Dogs and Old Men!

[RLWP]

I recall, when I was a child, the "rag and bone" man, coming down our street, with his horse and cart, shouting "Reeaaaags and Bowunes! Owwld Ayeeeun!"

 

Whenever his horse did a poo he'd jump down and shovel it into a bag and a sign, on the back of the cart, said "Fertiliser for roses, 10p a bag."

 

10p a bag. Come on Carl, pull the other one - you must be older than that. 6d a bag surely

 

The trade in dog shit for softening leather for ladies gloves appears to have died out early in the 20th Century. Until then it was a regularly traded commodity, from hunt kennels to tanners by train, for instance

 

Richard

[carlt]

10p a bag. Come on Carl, pull the other one - you must be older than that. 6d a bag surely

I was 5 when decimalisation arrived and the only thing I can remember about it was arguing with the man at the corner shop, because my daily bag of crisps had "gone up" from 1d to 2p. I felt I should be getting 2 bags for my tuppence.

[RLWP]

I was 5 when decimalisation arrived and the only thing I can remember about it was arguing with the man at the corner shop, because my daily bag of crisps had "gone up" from 1d to 2p. I felt I should be getting 2 bags for my tuppence.

 

Quite right too. You should have got more than three by my calculations

 

Richard

[Allan(nb Albert)]

Quite right too. You should have got more than three by my calculations

 

Richard

 

Twelve pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a pound. That gives 240 old pence in a pound. So Carl should have been given 2.4 bags. When decimalisation occurred they allowed a new half penny for some years to allow things that cost a penny to be a new half penny.

 

I was a bit older than Carl and working in the IT industry when decimalisation happened. It seems funny now but people were very concerned that the public would feel cheated by small rounding errors on money held on account. Of course, the public was more concerned that retailers were pushing prices up and the mixture of coinage. I can remember my dad being incensed that they were not putting more matches in matchboxes.

[carlt]

I was a bit older than Carl

You still are, despite me doing my best, to catch up.

[mayalld]

Twelve pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a pound. That gives 240 old pence in a pound. So Carl should have been given 2.4 bags.

 

If they went up from 1d to 2p, he was now paying 4.8d per bag, so he should have had nearly 5 bags of crisps

 

He can probably get counselling and compensation for the trauma, and if he whinges long and hard, the PM might not-quite-apologise for it all.

[Natalie Graham]

or "Oh he won't bite...He just wants to lick your child's face."

 

That would be just after he has sniffed another dog's bum and licked his own bollocks, then....Lovely!

 

After the child has done that a dog licking his face wouldn't seem that big a deal.

 

 

 

[Mrs Tawny Owl]

Quite right too. You should have got more than three by my calculations

 

Richard

 

 

If they went up from 1d to 2p, he was now paying 4.8d per bag, so he should have had nearly 5 bags of crisps

 

He can probably get counselling and compensation for the trauma, and if he whinges long and hard, the PM might not-quite-apologise for it all.

 

As nearly five is more than three, and I couldn't be bothered to do the suns, not a bad guess really

 

Richard

 

Bugger! I'm not me again

Edited September 13, 2010 by Mrs Tawny Owl

[Natalie Graham]

OK, let us explore this for a moment...

 

It isn't about pandering to other people's likes and dislikes. It is about NOT imposing your dog on other people.

 

My comment was in response to the comment made that people should not let their dogs off leads because some people don't like dogs. I might not like green cars but it doesn't mean other people should not take them on the road.

 

In general, dogs are in the habit of sniffing the arse of other dogs. It is common that dogs that are on a lead become unsettled when a dog that is not on a lead comes trying to sniff (the dog on a lead feels threatened, because it isn't able to move as it would like).

 

So, in order for your dog to be "under control" when not on a lead, you must be certain that it will NOT approach other dogs or humans AT ALL. It isn't sufficient that it will come back to you if called. By that time, it will already have caused a problem.

 

 

Like I said you don't need to have a dog on a lead to have it under control. Or to put it another way a dog not being on a lead does not mean it is out of control. look at the legislation regarding dogs in fields with livestock where the requirement is to have the dog on a lead or "otherwise under close control". If dogs can't be trusted not to do the things you mention if they are off the lead then they need better training. I could guarantee that my dog would come in close if called and stay with me while we went past other dogs or people. He would also stand still or go past on command too.

