Councillors this week voted 9-4 to adopt the amended dog control bylaw and policy and approve they come into effect on May 5 next year.
The changes include allowing dogs on-leash in the Octagon and sections of Princes and George Sts, as well as allowing dogs off-leash in certain areas of Ross Creek Reserve, the Frasers Gully Recreation Reserve track and unformed legal roads in Woodside Glen.
Dogs must still remain on-leash when at Te Rauone Beach and Purakaunui Beach.
Crs David Benson-Pope, Christine Garey, Marie Laufiso and Steve Walker opposed the motion.
Cr Bill Acklin said the biggest focus of the hearings committee, which made recommendations to the council, was on safety and the protection of wildlife.
The majority of submitters were supportive of the recommended changes, a couple of which the committee recommended to retain the status quo, but the changes overall were not huge.
"No matter what you do, people are going to like it and people are not going to like it, and we certainly learned that on the way through with this one."
The community had been "quite split" about whether or not dogs should be allowed in the CBD, but there was greater support in favour.
Cr Walker said he believed that every dog owner thought their dog was the best in the world.
He was "slightly conflicted" on the motion, and was uneasy about some of the committee’s recommendations.
He believed complaints would start "rolling in" if dogs were allowed on-leash in areas of the central city, and the rule might need to be revisited.
The vast majority of dog owners he knew were law-abiding and obeyed the rules, but the few who did not had a "disproportionately devastating" effect on native wildlife, and some of the changes could exacerbate the current situation.
Cr Brent Weatherall said he was pleased he and other responsible dog owners would no longer have to break the bylaw by having their four-legged friends with them in the city centre.
The changes would add to the "inclusive vibe" councillors sought for the city and could bring benefits to retail.
Cr Mandy Mayhem said people were very passionate with their views "and particularly pertaining to their fur babies".
"Dunedin is a city of many loved and cherished pooches, and let’s just hope that other dog owners will be responsible and take seriously their responsibilities to all of us and to our wildlife in the area."
Cr Garey said she had a memory of a "white, fluffy kid magnet" outside a Dunedin primary school, standing calmly beside its owner on a leash.
"And then suddenly, it leapt and grabbed a child’s face in its jaw.
"It was unprovoked, sudden and it was on-leash, and I’ve never forgotten that."
While Cr Garey said she did not share others’ confidence about the changes, she appreciated that for many people their dogs were "beloved family members".
