The first day of April is not only April Fool’s Day but it also marks the start of the leash season for dogs in the canton. From 1st April – 31st July, all dogs are to kept on a leash whilst out in the forest or near the woods. It was introduced to protect the wild animals living in these areas, who give birth during spring. If your caught in those areas with your dog not on a lease you can expect to be fined.
As any dog owners should already know, dogs must be on a leash when in public places throughout the year – particularly in parks, businesses, retail shops and when on the streets and public transport.
Kennels & Vets…
If you are planning to go on holiday without your dogs, there are several kennels to leave your dogs, but you do need to sign up early:
The Tierheim in Root, is perhaps the best known, it is the homebase of the local animal protection society.
Hunde-Wiese and Hundepension are great websites to show you all the dog kennels in Switzerland. Villa Bunterhund (highly recommended) and Tierheim Paradiesli for just two examples for you.
There are also many vets in the area. The Obergrund Tierheim is recommended by the Living in Luzern team, with the vets always being very friendly, competent and speak good English.
Ticks will be back out soon and some of the local ones carry lime disease, here is a post on how to deal with ticks.
