Dog Control Orders - FAQs

A Dog Control Order is legislation made by the local authority under powers given to it under the Clean Neighbourhoods & Environment Act 2005.

This order makes it an offence to allow your dog to foul and fail to pick up on all public land in Conwy County.

This order means that a person in charge of a dog is guilty of an offence if at any time that person does not comply with a direction given by an authorised officer of the Authority to put and keep their dog on a lead (no more than 2 metres in length). The order applies to land which is open to the air (which includes land which is covered if it is open to the air at least one side) to which the public are entitled or permitted to have access, with or without payment.

This order makes it an offence to take dogs onto or into any exclusion areas. These areas have signs, saying: 'No dogs allowed' or 'Dog exclusion area'.

Exemptions are in place for registered guide dogs and trained assistance dogs.

All authorised officers carry identification.

Once bagged, dog mess can be deposited in any litter bin.

No - an offence is committed if the faeces is not cleaned up immediately. Not having a bag or other suitable means of removing the faeces is not a reasonable excuse for failing to comply with the DCO, nor is being unaware of a dog's fouling, for example if you were looking the other way.

This order means you must keep your dog on a lead at all times on land to which this order applies, such as pavements, footways and verges of all roads and other specific areas where there will be 'dogs on leads' signs.

This order is to ensure that dogs that are a nuisance or behaving violently towards people, other dogs or animals are under control or kept on a leash by their owner.

Yes - the person in charge of the dog at that time is responsible.