Dog fouling

Contents

- Overview
- The law
- Help stop dog fouling
- Report dog fouling
- Request a no dog fouling sticker

Overview 

We are responsible for keeping public areas like parks and pavements clear of dog mess.

To keep these areas clean, we have adopted the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act - which means it is an offence to let a dog that you are in charge of foul and not clear it up. This applies even if you are not with the dog at the time.

If you don't clear up dog mess, we can issue you with a fixed penalty notice (FPN) of £50, which must be paid within 14 days.

The law

The Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act applies to most land in Gateshead that the public have access to.

Help stop dog fouling

Dog fouling is an issue because it causes a major health risk, possibly leading to blindness, asthma or other infections.

Dog owners can help stop this by:

• not allowing dogs to roam the streets
• scoop the poop every time your dog fouls
• dispose of the poop in a dog waste bin or your household waste bin

Any member of the public can help by reporting issues to us - especially if you have witnessed someone leaving dog mess on the ground.

The dog warden will investigate every report and take the appropriate action. This may include doing patrols in that area to catch people in the act or putting up stickers to deter people from breaking the law.

Report dog fouling

You can report an issue with dog fouling to us and we will do our best to clear the mess away. However, we will not clear away mess on grassed areas.

If you have witnessed someone letting their dog foul on public property, you should report it to us with as much information as possible. Such as:

• description of the owner
• description of the dog
• time and location of the fouling
• vehicle information

This will give us the best chance of catching the person responsible and taking the appropriate action.

Report dog fouling

You can alternatively call our customer service team on 0191 433 3000. 

Request a no dog fouling sticker

If you know of a problem area where dog fouling is happening on a regular basis, you can request we put up stickers to help stop it from happening.

Request a no dog fouling sticker

You can alternatively call our customer service team on 0191 433 3000.