to think that the keeping of dogs for domestic purposes should be banned.

[AKMD]

That?s it really. I am sick to death of having to watch my feet to make sure I don?t accidentally tread in dog muck left to steam by some selfish, lazy dog owner. I resent not being able to take 2yo DS to the park directly opposite my house because it?s used as a dog exercise ground and you can?t play toddler football without the ball and toddler falling into said dog muck. I hate that every time we go to the slightly nicer park there?s at least one dog without a lead who decides to come and sniff DS and that while he backs away the owner stands there laughing that ?he?s only being friendly?. I loathe and detest the particularly ?friendly? dogs who lick DS while I drag him away, probably just after eating another dog?s poo or a dead rat or some other disgusting thing they just found. I have personally seen the scars left on a young child by a ?friendly? dog turning savage and ripping the toddler?s cheek off. The problem of people getting bored of their dogs and dumping them in rescue centres is sickening. The stories of dogs being bred to fight, being neglected, being bred for ?beauty? despite the ?beautiful? characteristics causing the animals pain and suffering are beyond belief.

IMO domestic dog owners as a general class have proved that they are irresponsible and selfish. Fear of treading in dog poo on a pavement or in a park is common to everyone and I am so, so sick of people blaming it on a tiny minority. Domestic dog owners can?t be trusted to be responsible so they shouldn?t have them, end of. People should only be allowed to keep dogs for working purposes ? guide dogs, sniffer dogs, police dogs, sheep dogs etc. - if they are licensed.

AIBU?

You are been unreasonable, just because there's certain owners that are irresponsible doesn't mean all owners are! I walk my dog without a lead but he's trained and doesn't bother other people or other dogs, if he poo's I pick it up and put it in the bin, so why should I be banned from having a dog?

fuckurama I am glad you are doing so much and are a good and responsible dog handler/owner.
sadly many, too many, aren't which is what this thread is about.

My DD came in from school and shouted that she needed a pair of trousers asap. Turns out she wanted to change straight away because she'd trodden in a dog poo on the way to school and then sat on her foot in assembly.

Would she be in favour of banning domestic dogs? No Way! I've a lovely dachshund warming my lap right now, he's her pal. We pick up after him, worm him, he's chipped, he's kept under control when he's out, and the overwhelming response by strangers is 'ohhh how cute a sausage dog' and a big smile. He spreads happiness, not disease.

I wish we could find a way of getting rid of irresponsible pet owners.

But the problem, Mousy, is that the OP wants to ban the keeping of dogs.

And it's not the DOGS that are the problem.

MousyMouse the majority of dog owners are responsible. Unfortunately you only see evidence of the irresponsible ones.

great idea mrs bethel

and having just come home from walking my two dogs and lifting poo even though we were actually on fields / bridleway because it was not well off the path ... I was thinking ( dangerous that) .....

..... how about we pay people on benefits / long term JSA a bit extra ( or the £100 bonus suggested by mrsbethel) to go around the community and identify offenders/ get evidence and serve notices. They dont have to have the training / full warden duties just knowledge of that particular byelaw / fines.

ok who is it I have to blame for me having this vision of me picking up perpetrators dogs poo in my bag , bravely following them home and asking them if they want it still in the bag to put in their bin or having it dumped from the bag onto their doorstop .... then having to leg it when huge parent / spouse comes out the house on the warpath yelling that the poo bag will be inserted somewhere on my personage the sun dont shine
( remembering the verbal abuse /threats when I tried to stop a man beating his puppy )

And it's not the DOGS that are the problem.

I think we all can agree on that one.

panda Unfortunately you only see evidence of the irresponsible ones.

and what do you propose could be done?

I wish there could be some sort of pet ownership license. Sort of like a driving license, where you'd have to learn about responsible ownership and welfare and be tested on it before you could own a pet, and which could be revoked.

I know, it ain't going to happen but its far too easy for people to own animals without the faintest idea of their responsibilities.

yawn

Well, if you're going to do that for owning pets then surely the logical extension is that there should be a parenting licence and only those who pass would be allowed to reproduce....

