February 08th, 2026

On the 31st January, Northumberland council began implementing a six dog pack rule. The ruling states one dog walker is permitted to have only 6 dogs with them at any one time in public spaces, if they have more, they face a fine of up to £1000.

The move, backed by the RSPCA and Dog’s Trust, is aimed at improving public safety and dog control, but many comments on the council’s Facebook page are questioning if the limit is strict enough, especially when dogs are off leash, and I get this.

As an owner of a reactive dog, we experienced so many occasions whilst walking him on lead, when uncontrolled dogs would come running at him (despite telling owners he wasn’t friendly) that we stopped taking him to the park at the bottom of our street. The idea of six off lead dogs running towards an anxious or reactive pup, or maybe a child who is afraid, does raise the question is six still too many? Can you really keep an eye on where all six dogs are pooing? What happens if something goes wrong?

Also, while Councillor Gordon Stewart states the aim is to prevent large groups of dogs running as a pack, which can be threatening and dangerous to members of the public, there is no provision in the ruling for walkers meeting up and allowing groups of dogs to mix. One Facebook user commented that although she walked no more than six dogs at a time, she would often meet up with other walkers, increasing the total pack size to around 20 dogs, a scenario which under the current rules is allowed.

While this is a contentious issue, with dog owners on both sides of the argument having valid points, its worth considering that North Tyneside Council does not have any such limits, so will this mean we see an increase in large groups of dogs being walked in our parks, and what impact will that have?
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Want to check out the rule, find it here: https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/news/northumberland-dog-walkers-limited-six-dogs-time.