Streetlife

if a mother lets her little toddler sit in the middle of the pavement and leave a mess I am sure people would report her. to social services or to police. 

Unfortunately, the police cannot deal with all aspects of anti social behaviour - car drivers on mobile phones or driving too fast, cyclists on pavements, scooters and motorbikes on cycle tracks, loud parties, etc, etc, etc.

I have found the dog control people at WBC very helpful but we still have a problem with one dog owner who will not believe that our open space is only for dogs on the lead (she actually tore down signs!).  I have found that thanking dog owners when they do pick up encourages them to always do it, but you have to accept the failures!

If you have a few spare nappy sacks or plain plastic bags, have them in your bag or pocket and when you see it happen, go over to the person responsible and say, "I noticed you didn't pick up after your dog and I assume you have been caught without a bag, would you like this one?"!

I have two dogs and have had them in London for over 12 years. The only time (once or maybe twice) I've had to leave a mess was when I was caught without a bag, and it does happen, although MOST people who do this are repeat offenders. But with the bag as an excuse you can make your point and still be quite polite - which is good if you don't like confrontation. Unfortunately it is a growing problem and the law states that if the mess is in the road you DON'T have to clean it up. I've seen people kick dog poo off the pavement and into the road which I find just as offensive!

Nice one, Sylvia.  I did try putting some plastic bags in a bag hung on a tree, but someone took it down (I was told it might have been a council contractor).

A shame that a few thoughtless dog owners allow this. It is so easy to train a dog to do its business properly but harder to train an errant dog owner. I reiterate what Silvia H. has already said - carry a few bags to pass to any misbehaving dog owner to embarrass them into being more responsible and thoughtful. What annoys me are those that collect dog mess in a bag and then leave the bag for someone else to deal with. 

I don't have a dog but I think that most dog owners are amazing here.  There are tons of happy dogs running about and the percentage of owners who are not responsible is very low.  The percentage of irresponsible parents of humans, however, is quite high.  I have never seen so much rubbish throw about as I have here, adolescent crime, noise and general bad behavior.  I wish that the kids were as well behaved as the dogs.

It is a persistent problem. The council has historically been one of the country's most active in prosecuting people for allowing their dogs to foul the pavement, but even then it was always a small number of cases reflecting how hard it is to bring a case (even the most irresponsible dog owner tends to stop their dog fouling the pavement when someone is watching).

If it's a particular street, or you can identify the dog owners, let me know (either here or a private message) and I can ask the dog control unit to have a word with them - education is the best way of stopping the problem.

The council has done a fair amount of work in encouraging dog owners to be responsible. Pity there are never any police around to make an occasional fine.

I am planning to have a camera on me at all times...   

we are currently looking at the Poover from Islington council they have a few of these.

planing to persuade our Council to buy some of those 

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/772841-poover-takes-on-dog-poo

I agree with a lot that has been said but I don't think it's up to others to have to carry plastic bags around. The responsibility for this rests squarely with the dog owners. I spent time living in Paris, which is notorious for this problem but the road in which I live is much worse. I like the idea of a camera and as today many mobiles have in-built cameras, taking a photo of an "act in progress" it shouldn't be too difficult to put the fear of God into the owner (assuming that they even care). There's no point having notices on every lamp post unless the police act and make on the spot fines to discourage this behaviour. I hate walking home at night in the autumn when there are leaves on the pavements and one can't always see which areas to avoid. Perhaps people could spray the offending areas of pavement with bright (fluorescent yellow) party string which would fade and dissolve but would warn other pedestrians... I love living in Chelsea but this is one aspect of urban life which could be avoided and which
drives me mad!

Wow that is amazing.  I so think that dog owners should clean up after their pets but it is not a perfect world and their will always be people who are not responsible.  I am more disturbed by the amount of rubbish that people throw on the ground.  I see kids walking home from school with their after school candy and they just toss the wrapper as they walk.  On the common, the rubbish dropped and left over from PEOPLE is much more unsightly and even potentially dangerous due to broken glass etc.  Dogs add much more positive  aspects through the joy that even a non dog owner like myself gains from just seeing them romp than the negative which is their "left overs" that sometimes don't get picked up.

Janet b.  I agree that throwing rubbish down is bad news, but on the small open space opposite me, there is very little (other than the sort that people come in cars and dump at the end of the road).  However, because it is a small open space, dog owners think it doesn't matter if their dogs leave their mess behind.  That means that there is no chance that children will play on the grass.  Before we had a childrens' party last year, I went round and picked up enough dog mess to fill a black bin bag - an we have, after 10 years of campaigning, got a dog bin.  In fact, when I politely asked a woman to pick up after her dog and explained what I was doing, she deliberately let her dog foul a cleared area and then, while the party was going on, came back and paraded the dog up and down in front of us.

