Dog poo fouled footpaths

[simonesaffron]

No Dave, I was thanking her for acknowledging  y incorrect gender.

I was being gracious as you often are.

'Often,' I said, not always.

[Dave]

OK Simone.  I thought you were thanking Dizzy for acknowledging your correct gender:

I've always thought of it as Simon E rather than Simone.

Thank you Dizzy,

How many men do you know called Simone?

Well I know a woman called Darryl and a man called Hilary.  And of course, Johny Cash knew a Boy Named Sue.   

[simonesaffron]

Gender shouldn't be an issue here but as it is, yes I am female. With 2 ex husbands, 2 children and 3 grandchildren to support my notion . 

How many men do you know called Simone?

[Dave]

Blimey Simone, I always thought you were female.  So I don't need to be polite to you any more.   

[simonesaffron]

Thank you Dizzy,

Simone Saffron.

[Dizzy Penguin]

I've always thought of it as Simon E rather than Simone.

Meanwhile, amen to this... http://www.whyihatedogs.com/10-reasons-why-i-hate-dogs

[Dave]

It's OK Simone - old codgers are male. Not sure what the female equivalent is. Maybe 'old biddy'? But you're not one of those, of course.

[simonesaffron]

Hey Dave,

Who are you calling an 'old codger?'

[Dave]

Speaking of dog licences, perhaps we should reintroduce them ( the RSPCA is in favour).

So we would say that all dog owners' have to have a licence and pay say £100.00 per dog. We could use this money to provide pooh bags and dog wardens and micro chip all dogs and perhaps do other things to improve the situation, even for the dogs, but ensure that  their behaviour could be traced back to their owners.

A very good idea.

So how can this problem be tackled then?

I think it's going to take some time, and come about slowly through a combination of law enforcement and education, leading to a gradual acceptance that leaving dog poo on pavements and in parks is not socially acceptable.  It's a bit like drink driving - when I started driving, a very long time ago, nobody thought twice about downing several pints and then driving home.  But nowadays it is generally frowned upon, and as a result fewer people do it, and the vehicle accident rate has fallen significantly.  But that change in behaviour took many years to bed in. 

If you think about it, when we old codgers were kids, the idea of stopping to pick up your dog poo and take it away in a plastic bag would have been regarded as ridiculous.  Now it's the norm, but not everyone has cottoned on yet! 

[simonesaffron]

There seems to be something about dog owners' as a group of people that doesn't apply in the same ratio to other groups, say cyclists or horse owners.

There seems to be a large number of irresponsible dog owners' as well as a large number of responsible owners  perhaps 50/50. Yet these irresponsible are not necessarily irresponsible people in other ways, just as dog owners. In support of this hypothesis I have two friends who  both keep dogs. One set of dogs is completely under control whereas the others are not, yet both people are very responsible in all other ways. In further support of this I notice that when we had a dog licencing system only 50% of dog owners had a licence so half of them were breaking the law.

Speaking of dog licences, perhaps we should reintroduce them ( the RSPCA is in favour).

So we would say that all dog owners' have to have a licence and pay say £100.00 per dog. We could use this money to provide pooh bags and dog wardens and micro chip all dogs and perhaps do other things to improve the situation, even for the dogs, but ensure that  their behaviour could be traced back to their owners.

Make the owners responsible for their dogs.

I had some business in South Manchester last week. There appeared to be several dogs roaming around that didn't seem to be owned by anybody. I am not a dog person. I have never really understood England's attitude towards them. However I am not normally intimidated by dogs but a couple of these apparent strays seemed quite ferocious.           

[Melancholyflower]

Bit of an overreaction to some thoughtful ideas to tackle this issue.

Not exactly a crusade against basic human rights, more a reinforcement of common courtesy and responsibility for one's pets. It should be applauded.

[admin]

So how can this problem be tackled then?

When we set up our gazebos for the Locks Festival recently in a space of 6m x 3m we had to pick up 4 lots of dog mess just within that area. Just a random sample of the park.

We regularly have to pick-up dog mess when we are maintaining the flowerbeds in the park so that we don't get it all over shoes and clothes.

Last week, as explained earlier, we had to pick up dog mess from the infants play area where dogs are not even supposed to be.

Also last week, one of our volunteers was verbally abused and intimidated by a dog owner for politely asking him "is this your dog" that had just fouled the flowerbeds she was working in.

I for one would like to see the results of trying out any new ideas to stop this mess in our parks and on our streets.

[Dave]

Can't see the problem myself. If you can't prove you have them by showing some, you get fined.

If some officious jobsworth wearing a high-vis vest saying 'Dog Warden' asked to see what's in my pockets I would tell him to stick his whistle where the sun don't shine.   

[simonesaffron]

It is silly because it cannot be enforced either in the park or in the courts.

It is silly because Stockport has 2 Dog Wardens for the whole of Stockport.

It is silly because the Council won't adopt it.

It is silly because it is in The DAILY MAIL and everything in there is silly.   

[nbt]

why is it silly? specifically? because you don't like it? I don't like dog poo everywhere, and I think it's a brilliant idea. if you have a bag for your dog's poo, you're ok, if not then  WHY NOT