Dog exercise areas, education and events

Dog exercise areas

Dogs need to be walked daily, some more active dogs will require additional exercise to stay happy and healthy. Taking your dog to an exercise area can be a great way for your dog to use up more of their energy and help reduce barking.

Check below to find out where you:

can exercise your dog off-leash
can walk your dog on-lead
can’t take your dog.

Off-leash areas

It's important that we have off-leash exercise areas and dog-friendly parks that are fun for people and their pooches. Hamilton has more than 20 off-leash areas where you can exercise your dog safely.

While enjoying these parks please ensure dogs are kept under control, do not roam outside the designated area and are cleaned up after.

Find an off-leash area

On-leash areas

Leashed dogs are welcome in most of the Hamilton Town Belt and on city streets.

Fully fenced dog exercise areas

Hamilton has a fully fenced off-leash dog exercise area at Minogue Park in Forest Lake. This is a controlled environment for dogs to run around safely. The park has lots of native trees, seats, and a doggy water fountain too.

Exclusion areas

There are some areas you can’t take your dog such as the:

enclosed Hamilton Gardens
Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park
Hamilton East and West Cemeteries
lawn surrounding The Verandah Café at Hamilton Lake
the playground at Hamilton Lake Domain
areas within 10 metres of playgrounds.

Hamilton dog trainers

We don’t offer dog obedience training but there are a number of dog trainers in Hamilton who do. Each offers a range of certifications and classes for obedience training. Some run one-on-one sessions for specific problems.

Please contact them directly for details.

Dirty Dog Challenge

If your dog loves running, climbing, water and mud, and you don't mind getting a bit grubby, then this is the event for you!

Together with Waikato District Council, we hold an annual mud-filled obstacle course event for you and your dog. It’s our way of giving something back to all our wonderful dog owners.

The event is open to dogs of all shapes and sizes, but they must be vaccinated and in good health. They will need to be kept on a lead through the course.

You’ll find details of our next Dirty Dog Challenge here soon. Keep checking in or follow us on Facebook to stay in the know.

If you have any further questions, please email dogevent@hcc.govt.nz