 

Dogs might like to sniff other dogs rear ends but it doesn't meant you can't train them not to. They sniff round lamp posts and do lots of other unsavoury things too if you don't teach them not to.

 

[Guest User]

My comment was in response to the comment made that people should not let their dogs off leads because some people don't like dogs. I might not like green cars but it doesn't mean other people should not take them on the road.

 

By and large people in green cars don't let them go running up to complete strangers sniffing their groin, jumping up and planting muddy feet all over them; happpened twice to me during last week, followed by the inevitable "it's ok, wouldn't hurt a fly" and "sorry, sorry about that" .... ok, so maybe my groin is very attractive to dogs, but no attempt by the owner to control the unwelcome friendly dog by pre-empting its behviour, just the usual post-misdemeanor apologies.

 

Like I said you don't need to have a dog on a lead to have it under control. Or to put it another way a dog not being on a lead does not mean it is out of control. look at the legislation regarding dogs in fields with livestock where the requirement is to have the dog on a lead or "otherwise under close control". If dogs can't be trusted not to do the things you mention if they are off the lead then they need better training. I could guarantee that my dog would come in close if called and stay with me while we went past other dogs or people. He would also stand still or go past on command too.

 

Dogs might like to sniff other dogs rear ends but it doesn't meant you can't train them not to. They sniff round lamp posts and do lots of other unsavoury things too if you don't teach them not to.

Correct, it is not necessary to have a dog on a lead to have it under control, but it has been a long time since I have seen a dog walking to heel either on a lead or off.

[Nightwatch]

 

 

 

Correct, it is not necessary to have a dog on a lead to have it under control, but it has been a long time since I have seen a dog walking to heel either on a lead or off.

Keep looking. there are some that do.

 

 

Martyn

[mayalld]

My comment was in response to the comment made that people should not let their dogs off leads because some people don't like dogs. I might not like green cars but it doesn't mean other people should not take them on the road.

 

 

 

Like I said you don't need to have a dog on a lead to have it under control. Or to put it another way a dog not being on a lead does not mean it is out of control. look at the legislation regarding dogs in fields with livestock where the requirement is to have the dog on a lead or "otherwise under close control". If dogs can't be trusted not to do the things you mention if they are off the lead then they need better training. I could guarantee that my dog would come in close if called and stay with me while we went past other dogs or people. He would also stand still or go past on command too.

 

 

I am delighted to hear it, and provided that you are sufficiently well trained that you never omit to call your dog to come close before passing other people, and always keep an eye on where it is crapping, there is no problem.

 

However 99.9% of people who don't have their dog on a lead fail to exercise that degree of control.

[Guest]

Correct, it is not necessary to have a dog on a lead to have it under control, but it has been a long time since I have seen a dog walking to heel either on a lead or off.

 

Only yesterday I saw a guy pushing a pushchair and alongside was an older child toddling and an old looking JRT not on a lead.

 

They walked towards the pelican on our local busy high street and as they approached the guy said something to the dog (I didn't hear what it was but guess it was sit or the like ) and he immediately sat and waited.

 

At the 'crossing sound' he immediately lifted his rear (at no word from his master) and as the others stepped across the road while I waited he stepped smartly across the road in front of us...

 

I was impressed.

Edited September 13, 2010 by MJG

[alan_fincher]

However 99.9% of people who don't have their dog on a lead fail to exercise that degree of control.

I'm fascinated that this kind of data has been accurately analysed to an accuracy of one decimal place of a percentage.....

 

On the other hand, would that just be an opinion, rather than a fact, Dave ?

[mayalld]

I'm fascinated that this kind of data has been accurately analysed to an accuracy of one decimal place of a percentage.....

 

On the other hand, would that just be an opinion, rather than a fact, Dave ?

 

It is an observation.

 

I see many, many dogs off their lead. I almost NEVER see a dog off its lead under proper and effective control.

 

I will state with some confidence that less than once in a thousand does the owner have proper control.

[Phil Ambrose]

You still are, despite me doing my best, to catch up.

