This change in the dog law affects the leash requirement for dogs: All dogs must be kept on a leash at all times and are never to be left unattended. This applies in the forest and close to (<50 m) forests from April 1st to July 31st .
This law already existed in the cantons of Aargau, Lucerne, and Zug.
The regulations depend on the Canton, when in doubt keep the dog leashed. See this overview by Tier im Recht , but keep in mind that they have no official mandate and may be missing stuff or fail to update where warranted. If you need to know with absolute certainty contact your cantonal veterinary.
Always pick up the poop.
Starjam, a dog owner new to Switzerland has to understand that this may be a very different culture, with different etiquette, and different laws than one is used to.
Urs Max’s link to the Tier Im Recht site is a great place to start learning the basics of cantonal law. Cantonal dog law generally focuses on dog control - such as BSL, liability insurance regs, general leash regulations, etc.
There are two additional levels of legal ‘stuff’ a dog owner must understand:
Federal law, which governs import, registration (AMICUS), and much of the animal welfare laws. The main law is the TSchV, (Sr 455.1), but there are many other pieces of legislation that play a part for how we dog owners live our lives. Federal law applies to all.
Then there is community regulation, which will differ with every little village. These are largely dog control issues, such as local leash restrictions, areas where dogs are banned, additional registration requirements, etc. These should be published on your commune website, or will likely be given to you when you register your dog.
Actually, there is a fourth level of regulation - the building or neighborhood you live in. A landlord or building owner may set additional regulations, such as banning dogs altogether, or requiring that a dog never be left alone in the flat, leash requirements while on common ground, etc.
Then there is dog ownership etiquette. These are the ‘unwritten’ rules that a good dog owner is expected to follow at all times, in order to foster harmonious interaction with the rest of Swiss society. Please understand that there are many more people who dislike dogs than those who like them, including the subset of people who are terrified of dogs.
Here in overcrowded Switzerland, with so little personal space available, most of our dogs must be exercised in public spaces. A dog owner can never forget that we share those spaces with those who do not share our love of dogs. The cold hard reality is that a dog owner is on the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to shared space, we are expected to take responsibility to keep the peace to a far greater degree than you might be used to. (Legally too, dog ownership is a Kausalhaftung.)
With that in mind, a very useful document for dog owners new to Switzerland is the Codex put out by canton Zürich, setting out expectations for how dog owners interact with the rest of society. Even if you end up in another canton, follow these guidelines. For your dog’s sake.
https://www.zh.ch/content/dam/zhweb/…012deutsch.pdf
A special plea:
The Swiss country side is dotted with farms, trails often cross farm fields. Please be aware that a farm is someone’s livelihood, not a playground. Unless your dog has 100% rock solid control and will stay walking to heel, leash your dog while walking through a farm field. Never let your dog step into the field, and certainly never let your dog urinate or deficate in the field. And never, ever, let your dog play a field in production. Doing so could ruin a portion of the farmer’s crop.
Stick to the trail!
Be aware that special leash laws will apply in woods during the spring, when the wild animals are breeding and raising young.
And be aware that hunting season is not a good time to let your dog run offlead. Dogs get shot every year.
And a suggestion, in the strongest of terms:
Once you arrive make signing up for a training class a priority. Even if your dog is an OB champion, you need to learn ‘The Swiss Way’ - and the easiest way to do this is by taking a class. There are so many possibilities, from classic OB, the NHB, Familienhund, sports, etc. Find something of interest to you, and join in. You will learn not only what you are required to do, but a class also gives you a handle on local attitudes.
Of course, if you land in a canton where training courses are mandated, sign up for those classes immediately.
A side note: in your other thread I get the sense that individuality, doing things your way, is important to you. Many who come here from more individually-oriented societies can find the more communal social structure in Switzerland something of a culture shock. It’s critical to understand that we dog owners do not have that luxury of doing things our way. In order to safeguard our dogs in Swiss society, we have to follow every rule to the letter, at all times. Being the best ambassador for Dogdom that you can be is the best way to enjoy your time here with your dog.
