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Thread: Dogs

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    41

    Default Dogs

    Hi All

    We have 2 big black labradors and we really enjoy walking them around where we live in Norfolk (UK not Virginia USA).

    Is NZ dog friendly ?
    Do people like dogs there ?
    Can you walk on fields or in the national parks with dogs ?
    Do they have to be kept on leads ? (or worse muzzled) ?
    Can you let them run on the beach ?
    Obviously we collect all the dog poo (we are responsible owners)

    Can anyone give us some info on the above and how you find NZ from a dog owners viewpoint.

    Many thanks

    Arclite

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Sumner, Christchurch NZ
    Posts
    578

    Default

    Loads of people have dogs in Chch, and being a dog-owner here is very easy.

    They're allowed on most beaches, but are excluded from some of the more central ones - some all the time, others during the summer only.

    All dogs in Chc have to be registered and wear a coloured tag (colour changes each year),and this does seem to promote a more responsible attitude of dog ownershipe than we experienced in the UK. You hadly ever see a stray, for example, and almost never come across dog %^$@ on pavements, both of which were endemic in much of Britain.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Eastern Auckland (from UK '05)
    Posts
    3,182

    Default

    we dont have much of a problem finding somewhere to walk our dog, but you cant take them in some of national parks due to wildlife concerns. Check out the council website for the area you are going to be living, they have a section of "dog Control" which lists where you can and cant walk/exercise your dog, either on/off leash, some parks have their own website and will tell you on there if dogs are welcome. Some beaches are restricted during summer, and you can only use certain sections between 9am & 7pm.

    The coloured tag Geroge mentioned is issued by the local council when your dog is registered, its an offence to not register your dog, and it costs $80 a year for us, council charges vary.

    People are generally dog friendly, although most larger dogs, such as Labs are considered "outdoor" dogs, and folks are surprised if you have yours as indoor pets, guess its depends on what climate you are coming from, certainly outdoor dogs in scotland were not common!

    Oh and the chinese seem to be afraid of dogs, dunno why..... but hubby encountered a couple who literally shrieked when they saw our boy (they were a good distance away too!)

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Sumner, Christchurch NZ
    Posts
    578

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by jubjub
    People are generally dog friendly, although most larger dogs, such as Labs are considered "outdoor" dogs, and folks are surprised if you have yours as indoor pets, guess its depends on what climate you are coming from, certainly outdoor dogs in scotland were not common!
    Yes, I'd forgotten that I'd initially found this strange - it seems so natural now!

    We have a pointer and she has slept out in a kennel on the deck ever since she was a puppy. She doesn't sleep inside even in the middle of winter, although she is allowed indoors when we are up and about - she just gets slung out when we go out or go to bed.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Inland Canterbury, NZ
    Posts
    8,390

    Default

    I'm actually a little disappointed at the restrictions on where we can walk our dog here - although respectful that there are good reasons for it. I would reconsider getting another dog purely for that reason. If you live near the beaches that's fine, as others have said you can walk your dog on most beaches for most of the year. There are also "dog exercise areas" in most larger towns (Chch has about 5 of them, complete with agility equipment). If you are further out in the countryside you won't find as many spots - the gorges are good and if, like us, you have friendly neighbours and a quiet village you can walk them off the lead in public places.

    But venture out into the countryside, on to the walking tracks etc, and you will usually find that dogs aren't allowed. We have gone on several drives to several places with tracks or woodland walks and have had to leave Summer in the car or abandon the walk due to restrictions.

    One tip, talk to other dog owners in your vicinity - they tend to know all the places you can let your dog off etc.

    If anyone in the Canterbury has any tips on good, long walks on which dogs are allowed then I'd love to know. We're already familiar with the Port Hills and crater rim walks. Some further afield would be nice.

    Moorf

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Wellington since Aug 05
    Posts
    82

    Default

    Wellington seems pretty well catered to for dogs and we pretty much take our GSP with us wherever we go...

    He's not allowed into the C.B.D but that's fair enough - we wouldn't want to take him... He's not a big shopper !

    Interestingly one of our friends is a Park Ranger - so the "official" line for parks etc is that your dog should be "under control" - and that is fairly open to interpretation i.e doesn't have to be on a lead, just to be within sight of you and come to when called... This is to protect the native birds, especially flightless ones like kiwi's.

    All of which is pretty fair really, mostly though we take him to the beach and he loves it. Our nearest has daylight saying restrictions on it i.e dog free between 9 am and 7pm but we take him before we go to work and to another after work. Daylight saving ends in a couple of weeks anyhow...

    So I guess it depends where you live.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    South of North Island
    Posts
    1,059

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    Where we live, out in the wop wops, no one has any trouble with dogs. In fact most of the people in the town have more than one dog.

    We have two whippets who are well excercised on our section but we have a reserve down the road and playing fields across the road. Everyone who sees our dogs have to stop us and ask what they are Seems that they're a strange breed over here.

    I think our dog licence is $40 each for the year which isn't bad.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Inland Canterbury, NZ
    Posts
    8,390

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    Parks etc all fine here too. Although I am sure you are aware that your dog can be shot on sight if it gets into a field of sheep... same as in Scotland. Farmers round here actually pull you up on that if you're out walking with your dog off lead - regardless of whether they know how well the dog is trained. Forewarned and all that....

    Much of the South Island is D.O.C. land or wildlife reserves, hence many restrictions.. but would be nice to have a list of great walks we can go on with Summer, not a short walk in the park, more of a half day or days worth of walking.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Swannanoa Canterbury
    Posts
    309

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Moorf
    .. but would be nice to have a list of great walks we can go on with Summer, not a short walk in the park, more of a half day or days worth of walking.
    We agree. As you said before, the beach is a great place to walk you dog (and meet other dog owners!), but a list of longer walks would be good. We could do with finding a few new places for weekend walks with Freddie.


  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Wellington, from California
    Posts
    259

    Default

    that all sounds fairly encouraging - I was wondering about taking dogs on the beach.

    I AM worried about finding rentals with our dogs. They are 80 lbs and 50 lbs repectively, so I think we'll be considered strange to having them in the house. Hope it doesn't scare too many prospective landlords!

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