Hundeauslaufgebiet Kladow

In Kladow there is not just one dog exercise area but two of them: one on the Bechsteinweg and one on the Ritterfelddamm. Both form part of the roughly 140 hectares of forest exercise area that Spandau offers in total. One limitation is worth planning for: the bus lines serving Kladow do not stop directly at the area itself.

Two Areas, Not One

A detail often overlooked in most overviews: The Berlin street and locality directory lists two dog exercise areas for Kladow, one on Bechsteinweg and one on Ritterfelddamm. So, anyone traveling to Kladow has a choice, but should know which of the two they are heading for. The area described here is located Am Dorfwald, on the outermost southwestern edge of the city, and together with Hakenfelde, Pichelswerder, and the second Kladow area, it is part of the approximately 140 hectares that Spandau designates as forest exercise area. Nothing is fenced here either, because in the Berlin forest, fences exclude rather than include: fenced areas and designated nature reserves are explicitly not part of the exercise area. One limitation should be honestly mentioned: Bus lines 134 and 234 serve Kladow, but do not have a stop directly on Bechsteinweg. Without a car, the area is therefore a small undertaking, but even on beautiful afternoons, it is noticeably quieter than the well-known areas in the southwest of the city.

What Applies to Every Dog Running Off-Leash Here

The conditions for off-leash running are the same throughout Berlin, and they are stricter than many think. The dog must remain within the sphere of influence of the accompanying person and be callable at any time; if this is not guaranteed, a leash is mandatory even in the exercise area. A collar with name and address is compulsory, as is a microchip for all dogs acquired from early 2005 onwards, and liability insurance with at least one million euros coverage. There is no muzzle requirement for ordinary dogs. Since the beginning of 2024, registration in the Berlin dog register also serves as a tax registration, and the dog tax tag has been completely abolished. Fines for dog waste have become particularly expensive: Since November 2025, the fine catalog stipulates a warning fine of 55 euros and a penalty fine, and explicitly includes full dog waste bags left behind. In contrast, there is no fixed catalog for leash violations; districts decide on a case-by-case basis. However, the legal framework extends far upwards, which is why one should not rely on a lenient interpretation.