first mate

Moos, And they will carry on doing it. It's in them and now they have a taste for it- in the same way that a cat that gets one bird rarely stops at one. The man must be brought to book.

Hi agree with everyone that the man needs to be held to account, he should not have had his dogs offlead and if this was clearly made law for all public paths (excepting parks)it would make life a lot simpler and easy to prosecute those who do not adhere to the law. Can I just clarify again that because a dog goes for a cat it does not mean it is vicious. Even if a dog is socialised with cats that it lives with, it may well still go for cats it does not. Prey drive is very distinct from other forms of aggression and some dogs are born with a high prey drive. A dog that attacks cats is not more likely or just as likely, to attack people or children. The latter is a completely different form of aggression involving different brain areas. That said, no dog in full prey drive mode or indeed in a fight with another dog, is safe in terms of human intervention. The dog is in a very high arousal state and will bite at anything that tries to separate it from its prey. Anyone who knows about dogs will advise that any human intervening in these situations is likely to get bitten. Again, you have to know the type of dog you have an control/train appropriately. Having, in this instance, high prey drive terriers careering offlead around London streets is highly irresponsible.

HI BB, The law is a mess on that score and I hope they get it sorted soon. It would be one of the simplest remedies. My understanding, though I am happy to be corrected, is that you can walk a dog offlead on a pavement provided it is under control (presumably a dog that goes after a cat is not under control- but this is not a given). However, I beleive that under the local bylaws you cannot cross a public road unless your dog is on a lead. So if the man concerned was observed crossing a road dogs off lead that my be grounds for prosecution. With regard to the cat, because it is a stray I just don't know. Cats like dogs are viewed as property and the damage is to your property- I think. In terms of DDA it is a tough one as has already been argued, aggression to a cat is not the same thing at all as aggression to a human and a perfectly lovely dog in every other way may go for a cat it does not live with. To argue that this proves it could also go for a child is erroneous and would not stand up in court. If there are any lawyers out there who know the law it would be good to know if it would be possible to prosecute the man in question and on what grounds.

Owners have to take account of the type of dog they have. If I have a terrier I know that it may have a strong prey drive, so I take that into account when training, harnessing those drives and instincts in more community friendly ways, like teaching the pup/dog to chase balls, do scent work and so on. If I have a Staff or other bull breed type, I know that I have to do a lot of work in terms of socializing him/her with other dogs, understanding how to interact and how to play without causing a bust up. Staffs are often bad at communicating with other dogs and both give off and get mixed messages. Ditto prey drive with other dogs. If I have a wary/guardy breed like a GSD, an Akita or Dobermann, I know I have to work hard to socialize them around people and life in general so they learn to understand what they need to react to and what they don't. If I have a Husky I know I'm going to probably have to keep it on the lead most of the time as they are not great at recall. They can also easily scale a 7 foot fence. The list goes on. The onus is always on the owner. In most cases, various breeds or types of dogs, have evolved to perform a function and that gives massive clues as to how easily they will integrate into your lifestyle and what training/socialization they'll need. There are always exceptions and there are always extremes in terms of breed/type traits.

JohnL, Sorry, I don't agree- it depends on the dog. Some are just born highly reactive and with a strong prey drive. Think what most terriers were originally developed for, to go after small furries. Of course, you can try to breed for a more laid back temperament all round, but you still get throwbacks. I'd also say that a big tomcat would be able to best quite a few small dogs. I've seen dogs chased down the street by a tomcat. However, some terriers are so wired that they'll just go after anything no matter what the consequences- they're predisposed to.

So many problems like this might be avoided if only people would keep their dogs on a lead when walking outside of the park or private property. I get incensed when people let their dogs off to walk beside them on the pavement, it causes problems all round. The OP is right, many dogs, but particularly terriers, will try to chase a cat- if they can. In the same way, many cats will stalk and kill a bird or mouse if able. That is just nature. It is down to owners to understand the type of dog they have, the risk it presents to other animals and to control it in public places accordingly.

Hi James, where can we find the detail of the pedestrian audit?

What is meant by short stay parking on side roads? Will this limit parking spots for residents? If so, that would be a concern. Does anyone know of reliable stats for injuries to pedestrians along this stretch of LL? What are the figures for driver prosecution/police arrests for dangerous driving? I continue to see lots of pedestrians plugged into various bits of technology who cross roads in a very dangerous way, seemingly unaware of their surroundings. I see lots of kids seriously speeding up and down side roads, I also see lots of drivers, of all ages, chatting on the moby with one hand whilst clutching the steering wheel with the other. I'm not sure how the expensive crossings will address any of these. Why not just make the lower stretch of LL 20mph and police heavily for 6 months. I too think more than one crossing is probably excessive, but I don't know what the rationale/evidence is.

Hi Angels, Thanks for replying. I guess what foxed me is that they were asking for a signature. I would have thought a simple check against my address would've sufficed? If they are professional then they would not fiddle the numbers.

