Dog Issues, Attacks and Information Central Coast

24/03/2026

This morning, one of our local social dog walking groups (17 small dogs, all on-leash with their owners) was out for a walk at North Entrance when an off-leash German Shepherd charged in and attacked one of the small dogs completely unprovoked.
The elderly owner threw herself on top of her dog to protect it and was also injured in the process. Her small dog required immediate veterinary treatment and is now recovering.
We’ve since learned that this German Shepherd has a known history of previous attacks. We know the general area where the owner lives and are trying to obtain the exact address so the right authorities can be notified and this can be properly addressed before someone else or another dog gets seriously hurt.
If you know this dog, its owner, or have any information that could help (including the full address), please message me privately. Any assistance is greatly appreciated and will be kept confidential.

Nb we believe the owners name is Grant and we know he lives in North Entrance.

13/03/2026

🚨
There is no valid reason to have your dog off-leash in a designated on-leash area.
The only exception is a registered assistance dog that genuinely needs to be off-leash to perform its trained job and in that case the dog will carry the appropriate ID and certification so everyone knows it’s working.
That’s it. Full stop.
Yet for years, a prominent local MP who uses a wheelchair and is heavily involved in community issues has been regularly letting her dog roam completely off-leash in on-leash zones. There have been reports to council, repeated community complaints, and direct approaches to her office and the problem is still happening.

Wheelchair users have clear on-leash options (just google it - they’re easy to find and widely available). Whether you personally think leash laws are “a big deal” or not is irrelevant. It is the law, and it exists to keep everyone, people, kids, other dogs, and wildlife safe.

As someone in a position of community leadership, she should be setting the example, not ignoring the rules. And council needs to stop turning a blind eye and actually follow up with enforcement.

Leash laws aren’t suggestions. They’re there for a reason.

Please report to council if you see this - and take a photo!

[email protected]

I prefer to email directly rather than use the online forms so council can’t say they didn’t get it.

05/09/2025

Let us know if you know the owner

01/09/2024

A few weeks ago we had a post on our group from the owner of two large dogs who had been falsely accused (according to the owner) of attacking an onleash dog at Tuggerah Sportground. The owner proceeded to talk about how friendly and well behaved his dogs were. It just so happened that several others saw that post and knew of these dogs, one person who we know very well, and contacted us. While they had not had ‘aggression’ issues with the dogs, they let us know that the dogs were always off leash and that the owner allowed them to approach other dogs and people. We were also told that in the weekly afternoons Tuggerah Sportsground resembles an offleash dog park.

When we questioned the dog owner he claimed that if council wanted him to leash his dog there, they should provide more offleash space.

There is a dog park TWO MINUTES from there and it’s a decent size.

This owner is an example of, it’s okay, my dog is friendly and clearly has no idea that he has no right to allow his dogs offleash and to approach other dogs and owners doing the right thing.

Central Coast Council Watch Central Coast Council can you please send rangers to this area regularly and actually start fining owners. The location is frequently full of dog p**p because it is being used as an offleash park by lazy, entitled owners.

21/07/2024

How are people feeling about this?

https://www.nbnnews.com.au/2024/07/21/future-of-two-central-coast-off-leash-dog-areas-hang-in-the-balance/?

They attract hundreds of daily regulars - but, tonight, the future of two popular off-leash dog area

13/07/2024

A few weeks ago in Long Jetty…

Picture 1, person riding their bike very fast along the Long Jetty path.

Picture 2, lady who screamed at him about it being illegal then letting her dogs off leash and walking past an onleash area sign.

Oh the irony 😂

07/11/2023

The poster reached out to us to post.
If you know this man please make contact with us through messaging the page Doggie Dates NSW or by inboxing this page or emailing [email protected]

We will keep your identity private. We just want his details for the family concerned.

This is not about breed shaming but helping the family to get their vet injuries covered and making sure this man actually takes responsibility for his dog.

01/09/2023

🐾🐶 📝 We’re inviting you to have your say on the revised draft Dogs in Open Space Action Plan – whether you own a dog, or simply enjoy using our open spaces. 🌿

Based on your valuable feedback from the first round of consultation, as well as further technical studies and community workshops, we have simplified and refined the draft Plan to address key issues of concerns. This includes the removal of the proposal for seasonal or timed beach access. 🏖️🚫

One of the key objectives of the revised draft Plan is to improve off leash infrastructure and increase the amenity at off leash areas (OLAs), while balancing safety, environmental, social and operational factors. We’re also proposing an increase of seven OLAs, taking the number of OLAs across the Central Coast from 61 to 68. 🌊🐾

For more information, including proposed changes, and to have your say – visit https://hubs.la/Q020Mb4R0

Feedback accepted until Sunday 1 October 2023.

🙏💙 We understand that many are passionate about this topic, however we do kindly ask that you remain respectful in your submissions and discussions about this.

