It’s gonna take more than just another pick up campaign!

Please don’t misunderstand my views written here, I commend everyone involved in trying to encourage more dog owners to act responsibly, but yet another poop scoop campaign, this one entitled THE BIG SCOOP which launches on 14th June 2013, involving Keep Britain Tidy, Ben Fogle, Kirsty Allsop and the Dogs Trust, will bring exactly the same results it always has and NO PERMANENT POSITIVE EFFECT will be achieved.  Dog fouling incidents are on the rise for the first time in 10 years – surely nothnig screams we need a new solution more than these statistics!

You would need to have just landed from Mars to not know that you are expected to clear up after your dog and dispose of it properly (ie a bin).

The reason people don’t pick up is they don’t want to be left swinging an offence knotted bag of poop looking for afore mentioned bin! 

Very few people will admit to being responsible for ever leaving poo or poop bags, but those that do state that if they know there isn’t a bin they won’t pick up.  There is no written rule for how long is too long to swing a poop bag (for some it appears to be 100m) and that need only take you 9.63 seconds to reach it (if you’re Usain Bolt!)

I rarely see anyone NOT picking up after their dog, and if I don’t see them how are dog wardens supposed to catch them and issue fines, they are far more visible than I am.  If I do happen to see a hesitant owner you won’t be surprised to hear that I offer them a poop bag, from the numerous i always have stored in my dicky bag, to encourage them to do the right thing and i’ve never been turned down or had a confrontation yet.

With this in mind, let me tell you my theory on who is responsible.

Firstly lets tackle the fouling. 

Many owners will only pick up if the fouling occurs in a public area, on a path or if social circumstnaces dictate they should (ie someone can see them!)  These owners avoid pcking up by walking theire dog off lead and march off in the opposite direction oblivious to what their dog is doing and happy for it to catch them up when it’s finished.  To avoid picking up altogether they simply walk when it’s dark!  Interestingly reported cases of dog fouling increase dramatically in the winter months when it is darker for more of the day! 

Now for the dumping

These I feel come in 2 catagories.  The first is another driven by what other might say or do and given the option would just leave the poop where it falls!  You can tell this person by the amount of times they look up and around before actually picking up the poo, hoping that by the time the dastly deed is requierd that the onlooker has turned their back. This is the point when i like to hang around to witness the outcome!  I still fear however that this rarely has a good outcome because I know full well that as soon as I go round the corner that their poop bag is getting dumped!  The second is the “accidental” dumper – a victim of DeJa Poo!  Put the bag down to retrieve when returning from walk only to either “forget” or take different route home.  This unfortunate incident has a knock on affect as other dog walkers see a bag left and either think well if they did it i might as wel too or leave their bags as a weird protest that there aren’t enough bins.

Either way – yet another campaign – will only tell us what we already know!

What  we don’t know is how long before someone recognises that we need a new and better solution!  I have tried and tried to contact everyone involved in the campaign to throw modern thinking into the mix.  It is so frustrating not being able to get your voice heard. In a vain attempt that someone of importance might be listening i shall repeat myself again.

FINES AND BANS DON’T WORK: IT’S TIME TO TRY A MODERN SOLUTION.!

YOU DON’T HAVE TO SACRIFICE YOUR PLEASANT WALK FOR THE SAKE OF BEING A RESPONSIBLE OWNER, YOU CAN HAVE BOTH.

I would say “have your cake and eat it” but “have your walk and enjoy it!” seems a little more apt.

thnak you for listneing to my little rant!