Still, dog owners need to learn some things, said Damoon Ansari, a veterinarian at the Paytakht Pet Clinic in Tehran’s Shahrak-e Gharb neighborhood.

“We need to educate dog-owners,” he said. “They should have rights, but also responsibilities.”

Larger dogs need training, droppings need to be scooped, and children should be taught how to deal with animals and dogs, he explained.

And when it comes to dog-walking there is no middle way, he said. “Dogs need to walk outside. Period.”

Near the Imam Khomeini International Airport on Thursday, Hoda Sedghi Shamir, 37, was busy feeding the 23 dogs she is sheltering. Some are paralyzed, others are blind, most are strays that she found roaming around.

“I never had children, so these are my kids,” she said.

Ms. Shamir said she has helped dogs hurt when stones were thrown at them, and others shot by air rifles. “I spend around $600 a month on all of them, for their food, vaccinations and training sessions,” she said.

As for the ban on dog walking, Ms. Shamir shrugged and said this, too, will pass. “For a while we have to lay low, but then the rule will again be forgotten,” she said.