Good luck with your move, and settling in.
Dogs without excellent recall shouldn't be running off the paths through the forest, period, not just during hunting season, and places that are appropriate for letting a dog run off-leash generally aren't the sort of place where they're likely to encounter anyone hunting. Forest in the fall where group hunts are occurring are very well marked, so people can choose to avoid those sections if they wish, but even if they don't, it isn't an unsafe situation.
Previously, dogs were not allowed off-leash in forests from April through August. The rationale was already highly dubious. (Yes, occasionally a dog will chase an animal. But this doesn't meaningful impact the ecosystem or animal populations.)
But now Zurich has expanded the law to require leashes within 50m of the forest during this period. Yet the vast majority of trails where you can safely take a dog off-leash are adjacent to or close to a forest. So this effectively eliminates ~90% of off-leash opportunities for 1/3 of the year. It's a sneaky way of passing a leash law.
If you read the rationale in the press, you would think Zurich was littered with deer corpses from dog attacks. This is of course patently absurd.
It's a real tragedy for my happy, active dog. He needs to run off-leash most days of the week. As should most dogs. They love to run and play. As any dog owner knows, this brings them incredible joy. To deny them this is inhumane.
I'm gutted. I don't know what to do. Several other dog owners I've run into are also confused and disappointed by the new law.
There has already been a recent thread on this. https://www.englishforum.ch/pet-corn…-fr-vd-ge.html
Statistics show that 570 wild animals – 88% of which are deer – have been killed by dogs in the last five years in the canton of Zurich, with young deer, who are unable to flee, being easy prey.
You just have to be creative. I also have a dog that needs a good run around and explore, but I’ve found some wide open spaces that allow for it. Also, invest in a Schleppleine . You can get them anywhere from about 8m to 20m in length. OK, so they don’t get the same freedom on the end of a 20m radius for 3 months but it’s better than a short lead.
I’ve started incorporating sniff games and other “interesting” training such as tricks which keeps their little doggo mind occupied during the walk.
OP sees the forest as a dog park.
I see the forest as a mountain bike park. Sometimes as a place to walk.
Grill places in the woods are awesome for families and friends. During COVID times, I was surprised at the gatherings in the forest when there we were supposed to stay at home and not meet more than 4 or 5 people together. Once I just went to burn a few logs in a grill place while watching the sunset and I started listening to music...I think the young were having an "illegal" party.
The people that pays to have their names engraved in bänkli, they want to see the forest devoted to conservation. Every time I have the chance to see a pack of wild hogs roaming around, deer, or even birds...I think they hold extreme positions, but they're overall right in the end.
Others are focused on chopping trees and stockpiling fuel to survive whatever happens. I'd call them crazy survivalists, but...maybe they're right.
Fans of horses have also interest in the forests. They have marked trails and where the soil is too fragile because of rain, they stay in the trails covered with gravel.
Also consider that a significant fraction of forested areas are private property. Due to traditions and customs a bunch of marked(yellow) and unmarked trails traverse these properties. I'm more than happy to be able to roam around beautiful forests in private property. Last thing I'd consider to do is to tell the owners that I can do whatever I please with my dog in their property.
The rest of forested areas are under control of municipalities where the opinion of everyone, from conservationists to horse riders matter. So, it's not "Zürich", it was your neighbors, the consensus of people is anything but sneaky.
Putting aside the obvious benefits for protecting indigenous wildlife, the number of times a loose dog has ran and jumped up on me is quite astonishing. Usually the 'keep dogs on a leash' sign is not far away too, so dog-owners often seem not to care.
I'm even considering taking pepper spray or similar it happens so often.
For younger children or elderly I can imagine it must be quite off-putting and potentially dangerous.
I thing dogs should absolutely have the ability to exercise and run wild somewhere, but there needs to be a balance with other needs.
