Warley Woods is a fantastic open space and incredibly popular with people walking their dogs – particularly because they can let them run free and exercise off lead. We love this, but it does come with some issues. This page is to offer advice about how we think things work best in Warley Woods, some key dog related issues and what you should do if you encounter a problem.

Where can dogs go

Dogs can go anywhere in Warley Woods apart from the children’s play area (there is dog parking outside) and the golf course. As humans who aren’t playing golf shouldn’t be on the golf course, we think that is best for dogs too, so they are close to their humans and under their control. There are picnic tables in the play area which can be handy if people want to eat a picnic without the potential of a doggy visitor. We have asked that dogs are kept on leads in the Wilderness to allow the pond and wider area to become the wildlife haven it is intended to be.  We have struggled to get people to do this and so we took the decision to fence the pond off as we have not yet managed to get this message across.  This should help to let the water settle and wildlife thrive. We still ask that dogs should be kept on leads throughout the Wilderness.

Dogs are welcome in the Shop at the Pavilion and you can take your dog with you to the toilets there too. The café and our meeting room are out of bounds for dogs, except for assistance dogs. We do have dog parking hooks outside by the picnic benches. Please do not leave your dog in your car. It is very likely to be reported to us.

Our advice for a happy park

Please only let your dog off a lead if you are sure you can call it back. This is what we believe being in control of your dog means. We ask you to recall your dog if it approaches other dogs on leads or children. That dog may be on a lead for a reason and it cannot get away from your dog’s attentions because it is on a lead which makes for a potentially stressful situation. Some children are afraid of dogs, or do not yet know how to be around them safely. Please do not let your dog approach others in this situation, even if you know they are friendly. Verbally telling a person your dog is friendly does not help if the dog being approached is ready to react or that child is frightened. Be particularly aware if a dog is wearing a yellow lead/harness or bow. There is an international campaign promoting awareness that this means a dog needs extra space. Yellow Dog UK Thank you so much for doing this. We think the woods will be a happy place if everyone followed this guidance.

Microchipping and tags legally required

You should be aware that all dogs should be microchipped once they are eight weeks old and legally should have a collar with an id tag with their owners details. It is not enough to just be microchipped. We have many “lost dogs” in the Woods and we can often reunite them in minutes if they have their legal tag on. Otherwise someone has to take your dog off site to a vets to have the chip read, making this really complicated for someone who just wants to help.  The owner of any dog that is found without a microchip can be served with a notice requiring the owner to have their dog microchipped within 21 days. The owner will then need to provide proof that their dog has been microchipped and registered on an approved database within the 21 days. Failure to do this is an offence, subject to a fine of up to £500.

Other rules

I’m sure you know that dog waste needs to be picked up and it is an offence to not do so. Waste can go in any of our bins, but we do provide 12 specific bins for this – the red dog waste bins. We remove about 1 tonne of dog waste every week from the site and it costs £6,000 plus vat each year to provide this service. This is paid for by public charitable donations to the Community Trust.

Dogs on or off lead rules

We are often asked if we could have some rules about dogs on leads in certain areas and even at all times. Others have strong opinions that this is wrong or unnecessary. We do not have an official view on this situation because the reality is the law does not allow us to make rules of this kind and so discussing it would be purely academic. We cannot create our own laws about dog behaviour because these laws are part of “primary” legislation made by government (national and local). Our byelaws cannot override this. It is possible, if absolutely necessary, for a particular type of legal order to be made for to insist all dogs should be on leads.  This would require Sandwell Council to do this and we would be the only park in the Black Country or Birmingham that had this rule.  It would not be the expectation of any visitors and completely impossible for us to enforce, because we would be relying on Sandwell Council to do this, and they have limited staff and do not manage Warley Woods. We think this is unnecessary, and that it would suggest Warley Woods has issues beyond other green spaces, which we do not believe is true. We do not think this would solve any problems but would just create more.

Other dog questions we are asked

Can we have a special area where we can let our dog off and just for dogs? As dogs are allowed in almost all of Warley Woods we think this is unnecessary. We also do not want to introduce fencing into the large open space we have as we are a grade two listed park because of the beautiful landscape. We should not restrict people’s access to the Woods and couldn’t monitor it if we did try. There are many places now where businesses have created dog walking fields with fencing if you want to exercise your dog this way. This is the closest one we know to Warley Woods  Stay and Play Field and we can see several others through a google search.

Have a problem you want to report?

If you do have a dog incident in Warley Woods then please do report it to us on this form. We do monitor these to see if we have a particular problem with an owner or dog that needs addressing. We have done this in the past and an owner was banned from walking their dogs in Warley Woods and required to have them on leads in all other places. We can only deal with issues reported in this way. Reports on Facebook do not give us the details we need to take action and so they are not to be posted in our group. They only serve to create fear and arguments between people and that is not helpful in any way to anyone. A clear description of the owner and dog and time of day, are essential and photographs very helpful. We need to know if we take action that the witnesses will be there to work with us, because we have not witnessed the incident.

If a human or dog are actually harmed, then we strongly advise you to contact the police about the incident. We cannot do this on your behalf as we are not witnesses. Use 101 or the online version of this to report the incident. We meet regularly with the police and can ask for their help, but they allocate staff resources based on reported incidents. If they see a series of incidents we have the chance of more patrols. If no-one reports incidents, then they have no reason to patrol a place. Contact us | Police.uk 

If you think your dog would benefit from training

Understanding Your Dog's Behaviour | Advice from RSPCA

We can recommend Pawmasters who organise the dog related events at our Picnic in the Park 

We can also recommend the training offered by Dogs Trust from personal experience, although their centres are not as local.  All funds raised go to support canine care.

We have already mentioned Doggy Day Care's exercise field above and they also offer training. There are many other providers.

If you are interested in the laws around dogs

Controlling your dog in public: Overview - Government website

To report a stray dog in Sandwell

To report a stray dog call Noah's Ark on 0333 577 5070. between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday. Outside these hours, and on weekends or bank holidays, please call 01733 740426

Thank you for helping us create a fabulous green space where dogs and humans can happily use it and enjoy it together.