Dog Fouling in the East Dulwich area

[jrussel]

Hello to everyone. I have been reading this forum for the past few weeks since I moved to the area in the spring-time. It is most encouraging to see that my new locale has such an active population, who care about quality of life in their neighbourhood. Sadly I haven't been able to say this about other places I have lived.

Anyway, I have plucked up the courage to register and here I am. I am afraid my first post regards something that has troubled me a little since arriving here; namely what seems to be something of a problem with dog-fouling on many streets, including residential streets where there are children.

The problem seems to be worse than where I was living before, which was shall we say a less "salubrious" part of London, which comes as something of a surprise to me. I would have expected that your average dog-owner round here would be more considerate than those where I was living before. So I'm at a bit of a loss to understand why it seems to be such a problem - perhaps there are simply more dog-owners, or perhaps the street cleaners are less effective than they should be? (Although it is not really the street cleaners' responsibility - it is that of the dog-owners).

Am I alone in being troubled by this? Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might be able to try and effect some kind of change on my street and others nearby?

Many thanks in advance.

[Sandperson]

I often wonder if there's a mixture of the 'I can't be bothered' crowd and the 'Too Posh to Pooper-Scoop' crowd.

[jrussel]

Do you think there are really people who are "too posh to pooper-scoop"?

I was also wondering whether there are some breeds of dog which produce more (or more frequent) excrement than others?

[Sandperson]

I think there must be a minority of people who accessorise with their dogs and fell that whatever they produce at the other end is not for them to deal with. But I am probably wrong, as usual.

[jumpinjackflash]

There is another thread about dog turds on here some where which was started by Marmora Man. We all agree with you on this by the way!

Little tip for those who DO pick up after their pooches: Use nappy sacks instead of carrier bags/dog bags - they smell nice.

[jumpinjackflash]

jrussel Wrote:

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> Do you think there are really people who are "too

> posh to pooper-scoop"?

>

> I was also wondering whether there are some breeds

> of dog which produce more (or more frequent)

> excrement than others?

yes a great big Mastiff produces ten times the load a chiuahua would (this is probably wrong spelling but can't be arsed to check).

[jrussel]

Using Nappy Sacks seems a little excessive. So many people already seem to treat their dogs like they are human children; it is quite disturbing.

Are Nappy Sacks biodegradable? At least carrier bags are likely to end up in the bin anyway.

[jumpinjackflash]

Excessive to whom?! The nappy sacks are used because they smell nice and are the right size not because we want our dogs to be treated like babies. Doh!

Are carrier bags biodegradable?

[citizenED]

Dear J.Russel, I know - these chavvy breeds that don't get their owners to clear up after them are giving us proper pedigrees a bad name. Yours, I.Wolfhound

[jrussel]

jumpinjackflash Wrote:

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> Excessive to whom?! The nappy sacks are used

> because they smell nice and are the right size not

> because we want our dogs to be treated like

> babies. Doh!

>

> Are carrier bags biodegradable?

It just seems a little silly to use some kind of purpose-made fragranced bag simply in order to transport dog waste from the pavement to the nearest rubbish bin. If a dog owner is too sensitive to be able to cope with a bit of smell for the few minutes this takes, then I am not sure why they choose to be in charge of an animal. In any case, I would have thought that if you use a normal plastic bag you would just tie up the top of it in which case there would be no smell escaping from it and likely to offend you.

Carrier bags aren't biodegradable, of course, but most people have a surplus of them at home, so you are creating no extra waste if you then use them to pick up dog waste. By purchasing "Nappy Sacks" you are creating extra waste, not only in the materials they are made from and whatever chemical treatments are applied to them to create the fragrance, but in the extra packaging they are presumably supplied in.

[LuvPeckham]

only advice I can provide here is to contact the community wardens who can issue a Fixed Penalty Notice to any dog owner who doesn't clean up after their dog. they also run schemes like 'flag the poo' where they draw atention to any dog mess in the street to shame the owner.

Problem is (as always) in catching the owner when it happens and I suspect that if someone was around then they wouldn't just leave it but when no one is there they do...

Photos of offending owners and dogs is a useful tool, but if doing that make sure that you don't inflame the situation resulting in a 'right good smacking' from the owner (therefore do it at your own risk is the comment I have to add here)

[jrussel]

The "flag the poo" scheme sounds interesting.

Do you literally put a flag in the dog waste? Do the community wardens provide the equipment or do they just oversee the system?

[Mellors]

Info on "Flag the Poo"

http://www.southwark.gov.uk/YourServices/environment/CampaignsandEducation/Flag.html

You can get free poop scoop bags from the council (number on that website), although they do sell biodegradable nappy sacks at HealthMatters on Lordship Lane, and they aren't very expensive.

[KidKruger]

Licence all dogs and DNA test them.

When poo is found in street, take a sample and send to the Dog Licencers.

If DNA match to a Licensed dog, issue ?120 fixed penalty.

Whole scheme to be built into cost of Licences.

Don't think anyone will believe that 'flag stuck in the poo' comment is serious.

[jumpinjackflash]

jrussel Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> jumpinjackflash Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Excessive to whom?! The nappy sacks are used

> > because they smell nice and are the right size

> not

> > because we want our dogs to be treated like

> > babies. Doh!

> >

> > Are carrier bags biodegradable?

>

> It just seems a little silly to use some kind of

> purpose-made fragranced bag simply in order to

> transport dog waste from the pavement to the

> nearest rubbish bin. If a dog owner is too

> sensitive to be able to cope with a bit of smell

> for the few minutes this takes, then I am not sure

> why they choose to be in charge of an animal. In

> any case, I would have thought that if you use a

> normal plastic bag you would just tie up the top

> of it in which case there would be no smell

> escaping from it and likely to offend you.