With people's litter, people in the street are quite good at picking it up, whoever dropped it.  The responsible dog owners are equally angry at the irresponsible ones.

Quite Janet b! Us really good dogs do not wish to be sullied by those with irresponsible owners. I would rather the ever diminishing police recourses are directed towards serious crime solving, not providing on-the-spot fines for naughty dog owners. And I don't think the 'fear of God' from vigilante citizens at the ready with cameras and florescent spray cans is practical or desirable. 

Perhaps it is time for a FIDOS here in the UK.  I started it up with a group in Boulder Colorado years ago.  It stands for Friends Interested in Dogs and Open Space.  It began for many reasons but one of the issues was just this:  The irresponsible dog owners ruining things for, not only the non dog people, but for those of us who took care of our dogs and the environment in which they lived.  We had education Saturdays for educating dog owners on dog etiquette as well as informing and helping  those who were scared or uncomfortable with dogs.  We also took it upon ourselves to patrol and talk to owners who are caught "bagless".  I do not have a dog but I love dogs and know how much they add to our lives.  I would hate to see dogs lose the right to play in the open.  I also feel sad that some people end up feeling very negative about dogs because of negligent people.   It is those humans again!

Janet, that's an interesting idea. It reminds me of something we were looking at when I was responsible for community safety in Wandsworth; crearing Neighbourhood Watches from groups of dog walkers and regular park users. The idea being that they would be an extra set of eyes on our parks and open spaces letters know when something was amiss or needed dealing with.

If people are interested in the FIDOS idea I can certainly put them in touch with the relevant people in the council so they can at least share notes.

I think the FIDOS idea suggested by Janet B is promising as it helps educate owners in a positive way. The dogs themselves are not to blamed - it is the antisocial behaviour of A FEW owners which causes this problem.

I have two chocolate labs, I have always picked up after them and have trained them to only poo in the street (as there have been times when they've had the runs and it's impossible to pick up as a result plus I don't want to risk this happening on the sidewalk).  Even then I bring a bottle of water to wash it down the sewer drain. 

The thing that irritates me is, that I've lost count of the number of times I've almost been run over by some pratt which sees my dogs relieving themselves in the road and then speeds up to us to yell at me to clean up their poo (this before they've even finished!)  It makes me furious - as several times I've had to drag my dog away in the middle of relieving itself and they've then run over the mess making it impossible to pick up...

DJ: trust me, the few idiots should not cloud your view of the majority who will be silently thanking you.  That is why I risk being seen as a dotty old lady by thanking people when I see them doing the right thing.

On this post, please let us recognise those who train their dogs, keep them under control, consider other people, pick up, and all the other things they do.

One strand through these threads (cyclists, babies, drivers, etc) is clear. There are many people who are respectful of others, and some who are not.  There are others who demand respect in areas which annoy them, but show little respect in other areas.  Lesson: let us look at ourselves honestly!  Posted by an acknowledged grumpy old woman!

Sometimes when I think that the world is such a mess, I stop and think about how, actually, the vast majority of people are humming along quite peacefully - especially in a country such as this one.  We all do well together in general.  I wish that we as humans could be more like dogs though.  When a dog meets another (unknown) dog on the common, they have a quick hello to see if they are compatible then spend the next hour running and laughing together.  If another dog is in the way, they go around them or casually jump over them.   We need to mellow out eh?  Give the dog owner a chance to clean up.  If they don't perhaps the best method is to explain that if they don't they risk  ruining the freedom that the dogs currently have.  That would be terrible.  Then the world really would be a mess!

One added note;  i would love to start a FIDOS here!

Don't get me wrong I LOVE dogs, I think they in some ways could educate us to be more loving, loyal etc., but I have a very big problem with "irresponsible" dog owners, I am not here to educate them how to live their lives, none of us are, in any other case we are responsible for the waste we produce, if we see home wast. we have to take it out to the bin otherwise our flat will be filled up with rubbish and its unhygienic . why not dog mess? why do people think they could just endanger others by leaving their dog mess on pavements, park grass, where our children are playing. dog mess also could be a cause  of blindness etc. here is an article I found on the web, http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Toxicariasis.htm

its shocking.

Janet B, Please start FIDOS I will help if you want me to..

I know that the worm thing is really scary but one must actually ingest the soil.  My husband grew up in Brasil and was exposed to all sorts of worms (and had worms!)  it is disgusting but it is not as uncommon as we think and we can pick it up through all sort of hosts.  It is a good idea to let people know of what their lack of care can endanger.   I do agree with you, people need to take responsibility for their pets.  It is a big job and is even a bigger job living in close quarters.  My sister got scarlatina from a dirty balloon that she found in the park when she was little - us humans are messy too.  As I mentioned before, my pet peeve is rubbish/litter but that is another story! 

I will work on FIDOS after December is over.  I am in the middle of a big project at the moment.  I will contact you when I begin!