Dog warden service in Purbeck

Every dog owner has a moral and legal duty to ensure that their pet does not cause a nuisance to others

Why you should be a responsible dog owner

Dogs not kept under proper control can cause road traffic accidents, attack other dogs, pets and even people
Dog faeces are thoroughly unpleasant and can carry diseases such as toxocariasis which has been known to cause blindness, especially in young children

Purbeck's dog warden has many roles

These include:

Handling and kennelling stray dogs
Promoting responsible attitudes to dog ownership
Enforcement of local bye-laws and national dog legislation

Stray dogs

A large proportion of the Dog Warden's time is spent dealing with stray dogs. Any dog found straying will be picked up by the dog warden. A dog owner has seven days to claim their dog back and pay in full a fixed fee which includes the kennelling fees incurred by us. Dogs not claimed within seven days will be put up for re-homing. It is also an offence under the Control of Dogs Order 1992 (opens in a new window) for a dog to be in a public place without wearing a collar with the name and address of its owner inscribed on it or with a disc attached to it. The maximum fine for this offence is £2,000. We will collect stray dogs during normal office hours, please call 01929 556561. We do not offer an out of hours collection service for stray dogs.

You can report a lost or stray dog online.

Stray Dog Procedure (pdf, 90kb) (opens in a new window)

Lost dogs

The Council holds a register of all dogs seized or reported lost so if you have lost your dog please call us. Local Police stations will also hold details of stray dogs reported to them.

Dog fouling

There are a number of areas within in the district where it is an offence to let your dog foul and not remove it. Areas include parts of Lytchett Matravers, Studland, Middle Halves, and Upton recreation field, West Halves Sports Field and Swanage beach. If you have any doubt whether or not you have a legal duty to clear up after your dog then please contact us. Irrespective of whether an area of land is covered by a bye-law, any dog owner still has a moral duty to ensure that their dog's faeces does not cause a problem to any other person.

How you can be a responsible dog owner

Ensure that your dog wears a collar and identity tag at all times
Ensure that your house and garden is secure so that your dog cannot just ´wander off´
Keep your dog on a lead at all appropriate times
Clear up after your dog and dispose of the mess appropriately