Dog Runs and Dog Parks in Singapore: Where to Go, Rules

Last checked: 22 October 2026. Every rule below links to the NParks, Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS), HDB, ministry, Sentosa or Singapore law page it comes from. NParks posts dog run closures on each park’s page, so check it before you go.

The short answers

• Where can my dog be off the leash? Only inside a dog run. In May 2024 there were 32 public dog runs in NParks parks, and Town Councils and the People’s Association run more in housing estates (MND written answer, 8 May 2024). Everywhere else in a park, your dog stays on a leash (Parks and Trees Regulations, reg. 10).
• What’s the fine for no leash? Up to S$5,000. In any public place your dog must be “kept on a leash” at all times, and a dog found off one can be seized and impounded (Animals and Birds (Licensing and Control of Cats and Dogs) Rules 2024, rules 9, 22 and 27).
• Does my dog need a licence? Yes, every dog, and it must be microchipped. A sterilised dog costs S$15 a year, or S$35 once for life; a dog that isn’t sterilised costs S$90 a year (AVS licence fees).
• Can my dog take the MRT or a bus? No. Only guide dogs, and dogs with police or security officers on duty, may enter trains and stations (Rapid Transit Systems Regulations, reg. 8). The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will ask the public “whether and under what conditions pets should be allowed on public transport” (MOT, 4 Aug 2026).
• Can I keep a dog in an HDB flat? One dog, of a breed on HDB’s approved list, or a local mixed-breed dog up to 55 cm tall through Project ADORE. Breaking the rule can cost up to S$4,000 (HDB).

Where dogs can go, and where they can’t

Most parks and park connectors: yes, on a leash (NParks, Fun with your dog). In a park, use “a leash, chain or cord which is suitable to restrain” your dog, keep it under control, pick up its poop, and keep it out of park toilets, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, streams and fountains. Each of these rules carries a fine of up to S$2,000 (Parks and Trees Regulations, regs. 10 and 23).

Nature reserves and two nature park networks: no dogs. NParks lists:

• Bukit Timah, Central Catchment and Labrador nature reserves, and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
• The Central Nature Park Network: Chestnut, Dairy Farm, Hindhede, Rifle Range, Springleaf, Thomson, Windsor and Zhenghua nature parks (NParks)
• The Sungei Buloh Nature Park Network, which includes Kranji Marshes
• Every trail into a reserve, including the MacRitchie trails, the Lower Peirce trail and the Pipeline at Bukit Timah

Dogs scent-mark and may bark at or harass native animals, NParks explains (NParks). Taking an animal into a nature reserve can bring a fine of up to S$50,000, up to 6 months in jail, or both (Parks and Trees Act, s. 9).

Singapore Botanic Gardens: partly. Dogs are kept out of areas such as the National Orchid Garden, the Rain Forest, the Healing Garden and the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden (Fun with your dog).

Otters and wild boars: keep your dog on a short leash, close to you, so it can’t chase them and stays safe from them, AVS advises (AVS, otters, Oct 2025; AVS, wild boars, Sep 2026).

Dog runs worth knowing

NParks lists its pet-friendly parks on its park finder. Well-known runs, with what the official pages say:

• Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park: a 3,400 sq m dog run area. The lights go off at 10.30 pm (NParks).
• West Coast Park: “one of the largest in Singapore”, with a wooden obstacle course (NParks).
• East Coast Park: runs at Parkland Green (Area C), the largest in the east at 0.2 hectares when it opened in 2020 (NParks, 2020), and near the Xtreme SkatePark (Area F). The Area C run is closed for upgrading until 6 November 2026 (NParks).
• Jurong Lake Gardens: a 2,200 sq m grass field with washing areas and grass mounds, open 8 am to 10 pm daily (Jurong Lake Gardens).
• Sembawang Park: a “spacious and sloping” dog run (NParks).
• Tiong Bahru Park: an enclosed dog run (NParks).
• Punggol Park: an off-leash dog run (NParks).
• The Palawan Dog Run, Sentosa: a secure green space with water points, open 10 am to 9 pm daily (Sentosa).

Dog run rules: NParks wants dogs healthy with no open wounds, vaccinated, sterilised or not in heat, and well socialised. Supervise yours all the time, clean up, ask before touching another dog, and watch children. Specified dogs (below) stay muzzled (Fun with your dog).

AVS’s dog run guide adds: unclip the leash between the double gates, one person at a time; keep children under 12 out; and bring only the 1 or 2 dogs you can comfortably watch. We found no legal limit on how many dogs one person may walk.

Beaches

• East Coast Park: an NParks park, so your dog stays on a leash outside the dog runs (reg. 10).
• Sentosa’s beaches: pet-friendly, on a leash no longer than 8 feet (2.4 m) at all times. Clean up, and muzzle an aggressive dog. If your dog swims, wait at the water’s edge to meet it. No dogs in attractions, food places or public toilets (Sentosa, 8 things to note).
• Getting there: pets aren’t allowed on the cable car, Sentosa Express, buses, beach trams or Sentosa Boardwalk. Sentosa suggests driving or a pet-friendly private-hire ride (The Palawan Dog Run page).

