What are the responsibilities of a dog owner?

As a dog owner, you have a number of legal and moral responsibilities to ensure the safety and well-being of your pet and others.

All dog owners should ensure that their dogs:

• are registered and micro chipped
• receive proper care, attention, nutrition and shelter
• are adequately exercised - check out where your local dog exercise areas are
• are kept under control at all times - this means ensuring the dog obeys your commands and is either on a leash or under voice control in areas where it is allowed to run free
• do not cause a nuisance to neighbouring residents (this includes the dog owner's responsibility to clean up after his/her dog if it fouls in public)
• do not injure or distress any livestock, people or property

To be on the safe side: it is always best to avoid letting your dog run free in areas where small children, livestock, poultry or protected wildlife are present. There are a number of dog exercise areas where you can exercise your dog off a leash.

If you own a dog that is classified as dangerous or menacing you have more responsibilities to ensure people's safety. An explanation of dangerous and menacing dogs, and the associated responsibilities for the dog's owner(s), can be found in Council's Dog Control Policy.