We hope you and your dog enjoy Selsdon Wood.

Croydon Council and the National Trust welcome responsible dog owners. They are an important part of our community and are able to look out and report any vandalising and criminal acts. However some owners do not, or are not able to, keep their dog(s) under proper control – these dogs can join with others and run in packs, chasing and intimidating visitors and wildlife. They can also jump up and show aggression to others. This behaviour is against the National Trust Byelaw 8c.

When using the woods with your dog:

1. Please protect wildlife in this nature reserve by preventing dogs chasing squirrels, deer or foxes and wandering off the paths through the undergrowth disturbing animals feeding, breeding and sleeping.
2. Please keep your dog within your sight at all times and ensure that it returns when called. If you cannot do this, please keep it on a lead.
3. Please do not allow your dog to be aggressive or in any way disturb other site users. If necessary, keep dogs on a lead or use a muzzle.
4. Please remember that your reassurance that your dog "will not hurt you" is not always enough to satisfy those people who have a fear or dislike of dogs.
   
5. Please ensure your dog is wearing a collar and identity tag so that it can be returned if it should stray. Ideally have your dog micro-chipped.
6. Please always clear up after your dog. There are dog bins by the car park and Kingfisher Gardens gate. The site is too big to provide more, so please be responsible and take your bag home. Leaving used bags lying around the wood or hanging from bushes is unsightly and is classed as littering under National Trust Byelaw 8b.

If you are walking more than one dog, are you sure you can still comply with all of the above? Many people including young children enjoy Selsdon Woods – so please do not let your dog spoil their day!

Croydon Council's Dog Control Orders are shown in the above poster. These apply throughout Selsdon Wood.

If you are concerned about the behaviour of your dog there are lots of dog and puppy training classes in this area - just type 'puppy training classes Croydon' into Google to see the options

Most of the correspondence received by the FSW is about dogs!

19/9/12 - I was going to contact Croydon Council, but thought I would start with you first. My friend and I would like to see some dog waste bins inside the bird sanctuary. We know there are bins in the car park entrance and at the Selsdon Vale entrance, but there is not a single bin anywhere else. We know it would be impossible to place bins in every field, but we think there is a need for more. My friend and I went on many dog walks with our children over the summer holiday and on one particular occasion alone, my poor friend and her children managed to step in 3 separate piles of poo! Luckily, as it's happened before, she was equipped with wipes and gloves. It is very popular for dog walking and I always take poo bags with me and pick up, but there are plenty of people that don't. There is a lot of dog waste left, if there were more bins provided people my be more willing to clear up after their dogs. Some people do pick up, but throw their poo bags into the bushes and trees, I suspect because they don't want to walk the long journey to the designated poo bins. Can you let me know if this has been requested before and what we can do to try and get more bins. Many thanks.

We have a lot of sympathy with your argument but Croydon have told us that they will only site bins where they can be serviced by a vehicle. However we too, would like to see more bins - perhaps one at the Courtwood Lane roundabout and one at the Yew Tree Way entrance for example - so do please contact the Council - they may be persuaded by the weight of opinion if they are approached by a number of separate individuals.

All dog walkers know that they should pickup after their dog and those that do not do it now would be unlikely to change their ways. The ones who hang it on trees often do so within sight of the existing bins - bags are often left at the top of the car park field, for example. I cannot understand why anyone can possibly think that this is a suitable thing to do with dog poo!!! One thing that we have asked the Council about is a notice to inform people of the existing bylaw that prevents anyone from walking more than 4 dogs. They have told us that a notice will go up 'soon'. The main reason for the limit is that walkers with more than 4 dogs are unlikely to be vigilant enough to pick up after all of their charges so that is supposed to be a strategy to address the poo problem. The Friends have our own notices at all the entrances urging dog owners to be responsible.

22/6/12 - I am a Forestdale resident and frequent user of Selsdon Wood. I run in the woods 3 or 4 times a week. On Monday afternoon I was attacked by two dogs. My clothes were torn by their teeth and I have scratches to my legs. The owner said they did it because I was running. I have also been tripped and barked and growled at by dogs on numerous occasions. There are a number of problems: owners with more than one dog that they cannot control; owners walking in large groups which can have as many as six or seven dogs which then believe they are a pack; a lack of awareness of owners of how their dogs react. I am a former dog owner so I have no problem with dogs. However, I am extremely concerned about my safety when running and the safety of my children when they go to the woods. There is also the extremely unpleasant problem of dog mess which I think is getting worse. I have contacted Croydon about this and I am awaiting a response. I am not sure what can be done, I would be interested to hear what the Friends of Selsdon Wood have to say about this serious and worsening problem. I was almost seriously hurt, I had to physically fight off two large, strong and aggressive dogs. I think it is only a matter of time before someone, maybe a child is seriously hurt.

Please have concern for other users of the woods and keep your dogs under control.

This prompted a response from another resident:

24/6/12 - I was interested to see the letter on your website about dog behaviour. I have two rescue dogs and have to keep them on their leads when they go out. They are well behaved generally but cannot be trusted with other dogs. I often have problems with dogs that will not leave my dogs alone and keep tormenting them. I hope it is not thought that my dogs and I have no right to exercise in the woods. I agree with your correspondent that all dog owners must be able to control their dogs if they take them into Selsdon Wood.I also agree about the need for dog owners to at least flick their dog's excrement off the paths, using one of the sticks lying around; and certainly not hang it up for all to see!'