Whistler is a pet-friendly community – we ask dog owners to follow the rules for responsible pet ownership. Did you know that by licencing your dog you assist us in making decisions on where dog parks are most needed? 

Whistler’s Animal Responsibility Bylaw sets out the rules for responsible pet ownership, which include: 

• Leash your dog – Dogs must be leashed, except when in designated off-leash parks or designated seasonal off-leash areas.

• Licence your dog – Dogs in Whistler must possess and wear a valid dog licence. 

• Pick up after your dog and put the waste in a garbage can. 

• Don’t allow your dog to become a nuisance to other people. 

• Don’t tethered your dog and leave them unattended on public property. 

Leash regulations 

• Dogs must be leashed in Whistler, except in designated off-leash parks and designated seasonal off-leash areas.
  Leashing your dog protects you, your dog, other people and pets, and Whistler’s wildlife; Whistler is bear country and off-leash dogs can create risky encounters with wildlife.  

• Dogs are not permitted on public beaches for public health reasons and are not permitted in playgrounds and water parks for safety reasons. 

• Any dog roaming at large in the municipality may be seized and impounded at the owner’s expense. 

Designated off-leash areas 

Whistler has four parks with designated off-leash areas: 

• Alpha Lake Park includes a gravel off-leash dog area known as “Arfa Park” and a designated dog dock. 

• Bayly Park in the Cheakamus Crossing neighbourhood featured an off-leash next to the parking area off Legacy Way. 

• Rainbow Park’s “Barking Bay” is located at the south end of the park. It features a small grass lawn off-leash dog areas with access to the swimming dock. Dog owners are asked to keep their dog leashed as you travel through Rainbow Park to Barking Bay. 

• Lost Lake Park welcomes off-leash dogs at “Canine Cove,” 400 metres to the north of Lost Lake beach. They are not permitted on Lost Lake beach. 

Off-leash dogs must be in the owner’s control and remain in off-leash areas. Owners must also have a leash visible and leash dogs when entering and exiting off-leash areas. Ensuring your dog is well trained and will return immediately when called will help avoid potentially risky encounters with bears. 

Whistler has two mixed use off-leash areas. The following conditions apply:  

• Spruce Grove Park: Dogs are permitted off-leash when the ball fields are not in use. 

• Meadow Park: Dogs off-leash are permitted inside the field areas when the fields are not in use. 

In the winter, the Valley Trail is groomed for multi-use activities as snow amounts allow in the following sections, with off-leash dogs permitted from:  

• Rainbow Park to Meadow Park Sports Centre 

• Fitzsimmons Trail to PassivHaus 

• Riverside Campground dyke at Mons Road along Green Lake at Nicklaus North to Alpine Way 

Dog licences 

Dogs in Whistler must possess and wear a valid dog licence. 

• Licences help us contact dog owners if a pet is lost or during an emergency. 

• If we pick up your missing dog, it gets a free ride home once per calendar year. 

• Lost and injured animals get cared for and pets get adopted with funding from your dog licence fee. 

• Dog facilities and services like off-leash dog parks are assessed using dog licencing statistics. 

• We educate the public and enforce pet rules with funding from your dog licence fee. 

Licences are available at Municipal Hall or Whistler Animals Galore (WAG). WAG receives 50 per cent of proceeds for licences purchased at the animal shelter. 

Licence fees are as follows: 

• Neutered or spayed: $25 

• Not neutered or spayed: $50 
• Aggressive dog: $100
• Vicious dog: $200

• Replacement tag: $10 

Licences must be renewed annually, starting on January 1. Renewals can be done in person or online through the RMOW’s online dog licence renewal service. 

To renew online, users need the account number and access code as listed on the renewal notices. For assistance, contact:

Financial Services
604-932-5535
 finance@whistler.ca

If you move, please remember to update your contact information with us to ensure we have the correct address on file in case your lost dog is picked up. This can be done by contacting Municipal Hall or Whistler Animals Galore (WAG), or by emailing bylawservices@whistler.ca.  

Visitors must ensure their dogs are wearing a valid licence from the community where they permanently reside. 

Lost dogs 

Whistler’s Bylaw Services staff and WAG, Whistler’s animal shelter, work together to help return lost pets to their owners. 

If you have lost or found a dog in Whistler, please phone RMOW Bylaw Services at 604-935-8280. For all lost animals, please also file a lost pet report with Whistler Animals Galore by phoning 604-935-8364. 

When Bylaw Services receives a phone call about a lost dog, a staff member will be dispatched to pick up the dog and bring it safely to WAG. If the dog is licenced, someone from WAG will try to contact the owner. If the dog is unlicenced, staff or volunteers at WAG will wait for the owner to contact them. 

If your dog has been picked up by a bylaw officer and brought to WAG, there is a fee to retrieve it. The fee depends on whether or not it is licenced, has been impounded before, or is deemed to be dangerous. 

• First impoundment of a licensed animal: $0
• First impoundment of an unlicensed animal: $80
• Second and subsequent impoundment of animal: $100
• Aggressive dog: $300
• Vicious dog $500

An unlicenced impounded dog will require a licence before release. 

Picking up after dogs 

Please pick up after dogs and dispose of waste appropriately. Failure to do so could result in a fine of $100. 

Compostable dog waste bags are provided at many parks and trail junctures.  

Pick Up Protocol (PUP) 

Dog owners in Whistler can help turn their pet’s waste into high-quality soil, thanks to a pilot program in two of Whistler’s off-leash parks: Bayly Park and Alpha Lake Park. 

The PUP program provides special compostable dog waste bags which dog owners can use to pick up their pet’s waste before disposing of them in a marked red PUP bin. The waste collected is then added to Whistler’s composting stream, rather than being shipped as garbage to the landfill.  

Animal control 

Whistler’s Bylaw Officers have several animal control responsibilities to protect the safety and enjoyment of residents, visitors and animals. These include:  

• proactively patrolling Whistler parks; 

• responding to calls about off-leash dogs, barking dogs (noise complaints), dog bites and dangerous dog incidents; 

• educating the public about responsible dog ownership (licencing, leashing, picking up dog waste); 

• monitoring dogs left in hot vehicles (please note, we do not have the authority to enter vehicles – this falls to the RCMP or SPCA); and 

• picking up (impounding) dogs at large or lost dogs in partnership with WAG. 

Noise complaints 

Dogs bark as a way of communicating. However, if a dog barking becomes a nuisance, we recommend you first contact the dog’s owners; let them know you are concerned about the barking and give them a chance to remedy the situation.  

If the problem persists, report your concern to Bylaw Services. You will need to provide: 

• Your name, address and phone number 

• The address of the barking dog 

• Description of the barking dog 

• Dates and times when you’ve been hearing the barking 

Bylaw Services will then file a report and investigate. A bylaw officer will visit the owners of the barking dog to let them know they have received a complaint and suggest ways to prevent nuisance barking. Bylaw staff will take further action as required. 

Animals in distress 

To report an animal in distress, phone the Animal Cruelty Reporting Hotline toll-free at 1-855-6BC-SPCA (1-855-622-7722). The call centre is open seven days per week.