Dog owners of Thurso

[Harps]

Please start picking up after your pet! All over town on the pavements it's like walking in an obstacle course, trying to dodge poo! I know there are signs around town saying you will be fined if you don't but obviously not everyone seems to be able to read those, or chooses not to care. PLEASE PICK UP YOUR DOG POO! THANKS!!!

[Mrs Bradey]

Please start picking up after your pet! All over town on the pavements it's like walking in an obstacle course, trying to dodge poo! I know there are signs around town saying you will be fined if you don't but obviously not everyone seems to be able to read those, or chooses not to care. PLEASE PICK UP YOUR DOG POO! THANKS!!!the fact is, they have to be caught, prosecuted, convicted and then they can be fined! so who polices this? with less and less coppers about, I guess nobody!

[Wizzbang]

Not just Thurso streets, Its everywhere.
Even Dunnet forest paths

[orkneycadian]

Maybe they should classify dog crapping in public the same as sheep worrying? Then it could be quite easily resolved.

[Rheghead]

Is the dog warden still about or was funding cut?

[LMS]

The dog warden is still about but unfortunately she has to cover a very large area. Consequently, what she can do is very limited and dog owners know it. If you see someone letting their dog poo without collecting it, take a photo and pass it on; then name and shame.

[Mrs Bradey]

Not just Thurso streets, Its everywhere.Even Dunnet forest pathslast time I was in dunnet forest, it was not the dog sh.... er pooh on the path but that which people had collected and bagged, and then adorned the nearest tree with it! what's the point of sealing it in a bag if you not going to bin it!!

[unicorn]

I tend to point out to the non picking up owners in a loud voice that they have forgotten something, amazing how deaf they can be though.

[Rheghead]

Dog poo is a big problem in Reay as well. Despite a strategically placed dog waste bin near Beinn Ratha court there was loads of it all over the popular walk up to Helshetter today.

[kosacid]

i have always picked up even before it was law, simply because its usually some kid that stands in it, and it can make them ill and some cases blind, but seems some don't think of it that way

[jax]

last time I was in dunnet forest, it was not the dog sh.... er pooh on the path but that which people had collected and bagged, and then adorned the nearest tree with it! what's the point of sealing it in a bag if you not going to bin it!!Oh I thought it swinging in the tree branches was some sort of modern art?

[Kevin Milkins]

This is a thread that has been aired many times and unfortunately it seems there is no easy answer. Picking up after your pooch is not at all pleasant, however, if you are serious about being a responsible dog owner then you have to condition yourself to the fact it is your responsibility to clean up regardless of where it does its business. It was a chore that I used to resent, but now I would consider no different than a parent having to condition themselves to changing a child's napkin. I wonder sometimes if we will ever take on the mind set of the Japanese when it comes to litter.

[Harps]

This is a thread that has been aired many times and unfortunately it seems there is no easy answer. Picking up after your pooch is not at all pleasant, however, if you are serious about being a responsible dog owner then you have to condition yourself to the fact it is your responsibility to clean up regardless of where it does its business. It was a chore that I used to resent, but now I would consider no different than a parent having to condition themselves to changing a child's napkin. I wonder sometimes if we will ever take on the mind set of the Japanese when it comes to litter.

What mind set do the Japanese take on litter? We should wear a whistle and when we see a perpetrator leaving poo behind blow the whistle and draw attention to their actions.

[Kevin Milkins]

The Japanese take a very dim view of dropping litter of any description and it's even against the law chew gum in public.

[sids]

The Japanese take a very dim view of dropping litter of any description and it's even against the law chew gum in public.

In Kuala Lumpur they whip litter-droppers until they beg for more.

[Harps]

In Kuala Lumpur they whip litter-droppers until they beg for more.

A wee bit extreme.... but if it works.... (joking) We should set up a Facebook photo name an shame page for any people we see offending. Or I think I read some where that they mail the dog doo back o the owner with a tag saying you forgot something.... :)

[phantom]

the fact is, they have to be caught, prosecuted, convicted and then they can be fined! so who polices this? with less and less coppers about, I guess nobody!

Not entirely true, if caught you will be issued a fine on the spot if you do not pick up right after the deed is done, you will even get a fine if you do pick it up and hang it in a tree. Local authority Polices this.

