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?

I think they should ban small children from the parks I take my dog too. They get in the way of his walks by wanting to pet him! It also unfair he's banned from the play area, He loves slides...

Oh and it would save me the bother of having to apologise to all the odd, Cats bum faced mothers of toddlers who get huffy/hysterical if my dog (on a leash) comes within 10 meters of their diddums.

I would favour all larger breeds (could be done by a height from floor to shoulder?) being required to wear muzzles in public.

Eh?

In my experience little dogs are the more vicious buggers. I say that as an owner of a LittleBastardDog.

AllYours

oh yes TheUnMember I agree. Jack Russells and Yorkshire Terriers are the only dogs I move away from on pavements as they pass.

AllYours

YABU. I say that as someone who threw a pair of DDs sandals away because she trod in mess.
OTOH, I have two cats. I don't know where they poo. i ahve been and collected some from my NDNs front garden. I assume it was from one of mine, but can't be sure.
My DH is nervous around dogs. His parents would pull him away from dogs and if he saw one look at him, he went home. He is OK with Staffs because I brought one into our house to live with us. Any other breed and he is jumpy.
Stupidly, he showed his fear to our DD. She is a bit anxious around dogs now for no good reason.

UnMember - you may be right that my suggestion isn't very practicable as to the criteria for requiring a muzzle. Maybe all dogs should be muzzled in public. I suppose that what I had in mind was that I often have very little confidence that the people with larger dogs have any capacity to control them whether on or off the lead. Larger dogs can be incredibly strong and a muzzle might prevent them inflicting damage in the event that their owners can't otherwise control them and prevent them from doing so.

yanbu
I don't think many dog owners can give a dog the right mental and physical stimulation it needs. so sad and unfair for the dog.
and I also think many many dog owners are not responsible enough to keep a dog (out of control, off the lead in inappropriate places, mess not picked up, dogs not de-wormed and de-flead appropriately...)

YABVVVU op!

I like walking in the countryside and it is absolutely covered in shit - should we ban farming?

I would like to see people caught leaving dog shit in public places being banned from owning dogs permanently.

Let's get the "small minority" off the streets and out of the parks.

What would I do with the existing dogs? Hmm. Obviously they can't really all be shipped to Elba or put down; that would be cruel to the owners and dogs. I think the best way of doing it would be a gradual phasing out approach:

1. Bring in compulsory dog licenses and microchipping. The licenses would be issued in two categories: domestic and working.
2. Neuter/spay all dogs in the domestic category and ban the commercial importation of domestic dogs. Private imports only authorised when the foreign owner is moving to/travelling in the UK - they must also apply for a license and have their dog microchipped and neutered/spayed at point of entry.

Et voila.

No, DS will not have a pet in my house. I am allergic to furry pets and I rate being able to go out or away at the spur of the moment higher than the benefits of having a non-furry one.

The world would benefit from a ban on humans, agreed.

I like walking in the countryside and it is absolutely covered in shit - should we ban farming?

:o :o

As someone said ^, and you have ignored, where I live all dog owners are required to have a dog licence and a microchip. Northern Ireland.
It doesnt stop them needing to shit.

I was going to have a rant about how unreasonable and just plain stupid your post is but then amusing I've just seen the dog poop bin emptying van driving down the road, followed immediately by the normal rubbish truck which has emblazoned down the side:

90% of street litter in xx is smoking related

And ignoring all the fag butts and cig packets, I bet the rest is made up of chewing gum, banana skins and fast food wrappers.

There are a couple of irresponsible owners here but the majority are merry baggers and binners - even people out at 6am conscientiously doing it.

However, don't get me started on the lack of poop bins.

I lived in Germany for a while as a child in the 80s. We had a dog. And the compulsory dog license. And compulsory public liability insurance. And compulsory dog tags (microchips not around then iirc). And compulsory vaccinations.
So it is perfectly doable.

Ddog is a rescue mutt. He is neutered, microchipped, insured, vaccinated. Would be happy to have a license too.

Actually, that's a good point.

The farmer over the back of me puts fucking shitty slurry on his fields every time it's a nice day and I have my washing out.

Should farming be banned

No, it does not stop them needing to shit. But an owner willing to undergo all that is needed to get dog licensed is also more likely to be of the ilk willing to pick up poo!

I heard a bloke on a radio phone in with a good idea. He suggested that all dogs are registered, and their DNA. Then dog turds that are where they shouldn't be, are sent off to be sampled for the DNA and the owner responsible fined. The fines would pay for the costs.

Cats don't generally cause a public nuisance though. Unless they adopt you...

This is utter bollocks.

As for the rest of it- quit yer barkin princess.

Squirted I didn't know that about NI. I highly favour licensing and microchipping as an alternative to extermination but it would only really help with the poo problem if the dog's DNA was kept on a database and dog poos found in public individually bagged and sent away for testing, with a massive fine/ban for the owner of the dog responsible.

YABU, in suggesting people shouldn't own dogs.

However I completely agree with everything else you say.

Dog shit is a right PITA, is inexcusable and lazy, and will lead to dog owners being severely restricted.

Maybe rather than banning privately owned dogs they could be only allowed on land privately owned by their owner, or in specified dog spaces that they would require to be driven to? That would solve the problem.

YABU- I'm not a dog lover myself. I like other peoples dogs, we've had an adopted dog in my parents house, but I've never owned one.
My DS loves dogs, and they love him.
My DD is terrified of dogs (but getting better) . If there were no dogs around, she'd probably have something else she was scared of.
Dogs are great company, excercise and protection. But not for me.
But- when I rule the world:

I'd introduce proper registration, chipping and liscence.
I'd ban breeding unless someone is a Registered Breeder.
All dogs would be neutered and innoculsted+wormed. Breeders could be made responsible for this when they sell a dog.(Obviously dog would be too young but they would have to contact the owners to make sure it's been done)
Every dog owner would need 3rd Party Insurance in case their dog injures another animal or person.Or property.
Far more stringent checks before someone buys a dog (similar to what rehoming centres do)
Dogs on leads in public areas unless Dog Designated Areas (which I would introduce)
And with the money spent on liscences- I'd employ someone with a jet-hose and industrial vacuumy thing to go round and sluice the pavements.(Well lots of people)
Substantial fines for fouling in parks, grass verges.
And a ban is a ban for life.(ie ban from keeping dogs)

Now what colour is the sky in my world?

FGS do you actually know how much it would cost to DNA test each poo? Around £250 - roughly. IIRC it was £335 for Lennox's testing which was fuckin useless and it's not that accurate anyway.

And who's going to pay for all the extra dog wardens.

Or what others have said about dog dna database and poo sampling. But that doesn't solve the owners whose friendly dogs come sprinting off leash up to my toddler.

YABU