 

Just a thought, we will all end up the same age, because when we are all dead you can't get any older than that

 

Phil

[cotswoldsman]

 

 

 

Like I said you don't need to have a dog on a lead to have it under control. Or to put it another way a dog not being on a lead does not mean it is out of control. look at the legislation regarding dogs in fields with livestock where the requirement is to have the dog on a lead or "otherwise under close control". If dogs can't be trusted not to do the things you mention if they are off the lead then they need better training. I could guarantee that my dog would come in close if called and stay with me while we went past other dogs or people. He would also stand still or go past on command too.

 

 

 

 

I have to disagree. I will tell the story again of my ex business partners' son (I told it before when we discussed this subject) As he was walking to school aged 6 he was approached by a dog (The make was a Labrador) the dog came up to him and he stroked it, the dog then tried to put his nose near his bum, the childs reaction was to push the dog away, the dog then attacked him and bit him on the face and neck, he spent 5 days in intensive care and is scared for life on his face. He has to go back and have plastic surgery every 2 years as his face grows and the dead skin does not. When the dog owner was taken to court she said "I don't understand this my pooch has always been so well behaved" The Judge then pointed out that it is an animal and animals are capable of doing anything.........

The farmer in the village where I live has so far to my knowledge shot 2 dogs that have disturbed his cattle because the owners were unable to control there dogs when walking through his fields.

Why is it assumed that animals lose on the towpath or anywhere else is ok? It is not ok. It always makes me smile when speaking to dog owners it is never there dog that craps on the towpath, guess it must all just drop from the sky, as no dog owners ever admit to not clearing up.....

 

It is an observation.

 

I see many, many dogs off their lead. I almost NEVER see a dog off its lead under proper and effective control.

 

I will state with some confidence that less than once in a thousand does the owner have proper control.

 

I have to agree!

 

 

I don't see why dog owners or anyone else should be expected to pander to other people's likes and dislikes.

 

 

It is not pandering it is understanding that that thing with four legs is an animal. As I said before I have no problem with people owning dogs and walking them on a lead but why should the general public be subjected to your animal wandering all over the place.

 

 

 

[Mrs Humdinger]

I was walking on the towpath last weekend when I passed a woman and a smallish child (not sure how old, fairly small, but large enough to run about and scream a lot), with a youngish looking mid-sized dog, which was off the lead. The child had found a tyre swing in a clearing in the hedge, and was screaming as she played. This in turn excited the dog, who thought it was playtime. The dog tried to play with the child, which resulted in both the mother and child yelling at the dog "bad dog", and "naughty dog" for jumping up.

 

A little later on, I passed them going the other way. The dog was still off the lead, came running up at speed and launched itself at me. I don't mind dogs and this one was only playing, but it was quite muddy, I didn't really want muddy paw prints all over me, plus you can never be totally sure what its going to do. I turned as it leapt, and managed to deflect the dog off with my shoulder. It then ran off, with Mother yelling at it to come back, which it ignored. She didn't even acknowledge me as she went past, despite the fact her dog had just leapt all over me.

 

This dog has no chance and I feel really sorry for it, as when it gets older and they can't control it, it will be shipped off to a rescue shelter. Mother seemed to think the best way to control it was to scream at it at every opportunity.

 

Shortly afterwards, I saw the dog have a crap. Mother bagged it, tied a knot in the top, and then threw the bag in the hedge!

[cotswoldsman]

I was walking on the towpath last weekend when I passed a woman and a smallish child (not sure how old, fairly small, but large enough to run about and scream a lot), with a youngish looking mid-sized dog, which was off the lead. The child had found a tyre swing in a clearing in the hedge, and was screaming as she played. This in turn excited the dog, who thought it was playtime. The dog tried to play with the child, which resulted in both the mother and child yelling at the dog "bad dog", and "naughty dog" for jumping up.

 

A little later on, I passed them going the other way. The dog was still off the lead, came running up at speed and launched itself at me. I don't mind dogs and this one was only playing, but it was quite muddy, I didn't really want muddy paw prints all over me, plus you can never be totally sure what its going to do. I turned as it leapt, and managed to deflect the dog off with my shoulder. It then ran off, with Mother yelling at it to come back, which it ignored. She didn't even acknowledge me as she went past, despite the fact her dog had just leapt all over me.

