Dog safety lessons on their way

Primary school students will soon be learning how to stay safe around dogs, with a new education programme set to begin next month.

The initiative, developed by Kaipara District Council’s animal management officers, aims to give children practical knowledge and confidence when interacting with dogs at home, in public spaces and at school.

The programme will cover key topics such as recognising dog body language, understanding when it is safe to approach and what to do if a dog behaves unpredictably.

Dog-related complaints in Kaipara have fallen noticeably over the past year, with significant decreases in both wandering dog reports and dog attacks.

Figures presented in Council’s annual Animal Management Report show dog control service requests declined from 2151 in 2023/24 to 1950 in 2024/25.

The district also marked a milestone, registering 5194 dogs – the first time Kaipara has surpassed 5000.

Infringements were down sharply, with just 116 issued – a 70 per cent drop compared with the previous year. The decline was due to a shift in enforcement around registration offences.

Rather than issuing blanket fines for non-registration, officers engaged directly with dog owners, particularly newcomers, to encourage compliance and education.

This softer approach maintained a high registration rate of more than 95 per cent while building stronger relationships with the community.

Meanwhile, infringements relating to wandering dogs, attacks and bylaw breaches rose, reflecting a deliberate focus on community safety. The council said targeted patrols of high-risk areas, property checks and efforts to reduce precursor behaviours such as wandering had been key strategies in minimising aggression-related incidents.