Dog owners

[Ags]

I know this is a rant and should probably be in speakers corner - and I know we have covered this topic before but come on dog owners!! Summer is here (hopefully to stay) - the kids are having a great time in the sunshine - so please please have the decency, those of you in the minority who don't - to pick up your dog poo!!
My little one was playing on the beach last weekend with her buddy sliding down the sand dunes on the boogie board - only to end up in a pile of dog dirt which had merely had a little sand kicked over it to cover it up!
She had to stop her fun to come home, change her clothes and have a shower to get it off her arm and leg which were covered!! Not very pleasant for her

[Govangirl]

How horrible for her!!!! It really is disgusting but down here, Ags, dogs are banned from the beaches from May 1st to the end of October.

[fiona28]

Totally agree with you ags, poor wee thing was in a wile state and absolutely a rotten thing to happen to any child.

So come on folks this is shocking I mean, really - folk are getting fined for putting cigarette butts out on the pavement and they dont stick to your feet and leave you honking.

[AP]

The beaches seem to be a meeting place for dog owners.We went to West port and within an hr we counted 10 dogs not 1 person with a bag and all the dogs were running free.I see them in the Town aswell the dogs run around the field and do the toilet where the kids football is on every week it's disgusting.

[Bonnie Lass]

Do the dog owners not know there is a parasite in dog's pooh that can enter the childs system (hands to mouth without realising it) that can make them go blind !! Bacteria from dog pooh can live in sand for up to 2 years !!

Not only is it a digusting habit not to clean up after them, it is a safety issue too !!

Come on dog owners you have a responsibility - if you don't like the idea then don't have a dog. You can get poopa scoopers to lift the stuff with, put into a baby's nappy bag which smells pleasant - it needn't be that difficult.

Should the council be having special doggie waste bins at the car parks to take their deposits (wrapped of course), this would at least encourage the owners to make the effort.

[Ileach B]

Unfortunately you'll find that most places to have dog bins. I think there is 2 on the outskirts of Meadows field.

All people need to do is carry something like a nappy sack in their pocket, you can buy a pack of 80 for as little as 85p! It's a pity there couldn't be a local community person who could give on the spot fines for this. It's digusting!

[ceartas]

Do the dog owners not know there is a parasite in dog's pooh that can enter the childs system (hands to mouth without realising it) that can make them go blind !! Bacteria from dog pooh can live in sand for up to 2 years !!

This fact is frequently spouted as a scare tactic. When I researched this a few years ago, I could find only one documented incident of a person being blinded as a result of toxocariasis during the past 30 years or so (although I suppose that may have changed now). You are more likely to pick up some disgusting disease from a fellow human sneezing near you (shared computer keyboards are particularly bad for bugs) or from your local sewage outflow!

However, I totally agree that it's disgusting that owners don't pick up their dog's faeces and dispose of it appropriately...and I'm a dog owner! One of my pet hates, however, is the owners who pick up the poo, knot up the bag neatly then either chuck it into the long grass or hang it from a branch!

It is, of course, illegal for owners to leave faeces lying around (or to hang it in a tree) in many places. Complain to your dog warden...it's their job to monitor and impose fines.

Marion

[Beachcomber]

Unfortunately you'll find that most places to have dog bins. I think there is 2 on the outskirts of Meadows field.

One of the problems with siting dog bins on beaches etc is the question of who is going to empty them and dispose of the accumulated waste? The council will only empty dog bins if they're right by the roadside. If they're anywhere else then it falls to some luckless volunteer to take on the task.

Let's be realistic about it though. We're talking about a dog here, not an elephant. The amount of poo a dog is going to dump in one sitting is quite small, and once contained in a knotted plastic bag is hardly likely to require the services of a team of Sherpas to get it home, whence it can be disposed of properly.

[Bonnie Lass]

I have a friend whose son was blinded by dog bacteria - played football on the school playing field which had been contaimated by "local dogs when out for walkies" hence the reason for mentioning it, everyone we spoke to afterwards had no idea it could happen - just thought I'd mention it.

Was not living in Kintyre then.....

[Govangirl]

Do the dog owners not know there is a parasite in dog's pooh that can enter the childs system (hands to mouth without realising it) that can make them go blind !! Bacteria from dog pooh can live in sand for up to 2 years !!

This fact is frequently spouted as a scare tactic.
Marion

Alas, it is not. There are different forms of toxocariasis and not all go blind. However, when worm eggs enter the system a child can suffer severe symptoms. I recall a child whose nervous system was damaged because of this and they were ill for months. Children could have just bad stomach pains but IF there is a danger of ANY illness in a child, dog owners should take their responsibilities seriously.

[EileenH]

I think this is all out of proportion. I am a dog owner. I walk her on the beach. I carry 'pooh bags' and lift up after my dog. Most owners do. Why, when you see a dog owner leave their dogs' mess, don't you ask them to lift it with the threat of reporting them if they don't? I get annoyed when I see it happen too. And it happens right outside my gate! Please don't tar us all with the same brush. Just confront the guilty party!

[Govangirl]

Eileen, I so agree with you but unfortunately, and maybe it's just where I live, not all dog-owners are as good as you! I would never think of taking my dog out without carrying the necessary 'equipment' for clearing up after her but not all dog owners think as we do. I am absolutely mad that I can't take my wee dog down the beach for 5 months of the year here but then I see the absolute selfish mess that others leave down there and I have to think of the health issues, especially when I had very young children. I once tackled someone who let their dog mess outside my front gate without cleaning it up and I got a right earful of the most disgusting verbal sh**e that I've ever heard! So I don't really know the answer!

[UP THE ROAD]

Disgusting. We were in Dunbar recently and parked in the centre of town eating fish and chips. I got out to go and put the wrappers in the bin and stepped in Dog Poo with my new sandals on--it was horrible and I think the dog must have been crossed with a horse-thank god we had bottled water and tissues to clean my sandals, but cleaned them with disinfectant when I got home to get rid of all the nasty germs. Some people just don't care which is very sad.

[EileenH]

I've been on the receiving end as well. When my kids were wee I was forever getting their mess on the wheels of my pram. Not much fun to clean especially when you've just brought the pram through the house! All I'm saying is, even on the beach, most owners pick up after their dogs. In this area most folk know each other, even if it's just to see. So, the culprits should be reported. Then the responsible owners might get peace to walk their dogs. I don't often walk my dog on the beach though because alot of owners let their dogs run wild and mine is a quiet wee thing. I'm a bit wary of being among roaming dogs.

[Bonnie Lass]

I challenged someone about the dog mess and got a load of abusive language !!