[Big Gaz]

Not entirely true, if caught you will be issued a fine on the spot if you do not pick up right after the deed is done, you will even get a fine if you do pick it up and hang it in a tree. Local authority Polices this.

That would be the "phantom" local authority then i take it (no pun intended ofc) [lol] you never see a council warden around these days and Police Scotland are looking to completely remove traffic wardens and cut back on special constables too. Soon be a warden free free-for-all for dog poo piles, uncivilised parking and kids playing footie in the street whilst cheeking their elderly neighbours :eek:

[Mrs Bradey]

Not entirely true, if caught you will be issued a fine on the spot if you do not pick up right after the deed is done, you will even get a fine if you do pick it up and hang it in a tree. Local authority Polices this.you can only be made to pay an on the spot fine if you admit to the offence. if you do not then you may be prosecuted, convicted and then fined, and find yourself liable for costs. of course there would need to be evidence before the court that it was your dog that fouled. I did here that DNA tests were going to be used but I don't know how far this got!

[jax]

you can only be made to pay an on the spot fine if you admit to the offence. if you do no, then you may be prosecuted, convicted and then fined, and find yourself liable for costs. of course there would need to be evidence before the court that it was your dog that fouled. I did here that DNA tests were going to be used but I don't know how far this got!Oh that would be a fabby job, may I take a swab of your dogs behind please I'm sending it to the lab along with the offending turd?

[jax]

I can see the cartoon depicting the scene........lol I wish I could draw

[orkneycadian]

Licence and tax dog ownership the same way as they do cars and other transport. Before you get one, you need to sit a test on your ability to do it. No ability = no licence. Like a driving licence, if you stray from the path of legality too far or too often you lose your licence, and your pooch gets taken away on the back of a low loader to be impounded.

The mutts themselves should be taxed according to use and size. The more emissions your car spits out, the more you pay in tax. Hound tax could work the same way. Several hundred pounds a year for a big crapper would be a useful deterrent. Insurance could work proportional to the risk class, just like cars. If you have a Ferrarri, you are a bigger risk, and pay more. Same if you have a divil dug (assuming they are not completely banned). The insurance would then be liable to pay the costs of the divil dug mauling yet more kids, rather than it falling to the NHS and the rest of the taxpayers. Meanwhile, if you have a "Sheilas Dug" (a small thing that looks like a rat in a handbag with a pink bow in its hair), you get a discount on the grounds that it unlikely to maul anything bigger than a daddy long legs or a tiny tin of diced fillet steak in red wine gravy that costs £8.50.

Modified speed cameras, called Crap Cameras cold be installed on public footpaths to photograph the offence of abandoned craps in progress, and could be traced back to the owner, from the number plate tattooed on the dogs backside. An automatic fixed penalty notice would arrive in the post a few days later, with the requisite penalty points added to the owners licence.

An annual trip to the vets where the dugs are connected up to a "crap-o-meter" would test if the emissions are adequately low for that class of mutt. Any hound that, as a result of old age or defect, craps more than it should, would have to be fixed or put off the path.

Finally, tax dog food to the hilt - Well, they do with petrol and diesel. Charging about 10 times the present rate for dog food should do the trick, and put it on parity with other fuel.

[jax]

...........I like the crapo meter idea! Why not tax us on our pooch everything else is!! Oh but if its a yes vote will it be in favor of the new tax ??? Hymn decision decisions

[RagnarRocks]

Sounds like this could become a smear campaign !

[achingale]

This is in place so people with dogs (even without!) and communities get involved! It's a great scheme - http://www.highland.gov.uk/yourenvironment/animalsandpestcontrol/greendogwalkers.htm

[jax]

:-) like the smear campaign.....

Can't work out how to get smilie faces on, hymn?

[RagnarRocks]

:-) like the smear campaign.....Can't work out how to get smilie faces on, hymn?What's up Jax can't quite put your finger on it ?

[jax]

What's up Jax can't quite put your finger on it ?Obviously not.

[Big Gaz]

:-) like the smear campaign.....

Can't work out how to get smilie faces on, hymn?

well no point in making a song and dance about it lol, just look at the top bar when you are making a post and you will see the smiley face, click it and up pops a load to choose from. If you click "go advanced" on the bottom right of your post, there's even more to choose from!

