Many of you will have read the article in the Sydney Morning Herald, “Does Sydney have a ‘pet etiquette’ problem? These councils think so”.
The article raises concerns about dogs,
- being off-lead in on-lead areas
- owners assuming, that everyone loves dogs and only calling their dog away when someone is uncomfortable about their dog’s proximity
- owners not picking up dog poop
- owners not having control of their dogs around sporting events or not choosing to supervise them effectively.
All these points are about the owner’s attitude.
We are talking about an individual owner’s consideration for others, care for the environment and, “yes” taking RESPONSIBILITY of their dog.
Local councils already have rules around dog etiquette, of which the above actions, would not meet but more importantly, there are LAWS around having effective control of your dog.
So why are we having this problem?
The article points a finger at the increased dog population being a cause of the issue, I don’t think this is the problem in itself but more about “ if more people see non-compliance as a norm, and we have a larger population of dog owners thinking they can too”. That is the problem.
So why do people think it is okay, to not comply to the rules?
” Culture”
Entitlement is a social ailment, that many could talk about on many levels. There is no age, gender or racial grouping to blame. This entitlement is creeping everywhere.
When vets and trainers get together, we look at the number of pups that came in for vaccinations and de-sexing. We then check the numbers that attend puppy or teenage training classes. “Yes”, you guessed it the numbers don’t match up, not even closely.
It amazes us all, as Pet Professionals, that people spend $1000’s on a dog and then don’t attend professional training!
The number one reason for dog euthanasia in Australia is problem behaviour.
So, “Yes” we possibly have a bigger problem than Etiquette.
Many owners do train their dogs. Attending regular classes and trying new sports out. Thank you x
Unfortunately. this number is diminishing and the dogs are suffering.Let’s get me off my soap box and look at this etiquette issue from the grass-root level.
Pet media rarely shows training images but images of pets running free. Facebook sites are full of dogs off lead running and playing together. What they forget is that if these posts have come from a trainer or a dog walking company. Then these dogs would have been screened individually before being placed in their groups. Ensuring that all the dogs get on together. They will have also taken the time to train the dogs to recall, as a group and individually.
That other owners in the park may have put the hard yards in and attended class and know all about dog play.
Sadly many dog owners do not put the time in, to achieve these goals. Dogs don’t generalise behaviours easily.
Now, from the dog’s perspective, if being a social butterfly /hooligan is allowed and is what happens each time, they become conditioned that being in a park is about running away from their owner and over to other dogs and people looking for that fun.
Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it does not.
When this happens, we would assume most owners will call their dog and run over to apologise, place their dog on- lead, check all is okay, apologise again and make sure it does not happen again.
.. BUT the real issue and what this article is about is that this is not happening …
Sadly, it is the actions of the other person or the other dog owner, who often need to intervene to stop an escalation of the issue and send the dog on! This is where the frustration is coming from and from my perspective, I feel their pain.
So, “Yes” we do have a problem.
Policing the local parts comes down to council rangers. Not all councils have a designated Companion Animal Officer so enforcing the laws becomes an add-on to their large list of tasks. Come on, Councils.
But truthfully most rangers did not get into the job to Fine people, they got into the job to help manage local communities. Rangers want to work with locals to help maintain harmony and prevent escalation of issues.
Some Rangers will overlook the issue, some will give a warning, and others will issue fines.
I respect that Rangers should be given some agency over the issues However within communities this can come over as inconsistent which leads to frustration. This does not in any way excuse people being rude or abusive to Rangers at all.
I don’t think we need the “Fines” to go up. Enforcing them is what is needed but we also need education.
Yes, we do need education. Education on responsibilities, training, and understanding dog body language is essential. All these topics are covered in any Professional dog training course.
The dog community itself needs to stand up and hold its members accountable. I think in the past 99% of dog owners did the right thing and called it as it was, but now so many people don’t. The dog community is letting things slide
“Yes” dog ownership should come with compulsory training. Community or private training. I do not mind as long as good training is happening.
The excuse “My dog is friendly”, is no excuse at all. If their dog was so friendly, inference so good, what harm would complying to do the right thing ( keeping them on lead, training them ) be so terrible do to!
If you need help with your dog, please feel free to check out our blogs or email us about training. If you would like help running educational events in your local community reach out via our email.
Louise and The Team at Let’s Go Fido are committed to training and educating both ends of the lead.
Email Lo****@************om.au
