Bad dog owners (dogs mess)

[Penguin68]

Don't people realise that dog muck is full of germs

Curiously, it is not 'germs' which are a cause for concern with dog faeces so much as worms (or the eggs or larvae of worms) which can cause, inter alia, Toxicariasis ( a canaine born threadworm) which can lead to blindness.

I doubt whether anyone assumes that faeces, of any origin, are germ free. But many of those that dogs carry we are quite used to, and have defences against. We are less likely to have, or have defences against, parasitic worms.

[jrussel]

I started a thread on this issue some time ago -

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,125674,125757#msg-125757

I did get the impression that most people did not take this issue seriously. Perhaps the change of government will have some effect.

[cate]

Not all dogs carry worms if they are wormed regularly either by pill or the drops on the back of the neck. Cat poo can pose danger to pregnant women and there doesn't seem to be too much of an outcry about cat owners who allow their cats to roam and excrete in other people's gardens.

[first mate]

All faeces, of whatever species, are likely to carry germs of some kind but as cate says, most dogs these days are wormed. I'd be more worried about picking up Weil's from rat urine (rats being all around us)or indeed any amount of human bugs lingering in the environment, the result of humans not washing their hands after evacuating their bowels.

Dog pooh, like any other carnivore pooh, is unpleasant and smelly, none of us, dog owners included, enjoy stepping in it. Best thing is to complain to the council, get the yellow sign stamped onto the pavement and watch out for perpetrators. It's just another example of anti social behavior and we have to try to tackle it in that manner rather than demonise all dog owners or make out that dog excrement is public health enemy number one.

[poppylucky]

I too have had altercations with errant dog owners. Some of them can be quite rude too! i remember a while back seeing a young lad in a jogging outfit with a hoodie on walking a staffordshire bull terrier, he knowingly let the dog foul the pavement near Goose Green school, i asked him to pick it up and he just gave me a stare and a verbal abuse -not detered i pursued him down the street (hoping a police car would come by). He had enough of me heckling him and ran off with his dog!

I did report the incident to the council, so atleast it was logged down.

[edmama]

my daughter and i walk to school every morning and its disgusting how much dog poo we come across. Everytime she sees it she says to me 'mum why do the of dulwich people not pick up their dogs poo?' i just tell her we have some lazy dog owners in dulwich. Thumbs up to those who pick up after their dogs to the rest follow the examples set!

[fionab]

Honestly, it's much better than most places. My sister lives in France and when she comes here she cannot believe how clean the pavements and parks are. Perspective...?

[SteveT]

Perhaps dogs should wear a tax disc with a colour representing the present year and a registration number in large type.

This can then be monitored and the long suffering sensible owners can be seen from a distance.

The non-compliant animals (and owners) can be picked up by dog wardens who can issue on the spot fines and have powers

to arrest.

[tallulah71]

I walk every day in Peckham Rye with my dog and other dog walkers and we are fastidious about cleaning up. what pisses me off, is the amount of teenagers having what seems like a lovely picnic. Cut to an hour later and all their empty cigarette packets, sandwich packets, and drink cans are left in a lovely neat pile on the grass where we are meant to enjoy a dog walk.

These are local Alleyns / JAGS / Charter girls too. How about 'educating' them on cleaning up?

[SteveT]

I walk every day in Peckham Rye with my dog and other dog walkers and we are fastidious about cleaning up.

Good for you tallulah,

a great shame that the other dog owners (we all know the type who refuse to take dog ownership seriously)

do not follow your wonderful example.

[Ridgley]

well done! nothing worse than a bad dog owner, who should take responabilty for there dog mess(6)

[Dulwich_ Park_ Fairy]

nothing worse than a bad dog owner

Cannibals? Kiddy Fiddlers? Folk Dancers?

[PSJ]

There was dog mess left outside our place on Heber Road yesterday.

[first mate]

Ridgely, if that's the worst you can think of I'd love to live in your world. I guess if we all feel so strongly how about a bit of community action and just pick it up ourselves and bin it. It won't kill you-honest. That seems to me the most practical solution.

[Barry Brains]

dont worry about your children eating a little doggy do- they swallow far more poo off their own hands after toiletting as a general rule causing gastrointestinal upsets all over my surgery!

however from a non medical point of view, there are many more serious issues we can all discuss.... like vaginal laxity after childbirth...oopps there i go again, sorry. But seriously there is no simple way to tackle un-scooped dog sh*t. CCTV, dog sh*t on the spot penalties, banning all dogs from public places...

So may i suggest a few ideas:

If you are a dog owner and don't habitually clear up after your mutt, please take heed.

If you are a dog, please educate your owner as to the inferred East Dulwich etiquitte noted above.

If you see a dog owner openly flouting the above etiquitte, and he/she is not blatantly sociopathic then it might be worth offering up the education...

If you habitually walk in sh*t, attend the opticians ASAP.

If your entrance(!) is perpetually being fouled consider staking out your gate area armed with a .22 biathlon rifle (can i suggest enfilade from a defilade position to avoid the obvious detection and maximise "the one shot one kill" Tom Beringer rationale- target:owner or offending dog..its your choice).

Consider a clean pussy instead...(!)

From a dog lover (but not in the beastiality sense).

[peckhamboy]

We had a leaflet through our door from the Met Police, saying that they're clamping down on irresponsible dog owners round here and asking for people to report them to the Safer Neighbourhood Teams if they know who they are/where they live. So clearly someone is taking it seriously. Problem is, most of the time people can identify areas that are prone to it rather than the individuals themselves, and I doubt the police are going to start staking out the corner of Hayes grove or the path by peckham rye park cafe to catch them in the act (and tbh I think there are certainly more pressing things to which they could allocate the resource).

But - if you do know who any of the culprits are (even if it's just a number plate), grass them up to the old bill.

[Fuschia]

I have noticed that the dog that regularly shits in my front garden seems to be one that takes itself for a walk down my road every morning at about 11am.. I presume that's not allowed?

I also saw a dog run through the outside area of P Rye cafe on Weds just hearing the owner whistling to it from the car park, and it squatted and shat all across the grass in between the tables. Lovely.

[Barry Brains]

Fuschia you are quoting behaviours of primitive man....evolution in Peckham...amazing!!

[first mate]

Did the note from the MET really suggest valuable police resources will be used to track down owners that do not pick up dog pooh- surely not?! Tracking down owners of dangerous dogs would make sense but dog pooh? Must say I can think of better ways for the MET to occupy their time.

[Barry Brains]

...i can imagine the report from the PC on duty...a gripping read about the mutt that evaded police capture. . . mmmmm yes i feel the Met Police will give this initiative a stiff ignoring under the guise of Shit Legislation...forgive the intended pun

[Nicholas]

Dog excrement is very dangerious and the penalties for those who cause it should be very harsh. All of us with children see this as a very serious problem.

[Dulwich_ Park_ Fairy]

Dog excrement is very dangerious and the penalties for those who cause it should be very harsh.

I'm thinking no doggy treats for a week.

[DJKillaQueen]

Who'd ever think a thread about a load of poo could be so entertaining?

Many dog owners scoop the poop and bin it (imagine the what the streets would be like if they didn't)...others train their pooches to only deficate where it will be broken down by living organisms to compost the ground below it (a perfectly natural organic process).

I wonder what the fishes and river and sea life think of all the human sh1t being pumped into the Thames everyday?

[Nicholas]

What a load of SHITE!

Come on dog owners pooper scooper.

[Earl Aelfheah]

If dogs can play poker, I do not see why they cannot use a toilet.