I have just had two gentleman dressed in hi-viz waistcoats knock at the door and ask if I had received this month's SE22 magazine. I replied that I had upon which they asked for my signiature as proof that I had received it. I declined to give my signature. Can anyone confirm if the request is kosher?

My solutions are as follow: be responsible for the path outside your house and if it is covered with any kind of litter, including dog or even fox poo, pick up and dispose of in your bin. If you see dog poo whilst out and about and you can bear to do so, pick up and dispose of in nearest bin. If we all got in the habit of carrying a few plastic bags it would be feasible. Of course, you can also monitor and watch for offenders, but may expend a lot of time and energy without the results you want. Finally, if someone is caught in the act of not picking up after their dog, they should be fined, very heavily. They won't do it again. I'm sure the bulk of people will find the first suggestion risble/beyond the pale but I really don't think we can always rely on the council to get this stuff right- pulling together as a community to do the dirty work , as well as the fun stuff, may produce the best results.

Frankito, Of course, all community minded dog owners pick up after their dogs, because we don't like stepping in dog doo either. In the same way, most of us put our litter in bins, adhere to speed limits and would give up a seat on the bus for an elderly person- it's called being socially aware, and I believe those who break one part of the code are likely to break the rest.

PRP this morning, the area by the Japanese garden had lots of trees with branches that had clearly been snapped off- large branches. Can only assume its people as cannot think of any wild animal having the strength. What is wrong with them?

No not for a scotch egg, but they do have to be insured. I'd look out for said dog walker and have a word with her/him- They may work for a larger company. It is their responsibility to keep dogs in their charge under control. They should have seen that a group of you were sitting together and avoided you- totally their fault in my view. Plus those of us who are responsible dog owners get miffed when incidents like this ratchet up anti-dog feeling. I've noticed more people proffering their services as dog walkers recently and one does have to wonder if some of them are properly qualified or even know much about dogs.

No surprise that he is a ginger tom- well known to be the most feisty!

nancysmum, I think you may be surprised to know that a proportion of non-pick-up offenders are mummies who also have dogs- I've witnessed this a few times. Dog poo is anti social, it is another form of anti social behaviour. I've said this many times on this forum but it is one of many littering offences. I find dog poo offensive but I also intensely dislike broken glass- and there is plenty of that around too. Gum though less hazardous is very annoying. The chicken bones that litter the street are also a nuisance. Glass is hazardous to all, especially children. Gum and chicken bones are very dangerous for dogs and can kill them. I think there should be a crackdown on litter in general, not just one kind. I do believe that the sort of person that walks away from any of the above is the same kind of person- antisocial.

Hitting/slapping a child on the face is just plain nasty, abusive and wrong. I'm not being PC about this I just think that the face is so sensitive.... no wonder that child had fear in his eyes. Had it been the rump I might not have approved but it does not feel so vicious as an action. I think culture, religion etc.. is irrelevant, that kind of behaviour is abusive and I think I might have said something.

leaglebeagle, given that she is not chipped I can see some virtue in not giving a description on this site.

BWM- Thanks for that- glad appropriate peeps aware. Your theory about dog being stolen may well be correct- on the other hand, may just be abandoned by someone who tied it up where it would be likely to be found by warden. As you say, huge increase in abandoned dogs as the economic tide turns. Kamila, please let us know if dog is reunited with owner and well done for taking her in.

Kamila, presume you have also contacted dog warden etc..? Leaving a dog tied up for three hours does not sound right at all. Does sound as though it has been dumped, but just in case there is another explanation I'd contact the dogs warden too.

It would be interesting to know by how much the annual council spend/budget would be reduced by pulling the free bags.

nununoolio, what other parts of your job do you love? Just asking?

If my neighbour was mugged in this area I would certainly want to know, I'd probably want to know if they were mugged anywhere, it's the sort of experience that people often want to share and get off their chest, in my view that is part of being in a community. I also think it is useful to have a sense of what is going on around you, both positive and negative. In addition I don't think that sharing an experience constitutes scaremongering. If someone peddles rumours or reports stuff second hand, or exaggerates, that would be scaremongering, simply saying what has happened to you is not.

zeban, I don't agree with you. The forum is a place where people who live in East Dulwich share their experiences, views, needs and gossip. Sharing the fact that you have been mugged seems to me as valid a part of partcipating in a community forum as anything else. You seem to be suggesting that individual's censor their experiences in order to make the forum a 'safe' place. Again, I still don't understand the notion that people are suddenly joining the forum to tell others they have been mugged, because this is the latest thing to do. If people have been mugged that is a fact and I have no problem with them telling other forumites about it- just as I would appreciate neighbours telling me if they had a break in. I don't think it is scaremongering, it is simply their experience.

Zeban posted I honestly think they're just being reported on the forum more. Zeban I am genuinely interested as to why you think people might suddenly be posting more about being mugged, whereas formerly they would have kept stum? I am open to persuasion on this, but my instinct (no evidence to back it) is that people would generally always have posted on the forum if they had been mugged. It's a fairly major thing to happen in the course of one's day, and is something many would want to share- I would think?