Occasionally, while we are clearing the undergrowth in the reserve’s copses, we find the secret places, among the ivy and blackthorn, where somebody has hidden their plastic bags full of dog poop.
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Too many dogs spoil the…
by David Feather
Recently, a commercial dog-walker in Surrey was killed by the dogs she was walking. According to The Times, she had eight dogs, including a Leonberger (a large and heavy breed originating from Germany). The story appears to be that one of the large dogs attacked another walker’s small dog. The lady owner picked her dog up and was bitten by the attacker. It looks as though the dog walker tried to control the situation but the large dog went for her and then the other dogs joined in. The details are still emerging.
Continue readingDog poop in the park
Here’s a post from Sarah to add to the dog discussion.
Continue reading “Dog poop in the park”Summary
Last weekend, we stirred up a hornets’ nest with two posts (here and here) about out-of-control dogs in the reserve. There have been so many comments, messages and mails from park-goers and dog owners, all of them pertinent, that we feel we should summarise the situation.
Continue reading “Summary”More about dogs
In response to Simon Knight’s account, yesterday, of being attacked by an out-of-control dog, Sarah Gould left this long and heartfelt comment on our Facebook page. It reflected so many of our readers’ concerns that we have decided to publish it in full.
Read on for Sarah’s commentWas this your dog?
We have received from Simon Knight, our wildlife photographer, a very disturbing report of what we can only describe as an attack by an out of control dog.
Read on for Simon’s report
Dog control
There have been several incidents of dogs worrying livestock in and around Southwick over the past month.
Continue readingA warning
A message from a reader:
Apparently there is this guy trying to steal people’s dogs; it is doing the rounds on Facebook groups in Trowbridge. He is asking the dog’s breed and then waiting for them to get back to the car park to steal them. The people he is approaching are older and on their own.
My aunt walks her dog in the park and I would hate to think someone approached her in the park and stole her dog. It would be awful! Could you warn people this is happening?
Thanks x
Flea circus
Part One
Research has recently found that the highly toxic insecticides used on cats and dogs to kill fleas are poisoning England’s rivers. Scientists believe that significant environmental damage is being done to important water insect populations, down at the bottom of the freshwater food chain.
Continue reading “Flea circus”
Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act of 1953
After yesterday’s post about dog attacks on a neighbouring farmer’s sheep, we were told of dogs chasing the horses in the field beyond the stile at Puddle Corner. If your dog chases livestock, you are committing an offence; read on for a précis of the Dogs (protection of Livestock) Act of 1953.
Read onWorld record of the week
Most Bottles Recycled by a Dog
Continue reading “World record of the week”
Buddy: Dog of the Week
Here is Buddy, Louise’s beautiful and energetic springer spaniel, helping FoSCP to spread wood chip on the woodland paths.
A former title- holder:
Dog of the Week
Coco, Dog of the Week, all wrapped up against the weather, taking her human for a walk in the rain.
A message via Fb from Matthew Scott
“If anyone has lost their baby’s dummy down the park today, I apologise. My big baby Mollie found it and sucked it nearly the whole way around.”
Dog owner of the week
Dog of the week, Coco, who has trained Joyce to pick up not just for himself, but sometimes for other less fortunate dogs whose humans have failed them. Well done Coco for your altruism – and a gold star for Joyce, dog owner of the week.
Picker uppers out for a run: Mandy and Stanley wearing matching outfits and helping us keep our park poop-free. Thank you!
Picker Uppers of the week: Jo and Milo. Thank you both for helping us look after the park.
Dudley, dog of the week; a beautiful fox red labrador who has trained his owner to be one of the park’s picker-uppers. Cheers Dudley.
More dogs:
Dog poop
Please clean up after your dog
Lambrok Meadow is full of dog waste; people seem to drive to the bottom of the car park, let their dogs straight out into the field and then just walk away while the dog defecates in the grass. It is impossible to walk in the field without walking in dog poop.
Southwick Country Park is a public space, a resource for our families and for local schools. It comes under the same rules as the Town Park and should be open and accessible for everybody to enjoy – but we have had complaints from people because they get dog poop on their clothes and shoes.
Nobody wants to limit anybody’s access to the park but the selfishness of some dog walkers is doing just that; there are families who no longer bring their children here because of the dog poop.
Rex: Dog of the week
Rex, photographed this morning while walking his human in Village Green. He is a Bavarian Munsterlander crossed with, of all things, a Shar Pei: very, very large, very friendly, not as wrinkly as you might expect.
Who does this. . .
Who does this? Who wraps their dog’s faeces up in a green plastic bag and then throws it into the trees next to the path alongside Lambrok Meadow? There are bins specifically for dogs’ faeces at each end of that stretch of path and a bin for general rubbish somewhere in the middle.
What do they think will happen to their dangling green bag of poop? Who do they think clears it up? The Friends of SCP clear it up; that’s who.
We should be braver; all of us should be brave enough to say something when we see fellow park users do stuff like this. We should be polite and non-confrontational and, for the sake of the park, we should ask people to clean up properly after their dogs.
Check your dog after a walk
By David Feather
A newish hazard for dogs is Alabama Rot Disease which is caught from walking in muddy woody areas. Not a lot appears to be known about it, but it is a very dangerous disease that can lead to kidney failure.
Continue reading “Check your dog after a walk”Tomorrow is the second Wednesday of the month: a work party day. Come and join us; we meet at 9.30am in the main car park and we work until midday. Bring thornproof gloves, sturdy footwear and a coffee mug. Looking forward to meeting you.
Reasons to scoop poop: £1,000
This is the fourth and last of our spring campaign lectures about scooping poop in the park. Scooping poop may save you a £1,000.
Reasons to scoop poop: no. 3
Most bio-degradable poo bags are not really bio-degradable; they are photo-degradable.
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 