There are however two sections of irresponsible dog owners that I despair with who clearly cannot read or choose to ignore the notices at every entrance gate to the reserve.
1. The owners who make absolutely no effort to pick up and remove their pets waste leaving it as a most unacceptable sight and to be trod on by visitors to the reserve .... totally antisocial and unacceptable behaviour.
2. The other section are dog owners who do half the job. They pick up and bag the waste and then leave the bag hanging on fences or just dropped on the paths of the reserve.
This is amazing, who do they think is going to remove the bags ?.
For these people I have a tip - put a used plastic container in the boot of your car ( an old butter or Ice Cream container for example ) place the bag in it and when you get home drop it in your appropriate bin.
For these latter two sets of owners, please take full responsibility for owning a dog.
And please don't forget that Titchmarsh Local Nature Reserve is exactly that, a gem of a nature reserve that we are lucky to have.
The reason that dogs should be kept on a lead, particularly during the breeding season ( March to August ) , is that many birds nest on the ground and may abandon their nests if disturbed by uncontrolled dogs.
Please, give nature a chance !.
100% agree John as a dog owner it's my biggest pet hate. Often when I confront, because I will, dog owners whose dogs are off lead I get the usual blarney "he/she us well behaved" yet the dog never returns on the first command which in turn means it's not under control, my greyhounds if they see a rabbit etc I'd never get them under control hence they're on leads unless in a paddock/enclosure there's even places advertising on Facebook etc specifically for owners to let dogs off lead like paddocks/horse riding centres etc so there's no excuse for it. If the dog is lagging behind off lead is the owner going to back track to pick up? No.
ReplyDeleteAs for dog bags, grrr. I carry a plastic tupperware container to place my bags in with these crystal like items which stops it stinking, then the first bin I see it gets emptied in. Sadly these owners are too common but owners like me aren't sitting around doing nothing, we have got a trial area up and running where if you're seen with a dog you will be asked to show you actually have a pooh bag, if not you get fined if successful it will be extended to the whole of the county. We have compulsory micro chipping coming into effect in 2016 which could see a reduction in the number of irresponsible owners thinking of getting a dog in the first place, personally I'd like to see more tougher rules including the reintroduction of the dog licence, time will tell
Thanks Doug.
ReplyDeleteI have read about the initiative to ensure that dog owners carry pooh bags and if not they will be fined ...... I'm not sure how easy it will be to reinforce in reality.
Compulsory micro chipping is I think the way to go..