[jax]

well no point in making a song and dance about it lol, just look at the top bar when you are making a post and you will see the smiley face, click it and up pops a load to choose from. If you click "go advanced" on the bottom right of your post, there's even more to choose from!I'm bleating now, I've tried go advanced & all I get is a choice of icons??

[RagnarRocks]

Maybe trying to get to the bottom,off it and not being able to put his finger on it,explains the smear campaign

[jax]

Nope, the smilies briefly show themselves on the right on the go advanced post then they dissapear, oh well I'll just have to stick with :-( no new lessons learnt today

[jax]

Maybe trying to get to the bottom,off it and not being able to put his finger on it,explains the smear campaignOh your just showing off now posting a fancy face :O

[RagnarRocks]

Maybe a pair of thick rubber gloves would be of assistance

[moses]

last time I was in dunnet forest, it was not the dog sh.... er pooh on the path but that which people had collected and bagged, and then adorned the nearest tree with it! what's the point of sealing it in a bag if you not going to bin it!!. Simple answer, ban dogs from the forest.

[jax]

Maybe a pair of thick rubber gloves would be of assistanceYucky..........

[Harps]

Just found out what is happening in Brora and Golspie. I wonder if this will happen here in Thurso? It should, you should be able to walk the streets without having to constantly look at the pavement to see if you can push your pram or put your foot down. We are supposedly living in 2014 and not 1914! Where is progress and respect for others?

http://www.northern-times.co.uk/News/Golspie-targeted-in-dog-fouling-crackdown-24022014.htm

[jax]

. Simple answer, ban dogs from the forest.Yeah ban everything, dogs, children, bikes, people, cats, horses.....the endless list. Everyone sit inside eating smash & take no outdoor activity. The solution is do the right thing pick up your dogs poop, simples.

[Harps]

It's in the Courier too, wonder who is responsible for enforcement though? Never seen anyone enforcing it on our streets!
http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/News/No-messing-about-from-new-dog-dirt-campaign-24022014.htm

[RagnarRocks]

Have any of you looked up the total number of cases from toxocariasis in the UK per anum 30 cases between 2000 and 2010. Whilst dog mess isn't a nice thing to have on the street I think there are far greater health issues to deal with. Nasty dirty and smelly it is but hardly worth some of the hysteria surrounding it.

[Harps]

Have any of you looked up the total number of cases from toxocariasis in the UK per anum 30 cases between 2000 and 2010. Whilst dog mess isn't a nice thing to have on the street I think there are far greater health issues to deal with. Nasty dirty and smelly it is but hardly worth some of the hysteria surrounding it.

My issue wasn't even about the disease factor, though that isn't good, I just hate coming in from a nice walk only to notice I rolled through it with my daughters buggy! YUCK! Pick it up!

[Mrs Bradey]

. Simple answer, ban dogs from the forest.yeah , that would work, but wait a minute, I give there with my dogs!! and pick up after them and place it in the receptacle provided! NO not a tree!

[rogermellie]

yeah , that would work, but wait a minute, I give there with my dogs!! and pick up after them and place it in the receptacle provided! NO not a tree!

i agree with you there, it's not fair on the decent dog walkers, but unless dog walkers keep their dogs on a lead in the forest, how do they know that their dog hasn't had a crafty dump when it's run off ahead ?

i think where Dunnet is concerned, if your a dog walker and see a doggie dump, please pick it up.

what about the area next to the car park set aside for dog walkers to let their dogs poo ?

no body uses it and yet the first 100 metres of paths into the forest are the worst for poops, so using the designated doo doo zone would also help the situation.

[rogermellie]

on a lighter note, here's some funny pictures of dogs having a poo and ruining peoples photos

http://www.collegehumor.com/post/6943239/16-photos-hilariously-ruined-by-dogs-pooping-in-the-background

[Mrs Bradey]

on a lighter note, here's some funny pictures of dogs having a poo and ruining peoples photoshttp://www.collegehumor.com/post/6943239/16-photos-hilariously-ruined-by-dogs-pooping-in-the-backgroundthanks, that was fun!

[Harps]

It must be hard to catch the said offenders In the act, everyone I see who's dog is doing it's business picks it up, now whether It's because I am around I don't know. Just wish there would be more people caught who offend.