I've said this countless times on various threads - but once again, fellow dog owners: If you love your dog, then for your dog's sake, know and follow local, cantonal, and federal dog law.
Probably the best reason to keep your dog leashed in the forest. In several cantons, the local Wildhütter may shoot an off-lead dog who poses a danger to wildlife.
I have merged the two Zurich leash law threads into one so everything is in one place.
Here is another thread covering other cantons as well as Zurich.
https://www.englishforum.ch/pet-corn…-fr-vd-ge.html
For what it’s worth I think it’s a good thing, there’s nothing stupid about it in my opinion.
I'm not pleased with the law, but it is what it is and I'm free to campaign to change it!
As has been said a million times, if you don't have a call back and can't read your dog's instinct, they should be on leash all the time.
I am a bit confused about what is considered a forest. What density and coverage of trees is considered a forest? Worst case scenario for a misunderstanding is a 60.- fine.
Generally speaking, I have found the police (Stapo) to not care at all, as long as the dog isn't causing any trouble, to date even in the city if there's a complaint, there is little they can do if the dog isn't in a playground or badi etc.
My last encounter with them they were happy and excited to meet my off-leasher (as she had just uncovered a crime scene ).
I'm a lifelong dog owner and hunter myself, and I have a well trained dog, but she's still an animal with very strong instincts. Just in our comparatively quite small hunting area, just one of 169 in Canton Zürich, we deal with mauled and/or dead deer every single year, and many of the times the owners are good owners of otherwise well-behaved dogs, and of breeds that wouldn't traditionally be considered a "hunting" breed.
I am SO with you on this.
I am all for dogs needing to be leashed. If your breed needs to have a lot of exercise, go jog or take long brisk walks. If you physically cannot do that, it's not the breed for you. Some people forget that each breed has different needs and instead choose from the looks.
Our close friends got a Lagotto, and always let him run off leash. I've told them numerous times that dogs on leash do not like to be approached by an energetic off-leash dog, and he doesn't have the best recall. Our chihuahua is very friendly, but he does not like it when dogs off-leash circle all around him when he is on-leash.
We also never put him off-leash where we could run into other dogs. No matter what some owners say (my dog would never harm another dog), from afar, our dog is the size of a bunny, and when instinct kicks in, it kicks in.
In Japan I used to go to a dog park, where they had 2 separate enclosures. One for all sizes, and the other for dogs under 12kg. There was an entrance fee but that meant there were 2 staff on-site who are professionals. Once I saw the staff break up a fight and once I saw a woman who was not in the dog park hysterically running to them asking for help as her dog stopped breathing. (she was walking in the nearby park) Incredibly, the staff managed to get the dog to breathe again and the owner broke down in tears in relief.
I would totally be happy to pay to use a dog park and feel safe.
And so is the wildlife.
In the parallel ‘othercanton’ thread I linked a WRS story which included this. While 13 may not seem that many it is better than 0
Yes, friends lived next to one in Grand Saconnex.
As an aside- as perhaps many don't know this, Geneva Canton is the only Canton where hunting is illegal. Thy employ several professional 'garde-chasse', who work with wildlife groups, farmers, wine growers, etc. They know every corner of the Canton, and more or less every wild animal. They will cull if necessary, but will carefully choose older or sick animals to 'balance' herds, etc. They will not hesitate to shoot any dog harrassing wildlife or farm animals.
Pity they don’t cull the undesirable animals around the station.
Can you provide a citation for this statistic?
I find it highly doubtful 100+ deer are being killed by dogs in little canton Zürich every year. It sounds like a myth perpetuated by people with ulterior motives. Where are all these dogs wandering the lands unattended, ravaging deer? I’ve never seen one.
Our dog is one of the fastest species. He has chased deer on a couple occasions. He doesn’t stand a chance. They are faster and much more agile in forests. And if he found a baby fawn in an open field, I would be there in an instant.
Usain Bolt, is that you?
One daughter has got a vizla in UK- and I know how fast it is. But that is not the point. A fawn, often two, a nest of leverets or capercaillie or grouse, etc, will be killed in an instant. Even if you are Hussain Bolt.
And I also get it that most dog park would not be suitable for a Vizla either- ok for chihuhahas and poodles perhaps.
I’m employing all of these things, but it doesn’t change the core issue. None of those things allow my dog to run off leash. We intentionally moved near a trail that, like most, is on the edge of a forest, so he could be taken off leash on an almost daily basis. Now for 1/3 of the year, this isn’t allowed, for no good reason other than myth and bias.
The dogs are the losers. That’s what’s really sad to me.
No, I was quoting from a news article (which I linked). But they are only repeating what is in the press, translated into English.
Your dog doesn't have to catch an animal to harm it. Separating it from its herd and exhaustion can be killers too.
From your description of your dog, I think it should be banned from the forests (and adjacent lands) the entire year. It is dangerous.
You are describing a hypothetical that is extremely rare. Most dogs are not immediately killing an animal they find, especially not as big as a deer.
By the way, vizslas and poodles play great together. They are actually very well matched in terms of speed, size, and energy. My dog plays great with dogs of all sizes, as do most dogs do that have been well-socialized. Which brings up a big issue with dog ownership in Switzerland in particular. If dogs are not socialized when young, including lots of off-leash play (ideally daily) there is a risk they become leash-reactive. Unfortunately, this is not well-appreciated. And it is downright hard to find places, especially now with this draconian law, that dogs can play together off leash on a daily basis. Which will lead to less socialized dogs and worse leash reactiveness, which makes people more leery of dogs. It creates a vicious cycle.
They don’t just make up these rules for no good reason, nor based on myth and bias.
They do it to protect wildlife, that’s a pretty good reason in my eyes. A dog doesn’t have to attack an animal to cause harm, there are lots of other ways that wild animals are affected by dogs.
You’re slightly inconvenienced for three months of the year when you can’t let your dog off the leash in certain areas. It’s hardly a big deal is it? Calling it draconian is absolutely ridiculous.
Suck it up buttercup and take your dog to other places to let them off the leash.
You seem to hate dogs and not have a citation to back up your dubious claims. Noted.
I guess you are against all hunting of deer and other animals, and want all cats confined indoors.
Do you know how much cat sh*t I have to clean up from our garden? Is it annoying? Yes. Could it get my dog and kids sick? Yes. Is that cat killing birds and other small animals? Almost certainly. Am I trying to ban cats from going outside? Of course not.
Is this a joke? Are you this naive? Laws get passed all the time based on misinformation, myth, and bias.
By this impeccable display of logic, we could never challenge a law because they are always based on good data and rationale.
And it does more than "inconvenience" dogs. I and many others can now not take our dogs off leash many days of the week. It is fundamentally unfair to the dogs and harms their well-being. You obviously don't care about the dogs' welfare.
Yawn, that's just another version of "that's not true. And if it was it wouldn't be a big deal".
You are part of the problem. Consider becoming part of the solution instead.
Welcome to my ignore list ...