Dog walking
Follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and be a responsible dog walker.
Follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and be a responsible dog walker.
Access rights apply to people walking dogs as long as their dogs are kept under proper control. Your main responsibilities are:
Do not allow a guard dog or working dog to alarm people, especially close to paths and tracks.
The Code also provides advice about farm animals and fields with young animals.
Guidance on managing any access issues linked to dog walking can be found here. If you are encountering problems linked to dog walking, you could discuss this with your local authority (or National Park Authority) access officer.
When in public, every dog must wear a collar with the name and address of the dog owner inscribed on it or on a tag attached to the collar (Control of Dogs Order 1992).
All dogs must be microchipped by the age of eight weeks. It is illegal for any breeder to sell or otherwise transfer a puppy to a new owner unless it has been microchipped and the breeders details recorded on the database (The Microchipping of Dogs (Scotland) Regulations 2016).