to think dogs should be banned from beaches from April to September

[tryingtobemarypoppins2]

Two words: DOGS MESS!!

That includes us then Dooin, we are, after all, animals

AIBU to think we should ban all life on earth at all times?

(how does OP feel about pigs on beaches? I'd quite like to get a pig)

Dogs can be disgusting on the beach if they drop poos and piddle everywhere.

crispyseaweed - can I point out (again) that most dog owners on here would agree with you and pick up after their dog? And can I also point out that kids wee on beaches just as much as dogs do?

perhaps we should put that blue die in the sea that they use in swimming pools to stop people peeing in it. Oh but then not sure what would happen about all the sewage being pumped in their or overflow pipes used in heavy rainfall.

at least my dog has been wormed - not sure how many parents can say they worm their children once a month.

obviously i pick up my dog's poo.

I pick up my dog's poo too, goes without saying. Crispyseaweed said what I was going to say, I've seen countless kids (and some adults) pee on the beach.

You can tell if someone is peeing in the sea by their faces. If they swim on the spot and sort of grimace into the distance, you can bet they are having a pee...

(sorry what babybythesea said, not crispyseaweed!!)

Seagulls should also be banned obviously. And cats. Cats should be banned period. Children should be banned, they drop litter. Smokers should be lined up and shot. And don't even get me started on fish. Did you know they piss in the sea

I just love this!!!!
We always go to saltburn x
one side of the pier is no dogs the other is dogs all year! its great! our dog is our third baby and i hate leaving her out of the fun! not quite sure what the problem is

oh yes can we ban all the people that leave all the rubbish behind too that cause dogs to cut thier paws on and the still hot bbq that get left behind.

YABU, Why dont you just go to a dog free beach and stay there.

We go to a beach in Poole where dogs are banned May-sept apart from one stretch known as the 'dog beach' which is usually full of families with labs playing in the sea. The problem we have is that when the main beach is crowded non dog owners go on to dog beach and then start to complain about the dogs.

Last year I was having a nice time on dog beach with my kids and 2 dogs, when a family with a toddler pitched up right beside us and complained that I had dogs with me. When I pointed out that they were on the designated dog beach they got really huffy and said that the other beach was too crowded!

It just isnt fair

Am with you elastamum and right down the road. I'm in Bournemouth (Boscombe) and same problem applies. The dog friendly area is so small during 'the season'. I can accept that though. What I can't accept is no-dog people appearing in our tiny section and complaining about the fact there are dogs there!

Sadly my old boy (dog) is 12 years old so beach outings are less frequent

Ban, children, dogs, and anyone who looks like they may have fun!!!

My 4 yr old DD had a huge egg on her head last year where a dog had bounded up to her on the beach and barged into her, pushing her over onto the rocks. And she's not scared of dogs or overeactive - just smaller thaan them.

I don't mind dogs on beaches as long as their owners clean up after them, alot don't and give responsible owners a bad name.

My mum uses one in Anglesey and her dog is allowed on at specified times and away from people using the beach, Chloe is allowed off her lead and able to have a proper run.

Re: dogs with muzzles. That's a fair point about them chasing balls as they do seem to like doing this. What about muzzles aside from when they're in a designated dog play area to chase balls?

I do take my children to designated dog-free beaches and parts of parks though, unfortunately, they're often not actually dog free.

It's balmy to go to a designated dog area and complain that there are dogs there, elasta, and I wouldn't do it.

Though I would love to be able to take my kids to dog-free beaches and areas of park and not worry about dogs being about but, unfortunately, they so often are.

I don't understand why people are saying that piles of dog poo are comparable to seagull poo?

Can seagull poo cause that infection that can damage eyesight?

Rosebud - I still wouldn't be that happy with it. For example, I live in a tiny village in the wilds of Cornwall. If dogs have to be muzzled except in designated areas, does that mean I cannot walk her through the village to the walk we do almost daily without a muzzle? The walk where we meet almost no-one else? I foresee problems in how you designate the areas in which muzzles are required or not. Would I really have to get in my car and drive a few miles to the nearest 'muzzle free' zone in order to exercise my dog in the company of others (as presumably there would be a lot of owners there!) when actually I have a perfectly good walk outside my front door and I like the solitude of it? And when the villagers (there's all of about 20 of us) all know the dog, make a fuss of her and aren't in the slightest bit bothered by her presence, unmuzzled.

