New dog rules at nature reserve

Hallelujah!

Good news on the dogs on a lead at rye nature reserve, not every one is a fan and they should be controlled, Thank you

Safety for dogs, safety for owners and safety for other visitors.

Thank goodness! I am so fed up with free-range dogs whizzing about when I am trying to walk calmly to the sea and take in the beauty of the Reserve. They race all over the path, crash into one’s legs, terrify cyclists and pounce on other dogs for a sniffing fest, let alone bark loudly and poo in places their owners do not reach. A sigh of relief here.

I agree with keeping dogs on a lead principally
for protecting them against cyclists. I am a regular walker with my dog and time again cyclists whizz by with no consideration for pedestrians. They should be encouraged to ring their bells and slow down when passing.

Of course, not everyone will accept the new “request” to keep their dogs on leads means them, so will not comply, and it is unlikely it can be enforced. Though if more dogs were on leads then owners may be obliged to acknowledge and “own” their poo and dispose of it in the bins provided. It appears the easier option is to let the dogs off a lead to run free, so the owner is then oblivious of the result. We shall watch the result with interest.

And please not on the extendable leads that can block the whole width of the path so cyclists have to dismount. We always cycle very slowly along the main path due to kids but dogs can dash out and ambush bikes…

I have been knocked over by a bicycle at Rye Harbour but never by a dog

It is sometimes difficult to predict the behaviour of a free-range advancing dog, this is good news to all dog owners, especially ones whose dogs are always on a lead for their own protection against others.

I cycle down the reserve regularly and always ring my bell to warn pedestrians. At the end of the day everyone should respect one another and be responsible. However the amount of dog Pooh particularly at the beginning of the walk is quite disgusting!!! It is not good enough to not pick up and let others walk in it or get it stuck on bike and pram wheels! Whatever is going on with society today in being so selfish. I believe there should be on the spot fines – that might make people think! We need to protect Rye Reserve it is a wonderful place for all to enjoy

On the spot fines is interesting but does raise a few questions.
Who enforces it?
Who decides it’s against the law?
Who gets the money.

They certainly couldn’t pay me enough to dish out a fine, I can imagine the abuse you’d get.
Ask any traffic warden what it’s like.

Absolutely Tony – totally get it! Who knows what is the right way of combating it but something needs to happen

Perhaps charging dog owners £1 per dog admission to go towards the unenviable job of emptying the poo bins? Mr Edwards rightly raises possible difficulties in collecting money and like him, you could not pay me enough to empty one of these revolting receptacles.

Also, lets have dogs on short leads – not the extending ones that wrap around legs/wheels, causing broken bones etc. A ban on dogs swimming in the pools on the reserve too – their flea treatments come off in the water and can be toxic to wildlife apparently.

Cyclists should have a bell and use it to warn others of their approach.

Perhaps we can then all enjoy our wonderful reserve again which has been an unpleasant experience for myself and several pals for far too long!

I do agree with Margot’s comments. My son was born at Rye Harbour but I stopped going about three years ago due to uncontrolled dogs. I also broke a bone, my collarbone, whilst walking in Tenterden and this was solely due to an extendable dog lead tripping me up.

Never mind leads and bikes, I’ve just been round the reserve and it was absolutely disgusting with dog poo everywhere. Before dogs get banned completely (not at all what I want) surely the nature reserve should put up highly visible signs requiring/reminding unthinking visitors to “pick up”?

Who actually owns the road through the bird reserve?
I don’t think it’s the bird reserve so banning dogs might be a problem.

Complete sympathy with Mr Connock’s views but we simply do not need yet more signs cluttering up what was once a wild and beautiful place before the hoards discovered it. There cannot be a dog owner anywhere in Britain now who is unaware of the obligation to bag and bin dogs droppings. Another sign isn’t going to turn anyone into a conciensous dog walker if they are not already, even though its made so easy for them with plenty of bins available.
Around my home there are signs eveywhere reminding people not to walk dogs off the lead if there are sheep in the field. They still get ignored. Honestly. Are people really this ignorant?

Another benefit of keeping dogs on leads on that part of the reserve might be a decline in the number of dogs who jump/fall in the river at this point and whose owners, having failed to keep them under control, then expect the emergency services to turn out and rescue them. Every call-out costs time and money which our overstretched emergency services can ill-afford to expend on such situations but they will always go out, nevertheless. I wonder how many of these call-outs end with the dog getting itself out of the river anyway. I hope the owners of such dogs give generously the next time they see someone collecting for the lifeboats.