1. The document discusses achieving responsible outdoor access with dogs by thinking of it as a "place-ballet" involving careful choreography to maintain proper control. 2. It suggests raising awareness of common circumstances and distractions that can lead control to break down, like losing visual contact around corners. 3. Understanding perceptions of the environment, dogs' needs, and what constitutes freedom is important for access behaviors. 4. Encouraging engagement between dogs and humans and with their specific surroundings could provide therapeutic effects without compromising control.

1. Human-dog-environment interactions
& achieving responsible outdoor access Katrina Brown
in practice Twitter: @outdoor access
‘Dogs & Outdoor Access’ Participatory Video: http://www.macaulay.ac.uk/videos/CLOAF/

2. The Code on dogs
 Rights of outdoor access with a dog only apply provided dogs are
‘under proper control’
 In certain circumstances (e.g. fields containing young animals or bird
breeding areas), there is further instruction to keep your dog ‘on a
short lead or under close control’
 ‘Under close control’ means that the dog is able to respond to your
commands and is kept close at heel (the Code, p.43)

3. Problem: dogs not ‘under proper control’
The irresponsible behaviour of the well-meaning

4. When behaviour goes from responsible … to irresponsible …

5. Recognising key moments & situations when ‘proper
control’ can break down … and their pre-conditions
 Anticipation is vital
Commons pre-conditions of
 Tuning-in to:
breakdown:
 dog (e.g. their senses, body  Visual contact lost
language, distance away, your • round corners
sphere of control)
• over a rise or hill
 environment (e.g. weather, • in trees/undergrowth
topography, vegetation)  Aural contact lost
• distance too far
• downwind of dog
Common social distractions:
• Friends
• Children
• Mobile phones

6. ‘they’ve got that body language’

7. Understanding how ‘proper control’
is achieved in practice
thinking of responsible dogwalking as
choreography
Interactions and arrangements of dog and human
bodies into movements, steps and sequences, where
‘place-ballet’ distances, timing and body language matter
… which must be achieved in relation to a
particular place or environment

8. ‘they see it as a playground for dogs’

9. Environmental perceptions &
landscape literacy
How dogwalkers perceive and
‘read’ the environment matters
In terms of human
wellbeing – desire to
relax and let go
Notions of open country as places
of ‘freedom’, ‘escape’, ‘wildness’ &
‘emptiness’

10. Wellbeing effects associated with
freedom & relaxation
Directly shape access behaviour with dogs
1. Can be easier for human to relax if dog is off-lead
2. Similar notions of freedom & escape applied to dog
wellbeing
 free-running exercise is important for dog welfare
 but not necessarily ‘running wild’
 dogs can still benefit from human contact & exchange
 indeed vital to maintain ‘proper control’

11. Dogs experience different environments
differently Cannot assume that the command-response
in one env will be the same in another
Different sights, sounds and smells
How much do dogwalkers
recognise & train for this?
Different environments go into
different categories in a dog’s head

12. 4 key implications
… and questions for discussion

13. 1. Think of responsible dogwalking in terms of practical
choreography in specific environments (or ‘place-ballet’ if
you like!) … where goal is remaining ‘under proper control’
QUESTIONS
 In what kind of imaginative ways can we tap into the
practical and interactional aspects of dogwalking?
 More education or more capacity building?
 What exactly do dogwalkers need educated about for the
practical achievement of ‘proper control’?
 What kinds of knowledge, skill & awareness are lacking?

14. 2. Raise awareness about the crux circumstances & distractions
that unwittingly lead to irresponsible behaviour
QUESTIONS
 Q. How can we help dogwalkers
recognise the pre-conditions of access
transgressions (not just the
transgressions themselves)?
 Might involve drawing attention to:
 ‘reading’ the dog
 ‘reading’ the environment
 social distractions

15. 3. Understand common perceptions of environment,
nature and dogs (their needs & desires) that underpin
access behaviours.
QUESTIONS
 How can we gently challenge unhelpful perceptions or
assumptions e.g.
 That dogs will automatically respond to
their owners in the same way in different
environments
 That dogs have to ‘run wild’ to be happy &
healthy
 That livestock only live in fields (behind
fences)
 That remote and bleak landscapes are
‘empty’ (e.g. of other creatures)

16. 4. Encourage a more engaged
therapeutic effect from off-lead
dogwalking in the countryside
QUESTIONS
 How can off-lead dogwalking fulfil dog and human
wellbeing needs without constituting unfettered
‘freedom’?
… which is rarely possible, and as far as dogs are
concerned, rarely desirable
… where the relaxation and recreation of both humans and
dogs does not have to come at a cost to other users,
livestock or wildlife
 How can dogs and humans become
more engaged with each other?
 Capacity building through e.g.  How can humans become more
engaged with the specifics of the
 Training games environment (just as their dogs are)?
 Facilities / training-in-context

17. Thank you!
The 12 minute film ‘Dogs & Outdoor Access’ made as
the Participatory Video project with Cairngorms
Local Outdoor Access Forum is available to watch at:
http://www.macaulay.ac.uk/videos/CLOAF/
Twitter: @outdoor access
Info on this research and other aspects of understanding and
managing outdoor access conflicts
katrina.brown@hutton.ac.uk

18. Summary
1. Think of responsible dogwalking in terms of practical
choreography in specific environments (or ‘place-ballet’ if
you like!) in which the goal is remaining ‘under proper
control’
2. Raise awareness about the crux circumstances & distractions
that unwittingly lead to irresponsible behaviour
3. Understand the perceptions of environment, nature and
dogs (their needs & desires) that underpin access
behaviours
4. Encourage a more engaged therapeutic effect from
dogwalking in the countryside