Dog Wardens

Every council in the UK has a Dog Warden. Each council also has its own method of reporting a concern about a dog and contacting a dog warden to respond. It can require a lot of patience if your hope is to get through to a live person, as it’s mostly done online.

If you wish to speak with a person, you can practice your patience by phoning your local council and going through the recording options.

To find your local council’s phone number visit Contact your local council in Scotland - mygov.scot.

The main role of a Dog Warden is to seize stray dogs. There is no legal definition of what a stray dog is, but it is generally accepted as an unattended dog in a public place.

Typically, a dog warden’s responsibilities are as follows:

• Dealing with stray dogs

• Enforcing dog related legislation

• Promotion of responsible dog ownership

• Dog fouling

• Noise distubance caused by dogs

• Education

• Liaising and working alongside other agencies

Contact a Dog Warden:

To report to your local dog warden in Scotland, visit Report an out of control dog - mygov.scot

For England, Controlling your dog in public: Report a dog - GOV.UK

For Wales, Dog and Animal Wardens

The National Dog Wardens Association (NWDA) works with the Scottish Government as expert advisors. They are the voice of dog warden members and provide training and support but do not typically engage with council matters