 

This dog has no chance and I feel really sorry for it, as when it gets older and they can't control it, it will be shipped off to a rescue shelter. Mother seemed to think the best way to control it was to scream at it at every opportunity.

 

Shortly afterwards, I saw the dog have a crap. Mother bagged it, tied a knot in the top, and then threw the bag in the hedge!

 

 

Just your average dog owner then!!

 

 

[Chagall]

Shortly afterwards, I saw the dog have a crap. Mother bagged it, tied a knot in the top, and then threw the bag in the hedge!

 

just out of interest, if one picks up a dog turd and bags it in a bio degradable bag is it such a heinous crime to toss it into a deep hedge? I normally take such bags to a bin I hasten to add but once, in a moment of stress after mooring single handed, I collected my dogs waste in a bio bag (clear and not black or pink!) and dropped it in the immediate hedge! I felt so very guilty but cleared my conscience with a large de-stressing G&T and told myself at least it was off the tow path and smell contained till it rots the bag and composts naturally.

 

and consider this, on some occasions like the one Mrs Humdinger mentioned, one might have ones dog (on a lead) in one hand, a child in the other, and so needing to carry a sqashy bag of poo in a pocket! ...bleargh!...not ideal. On the plus side, it does make a good hand warmer in cold weather!

 

anyway....my point is, its tricky handling such bags (and with my dog its multi bags, he has a nervous tummy!) and they never quite contain the smell. I was once waiting at a gathering of folk, to filter through a slim stile, everybody looked around in the same way they do if someone farts in a lift, "Oh its me" I said merrily holding aloft my noisome baggies!

Edited September 14, 2010 by Chagall

[Nightwatch]

I must be an above average owner as described in a previous post.

 

I have written previously that I saw a boat owner just to the North of Braunston on the Oxford pull into the side, let dog off and then continue cruising, said dag does it's business and at the next bridge hole boat pulls in and dog gets back on with wagging tail. I shout that it is a strange habit they have and they shouted back, everyone does it.

 

Not sure about that.

 

Another thing....people who walk fido with little shovel, them not the dog, dog does the usual and owner flicks said mess into the canal.

 

Martyn

[RLWP]

just out of interest, if one picks up a dog turd and bags it in a bio degradable bag is it such a heinous crime to toss it into a deep hedge? I normally take such bags to a bin I hasten to add but once, in a moment of stress after mooring single handed, I collected my dogs waste in a bio bag (clear and not black or pink!) and dropped it in the immediate hedge! I felt so very guilty but cleared my conscience with a large de-stressing G&T and told myself at least it was off the tow path and smell contained till it rots the bag and composts naturally.

 

and consider this, on some occasions like the one Mrs Humdinger mentioned, one might have ones dog (on a lead) in one hand, a child in the other, and so needing to carry a sqashy bag of poo in a pocket! ...bleargh!...not ideal. On the plus side, it does make a good hand warmer in cold weather!

 

anyway....my point is, its tricky handling such bags (and with my dog its multi bags, he has a nervous tummy!) and they never quite contain the smell. I was once waiting at a gathering of folk, to filter through a slim stile, everybody looked around in the same way they do if someone farts in a lift, "Oh its me" I said merrily holding aloft my noisome baggies!

 

All that squeamishness and unpleasantry around picking up dog shit is the main reason why I won't own a dog

 

Richard

[grahoom]

it's a curious state of evolution when the supposed highly evolved animal spends it's time picking up the excrement of another animal.

 

Dogs must think they are truly one up to man, you can almost see it in their eyes as they lay a little brown dog egg and await the disposal by their so called human master.

[barroca grande]

Whilst I don't agree with scooping into the canal (in case I have to fall in at some point) I think it is a good idea to scoop into the hedgerow to rot away normally.

 

Bagging should perhaps be kept for streets where there is nowhere out of the way to scoop it to. So long as I don't have to step in it I am happy.

 

I'm not convinced by the compostability of those supposedly composting bags. I put some in my compost bin once and now everytime I tip the bin over and rearrange things the bag is still in there.

 

I don't own a dog yet.

[stewey]

On the plus side, it does make a good hand warmer in cold weather!

 

We will take your word for that!

 

Stewey