So they are not doing this to upset dog owners- but because they know, with a lot of research to back their findings- that the 50m strip beyond forests is massively sensitive for those species.
Maybe the OP's dog is well trained (although instincts often overcome training) and would not chase after deer or other wild animals, but I can tell you, as a dog owner that walks his dog through the forest on a leash, that I am fed up with owners that walk their dogs off the leash. They are often way behind their animals, can't see what they are doing, and are just simply oblivious. They don't pick up after their dogs either as they have no idea what they have done and where.
I have had numerous cases of coming face to face with a dog on our walks with the owner nowhere in sight. No, I don't want an up close and personal encounter with your mutt, and neither does Watson. In one case last year I came face to face twice with a person who had 4 dogs off the leash and who came over to inspect Watson. He was not amused and felt threatened by 4 unknown male dogs coming over to inspect him. The second time it happened, told the woman that if I saw her again with her dogs off the leash, I would report her.
If you want to walk your dog off the leash, that's fine. But just find a place where you and your dog are not going to bother anyone else or any other wild animals. The world does not revolve around you and your dog. Show some consideration for others.
Rule of thumb for me is to treat everyone as if they're dog-phobic.
The law - which I heartily approve, and I say that as someone who has devoted my life to dogs - seeks to balance the needs of all those, human and animal, who use the forests.
Forests are first for the wild animals that live there. Secondly, they are for human enjoyment, with the caveat that our human activities must not be detrimental to the wildlife.
Our ecosystems are fragile, we all need to think about how we interact with the natural world, and do our best to preserve the spaces while we enjoy them..
So VislaMoose, perhaps look at the new law another way.
Dog ownership is considered a luxury here. We dog owners are expected to find ways to give our dogs a happy, healthy life... but largely on our own dime. Switzerland is generous in its tolerance of dogs on public lands, far more so than other countries I and my mutts have lived in. But as Axa so excellently put it: The forest is not a dog park.
If you do not have private garden to exercise your dog off lead, look for other options. Go to a Hundewiese, one of the areas signed for dogs. Join a Hundeschule or Hundeverein that offers off lead activities such as one of the dog sports. Perhaps look to rent space if you need somewhere to run flat out. Get creative - and during this time, use the forest walk for brain training.
Think for a moment why the change in the law was needed: because too many dog owners were not acting responsibly.
Their actions and attitudes caused damage. This is what happens when people don’t take their social responsibility seriously; when we do not self-police, the authorities have to step in.
Yes, we all suffer for the actions of the bad apples. The solution to that is to lead by example: Don’t be a bad apple yourself. Follow the rules, follow etiquette and expectations, and above all always be cognizant of the fact that we are responsible for ensuring that our enjoyment does not impede others. Human or animal.
Zürich is only falling in line with best practices, other cantons have had these rules in force for many years. I, and my dogs, are happy that the canton is prioritizing maintaining the balance needed to keep our green spaces green. For all of us.
I like dogs but don't like to be bothered when walking or bicycling.
I wish dog parks were a thing here.
FYI for all dog owners, a quick overview of cantonal leash laws during the seasons when wildlife are raising young:
https://www.dogfriendlyswiss.ch/de/N…enpflicht.html
Note that the dates differ in various cantons.
Also note, that , from this article from Hundeherz, in cantons OW, NW, GL, UR, AI, and VS, while there is no canton-wide reg as shown in the table linked above, leash laws are indeed in force in specific areas:
https://www.hundeherz.ch/fachbeitrag…t-und-setzzeit
And one should be aware that there is a general leash law in canton SZ - all the time, not just during the time wildlife are rearing young.
Finally, be aware that dog control law is a moving target. Regs can, and do, change. Note that many cantons have additional leash regs - where and/or when.
So from time to time it’s good to revisit the Tier Im Recht Foundations’ summary of the 26 sets of cantonal regs, here:
https://www.tierimrecht.org/de/recht/hunderecht/
sadly, your unleashed dog is too.