\u201cThe overwhelming number of dogs<\/a> in this city has destroyed most of the grass and especially the trees,\u201d commented one person on a Facebook post about leashing by Northly Toronto, adding that their local park smells so strongly of urine, it\u2019s \u201chard to walk by.\u201d A post in the AskTO sub-Reddit asked, \u201cWhat\u2019s with dogs being everywhere now, inside and out?\u201d One response read, \u201cMy fave is going to a playground surrounded by \u2018No Dogs\u2019 signs, through a gate that said \u2018No Dogs,\u2019 and seeing someone\u2019s dog pissing in the sand my kid plays on.\u201d<\/p>\n The tension isn\u2019t limited to the streets: Like Gabura, many pet owners<\/a> live in condos, and between building bylaws that specify breed and size restrictions, neighbours who refuse to share an elevator with Fido and a lack of adjacent dog parks, these communal living spaces can be anti-pooch pressure cookers.<\/p>\n Susan Kao\/Toronto star illustration <\/p>\n The changing face of dog ownership<\/p>\n The city is \u201caware\u201d of an increase in the number of dogs since the pandemic, said City of Toronto senior communications adviser Naomi Ahmad. Toronto is home to 47,000 officially licensed dogs, but a 2025 city estimate<\/a> put the actual number at 600,000 or more.<\/p>\n \u201cDog ownership has increased a lot, and the way that people are treating their dogs has changed,\u201d observed Oakville native Dylan Munro, who is based in New York City now but recently spent time in Toronto researching the pet-owner market to launch \u201chuman-grade\u201d pet food delivery service, Spot & Tango. \u201cYounger people are delaying having kids, and they\u2019re treating their dogs like kids.\u201d<\/p>\n Dog owners have to read the room, said five-year-old golden Aussie Roo\u2019s owner Shara Brown. \u201cYour dog doesn\u2019t need to be sitting on your lap at the table while we\u2019re eating dinner,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Brown, a movement and wellness coach, lives near Sorauren Park, where there\u2019s been conflict between dog owners who let their pets roam free on the soccer field and the families who play there. \u201cIf you can tell there\u2019s a kid that doesn\u2019t feel comfortable, leash your dog up or remove them from the area. Be mindful of who\u2019s around.\u201d<\/p>\n Safety first<\/p>\n In response to these kinds of incidents, the city created a Dangerous Dog registry<\/a> in 2024, bylaw officers patrol parks, and bus shelters and Facebook feeds have been plastered with posters addressing the issue. An early tag line was, \u201cRemember not everybody loves her,\u201d and more recently, \u201cAll dogs must be leashed in public. No excuses,\u201d and \u201cMy dog is friendly: No\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDog owners can help prevent incidents by always keeping their dogs leashed and under control in public, and encouraging others to do the same,\u201d said Ahmad.<\/p>\n But dogs need to run, and many dog owners feel there aren\u2019t enough areas for that. \u201cThe city needs to step in and understand that there\u2019s a demand for a certain type of space that\u2019s not being met,\u201d said Brown.<\/p>\n The city has plans to add 13 more off-leash areas over the next two years, bringing the total to 94 across 23 wards.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI know what it\u2019s like to want to take my dog to an off-leash area, and I also know what it\u2019s like to have a strange dog run at my son,\u201d said Mimico resident Eric Code, who has a black Labrador retriever and a six-year-old child. He\u2019s a member of the 5,700-strong Toronto Dog Park Community<\/a>, a grassroots effort to get the city to create an off-leash master plan.<\/p>\n \u201cThe main goal of our group is to develop places where people and dogs can enjoy our precious green spaces in harmony,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is tension \u2014 but without proper planning there would be more tension.\u201d<\/p>\n Their pressure helped result in a dog strategy<\/a> released last September. It\u2019s a positive step in the right direction, said Code, but there\u2019s \u201croom for improvement\u201d when it comes to by-law enforcement, which is \u201ccritical\u201d in places like schoolyards.<\/p>\n The need for good behaviour<\/p>\n Andre Yeu has been a dog trainer for 16 years, and said the number of complaints he hears about dog behaviour has never been higher. \u201cToronto has become a dog city, but it hasn\u2019t necessarily figured out how to become a dog-savvy city,\u201d said the founder of When Hounds Fly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
As pet ownership spikes, Toronto businesses are struggling to balance customer demand with strict public health regulations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
As pet ownership spikes, Toronto businesses are struggling to balance customer demand with strict public health regulations.<\/p>\n He noted that less than 10 per cent of dog owners invest in puppy classes or any formal training. \u201cAs the total population of dogs increases, the total number of dogs that don\u2019t have the required skills to cope and live in harmony with the neighbours is increasing,\u201d said Yeu. He\u2019d love to see Toronto emulate parts of Europe where all dog owners are required to take classes.<\/p>\n As the owner of a seven-year-old, one-eyed rescue American bulldog mix named Mikey, Yeu understands the growing humanization of pets; when he became a dog owner for the first time, he felt a love he\u2019d never experienced before. \u201cWhen you have that unconditional obsession with your dog, you might become biased and not recognize that barking is annoying, or that dogs rushing up to people without permission is scary for a lot of people,\u201d he said. \u201cFifteen years ago, you had a dog, you left it in the yard. The idea of bringing your dog to watch your kid\u2019s soccer game would probably not have occurred to people. Now, it\u2019s like, \u2018Of course, we\u2019d bring our dog.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Problems arise when people bring their dogs to difficult environments but don\u2019t equip them for it. \u201cThat\u2019s when these dogs stop being the ones you don\u2019t notice, and they\u2019re in the face of people, infringing on their right to be left alone,\u201d he said. \u201cIf that dog is properly trained, you shouldn\u2019t even know it\u2019s there.\u201d<\/p>\n The urge to leave the city<\/p>\n Tobi, a five-year-old Pembrooke Welsh corgi, loves wandering the shops of Yorkville and checking out new cafes. Sometimes, she\u2019s not welcomed. \u201cI\u2019ll hear someone mutter under their breath, \u2018Why do you have to bring your dog everywhere?\u2019\u201d said her owner, Belicia Chung, a TikTok creator<\/a> who documents their city life together. \u201cBut I know Tobi isn\u2019t doing anything particularly bothersome and is happily browsing the shelves with me, so I let it go.\u201d<\/p>\n Chung daydreams about having more green space with grass for Tobi to roll in. \u201cMy husband and I would love to buy a house with plenty of backyard space for her, but we may have to sacrifice by moving out of the city to afford that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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