Dogs are a big focus for Council in July, with registration of around 6,600 dogs beginning on July 1 and consultation on a draft Dog Control Bylaw and Policy open until July 11.

The law requires all dogs over three months of age to be registered. If your dog is registered, you will be sent a re-registration form; any new dog will need to be registered with Council. Owners who do not register their dogs may be issued with an infringement and fined.

Strategy and Compliance Group Manager Jane Donaldson said registration was just one of the obligations and responsibilities of owning a dog, and most owners comply.

"We estimate that about 93 per cent of owners in the district register their dogs."

Council is also nearing the end of its consulting period on its draft Dog Control Bylaw and Policy and has received about 20 submissions already. The deadline for feedback is Sunday, 11 July.

The bylaw and policy includes two new clauses:

• owners must make sure their dogs are wearing current registration tags while away from home, and
• owners must carry plastic bags or something else to remove their dog's poo from public land.

If you find the registration tags hard to fit onto your dog's collar, then try softening the tag in hot water for 10 seconds or so. You will find you can easily bend it.

Council is also proposing in the bylaw and policy that the dog exercise area at Argyle Park be extended and a new dog exercise area created in north-east Ashburton next to the Ashburton Business Estate. The new north-east exercise area would run between Company Road and Taits Road.

Council recognises the importance of exercise for dogs and provides dog parks and exercise areas across the district for them to run and socialise. Your dog must be on a leash unless it is in a designated exercise area, and even then, owners must have their dog under control.

Another aspect of Council's work with dogs is its DogSmart education programme. This is a free one-hour dog safety and bite prevention programme aimed at school children, taught by an Animal Control Officer. Children are taught to avoid being bitten by dogs, the correct way to approach a dog they don't know, and the golden rule "if a dog's on its own, leave it alone".

The programme is also available to workplaces where staff might encounter a dog regularly; people like meter readers, midwives and Council's own staff.

Dog attacks can be costly for employers as injured staff may need time off work to recover. Last year, 1144 dog-related injuries were recorded by ACC just for Canterbury. Every day in New Zealand, an average of two people will be bitten by a dog. Many of those incidents can be prevented.

Caption: Simon, a rescue dog, is training to be part of the Council's DogSmart education programme.