10/08/2023

People have been asking where I have been recently. Very inactive on this group because the toll of having people contacting constantly asking what they can do about situations where their dogs have been attacked and people traumatised has been too much. I know people who are having to fight by going through the legal process because their dogs were attacked by offleash dogs in onleash areas and owners refused to take responsibility. The fact is I have no answers. I see non compliance on the Central Coast every single day because people think it’s their god given right to do whatever they want whenever they want because their dog is ‘friendly’ or because that’s how it used to be or because that is how it is overseas. When asked to leash their dogs they generally hurl verbal abuse at the person asking. Additionally, I have been physically threatened on more than one occasion. On the occasion I share photos of dogs in no dog or onleash areas I am ridiculed and bullied. I have been absolutely shocked by the non compliance and lack of respect of some dog owners on the Coast. Additionally I have been saddened at Councils reluctance to fine those doing the wrong thing. When I have tried to talk to Council about where I came from and the differences I was shut down. Like many of you I am also incredibly disappointed that most of our off leash areas are very poor quality but additionally that some amazing off leash areas we have that we love will most likely be shut down. It seems like the irresponsible dog owners are not penalised and the responsible dog owners lose out as a result.

It is not acceptable to say, I didn’t know’ if your dog is off leash in an onleash area. I always look for signs, research or call council if I’m unsure about an area. That’s my responsibility as a dog owner. Additionally it is my responsibility to pick up my dogs p**p. This morning a man suggested I don’t bother picking up Delilahs p**p 💩 because it was on the grass. 🤷‍♀️

Please note we love our offleash areas and don’t want to lose what we have! We believe in following legislation.

Attached are some photos of some off leash dogs on Toowoon Bay Beach this morning- it is clearly signed NO DOGS. Delilah sits in front of the sign on leash where she is allowed 🙂

I would love to know your thoughts.

26/06/2022

Omg fine people not following rules and put the money back into dog facilities.

24/06/2022

Now we will lose our beaches 😞

Dogs could be excluded from all beaches or time restricted in peak season

Central Coast Council has identified five off leash sites it wants to decommission.

It wants to change the boundaries of another 10.

But here’s the good news: it has identified 12 potential off leash areas to bring the total to 68.

Council is also flagging that dogs could be excluded from all sand dunes and patrolled beaches and that access to beach off leash areas could be restricted at popular beaches.

The ideas are contained in the Council’s draft Dogs In Public Space Action Plan (DIOSAP) which goes to the Council-under-administration meeting of June 28 to get permission to go out on public exhibition for comment.

The document says non-compliance of dog control regulations by some dog owners has led to a community divide when it comes to dogs.

“This includes significant frustration by dog owners who abide by leash requirements and are generally considerate of other users of open space,” the council report said.

Research showed that community frustration with owners who let their dogs off the leash in on-leash areas comes second only to frustration with owners who do not pick up their dog’s “litter”.

Frustrations related to dogs being off leash on residential footpaths and in parks and reserves along with owners who do not control their dogs and who let their dogs approach people or other dogs; and ill-mannered or aggressive dog owners.

“As the above responses are primarily from dog owners, it could be expected that there would be a higher level of grievance in the wider community,” Council said.

Council quoted a Deakin University study which said that non-compliant visiting dog owners were found to have a lower sense of responsibility towards local wildlife than local dog owners.

The study suggests banning dogs from some sites because of the high level of non-compliance and the low level of enforcement by regulatory authorities.

Feedback from National Parks and Council staff identified a significant level of non-compliance with dog control regulations in National Parks forest and foreshore areas.

Poor control of dogs and a lack of regard for other beach users has attracted a particularly high level of complaint from residents which indicates ongoing frustration with this behaviour on the Central Coast, the report said.

“Of particular note is the frequency of dogs being on and off-leash in patrolled swimming areas. In order to minimise conflict on popular foreshore areas, many Local Government Areas have introduced access restrictions during peak usage times, particularly during summer,” Council said.

“As part of the implementation of this Action Plan Council will consider the introduction of seasonal restrictions for dogs to popular beaches.”

Dogs could be restricted to beach access from sunrise to 9am and from 7pm to sunset during peak summertime.

Council says the access to a number of foreshore off leash areas (OLAs) are challenging.

Wamberal foreshore was particularly problematic because direct access is limited to a pathway off Surfers Road - a narrow residential road with no car park access.

The only other access directly to the off leash area is via parkland allotments 25-25B on Ocean View Drive.

“Opportunities to create a small number of car parking bays in this site can be investigated as part of the implementation of the policy,” Council said.

“Options will need to consider the cost-benefit of any proposed works and environmental impacts to the site and surrounding area.”

The only access for the Killcare Beach off leash area is via the north-east end of the Beach Drive car park.

“Many dog owners use the car parks along Putty Beach Road to access the Killcare Beach OLA which means they are taking dogs on to foreshore areas where they are not permitted,” Council said.

“Consideration should be given to signage at these car parks that includes a map that clearly defines the OLA and dog exclusion zones."

This is post four today in a series about Council's draft Dogs on Open Space policy.

- Merilyn

Photo: Arlo, a council watcher, always plays by the rules and regulations. Good Dog Arlo!

This page is run by journalist Merilyn Vale and is not associated with Council.