Leash Laws In Victoria

[Hafhafa Hounds]

"Well, I can't guarantee mine won't - call your damned dog" - All this after she had seen me stop with my dogs, who were off leash on a wide track at the time, and leash them, and then go off the track to avoid her dog.

(sigh) It's really annoying. And then what if they don't and your dog bites?

Last incident like this I had was a Rottie-mix barrelling up to me with 2 on-lead Salukis and an old blind/deaf Tenterfield whom I was carrying. The Rottie carried on and on, snarling & snapping at my dogs. Fortunately neither Saluki reacted, except to back away hurriedly.

I called "Call your dog, please!" (got sworn at) so I called out again to be told (with expletives peppering the response) that it broke the lead, then it broke the collar as they tried to control it.

I put my dogs away in the trailer and promptly took their license number off their car, to which I was abused because "they'll put it down, they'll put it down!!" Made me wonder if it's happened before then??

Called the ranger when I got home, but never heard back...

Sonia

[Ugly Sack of Water]

My property, a corner block does not have front fencing, with only a footpath bounding both street frontages. I have sometimes had dog owners that walk their dogs off leash against the local laws with their dogs straying into my front yard. On at least one occassion, I spotted someone bent over in my front yard, just in front of the steps leading to the front door of our residence and proceeded to confront them as to why they were trespassing on my property. The response was that their dog had just taken a dump right outside my front steps which the owner was busily scraping up off the path leading to those steps. When I asked how it came to be that his dog had taken a crap in my yard, he nonchalantly replied that his dog had wandered in before he could stop it. When I asked why his dog was off leash he became agitated, told me that his animal was allowed off leash and that I, and people'like me' are the problem. When I then asked him to please leave my property, he dug his heels in (almost literally) and dared me to 'make him'. This is the attitude of some dog owners and since then, I have encourntered dog faeces on my lawns when mowing, leaving me to clean up after their dogs. At least some dog owners show more respect for their animals than other humans.

Edited December 6, 2023 by Ugly Sack of Water
Misspelling

[tdierikx]

I have a similar issue with dog poop on my front (unfenced) yard... and most of it is by dogs on extendable leads - I have actually watched them do it... grrr! At least the person you mention was trying to clean up his dog's mess, which is somewhat commendable...

 

T.

[persephone]

How rude.

[Deeds]

We have a new person just moved into the area.  He has 2 Golden Retrievers that are never on a leash.  He opens his front gate to let them into our street to toilet.  He uses our grass verge as his dogs toilet area.  Never actually picks the poo up .  Just pretends to pick it up.

[Ugly Sack of Water]

On 07/12/2023 at 7:37 AM, tdierikx said:

I have a similar issue with dog poop on my front (unfenced) yard... and most of it is by dogs on extendable leads - I have actually watched them do it... grrr! At least the person you mention was trying to clean up his dog's mess, which is somewhat commendable...

 

Commendable, granted. However I cannot be sure that it wasn't he that in a fit of spite (given his aggressive response to me) put the large amount of poop on my lawn for me to deal with before the next time that I mowed. I have also had numerous people (mostly of one particular ethnic background that I won't identify) use my un-fenced front yard as a short cut and many tradies that have been working on neighbouring residential construction sites that also disrespect the property boundaries, parking their vehicles in front of my property and then crossing diagonally to the neighbouring site. This has become quite annoying so that when someone with a dog off leash, let's it enter the property (without calling it to heel), drop it's load and then proceed to also disrespect the property boundary, it is just infuriating. I'm sorry, I just cannot forgive such blatant disrespect.

[Ugly Sack of Water]

And don't get me started on 'extendable leashes'. Those owners that use these types of leash are never in control of their dogs. If another dog appears from around a corner or a young child, there is still risk of serious injury. The off leash laws still require demonstration of control in that a dog must respond immediately to their master's commands, extendable leashes though once again and as tdieikx noted, those dogs are still able to poop on their front yard despite being on a leash; where is that exercise of control? How quickly could such an owner regain control of their dog if urgently required?

[Rascalmyshadow]

On 3/8/2010 at 11:20 AM, megan_ said:

In every council in Vic, you dog has to be on leash unless:

i) on private, secure property (ie your dog isn't allowed on your front lawn unleashed unless there is a secure fence out the front)

ii) at a designated off leash area. It still has to behave even if it is in an off leash area - we don't have "dog parks" in Victoria.

I wish they would be more specific regarding "effective control". I wish those signs were in simple English:

* Your dog must come to you when called - every time.

* You must call your dog away from other dogs and people. You must ask their permission first before allowing your dog to approach them (they never specify this rule. So in order to comply, people just never call their dog!).

This isn’t true as where I live you can have your dog off leash almost anywhere except in town but they do have to be under effective control.

Edited December 14, 2023 by Rascalmyshadow

[Rebanne]

1 hour ago, Rascalmyshadow said:

This isn’t true as where I live you can have your dog off leash almost anywhere except in town but they do have to be under effective control.

you're replying to a 13 year old post. Things could have changed since then.

[Rascalmyshadow]

3 hours ago, Rebanne said:

you're replying to a 13 year old post. Things could have changed since then.

I didn’t realise it was an old post as others have been replying but that is our updated leash laws, we didn’t have leash laws here until 2019, before that dogs were allowed anywhere off leash unless there were signs stating on leash only.

[Adrienne]

Worse fail for extendable leash I saw just last week. Old guy walking little dog on footpath and poor guy simply had to take a leak in the bushes ... felt bad for him as he obviously couldn't hold it. BUT, he was facing into the bushes and his little dog happily trotted right onto the road - I had to break suddenly and give a light toot to the old guy who spun round doing his fly up. I'm sure he thought he was being tooted because he was having a leak, but he he quickly saw what was happening and fumbled around trying to retract the leash. I just smiled and waved... but really retractable leashes - why run your dog on something where human only reacts when dog gets to limit of leash?