These include people with dog-related allergies, phobias and fears or are simply not comfortable around dogs and that is okay. Let’s also not forget that not all dogs are social butterflies (and that’s okay too) as they might prefer the company of their family alone.
Our laws exist to ensure everyone in our community can feel safe, happy and comfortable in our public spaces.
Most owners understand the risks associated with walking their dogs off lead on our public footpaths. Life is unpredictable. Even your well trained, sociable dog might chase a cat across a road or eat dangerous food scraps left by others in the gutter or panic and run if a car backfires unexpectedly.
It is also equally important that pet owners adhere to our lead laws in off-lead zones. That is, dogs must be on lead (2m or less) on our foreshore between 10am and 8pm on daylight savings times. Dogs can only ever be off lead outside of those times or in our off-lead reserves and dog parks if they are under effective control – they’re within sight at all times, close to you and under verbal control. If you can’t call your dog away from another dog or person, it shouldn’t be off lead in the first place.
Regardless of how sociable your dog is or whether you’re in an off lead or on lead zone, it’s polite and respectful to ensure your off lead dog doesn’t encroach on another’s space (especially if they have another dog that is on lead) unless invited.
We ask that dog owners respect others that are using the same space in the community. Please call your dog away from other people or dogs that are on lead (even in an off lead space), or put your dog on lead while passing that dog and let them off again when it’s safe to do so.
There are also a few things to consider from a behavioural perspective:
- As dogs age, their preference for friendship moves from quantity to quality – they don’t need to (or necessary like to) meet and play lots of new dogs – instead they prefer to hand with a few good friends.
- Off lead play for puppies can be detrimental if their play partner doesn’t tailor their play to the puppy’s needs (puppies can get overwhelmed very quickly as they learn about life.)
- Interactions with both dogs and one dog on lead can often seriously restrict the ability for the dogs to communicate with each other via body language (their primary language) – because of this, misunderstandings are more likely to occur and the risk of dogs having negative experiences with other dogs is high.
We value all in our community and want to ensure all can feel safe and enjoy our public spaces equally. Regardless of your dog’s temperament, we need your help to achieve this.
To find out more about on lead and off lead spaces,
see below: