THE trouble with changing the rules and allowing dogs at Lake Canobolas is that the minority of pet owners who ignore laws about keeping dogs on leads in town are likely to spoil it for everyone at the popular picnic spot too.

Currently, dogs are banned from the lake reserve and generally dog owners abide by that rule.

With scores of families enjoying picnics and barbecues there in the warmer months the last thing they would want would be an untethered dog bounding through their lunch.

With the lake also an important site for bird life it is better off without dogs roaming the lake’s edge.

And whether they are kept on leashes or not, dogs will spook the birds that live around the water’s edge.

Dog owners may say that kept on a leash the family pet is no threat to people or wildlife but it’s not just the dogs on leads that council needs to consider.

It’s the same owners who allow their dogs to roam round areas like Brabham Park, which is not an off-leash area, or on the city streets that are the management issue for rangers.

Orange has several off leash areas in town and Bloomfield Park on the southern outskirts where dogs can be let off the lead. In these areas people need to accept that they may encounter dogs and appreciate that the latter is not the place for a picnic.

Lake Canobolas has a different function altogether. Visitors know that dogs are not going to be out there, on leads or not, and families with young children flock there.

Changing the rules might encourage a few more visits from dog owners with the family pet but if they prove a nuisance the rule change will only discourage others.

As it stands Lake Canobolas Reserve is a terrific picnic and swimming spot on the edge of the forests of Mount Canobolas. It is not the ideal place to encourage domestic pets.