Dogs on leash

• The leash laws differ
• The canton only specifies leash laws in regard to the nature protection areas

Since the 1^st of January, dog owners in Hünenberg know exactly when they must have their little four-legged darling on a leash. “In public restaurants and public places as well as in the nature protection areas (sanctuaries)”. So it stands in the newly adopted dog regulations. In addition, dogs may not run free during vegetation time in agricultural areas.

Originally, the leash laws were also to include obligatory leash during darkness and in the forest, but the governing council left those points out of the 2008 revised regulations. In the valid dog regulation for the municipality of Risch, which includes the regulations from 1982, it is explicitly required that dogs are on a leash during the night and in the forests.

A look at the regulations in the Zuger municipalities makes it clear: a general valid law concerning leash requirements is missing. Unterägeri, for example, doesn’t have any dog regulations. In public places dogs should be on a leash, stipulated in a passage in the regulations for the use of public places and buildings.

Oberägeri sees it differently: Since 1992 they have dog regulations. There is however no written regulation concerning leash enforcement. They do have a rule stipulating that “biting dogs” should be on a leash, which requires a complaint first before it is imposed. In the city of Zug there is no regulation.  The “Swimming regulations” stipulate that at official swimming places, for example at the Brüggli, animals are not allowed.  In addition, the regulation concerning the protection of public places stipulates that dogs must be on a leash. 

Menzingen doesn’t have dog regulations either and no leash requirements. Councilman Peter Bugmann gets to the point, what many municipalities think: “We are waiting for a generally-valid regulation from the canton. It doesn’t make sense that every municipality works out their own dog regulations”

Since the 1^st of January there have been two tickets issued for dogs running free in the Hünenberg nature protection area near Reusspitz, according to municipal councilwoman Renate Huwyler. The Zug police sporadically patrol the area.