Waverley wants to cap dog walkers at four dogs each in its public spaces, backed by £100 fines. Its consultation on a new dog order runs to 1 December.

Dog walkers in Farnham, Godalming, Haslemere and the villages could be limited to four dogs each, under a new order Waverley Borough Council is proposing.

Anyone who breaks the order without a reasonable excuse could get a £100 fixed penalty notice. If it goes unpaid, the council can prosecute.

The council’s consultation opened on 2 November and closes at midnight on Tuesday 1 December 2026, the council said on 4 November.

What is changing

Waverley has two dog orders at the moment, one on fouling and one on dog control. Both are Public Space Protection Orders, and the council has to review them every three years.

It now wants to merge them into a single Public Space Protection (Dog Control) Order. These rules would carry on as now:

  • clean up after your dog and dispose of the waste properly
  • keep your dog on a lead in certain places
  • keep dogs out of specified areas, such as fenced children’s play areas

The new rule is the limit. One person could walk no more than four dogs at a time. The council says four is “a reasonable number of dogs for one person to effectively control while also being able to clean up after them”.

The council’s announcement does not mention any licence or exemption for professional dog walkers.

Not the first time a limit has been floated

A cap is not a new idea in Waverley. The council’s July 2023 report on the current orders says its 2018 consultation already asked about “possible limits on the number of dogs one person should be in control of at any one time”. The feedback was mixed, the report says, and no limit was brought in.

The same report shows how strongly residents backed the fines last time. In the 2023 consultation, 86% agreed or strongly agreed that a £100 fixed penalty should go to anyone who fails to clear up after their dog.

What the council said

Councillor Tony Fairclough, the portfolio holder for enforcement and regulatory services, said:

“Most dog owners behave responsibly, but these measures will help us deal with the minority of cases where irresponsible behaviour can affect other people, wildlife or the environment.”

He urged “dog owners and non-dog owners alike” to read the proposals and respond.

What it means for you

  • If you walk five or more dogs at once, in a park, on a common or anywhere else the public can get to, this is the rule to respond on. Once an order is made, a fifth dog could mean a £100 fine.
  • Everything else stays. The fouling, lead and exclusion rules already apply. In Farnham Park, for example, the 2023 report lists the adventure play area, the play area, the cricket squares and nets and the two ponds as dog exclusion areas. The rest of the park is “dogs on lead by direction”, meaning an officer can tell you to put your dog on a lead.
  • You can ask for more. The consultation also invites suggestions for other problems to tackle, or extra land to add to the order.
  • On heath and common land, a national rule applies regardless. Under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, dogs on open access land must be on a lead of no more than two metres from 1 March to 31 July, to protect ground-nesting birds.

Take part through the council’s consultation page. The council says it will consider the feedback before deciding the final form of the order.