College Lake: A dog free nature reserve

We recognise that it can be disappointing for visitors who have been hoping to experience our reserve with their pets. However, there are a number of reasons we limit dog access, including:

• Wildlife responds to dogs as predators, even if on a lead. Where research has been undertaken, it has been shown that the regular presence of dogs causes a marked decrease in the nesting success of birds and alterations in territorial boundaries of larger animals. As a nature reserve, our core goal of the site is to allow nature to thrive and we feel that the presence of dogs across the site on a daily basis would result in a marked impact on the wildlife present.
   
• Creating any exceptions to the dog policy will mean we have a large number of dogs brought to the site. Unfortunately, the evidence on most countryside sites where dogs are present is that some dog owners will not behave responsibly (although we are sure you were planning to!). Indeed, even as a dog free site we still sometimes find dogs off lead in the reserve, where people have slipped through restricted gates so as not to talk to our volunteers. Policing this becomes time consuming for our volunteers and often unfortunately proves ineffective.
   
• The geography of the site means the regularly used routes will bring any walked dogs into direct contact with our livestock, which are essential for the management of our grasslands. The presence of dogs is likely to create a ‘fear effect’ in the animals, deterring them from grazing areas near the paths. Aside from the risk to the livestock from potentially loose dogs, their presence is likely to result in a detrimental impact on the grazing. Additionally, any unnoticed fouling poses a risk of illness in the animals which is difficult to keep on top of.
   
• Dogs not under close control pose a significant threat to water birds, which undergo a moult several times a year which renders them flightless. This makes them particularly susceptible to predation by dogs which, as mentioned above, are unlikely to be on a lead or under close control in all situations. Additionally, flea treatments on domestic dogs can very quickly have a significant impact on aquatic invertebrates if dogs access the water, which is a regular occurrence even in restricted water bodies where dogs are exercised.
   
• College Lake acts as a safe space for many local people who are afraid of or uneasy around dogs. We frequently get comments from people who feel this is one of the only sites locally where they can be guaranteed to be away from dogs, which we feel is valuable in a landscape with many other dog friendly countryside walking spots.

Assistance Dogs

Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK) is the umbrella organisation for registered charities that train dogs for disabled people within the United Kingdom.

ADUK is affiliated to Assistance Dogs International (ADI), a worldwide coalition of not-for-profit organisations that train and place assistance dogs with disabled people.

At College Lake we follow ADUK stands for assistance dogs. For more information, please visit: Assistance Dogs UK

College Lake Visitor Information