Can you walk your dog without a leash?
Verified 21 February 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
As a general rule, dogs must be kept on a leash in certain places or if they pose a danger. However, special rules are laid down for dogs of the 1st category (attack dogs) or 2nd category (guard and defense dogs) : they must obligatory be kept on a leash in public spaces.
General case
You must keep your dog on a leash if it presents a danger for people or other pets. You are liable for damage that your dog may cause to people or other pets.
The departmental health regulations generally provide that dogs may only travel on public roads in urban areas if they are kept on a leash.
The mayor may also prohibit dogs on a leash from entering certain premises. These measurements are displayed at the entrance of public gardens for example.
In national parks, the park superintendent may prohibit dogs on a leash from entering certain areas. However, the guide dogs for blind people or assistant to disabled persons may be allowed in certain areas of the park. These measurements are posted at the park entrance and on the park's website.
In woods and forests, it is forbidden to walk dogs on leashes outside the forest pathways during the period from april 15 to june 30.
It is forbidden to let your dog ramble in cultivated or uncultivated land, meadows, vineyards, orchards, woods and in marshes and on the edge of waterways, ponds and lakes.
The purpose of these prohibitions is to prevent the destruction of birds and game species and to promote their restocking.
One dog is considered rambling he is no longer under the effective supervision of his master and is out of range of voice or any sound instrument permitting his recall. This does not apply in the case of a hunt or in the case of a herd watchdog.
A dog is also considered wandering if it is removed from its owner or the person responsible for a dog distance exceeding 100 meters.
Any dog abandoned, left to his own instincts, is in a state of rambling. This does not apply to a dog that participated in a hunt if it is shown that the owner undertook every effort to find and retrieve the dog, including after the hunt had ended.
1st or 2nd category dog
The attack dogs (said to be 1re category) and guard and defense dogs (said of 2e category) are subject to more restrictive special provisions as regards their movement in the various public places.
Category 1 dog
The attack dogs of 1re category are dogs from crossings morphologically comparable to dogs of the following breeds:
- Staffordshire terrier and American Staffordshire terrier (commonly known as pit bulls)
- Mastiff (commonly called boerbulls)
- Tosa
A dog of 1re category must be on a leash by a adult and muzzled on the public road and in the common areas of shared buildings.
Access to public transport, in public places other than public roads and in premises open to the public forbidden to dogs of 1re category.
He is forbidden park in the common areas of the communal buildings with a dog of 1re category.
Failure to comply with these obligations may be punished by a fine of €150.
2nd category dog
The guard and defense dogs of 2e category are the dogs of the following breeds :
- Staffordshire terrier and American Staffordshire terrier (commonly known as pit bulls)
- Rottweiler
- Tosa
The category of guard and defense dogs also includes dogs from breeding that can be morphologically assimilated to Rottweiler dogs.
A dog of 2e category must be on a leash by a adult and muzzled on public roads, in common areas of public buildings, in public places, premises open to the public and public transport.
Failure to comply with these obligations may be punished by a fine of €150.
Reminder
A minor cannot detain a dog of 1re or 2e category.