And it doesn't solve the other major issues - dog poo, and the jumping up. While dog bites have certainly been mentioned, the majority of people have complained about the mess left behind, and the exuberance of dogs (look at the concern that BillyJoel highlights, for example). The majority of dogs don't bite. I won't say mine wouldn't but I trust her as much as is possible (my dd tripped over her and landed on her tummy recently, when the dog was fast asleep - all she did was look round. If there was ever a moment when she was going to snap, that was it). A muzzle might stop her snaffling a sandwich which she certainly would do given the chance, but I know she's a liability in this area and take steps to prevent it - believe me, I hate her stealing food every bit as much as you do so she just isn't given the chance. But she loves to run and anyone who sees that and stresses about it is not going to be reassured by a muzzle - she'd need to be on a lead. And back we come to the fact that certain beaches and places already ask that dogs are on leads and it is ignored....

I think it comes back to the same issue -if there is no way currently to enforce the 'dog free' rule on some beaches, there will be equally little chance of enforcing a 'must wear muzzle' rule on beaches (you'd maybe have more chance on a high street, but I never take my dog to high street!). So how do we get round this? How do we make enforcement of the existing rules effective because there is certainly no point in bringing in new rules unless we can make sure the ones in place are followed.

I'm thinking, round me, the beaches which ban dogs are the busy ones, with cafes at the top and lifeguards on duty etc. Those which let dogs on tend to be more remote and have no-one around. If we can't keep dogs off beaches where there are people in authority around how on earth do we propse to do it on a remote and isolated beach? And how would you enforce muzzle wearing there?

rosebud

why should I have to muzzle my dog - she has never so much as growled in the whole of her life? I've been bitten by children before ...but never my dog. So on this logic surely all children should be muzzled in public places?

I don't believe the hostility here.
My dog gets stopped countless times in a day, gets made fuss of by complete strangers and many, many tell me he's made ther day.
Frankly, we ought to get some biscuits for performing a social service.

A bite from a child is not the same as a bite from most dogs.

Having been bitten by dogs and children I can confidently say that a dog bite is worse. You don't normally need a tetanus after a child bite AFAIK. And there are cases where dogs do more than one bite, and cause serious damage, not many children do that AFAIK.

SardineQueen - I agree.
But, most dogs don't bite. And many of the people bitten are bitten by their own dog, or that of a family member, in their own home.

I'm not saying dog bites aren't serious, or that they don't have an impact on those who are bitten. But is muzzling all dogs in all public places going to solve the issue? Surely the folks who have dogs who are likely to bite would ignore the rules anyway? And it won't protect those (including children) who get bitten in their own home.

Can I also point out that while naturally we say 'You can never totally trust a dog' in fact, we do? If I see a sniffer dog working at an airport, I don't worry that it will bite me, I trust it totally. I am looking into my dog becoming a PAT dog (Pets as Therapy) where you take the dog into a hospital or similar so that people there can enjoy the theraputic effects of stroking a dog. I wouldn't do that if I didn't completely trust her - the only thing I am worried about is theft of biscuits if one is left at her height - we're working on it! What I am trying to say is that the vast majority of dgos are not the devil incarnate, are trustworthy, might even bring some benefit to society, and the majority of owners are responsible. Why should we all be pilloried because a few don't fit this description? Because if you are an irresposible owner to start with, bringing in laws on top of those that you already ignore won't change a thing.

I didn't say that all dogs should be muzzled all the time. I was pointing out that comparing dogs to children in the context of biting is not right.

'Tis true - sorry Sardine. Getting several posts all muddled up!

My gut reaction is that the OP is not being unreasonable, but that is because of the small minority of dog owners that do not pick up after their dogs and let them run around with no restraint whatsoever. I don't mean without leashes, I mean without keeping an eye on them.

I do not like dogs. Some people do not like kids. As a responsible parent I do not let my children annoy those who clearly do not find their playing adorable, I wish that all dog owners would pay me the same courtesy.

Unfortunately the type of dog owners I am talking about are unlikely to read at all this thread.

Rosebud, it simply wouldn't work for a huge number of dogs.

If you have a dog with any kind of training need (puppy/nervous/over-excited/dog-aggressive - note I am NOT including human-aggressive here) then one of your key weapons in training is by using rewards, and your two biggest rewards (besides voice, attention etc) are food and toys.

So if you only occasionally allow dogs out of their muzzles in small, crowded, dog 'corralls', then you would have a lot of dogs with potential behaviour issues, all pent-up with frustration at not being able to do their normal dog behaviour of sniffing and licking things in their environment, confined in together.

If I'm throwing a ball for my dog in a park and you walk past I know he won't approach or bother you, because the ball game is more fun than a random stranger. If you have young children or another dog with you, I'll call him to me, and I taught him that recall using toys and treats which go into his mouth. If you insist on a muzzle you're going to make training virtually impossible in public spaces. And dogs have to be trained away from the home as well as in it, because they don't automatically make the connection that the same rules apply everywhere otherwise.

Training can be time-consuming and frustrating enough, insist on muzzles and a lot more people just wouldn't bother. End result - more out of control, poorly trained, poorly socialised, potentially aggressive dogs.