Laws that work

[Dai 55]

Gwyn,
i agree to what you are saying you might as well do a crime knowing that the punishment is going to be light,however i put this down to the CPS who are a joke,a policeman/Woman on duty can only do what they are told to do,and even they know the CPS will throw it out,i have a lot of freinds in the police who sometimes get very frustrated,and a lot of it is about the peoples rights bring back the years get them in the cell and kick the S--- out of them,why bother doing the paper work and see it thrown back at you,give the police more powers Arm them all,batton guns,stun guns,hand grenades,flame throwers shoot to kill policy,then we would see law and order,
Dai 55

[Gwyn Nicholas]

I agree totally Dai. I dont blame our boys/girls in blue either. It must be a very frustrating job to do given the backing they get from the CPS and lets not forget the Judges and even more so incompetent magistrates who's punishments vary from town town for the same crimes. As I said it is the Law that is an ass.

[Paul Hinge]

I agrre with the sentiments expressed by all so far in this thread. There are not enough police officers on the streets/in cars to police such flagarant law breaking such as using mobile phones/child car seats and Sid is absolutely right it's a horrible and a life changing experience to see how the inappropriate use of child car seats impacts on the child after an accident.
People who use mobile phones, eat, drink use CB's whilst driving are putting other road users at risk by their selfishness!

Gwyn, I don't know if this is an issue where you live but dog fouling is one of the issues I have in my surgeries week in, week out. I have two dogs (westies) everytime we go for a walk (at least once a day) those poo bags are in the pocket to pick up their mess and taken home and disposed of properly. Now I'm finding that on the most popular walks dog owners are now being so lazy as to hang these full bags off trees along the path.....does anyone else experience this?

Hingey

[5haron]

Interesting what you say about the dog fouling, Hingey. We have always had a sporadic problem here, probably because we live opposite a park and dog-walkers pass by daily. A few months ago it escalated greatly and the neighbourhood noticed that it conincided with arrival of one of the less sociable neighbours' new dog. After a couple of months and a number of near misses with the turd piles left by my back gate, I decided to take action...but how? Said neighbour is not the easiest to approach and by doing so, we ran the risk of "vengeance poo" :) Eventually I contacted the local authority and the Community Police Officer, asked them if they'd mind if I started a flyer campaign and could I use their numbers for people to contact if they saw the culprit allowing his dog to defecate uncontrolled. Answer: a resounding Go For It.
So I wrote a very nice message to the neighbours addressing the issue, emphasized the social consequences. Mentioning the diseases caused by dog faeces and finishing with the amount of the fine the dog owner would pay when caught n the act. Kindly asking them to contact the authorities, who were aware of the issue.Printed out a wad of flyers and Pat and I posted them through the doors.
It seemed to stop, a week later Patty was having a late night cigar outside when he saw said neighbour letting his dog foul the shared entryway to our back gates. He waited and the lad went inside, so Pat came in and got his phone, he meant to note the boys house nr and call the complaint in the following day. When he went back outside, the lad was there picking up the doggy doo-doo. He'd gone in to get a plastic bag.
So, this non- confrontational approach worked wonders.
Social policing!

[Gwyn Nicholas]

Dog fouling has got better generally in my area but there are those idle owners who expect their dog to be "housetrained" but are happy with the animal leaving it's mess anywhere else. It is of course an offence that carries a fine but yet again there are not many wardens around and these people know it. We did have a lot of bags thrown into trees along the local dog walk but with the introduction of proper bins this has been reduced. (it took a while but the council came through in the end)

Generally speaking though, I think the majority of dog owners (as in all walks of civilized life) are respectful of others and clean up after their dogs, unpleasant as it is. What a world this would be if that small minority, whether it be dog owner, mobile phone user, drug abuser, thief etc etc joined the rest of the decent law abiding community. No need for Police and Sid (younger brother of Larry) could happily retire knowing his duty once again is done.

[Dai 55]

i have lots of respect for dog lovers who buy them because they love them and wont them to be part of the family,take them out exercise them train them and clean up there mess,the problem is animals are not birthday/xmas presents you should only get one if you really are going to look after it,but it is generally these people who dont wont to train/exercise the dog and let it S--- anywere and dont pick it up,am i right or wrong but this is the generall feeling i get i have seen it so many times,i believe you should have a licence to own a dog and a full vetting review should happen before a dog is sold,
Dai 55

[parrot]

Dai
I have been breeding and showing golden retrievers for 23 years and can assure you all responsible breederes do vet their potential puppy buyers. It is the puppy farmers that sell indicriminately. We have lobbied parliament and the kennel club to shut these places down but they tuirn a deaf ear and the kennel club won't do it because of the revenue it brings in ( puppy registration fees ) I for one would not sell a puppy to anyone without knowing everything i could about them and i could name hundreds of others who do the same. The problem is that people are too idle and care nothing for other people or the thousands who do clean up after their dogs

[Gwyn Nicholas]

You are so right Dai. I know a couple who bought a puppy, they both work so the puppy is left alone all day. It is not allowed upstairs or in the lounge so spends it life in the kitchen. The other day they came home to find that the puppy had chewed a number of items to within an inch of their lifespan. Their reaction was that they must have been unlucky in their selection of dog from the litter. A perfect example of people who should not be allowed to have a dog and support for the licence and vetting of which you speak. Dogs are not bad, like children they need training and boundries to be set for them. You only get out of them what you put in and they do need a lot of your time especially as puppies.

[davidrmac]

Gwynn , I too have recently bought a puppy . Both my wife and I work all day and she is left alone . We have a dogflap which she uses to access a secure outside area with shelter if she chooses to stay outside . She is almost house trained and at present , not allowed upstairs but does join us in all downstairs rooms as part of the family . We are constantly mopping and picking up mistakes but it's getting less and less on a daily basis . She is walked morning and evening and her poo is collected and placed into poo bins . My point is , that you do not have to be in the house all day to be a responsible and loving pet owner , my dog has her routine and she is very happy and loved by all the family .

[kevjames84]

Now there are some laws that will probably never work, “PUPPY FARMING” I total agree with Paul about responsible breeders, but all to often I see the so called casual or responsible breeder turn into a puppy farmer (it's an easy money thing). Daily I take in ex breading dogs from all over Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, the two worst counties in the United Kingdom for this activity. To give you and example a very well respected member of the Royal Welch and a very good friend who has sadly passed away was a prolific puppy farmer (no names). One of my own rescue dogs came into the our rescue at 7 or 8 months of age (still a puppy) with a litter of her own, after the pups had weaned I decided to keep her. With regard to breeders vetting potential owners I was never vetted to have my two springer pups now 2 years and 18 months. We in Many Tears always home vet our potential adopters and have a network of vetters country wide so no one can slip through the “unsuitable net”.
On an other of the posts I must admit to placing a poo bag at a specific point on my walks sometimes but only when I know that I can pick it back up on my way back, walking 4 mad working dogs for a few hours at a time does have it's draw backs and one of them is that there are no bins on some of the routes so if they do their business early on the walk I'll sometimes leave them and pick them up on the way back. SORRY