Should they be banned from cities and suburbs? Maybe, they should be confined to farms, and big country houses with lost of fields around?
This photo was taken by Johnny Yager, who lives in the same city as I do. Munich/Germany. The scene in the photo in not an uncommon one here. My boyfriend was walking along the footpath near our house a few months ago, when a dog being walked by its owner latched itself onto his leg. My boyfriend is afraid of dogs, because of a childhood experience, so the dog likely sensed this, which prompted it to bite him.
But, arent a few too many people having bad dog experiences? My friend who lived in Dublin/Ireland as a child had to have plastic surgery at 7 years old, because a dog bit her face.
The other less dangerous, but too frequent problem in my neighbourhood is dog poo. It is everywhere. The law is that dog owners clean it up, but many dont do it. And, even if they did, kids play on the grass outside the appartment blocks, and I dont think the grass is clean enough for kids, just because the poo has been scraped off it. And, who wants to spend time cleaning the dog poo off shoes. Walking on any grass around here comes with the high risk of getting dog poo on ones shoes.
Reply to this I actually really love dogs and the dogs here in the Europe are extremely better trained than in the US. The dogs here usually seem well behaved and don't even notice other dogs on the street. But maybe that's just in comparison to how wild and untrained they usually are in the US. This dog was my host family's dog and I think he just had a shoe-chewing-puppy-phase-problem. I've been amazed that the dogs here can go leash-less without going crazy. But I do agree that the poop is a problem. Someone brushed some under a pile of leaves on a side walk and I stepped in it here in Munich, in brand new shoes :/.
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Dogs always seem to know when you are afraid of them. I love animals but I'm always hesitant around the ones running free because you do not know their mental or physical state.
The largest number of free roaming dogs I've seen is when we were in Peru. They are nasty, dirty looking and hungry.
Enforcing the ban would be tough but is possible. I think the United States has tackled that problem better than most countries with leash laws, licensing requirements and laws requiring that you pick up waste and are very good at it. Most American cities have animal control agents who pick up the free wandering animals but you will still see a few from time to time.
I think the key is an "animal consciousness". In the US we treat our domestic animals as good as family members .....and sometimes better than family members. Many countries have a very different view of dogs & cats.
Reply to this In Australia your dog is your best "mate", you really see very few dogs roaming the streets because theres pretty stringent legislation and any dog found roaming the street free is impounded. Like D&MJ our three boxer dogs are very much part of the family and do come on holidays with us if possible. There are still a few towns around with dog friendly campsites or cabins that are great for a few days getaway even if the dog does come home pregnant (MJ the puppies all sold btw!). Of course you still see the odd dog out and about roaming but its a rarity really considering how much the dog is part of the Aussie family. We have three..at xmas time we had 10! In parks where dogs are allowed to exercise yes you need to watch where you step to avoid the landmines but generally people pickup after their dogs. We have a few cafes in touristy areas like Fremantle that are dog friendly and even have troughs of water out for dogs who do coffee.
Cambodia and Indonesia have irritating numbers of roaming and barking dogs..and strangely..PNG has the exact same dogs that end up on the remotest islands lol.
I think the worst place ive ever seen for dog poop on the streets would have to be Paris.
Reply to this Here in Peru when you are hiking or in a rural area it's not unusual to have a dog/dogs charge you but I was told by a local to bend down and pretend to pick up a rock, they stop in their tracks........every time, I'm told it's because the locals really do throw rocks at them when they get aggressive not that I'm saying that's the right thing to do but it works.
I got bitten on the back by a german shepherd in Ecuador, It was my own fault, I went running past his house and startled him, I knew the dog and he was ok with me but he acted out of instinct, he jumped and bit right through my padded jacket which thankfully I was wearing as it could have been my skin.
There is a different attitude to domestic animals in this part of the world, they are either babied and spoiled or they just hang out where they will be fed often not enough and many are badly malnourished , as for picking up poop, it just doesn't happen here so when in parts of South America watch your step.
Reply to this Cindy, I'm laughing at your dog coming home pregnant so it's not only humans who enjoy holiday romances.....bless her lol
Reply to this Our dog runs the show at our house. She has a great life. As a matter of fact we are traveling to Maine next weekend and she is coming along. One year we took a vacation to a pet friendly beach so she could come along.
Spoiled rotten!
Reply to this Cute dog MJ! I have three dogs at home, and like Cindy said, they're all part of the family.
Reply to this So because of one bad dog all dogs should be banned?
Reply to this very interesting subject I must say. I am a huge animal lover and I just adore every little dog I see however I know there is a danger attached to it especially in some parts of the world. I must say that here in UK dogs are very well behaved and dog owners are very responsible as well so not much poop laying around and not many accidents as well. The only exception would be illegal dog fights and breading 'stuffs' for fight but loads of charities and government fight with it ;-)
as far as traveling is concerned I would love to be able to take my dog -Atos everywhere and where possible he always travels with us;-)
This is from Scotland;-)
I love Germany for instance as dogs are allowed to even walk in to the shopping mall ;-) I also strugle with homeless dogs when travelling and have this constant need to help them and feed then so spend quite a lot of money usually buying extra food ( I know I know it is wrong and I should not be doing it but hey cant help it) Animals have this weird sense of me and I find them always coming to me - cats, dogs, donkeys, horses and others - maybe it is the food I carry around hahha
Reply to this The saddest and dirtiest dogs we have come across were in Peru. It was hard not setting up a dog wash.
Reply to this No, I do not want to banish dogs from the cities and suburbs and sent to the country. I miss my dog when I travel and love having interaction with them when I am on the road. However, it is sometimes painful for me to see the lack of care given to some of these wandering travelers. If I were king of this world I would set American standards for pet care all around the world
Ok-- I've gone a bit whacko, but you get the idea.
How could you want to banish this guy?
Reply to this Nice idea but impossible to police. Here in France (where I'm currently taking a short break), dogs are a bit like children but they're usually better behaved! They are welcomed in most restaurants and often sit on their owners' laps during meals.
Reply to this Merry Jo, even you might draw the line at dogs blogging on TravelBlog. 😉
We're Alaskan husky puppies...
Reply to this Oh no, more dog bloggers! Or 'oh yes', according to some people.
Here are new bloggers(or should they be called doggers), Chilly and Max. 😊
TravelDogsAustralia
[Edited: 2011 Oct 13 14:50 - Mell:49612 ]
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