The dog licence

All dogs must be licensed with AVS, so a dog can be traced if a disease such as rabies breaks out (AVS licensing requirements).

1. Microchip your dog. You need proof of it to apply (Rules 2024, rule 4).
2. First licence? Do AVS’s free online Pet Ownership Course, about 20 to 30 minutes (AVS).
3. Apply on PALS, AVS’s licensing site.

Fees for each of your first three cats or dogs (AVS licence fees):

• Sterilised: S$15 for 1 year, S$25 for 2 years, or S$35 once, for life
• Not sterilised: S$90 for 1 year, S$165 for 2 years, S$230 for 3 years
• Under 5 months old: S$15 for 1 year
• Paying by GIRO, online or at AXS takes 10% off

A private home can keep up to 3 cats or dogs in all without AVS’s approval (AVS). Tell AVS within 28 days if your dog moves address (AVS). An unlicensed dog can cost up to S$5,000 (Rules 2024, rules 3 and 27).

HDB flats

• One dog from HDB’s list of 61 approved small breeds, or a cross of two of them, such as the Maltese, Pomeranian, Shih Tzu, Miniature Schnauzer or Toy or Miniature Poodle (HDB).
• Project ADORE: a local mixed-breed dog (a Singapore Special) up to 55 cm tall, adopted from one of the scheme’s partner animal welfare groups.
• ADORE K-9 Scheme: a retired sniffer dog: a Labrador, English Springer, Cocker Spaniel or Pointer.
• No specified dogs in HDB flats (AVS).

A licence isn’t permission to keep a dog at that address, AVS warns, so check with HDB or your estate’s management first.

Specified dogs

The law calls certain breeds “specified dogs” (NParks’ dog run rules still say “scheduled breeds”). Part 1 includes pit bull types, the Akita, Tosa and Dogo Argentino, which can’t be brought into Singapore unless already licensed. Part 2 includes the Rottweiler, Doberman, German Shepherd and mastiffs such as the Cane Corso. Crosses count too (AVS full list).

In public, a specified dog must be leashed and muzzled so it can’t bite. Its licensee needs insurance of at least S$100,000, a banker’s guarantee (S$5,000 for Part 1, S$2,000 for Part 2) and the required training for the dog. A Part 1 dog must be sterilised once it’s over 6 months old (Rules 2024, rule 9), and a private home can license only one specified dog (AVS limits of ownership). Going out without the muzzle can cost up to S$5,000, and AVS can keep the banker’s guarantee (Rules 2024, rules 9 and 27).

Poop and pee

You must pick up after your dog in parks (reg. 10). Elsewhere, the environment ministry says “we require pet owners to clean up after their pets defecate”, and asks you to wash pee away too (MSE, 25 Sep 2025). In HDB estates, some Town Councils’ by-laws make you clean any common area your dog soils (for example Punggol Town Council’s by-laws, 2025, by-law 4), and breaking a Town Council by-law can bring a fine of up to S$5,000 (Town Councils Act, s. 28(9)). We found no fine for poop on other streets.

Heat, ticks and what to bring

Heat: dogs cool down mainly by panting, and AVS says a rise of just 2 degrees in body temperature can start the signs of heatstroke. Thick-coated dogs such as Huskies and short-nosed dogs such as Pugs are at higher risk, so go to dog runs in the cooler hours (AVS dog run guide, PDF). Learn the signs in heatstroke in dogs.

Ticks and heartworm: AVS lists ticks, fleas, worms and heartworm, which mosquitoes spread, among the parasites that commonly affect unprotected dogs. See how to check your dog for ticks, and ask your vet which preventive suits your dog.

What to bring (AVS): water and a bowl, poop bags, a collar or harness, and a leash. Puppies: ask your vet when the vaccinations are done enough for a dog run; see bringing home a puppy.

If your dog goes missing

Fill in AVS’s Lost Pet Report Form at go.gov.sg/lostpet, call the Animal Response Centre on 1800-476-1600, and tell the SPCA on 6287 5355. AVS can trace a microchipped dog to you if it’s licensed. Claiming an impounded dog costs S$93, plus S$16.50 a night for boarding (AVS). You can also report the lost or found dog free on FurFam: your report gets its own page to share.

For manners at the run, see dog park etiquette. Know a dog-friendly spot we missed? Tell us at /support.

FAQs

Can dogs take the MRT in Singapore? No, only guide dogs and police or security dogs on duty (reg. 8). Meanwhile, the Transport Minister points dog parents to pet-friendly rides on ride-hailing apps (MOT, Aug 2026).

Can I walk my dog at MacRitchie? Not on the MacRitchie trails: they lead into the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, where dogs aren’t allowed (Fun with your dog).

Can I keep a Golden Retriever in an HDB flat? No. It isn’t on HDB’s approved list. A Labrador is allowed only as a retired sniffer dog under the ADORE K-9 Scheme (HDB).

Can I bring my dog to a cafe or hawker centre? To a cafe’s outdoor seating, often yes: since 1 January 2025 eateries can let diners bring pets to their outdoor refreshment areas without extra approval, if the eatery chooses to. Pets still aren’t allowed at hawker centres, and halal-certified eateries don’t allow dogs, even outside (SFA, Dec 2024).