This is as the number of dog-owners continues to rise in Kitchener

City officials are now responding to locals who say they need more leash-free dog parks in Kitchener.

This is as the number of local dog owners continues to grow in Waterloo Region.

Kitchener's Director of Parks and Cemeteries, Niall Lobley, says he has noticed an increase in the demand for leash-free parks.

"We have four current leash-free areas. We've got the larger leash free areas at Kiwanis Park in the north end and McLennan Park in the south. They both offer a larger fenced area for dogs to be off-leash. We also have two micro dog parks. We have the one that's been established in the George Lippert Park, which is a very small fenced area, and the new community-led pilot project next to the Aud."

He told The Mike Farwell Show on 570 NEWS off-leash parks are a part of the conversation when thinking of future green spaces in the city.

"If you look at some of the stats and the figures, approximately 41 per cent or so of households will have a dog living with them. They are a large number of the users of our parks and our trails and our open space systems. We are going to be super keen to hear from the dog-owning community as we start coming into the open-space strategy session, talking about open-space strategies next year."

He says the city also wants to collect input from those who are not quite fond of dogs to make sure Kitchener's green spaces remain welcoming to all.