Oh, hang on, didn't someone try that about 60 years ago...

I love that because dog owners are explaining to the OP why it's stupid not a sensible proposal to ban dog ownership means we are irrational? Dog poo is an issue but the way some people are going on, you'd think it was a massive issue. It really isn't.

I love the idea of bribing teenagers with smartphones.

YANBU
Dogs are pack animals, most need and enjoy canine company and many need space and fresh air, well beyond a 1h run, at a time convenient to an owner. If you don't have the space for a pack of dogs, you shouldn't have them. Having experienced dogs living and loving life on farms, city life is just cruel. And the side effect is that non-dog owners have to suffer the consequences of the (minority) lazy dog owners.

Great experience, Tulipgrower. Very, um, valid comment.

AKMD, I'm sure you've answered my question of a couple of hours ago and explained what will happen to all the dogs you'll have seized when the owners' are found to have no license and, what's more, where the hell you'll put them all but for some reason I can't see it. Can you link to or c&p your response please?

We're so far apart on this that it almost seems a waste of time replying but for what it's worth, here goes.

You know that feeling when you look in a small child's eyes and see all that's good in the world? That's what I see in my dog's eyes too. Truly unconditional love. Dogs have lived and worked by humans for hundreds (thousands of years) and ask for nothing but food and warmth in return. To be honest, they don't even ask for that in return.

Yes, it's disgusting when people don't clean up after them. The only thing dogs leave behind is poo, which is biodegradable, but, still, nasty if not picked up. However, what do humans leave behind? Plastic, fumes, degradation of forests, sewage in the sea (yes your poo is floating around in the beautiful ocean right now OP).

Unless you can say that your environmental impact on the world is truly neutral then you don't have a (pesticide grown cotton clad) leg to stand on.

As for the violent dog thing, bad owners. Same for violent people. Violent people either get away with it or go to prison. Dogs get put to sleep, unfortunately not their owners.

There are rules about how many square meters a chicken requires to be kept. There are housing guidelines which define overcrowding for people. Why shouldn't something similar be applied to dogs, to ensure they have a reasonable quality of life? (And not need children's playgrounds to crap in.)

Oh, I agree that there should be better legislation to protect canine welfare, Tulip, that's not what I was questioning.

So tulipgrower we live in a city. Our dog is a rescue dog, who stayed in kennels for 8 months before we took him home. Really, do you think it would have been better for him to stay in kennels and wait for that mythical 'someone who lived in the country' to come and adopt him or come and live with and be loved by us?

(FWIW he doesn't have to poo in the playground - he has a large park to go in and we always pick up.)

I'm on DH's ipad and can't copy and paste the post for some reason but it's at 1258.

Cervix if the worlds' species got together and got to choose whether to get rid of humans or dogs, I think humans wouldn't have a snowball's. I am not in favour of getting rid of humans though, although it would be far more convenient and fair to get rid of irresponsible dog owners than the dogs they own.

Oh this again.

Just to humour the person of questionable motive and intelligence OP, YABU. Clearly.

I am so bored of offensive bs being posted on here by 'people' just wanting a reaction.

Oh a dog hater thread - how original !

Here have a doggy

Oh FFS.

The only boring people I've seen on here are the ones who have nothing to contribute except pointed sarcasm about how they've been on MN for soooo long that they've seen every thread before yawn, yawn, yawn.

Wow, dog owners, I think you could at least engage with some of the points on this thread. I am sure you all religiously pick up your poo. But let me assure you that my local park - a nice one in an ok area - is absolutely riddled with poo. I have been bitten by a dog there, DD was knocked down by one when she was 2, and I have twice asked people to take their dogs out of the dog- free playground and been ignored.

I don't think the OPs solution is workable, but boy do I know where she is coming from. In my view, dogs should be on a lead in urban areas at all times, except in fenced and designated dog runs. I like dogs, but I cannot bear the way that our walks are ruined by a stream of dogs running up to us and scaring DD.

here have another doggy