Re. Poop-fruit, it’s a fascinating glimpse of human behaviour. The shame is that in wanting to appear to do the right thing by picking up poop in a bag, even greater damage is done when it’s slung into the bushes or trees when nobody is looking. Better by far to have disposed of it properly or even just have kicked the poop into the bushes or buried it. We have a track near us that leads into the forest that is used by us and by teachers and staff in the next-door boarding school. Unfortunately the entry/exit area is awash with poop-fruit. I have cleaned it up as best I could on a few occasions but they just keep proliferating, and judging by the bags, it’s likely the same person who keeps doing it. Why carry the bag on your walk and then sling it right at the end? It’s fascinating and somewhat horrifying too.
To that end it makes a lot of sense for all poo bags to be made biodegradable - whether you choose to sling your poop bag into the bushes, or dispose of it properly. I buy biodegradable bags, however recently I noticed that the brand I normally buy have subtly changed the wording and the green bags no longer say they’re biodegradable. I mentioned it to the shop staff and even they were taken by surprise at this. So if you’re buying what you think are biodegradable poop bags, watch out.
I once had a very clever dog. It was never happy doing its business on any street path, preferring instead a long walk out towards the fields.
When finished he would use his back legs to kick it into the hedgerows.
My post above was nothing against Mike’s dog, who I’ve met and is absolutely lovely, really friendly and perfectly behaved. I don’t dislike dogs in the slightest, simply the number of them. As Tim Dorling wrote recently in The Guardian, we have reached peak dog. Puppies bought during lockdown are being discarded or left at home by themselves to get lonely and miserable. You can’t do into a café without tripping over a dog bowl or an A board advertising dog ice cream. Every high street has a ship selling dog stuff. It’s crazy. The carbon footprint of dog ownership is massive, with animals being farmed to be fed to dogs. It’s all a bit out of control. We were camping a lot in the summer and there were just so many on the campsites. One family had five dogs. Why so many? Why do they have horrid little ratty dogs with horrid squeaking barks? In my experience, large dogs are far nicer than small ones, which tend to be yappy, whiny and nippy. If I had a dog it would be a whippet, which send the perfect dog.
I have a bit of an allergy to dog hair so when booking accommodation I like for dog unfriendly hotels. It’s not a problem outdoors of course.
Sometimes I think it’d almost be a good idea to run away with HH as he so often says what I came on to say. In this case he’s bang on.
There’s a good reason dogs are banned from restaurants etc. A smelly drooling dog has no place in a food outlet once you’ve exceeded McD’s, and people who insist seem to have lost sight of that underlying reason.
If you want a dog fill your boots, but accept that if you want to eat out of an evening a chip shop should be your ideal source, one going in to buy the chips while one stands outside with the dog.
To add to the anti-dog diatribe, where I live used to be a lovely peaceful place; since lockdown a number of people have taken to keeping a dog with the net result that peaceful mornings are a thing of the past and something we can only dream of now. Every morning begins with the chorus of f…ing docks yapping away, some for a couple of hours now that the owners that cherished them so much last year are now back in their offices. And one dog sets off another, or there are a couple that are released into their respective gardens and go absolutely wappy as if released from a 10 year jail sentence.
Alternatively:
There’s a good reason kids should be banned from restaurants etc. A smelly drooling kid has no place in a food outlet once you’ve exceeded McD’s, and people who insist seem to have lost sight of that underlying reason.
If you want a kid fill your boots, but accept that if you want to eat out of an evening a chip shop should be your ideal source, one going in to buy the chips while one stands outside with the kid…etc.
The advantage of children, of course, is that they go on to be taxpayers and fund Forum members’ pensions. Comparing children in restaurants to dogs in restaurants is a bit silly really. Children generally don’t lick their own arses.
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In the 22 countries studied, a third of Internet users say they own a dog, compared to just under a quarter (23%) a cat. In total, only 12% have fish and 6% a bird.
Dogs are the most popular pet in Argentina, where two-thirds (66%) of respondents own one, compared to one-third (32%) who have a cat. Next come Mexico, with just under two-thirds (64%) of respondents, and Brazil, where this figure rises to 58%.
The cat, on the other hand, is the most popular pet in Russia, where more than half (57%) of those surveyed have a cat, compared to less than a third (29%) owning a dog. Next come France, where 4 in 10 people (41%) own a cat, and the United «
The human race won’t die out nor will the economy suffer if we choose not to buy dogs. The same cannot be said if people stop reproducing. Reproduction is the core driver of virtually all life. Owning a dog isn’t.
Children are and continue to be greenhouse gas generators and energy consumers.
If you reduce your child production by 50% you can justify flying to the US every year, reproduce like a rabbit then you and your tribe will continue to be a greenhouse gas generator. It is not just your tribes greenhouse gas creation but is also their offsprings greenhouse gas generation.
I’ve never once had an outing ruined by a dog. Kids on the other hand have spoiled many meals out, or afternoons in beer gardens, cinema visits and flights. However, in fairness, it’s more often a parenting failure.
As for discarded poop bags, responsible owners are as appalled at this act as any right minded person would be.
There are responsible parents and responsible dog owners. It’s the ones who aren’t, in both camps, that cause the problems.
At my place - which is probably representative of many others - there’s a bar and big screen/pool table and gambling machine area as well as a separate dining area.
Also a middle bit where hikers with dogs can sit and eat.
Any dog is usually a well behaved and friendly character belonging to one of the local drinking regulars that stays well away from the dining area and of course the kitchen.
If a pooch proves to be a nuisance or someone else complains within reason the owner is told to not bring it in again.
Is your place a typical pub? Pre Covid I’ve been working a lot in the UK and I like these places much as a temp substitute for my busy family life. Therefore dogs, teethless children or old folks it’s all good as long as there is proper fish and chips, bangers and mash with a good pint.
Living in a society means that we meet different people and it better be so for our own health and pleasure.
When I first started reading the Guardian Julie Burchill was the grand narrator at the top of the big Saturday paper pile.
I loved her acid wit tempered with insightful observational humour.
But yes, she was a royal bitch - but nice with a big soft spot at heart. Then when you heard her talk it all made sense.
