Those dangers included being a threat to wildlife, harassing people and chasing horses.
Dog owners were repeatedly described as having a poor regard for rules, lacking control of their animals and not caring much if something went wrong.
The behaviour of dogs in public places and attitudes of their owners were under scrutiny yesterday at a Dunedin City Council dog control bylaw hearing.
Proposed changes include allowing dogs on a leash in the Octagon and George St, allowing them off leash at Pūrākaunui Beach north of Dunedin and limiting the number of dogs a person may have in their charge to six and no more than two of them being off the leash.
Brighton Pony Club president Justine Ragg supported a stretch of beach from Ocean View to the Kaikorai Estuary being a dog-on-leash area, but was worried about others being "loose-dog areas".
She showed video footage to the hearing of a horse being chased at a beach by a dog until the rider fell.
"Even in our pony club grounds, we’ve had dog attacks," she said.
Some dog owners did not seem to understand the level of risk, did not care or could not control their animals, she said.
Dunedin Pony Club chief coach Megan Meade said children on ponies had been attacked.
She wanted a rule banning dogs from coming within 20m of horses.
Brighton Rd resident Lisa Brown said the proposed on-leash area at the beach beside the Westwood Recreation Reserve was too restrictive.
Motorbikes, harness racing activity and horses travelling at speed were more likely to cause danger or a nuisance to any wildlife in the area, she said.
Woof! Bar director Josh Thomas said he wanted to walk his dog in George St.
The Halo Project submission said dogs posed an undue and preventable risk to the welfare of vulnerable native wildlife and should be prohibited from Pūrākaunui Beach, Mapoutahi Pa, and the access track.
"We wish to see the same protection that is provided to populations of penguins on Otago Peninsula applied to Dunedin’s northern beaches so that fragile populations have safe space to breed."
Predator Free Dunedin project manager Kimberley Collins said Dunedin needed to "walk the talk" of being the wildlife capital of New Zealand.
Kate Milne was worried about how a cap on dogs per person could have a negative impact on dog-walking businesses.
Sharon Kitchingman said groups of dogs handled by one person were sometimes involved in activities such as dog agility and they tended to be well-trained.
The hearing continues today.
