Law on leaving dogs unattended in public space

[lufbramatt]

Struggling to find an answer on this.

On a road near where I live (just happens that there is an area of parkland at the end of this road) there are usually 3-4 dogs left to run around in the street. They are Scottish Terrier types I think, of varying aggressiveness. they tend to stay within 30 metres or so of the house where I think they live, but are free to roam around the pavement and road and into the parkland. They are not on leads and the owner stays indoors. The house has a garden.

A couple of the dogs are very territorial so if you walk along the pavement in front of the house they bark and growl, and have tried to nip my ankles if I'm out for a run. My toddler is terrified of them. Normally I'd just avoid the area but it's the only route to the park without a 2 mile detour to get to the other end.

I haven't reported the dogs to the council yet but it is getting more of an issue as the dogs get older. Is anyone clear on the law- should the dogs be allowed to roam around like this in a public space? As far as I know they havn't actually bitten anyone yet and are not a dangerous breed as such.

[p4cks]

Easily fixed if you live in Hartlepool...


http://metro.co.uk/2018/01/23/police-northern-engl...

[Voldemort]

And you can award yourself 2 points for the conversion if you get them back into their garden with one kick.

[HappyMidget]

They need to be under suitable control in all public areas. On leads where signed. Report them to the local dog warden ASAP.

[lufbramatt]

Voldemort said:

And you can award yourself 2 points for the conversion if you get them back into their garden with one kick.

Pretty much did that by accident once when a little dog ran between my legs. Owner not impressed and almost resulted in a punch up when a fellow dog owner decided to wade in. No issues at all with dogs if under control, but it's not up to me to do it.