Benefits of off lead exercise

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bex1984

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Can anyone point me in the direction of any studies/reports etc which highlight the benefits of off-lead exercise for dogs, and/or the need to roam around being a dog rather than always being on a lead?

My local council is proposing to introduce a blanket control order on all footpaths, cycleways, 'sports pitches' (suspect this means recreation grounds which is where everyone walks their dog here...), that dogs have to be on leads at all times.

I've written to them and asked for the evidence/data behind such a move so we'll see what they say!
 
Suggest you point them in the direction of the Five Freedoms, which are in the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and include 'freedom to express normal behaviour'. Also, get in touch with organisations such as the Dogs Trust to get their advice. Who is your local MP?

I can't think of anything worse than what they are proposing!
 
All local councils are bringing in dog control orders.
Ask yours the difference between sports pitches and recreation grounds. They may not know there is a difference.
I attended a meeting of our local council having got prior permission to speak & they were stunned when I opened with " I quite agree that dogs should be kept off mown pitches and play areas". I did manage to get dogs allowed on up to 5 metre long leads on two recreation grounds they would otherwise have been totally banned from.
I also got it written in that, for future development, a bench will be provided just outside a childrens' play area rather than being within the fence or area marker so the family dog can come along.

The Kennel Club has a section devoted to this which may be of help.
http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/4065
 
Thank you both - the 5 Freedoms stuff is really useful.

I completely agree that there are times that dogs should be on leads. The parks/rec grounds here have amazing fenced off child play areas, and obviously these are complete dog-free-zones and rightly so.

I've asked them to clarify what they mean by sports pitches, and to also show some evidence that insisting dogs stay on leads means more poo is picked up.

My dog is not able to interact with other dogs when on his lead, so if he had to be on lead all the time would just not be able to socialise and play :(
 
We went through this a couple of years ago with our council. I contacted all our local vets (espec those that are dog owners!) and any APBC behaviourists in our area and asked them all to write letters into the council.

I kept track of everyone that wrote in and then involved the local press and was able to cite a long list of 'qualified' people supporting the cause.

Other people leaflet dropped and left posters at PAH and other dog training groups.

The main thing we had to fight was the dogs on leads on public footpaths as due to the way it was worded it meant footpaths across open fields as well as roadside footpaths. The proposal was that an individual landowner would have the ability (should he so choose) to grant a mass exemption or exemptions on an individual basis......or, of course, not at all!

Best of luck!
 
Were you successful in getting the council to drop/modify the proposals?

I suspect it would end up applying to footpaths across fields here too - will query this.

There is a lobby group which has formed and they are contacting the press, several articles have already been published. I don't know if they've contacted vets and behavourists yet, I will find out. They are a very sensible group and looking at suggesting increasing availability of training programmes rather than legislating.
 
Look at the APBC, the Guild of Dog Trainers, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and others to find local trainers and behaviourists, and get them involved. They can write themselves and tell their clients.

Writetothem.com allows you to contact MPs and I think local councillors for free. Get people letter writing!
 
bex1984 said:
Were you successful in getting the council to drop/modify the proposals?

I suspect it would end up applying to footpaths across fields here too - will query this.

There is a lobby group which has formed and they are contacting the press, several articles have already been published. I don't know if they've contacted vets and behavourists yet, I will find out. They are a very sensible group and looking at suggesting increasing availability of training programmes rather than legislating.
Click to expand...

YES! We managed to get the wording re the public footpaths overturned, such that it only applied to those next to highways and not those across fields!

We adopted the approach that many of the proposals were very sensible (eg dogs on leads on roads, poo picking, no loose dogs in school playgrounds or cemetries/church yards etc) and focussed on fighting the public footpath across fields bit and also the fact that they wanted dogs banned totally from a couple of town centre parks and on lead only at six others.

Get as many people as possible to write in to the council and get everyone to lobby their local councillor. If you can find a councillor who is also a dog owner so much the better!

We also provided template letters for those that wanted to register a protest but didn't feel comfortable or able to express their feelings themselves. Just try and get people to 'top and tail' the letters with their own words so that it's not too obvious that they are templates.
 
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