>

> Carrier bags aren't biodegradable, of course, but

> most people have a surplus of them at home, so you

> are creating no extra waste if you then use them

> to pick up dog waste. By purchasing "Nappy Sacks"

> you are creating extra waste, not only in the

> materials they are made from and whatever chemical

> treatments are applied to them to create the

> fragrance, but in the extra packaging they are

> presumably supplied in.

So because I want to use a fragranced nappy sack it means I shouldn?t own a dog?? Are you for real?

Also, the reason I don?t use carrier bags is that I don?t keep them in my household. When I shop at Sainsbury?s I use two of their big re-useable fabric-type bags thus automatically me ?greener?, therefore I am entitled to buy as many Chanel No 5 fragranced turd bags as I like thank you very much.

Finally, environmentally friendly or not, at least I do pick up after my dog.

[macroban]

I know I've not reached secondary education yet, but doesn't "jrussel" have a terminal letter "L" missing?

[first mate]

jrussel,

interesting name. Do you own one perchance, or is it meant to be ironic?

Think that chastising people for picking up after their dogs with the "wrong" bag is a bit provocative when you have just posted about the amount of dog mess around.

I do agree that not picking up is absolutely unforgivable but think that most ED dog owners do the right thing. All it takes though is one offender to create a lot of mess, given that they go at least three times a day. In fact I know of one bad 'un who lives close to me whose son (I think) exercises their large dog on the pavement, off lead, whilst they cycle along beside it. Said dog deposits turds on street fairly regularly. Unfortunately son is off out of sight before issue can be taken, but I am waiting for opportunity to have a word. I believe that no dog, however well behaved, should be off lead on the pavement and feel this is symptomatic of a laissez faire attitude that may include the laissez poop factor too. I apologise to any dog owners who feel unfairly criticized by this observation.

On another and equally environmentally unhelpful/potentially dangerous subject: what's with all the broken glass everywhere?

[jrussel]

macroban Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I know I've not reached secondary education yet,

> but doesn't "jrussel" have a terminal letter "L"

> missing?

Russell is indeed the more common way of spelling the name. However, at some point in the distant past, one of my ancestors, (or perhaps a careless church clerk) wrote it as "Russel" and this spelling has stuck.

All members of my family are quite used to wrongly addressed letters and busybodies trying to "correct" our name but we quite enjoy the exclusivity of it. In fact, some Russels (not direct relatives as far as I know) make coat hangers for the Queen, so at least we are accepted by royalty: http://www.russel.co.uk/pages/about/index.html

[Mellors]

I caught a non pooper scooper outside my house trying to do a runner the other day - I stuck my head out of the window and shouted loudly "Would you like me to bring you a carrier bag - there's a bin just over there!".

Seemed to do the trick and shamed them into picking up.

[jrussel]

first mate Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> jrussel,

>

> interesting name. Do you own one perchance, or is

> it meant to be ironic?

>

> Think that chastising people for picking up after

> their dogs with the "wrong" bag is a bit

> provocative when you have just posted about the

> amount of dog mess around.

>

> I do agree that not picking up is absolutely

> unforgivable but think that most ED dog owners do

> the right thing. All it takes though is one

> offender to create a lot of mess, given that they

> go at least three times a day. In fact I know of

> one bad 'un who lives close to me whose son (I

> think) exercises their large dog on the pavement,

> off lead, whilst they cycle along beside it. Said

> dog deposits turds on street fairly regularly.

> Unfortunately son is off out of sight before issue

> can be taken, but I am waiting for opportunity to

> have a word. I believe that no dog, however well

> behaved, should be off lead on the pavement and

> feel this is symptomatic of a laissez faire

> attitude that may include the laissez poop factor

> too. I apologise to any dog owners who feel

> unfairly criticized by this observation.

>

> On another and equally environmentally

> unhelpful/potentially dangerous subject: what's

> with all the broken glass everywhere?

First mate, the name is not anything to do with the breed of dog; I am not a dog owner. Its provenance is explained above. I had not really thought of the connection before; on reflection I am lucky my parents did not name me Jack.

I do not mean to "chastise" anyone as such about the Nappy Sack issue; it was just a comment on something I find a little bizarre and I didn't expect it to provoke such an excitable response. I'm sure there are plenty of other aspects of dog ownership which cause some kind of environmental damage or the other, so the type of bag you use to pick up the waste is not such a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

I'm not sure about the broken glass. I have not noticed that is is particularly an issue around here, to be honest.

[James]

Lots of dog poo round here, I notice it myself. I reckon chavs are mostly to blame. As usual.

[Jah Lush]

Just rub the owner's face in it. That'll teach 'em.

[kamila]

You can get free 100% degradable bags in the library just opposite the ED train station ;-)

[jrussel]

kamila Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> You can get free 100% degradable bags in the

> library just opposite the ED train station ;-)

I'm not sure that they should be given away for free. Presumably they are paid for out of public funds? It does not seem right that public money should be used to subsidise dog owners who won't clear up after their dogs at their own initiative.

[HonaloochieB]

KidKruger Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Licence all dogs and DNA test them.

> When poo is found in street, take a sample and

> send to the Dog Licencers.

> If DNA match to a Licensed dog, issue ?120 fixed

> penalty.

> Whole scheme to be built into cost of Licences.

>

>

A 'Hey don't Bogart that thing. Whose turn is it for the munchy run?' sort of idea if ever there's been one.