Stray dogs a problem?

The only southern city you are visiting is Sorrento, more or less a polished theme park for tourists (like San Gimignano and Orvieto these days, I'm afraid).

The stray dogs problem at Pompeii seems to have been solved by volunteers as no recent news have been published about it neither in English nor in Italian (I've checked).

Keep in mind that by law a guide dog can enter everywhere, and that means also posh restaurants, food shops and private museums.

PS
Milan is one of the richest European cities, stray dogs would wear nice Armani coats and precious collars by Gucci.

Brought back a memory of my trip to Positano and while visiting the main church, there was a dog inside the church taking a nice nap..... ( no one around, so assume it was a stray)

The only place I recall seeing strays when we went in 2014 was at Pompeii. Actually - also at Ostia Antica - near broke my heart as I'm a big animal lover. (I've been to the first five places on your list).

There were some homeless folks with dogs, and in Venice some dogs running loose around the campos, but they were with owners - out stretching their legs - they all pretty much ignored the people about...usually that was after supper/early evening.

I adore cats but am a little leery of stray dogs. I think I'd remember if stray dogs had been an issue during my 2-month summer trip to Italy in 2015, and I'm not coming up with anything. Of the cities you mentioned I only visited Rome (4 days) and Orvieto (2 weeks). I don't remember any dogs at Ostia Antica, so perhaps the problem there had been remedied.

There are definitely places where you'll encounter outdoor cats, but I assume they won't be an issue since your dog is undoubtedly trained to ignore such distractions.

We visited Pompeii in March 2015, on a sunny but cool day. In the four hours we were there, I counted at least six stray dogs, most of them laying on the rocks warmed by the sun, and they were overweight, probably from being fed by tourists. I had the good sense not to approach them, however, as you never know. But they seemed harmless, the antithesis of aggressive.

Thank you for the personal observations. My husband's guide dog has been in 17 countries and conditions vary as you can imagine. In Madrid, every dog we encountered was on a leash and well mannered. In Lisbon, we did run across some wild dogs in a pack. In Mostar, the cats had no fear and were very interested in his guide dog, although she ignored them. When my husband travels to Africa, he does so without his trusty guide because where he goes dogs are not accepted culturally. While a loose dog may be passive around people, it may be territorial with another dog. We found that out the hard way and learned that when attacked, my husband's guide dog will protect him rather than protect herself. Another attack, and she may not want to work. I contacted a Pompeii tour group for an update on the stray dogs in Pompeii and will decide whether we visit after more information. It sounds like the other places we will travel will be fine. Thanks again.

The dogs were saw at Pompeii weren't really bothering anyone, but then again, no one had a guide dog with them either.

I was in Italy in November and December and I was especially tuned into the local dog population to the point that my kids groaned every time I saw a dog. And I saw a lot of them and approached nearly every one. There were very few off leash. Most were very well behaved. I only saw one dog roaming on its own and it didn't come near even though I tried to tempt it. Please don't get angry with dog lovers who ask to approach your dog. A simple "he's a service dog and we don't encourage socializing" is all one needs to say. I have been "barked" at by several humans who thought I should recognize a service dog even without any obvious sign. One happy note: On past visits to Rome I was aware of lots of dog feces (and maybe human) in the streets and even on the sidewalks. This time I didn't see any. :) Have a great trip!

This fall I was in all the places you mentioned except Sorrento and never saw a stray dog anywhere. I saw lots of people walking their dogs, also saw an occasional dog on trains and city buses, however they were all on leashes and well behaved.

P.S. About the dog poop, I definitely saw it on streets and sidewalks so watch your step. But mostly it was from a small dog, grazie Dio!

Again, thank you for your experiences with dogs in Italy. This is helpful. Just some information for dog lovers, when you see a guide dog in harness please ask if you can pet the dog before you do it. They are not supposed to be petted by anyone other than the handler during work. My husband has no problem taking her out of harness so someone can pet her. The demeanor changes dramatically. If she is petted while in harness by everyone who wants to pet her, she could start looking for people to pet her while working instead of the step my husband may trip on or the car that's approaching. Thanks for understanding.

Thank you, jvbessent, for the info on interacting with service animals. Makes perfect sense.