Some dog owners are so bad at controlling their pets that researchers are calling for no-dog zones to replace on-leash areas in close proximity to native animals.

GPS trackers have been used along Victoria's Surf Coast and Bellarine Peninsula to monitor compliance with leashing laws and record the distances dogs cover.

The study by Deakin University and Birdlife Australia found dogs were just as likely to be free to roam in on-leash beach areas as they were in off-leash areas.

It also found that dogs covered much greater distances at the beach, putting vulnerable native wildlife, like the hooded plover, at greater risk.

The study found dogs had five types of walking patterns on the beach. ( Supplied: Thomas Schneider )

Compliance with the laws was so low, according to Associate Professor Mike Weston, that no-dog zones instead of on-leash areas could be used as a wake-up call to dog owners.

"It definitely sends a very solid message ... that dog regulations, like any other regulation, are there to be obeyed," he said.

"We found about 70 per cent of dogs on beaches where you had to have them on a leash in fact were not on a leash."

He pointed to the total dog ban in Mornington Peninsula National Park as an example of a change in approach.

Issue divides dog owners

Jan Juc resident Michael Forkgen said replacing on-leash areas with no-dog zones would punish all owners for the actions of a few.

"I think that if you do have your dog on its lead and you're cleaning up after it and you're doing the right thing, I think that's pretty unfair to dogs and dog owners that they can't go to certain areas," he said.

Researchers attached GPS trackers to the collars of more than 160 dogs. ( Supplied: Thomas Schneider )

Collars with GPS trackers allowed the researchers to see how much space dogs were using on the beach.

"The maximum speeds were up to about 19 kilometres per hour, but one dog actually covered 33 kilometres in a single walk," Associate Professor Weston said.

"That was, in fact, in an on-leash zone."

The Surf Coast and Bellarine Peninsula offer the hooded plover plenty of its preferred habitat — high-energy ocean beaches — but even a single dog can do real damage.

Dogs can chase down a healthy adult hooded plover if the bird isn't wary enough, while the main danger posed is to the nest and chicks.

Hooded plover chicks rely on camouflage to protect themselves against predators. ( Supplied: Daniel Lees )

"The chicks and eggs themselves are quite small and really well camouflaged, but dogs off leash cover huge amounts of the beaches," said Daniel Lees, a beach-nesting birds project officer with BirdLife Australia.

"It really increases the likelihood that the dog is going to come across the camouflaged nest or the chicks."

As well as the native hooded plover, Mr Lees said dogs off leash posed a risk to other shorebirds, including the endangered eastern curlew and the vulnerable great knot.

Long-time Jan Juc resident Pete Murphy said although plenty of people were aware of the dog laws, they chose to ignore them.

Pete Murphy with his whippet, Colin. ( Supplied: Pete Murphy )

"I think there's a few [excuses] ... 'My dog wouldn't do that', is one. I think people are like, 'I'm taking my dog to the beach and I don't care'.

"I see, continually, dogs down at Jan Juc — same owners, same dogs, and their dogs are out of control."

Compliance relies on self-policing

The findings of the research, which was published in June based on data collected in 2012, came as no surprise to Brendan Walsh, manager of ranger services with the Surf Coast Shire.

He said although the shire partnered with the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee to patrol beaches over summer, it largely depended on people to self-police.

"You really do rely on people to do the right thing. We can't be everywhere all the time and we've got such a large area to patrol that we can only really provide a presence as we can."

Dog owner Tayla Porter said she wanted to see improved signage so dog owners and visitors knew where and when they were allowed to be off leash.

She pointed to Fisherman's Beach, where dogs are allowed off leash outside of the peak holiday season, as an example.

Hooded plovers have small broods that hatch after about 30 days' incubation. ( Supplied: Daniel Lees )

"We've had a few instances where mums of young kids have been down there and not known that it was an off-leash beach and physically harmed our dog," she said.

"I think more signage needs to be around that it is OK for [the dogs] to be there."

Although the efforts of local authorities to manage dogs on beaches should be recognised, Associate Professor Weston said the research showed more needed to be done to balance the

needs of native animals with the needs of people.

"In the case of beaches, it's about giving wildlife a fair share," he said.

"Some of the wildlife on those beaches, they're completely connected to those beaches, they live their whole life on those beaches, so they've got no other option."