Hundeauslaufgebiet Frohnau

The Frohnau dog exercise area is located at the southern end of Welfenallee in Tegeler Forst and goes by two names: Berliner Forsten lists it as Frohnau, while the Berlin district directory calls it Hermsdorf. It refers to the same unfenced forest area where dogs are allowed to run off-leash as long as they are recallable.

A Forest Area with Two Official Names

Whoever looks for the area will first stumble upon its naming. Berliner Forsten lists it as the Frohnau Dog Exercise Area, the Berlin street and district directory as Hermsdorf, and both are right in their own way: Welfenallee is located in the Frohnau district, with the border to Hermsdorf running right next to it. In both cases, it refers to the same piece of Tegeler Forst at the southern end of Welfenallee. Together with Jungfernheide, Reinickendorf thus combines approximately 170 hectares of forest exercise area. There is no fence, and in Berlin’s forests, this is not an oversight but a principle: fenced areas and designated nature reserves are explicitly not part of the exercise area; fences here exclude rather than include. Where the area begins can be recognized by the signs on the access paths. Only where these signs stand is the forest considered open for dogs, and anyone who assumes an area somehow belongs will likely pay a fine for it. The area is managed by Berliner Forsten, not by the Reinickendorf district office, even though the fenced dog parks in the district come from the Parks and Gardens Department.

Deer, Wild Boar, and the Duty to Recall

Deer and wild boar live in Tegeler Forst, and that is why the most important rule of this exercise area has nothing to do with fences. A dog is only allowed to run off-leash as long as it remains within its owner’s control and is recallable at all times; if this is not ensured, the leash rule applies here too. Wildlife must not be disturbed or endangered, and anyone who allows their dog to chase it is liable to prosecution. Berlin has no special rule for the breeding and fawning season because the leash obligation applies year-round anyway. For those who prefer a clearer overview, Reinickendorf offers eight fenced dog parks as an alternative, including the one in Schäferseepark with approximately 1,350 square meters, the one at Seggeluchbecken with approximately 1,000, and the one in Steinbergpark with approximately 900 square meters. Two of these should not be considered: The dog park in Fließtal in Lübars is currently unusable, and the supervised garden in Wittenau is only open to members of an association and is not freely accessible. With 2.49 dogs per 100 inhabitants, Reinickendorf ranks second city-wide.