WA dog trainers and owners say increased training and spatial awareness are key to making dog beaches safer, after a Beaconsfield mum was hospitalised due to a collision with a dog last week.

Former Fremantle council candidate Sally McKay was at Leighton Beach in North Fremantle when a dog crashed into her. The incident has left her with five broken ribs requiring 12 weeks of rehab.

On social media, locals have begun questioning the rules and etiquette of dog beaches, and what could have been done to prevent future collisions from occuring.

“A Waggy Success” dog trainer Nikky Hill says owners should ensure their dog has some basic obedience before being let loose in a public area.

“I think that if you’re going to have your dog off-lead, you should have full control of your dog. It should be able to recall, it should have some basic manners and obedience,” she says.

“If you’ve got a boisterous dog at the park and it knocks over someone, I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do.”

Ms Hill believes current legislation on dog behaviour in public spaces is insufficient to prevent injuries.

“I don’t think there’s any really good laws around it, to be honest. It comes out with a serious outcome for injury,” she says.

Beach goer Fiona Anderson says early socialisation between dogs is crucial to making sure they are ready to be taken of leash at the beach.

Ms Anderson, whose dogs both attended puppy school, says without exposure to other dogs, there is a risk of unruly dogs.

“They’ve got to be socialised before they come to places like this. They have to be introduced to dogs,” she says.

She also highlights the importance of having dogs off their leads at the beach, but says this should not be done until owners have trained them to build the right social etiquette.

Ms Anderson says in the past her dogs started out in smaller groups at parks, and there they learnt how to behave in a calm and rough manner.

“A lot of dogs don’t have the social etiquette. They bring them here first, and they’re socialising, and I think that’s problematic.”

Fiona Anderson

She noted expectations also fall on humans who are at a dog beach as well.

She says those going to public off-leash dog areas must be aware of where they are, and incidents such as last week’s collision can simply just be instances of poor timing.

There are no current plans for a review of dog legislation.