SENIOR officers of Mornington Peninsula Shire are privately disappointed at what they say is misleading coverage of its new dog laws, especially the fuss made over the so-called one-metre lead rule.

One officer, who did not want to be named, said some coverage held the shire up to ridicule by claiming dog owners were now required to have dogs on one-metre long leads within five metres of any playground, permanent public barbecue, sporting event or organised sports training, and shared pathways.

This generated critical media coverage as well as a flurry of emails and phone calls between residents and to the shire saying it is over-regulating dogs.

The wording of the shire's dog law is partly to blame. It states: A person in charge of a dog in any road or public place must have such dog under effective control by means of a chain, cord or leash not exceeding one metre in length.

What it should have stated is that dog owners must shorten a lead of any length to one metre when near a road or public place.

"It's dog handling commonsense – most people bring their dogs closer to them when they are walking through crowds, near moving cars or similar situations, including if encountering strange dogs," the officer said.

"Many people would shorten their leads to even less than a metre so their animal is right next to their legs or hip."

The one-metre rule was not new and had been introduced by the shire in 1996, he said. The new part was where people were required to shorten leads.

The shire expects responsible dog owners to do the right thing, but the new laws give rangers a stronger enforcement tool to combat what it describes as a small minority of irresponsible dog owners.

The new law also provides shire rangers with discretionary powers over people exercising their dogs off lead in public places. This will benefit owners and their dogs as people will not be fined if found walking their dogs and not creating nuisance. Examples include a deserted beach or empty park, but the onus is still on owners to clip their dogs onto a leash if someone arrives.