Taking your dog for a walk in the park has become a complicated mission, or at least that's what Hastings woman Michelle Marshall and her pet pooch Bella have found.
The two go for regular walks at Windsor Park near their Sylvan Rd home in Hastings but recently were told they were in breach of a Hastings District Council bylaw.
"A man from the council came up to me and said it was illegal to walk my dog in the park," Ms Marshall said.
"But the thing is, there are two different warning signs. One says, do not walk your dog and the other one below it says, you must keep your dog on a lead at all times," she said.
"It's really confusing."
Ms Marshall and her jack russell terrier have been visiting Windsor Park since January this year and it was the first time she had been issued a warning.
"There are other people walking their dogs as well, mostly around the park and not across it. I could see the man from the council talking to other people about the rules as well," she said.
"I think the council could give us better warning of their rules, or make the signs a bit clearer about where we can go."
She thought the no-dog rules were unfair when pet owners had to pay "expensive dog fees" and rates to upkeep the park.
She was also under the impression the council was going to install scanners at the park to tell which dogs had been walking there illegally.
The council introduced a tougher dog control bylaw in 2009 which included banning dogs from sports fields, which applied to the sports field at Windsor park.
No changes to the bylaw had been made since then nor were there any changes in the pipeline.
The council said dog control officers had portable scanners in their vehicles and there was one at the pound for reading the details which were on microchips.
The scanners were introduced in 2009 but the council had no plans to install fixed scanners at the park or anywhere else in Hastings.
Dogs were banned from all Hastings council civic buildings, libraries, public swimming pools and paddling pools. Canines were also not allowed at children's playing areas under the control of the council or at areas set aside for organised games, sports or other areas zoned as sports parks in the Hastings district.
Areas zoned as sports parks: Frimley Park, Bill Matthewson Park, Akina Park, St Leonards Park, Kirkpatrick Park, Windsor Park, Flaxmere Park, Ron Giorgi Park, Chatham Park, Anderson Park, Guthrie Park, Haumoana Memorial Park.
A list of areas where you can walk dogs on a lead as well as off-lead areas is available on the council website, by searching Bylaws Part 09: Dog Control: www.hastingsdc.govt.nz