Your responsibilities in off-lead areas - an interesting newspaper article

But we don't live in a perfect world where everybody loved our dogs as much as we do. Authorities are under pressure all the time to place more and more restrictions as to where we can allow our dogs to run free. It only takes a few complaints from members if the public regarding dogs jumping up etc for all dogs to be excluded. Even as a dog owner I find a dog running and jumping up at me in an area where dogs are allowed as unacceptable. Just because dogs are allowed in an area doesn't mean they have a free rein to molest/annoy others

 

I absolutely agree with you, Emily. It's very different where you are to where many of us are lucky to live, where we have vast areas that are open for off-leash walking. Where there are very few, very controlled areas that are specifically designated dog areas, it's a completely different scenario to our landscapes where dogs and people share the same recreational spaces. If you're a runner and you are scared of dogs, it can be difficult in the UK because you're sharing your space with so many. I'm sure it can be really frustrating to have dogs run up, bark and jump over you all the time. If you're a runner and you're in Melbourne, just stay out of the dog parks; you have countless other wonderful choices.

To me, it's a bit like the smoking controversy. In the old days, non-smokers (like myself) could justifiably complain about being exposed to smoke on a regular basis. Now, we just stay out of the smoking areas. Easy

 

Exactly

 

Even in the UK we don't all have access to huge off lead areas. In my area there are no parks with an off lead dog area, the nicest rural walks have dogs restricted to being on lead that's where they aren't banned - so yes I'd be happy to share some amenities with the non dog owning public.