While few dog owners would challenge the rules around dog fouling, there is concern about the other measures – which include a blanket exclusion of dogs from children’s play areas, nature reserves and school land.
She says that rather than tackling antisocial dog owners, who probably won’t follow the rules anyway, such blanket orders make life harder for most dog owners who are responsible.
Nottingham city councillor Corall Jenkins says they introduced dog control PSPOs in 2016 largely in response to complaints about dog mess.
The orders vary so much from place to place, she says, that it’s hard to keep track: “There is no consistency, so you can very easily fall foul of some of these innocently.” When we speak, nearby South Kesteven district council is considering restricting the number of dogs one person can walk at a time, which would affect Boyd when she visits her parents.
A dog off-lead simply gets more exercise, says Hayes: “Off-lead, the human companion will walk a mile and the dog will walk five miles because it’s zigzagging back and forth.”.
