Dogs on St Clair Beach

I have never seen dog control do anything but sit in their vans. I have seen lots of people walking their dogs over a sportsground where signs clearly say they are not allowed (also St Clair), but have never seen dog control stop them. Please, please stop the owners from breaking the law.

'Horse', much as I agree with you regarding dog excrement, I cannot agree with you with regard to your 'super-city' hypothesis. In fact, I think we would all be a lot happier if we abandoned this delusion and settled for what we are, an agreeable provincial centre and great place to live, which is why most of us are still here.
We surrendered any pretensions to being a 'super city' after the departure of the prosperity brought in the wake of the Gold Rush off the 1860's. Until well into the 1970's we still had a heavy engineering base, capable of fabricating penstock components for hydro-electric stations etc. than we tamely surrendered our advantages in the lemming-like departure of so many of our long established companies, to Auckland and Christchurch, unaware that this mass migration was to be rendered somewhat irrelevant by the coming of the electronic age, and with it instant communication to anywhere in the world.
If Dunedin is going to shake off this malaise, it has to return to its core business, such as supporting its rural hinterland for a start and ask ourselves why so much ancilliary farm machinery, trailers and the like originates in places such as Ashburton, Gore or even Invercargill. To reverse the trend, we need to concentrate on what we are good at, and abandon chasing rainbows. We have a high class university which would probably welcome more interaction between the academic and  commercial sectors. We could export ideas, intellectual property and the fruits of ground-breaking research.
There is no future for the city pushing such sideshows as events at the stadium, a high-rise hotel and for most people from Asia, our wildlife, because few, from that quarter are all that interested in it. It's nice to have cruise-ship visits, but lets not delude ourselves that selling a 'Subway' apiece, for people to munch on, while waiting for the departure of the Taieri Gorge Railway, is the bonanza which is going to elevate Dunedin to 'super city' status; anymore than the mere provision of your motorway to the airport, confers that status either. [Abridged]

Dunedin is that! The Highway (as mentioned) is the vital link to the international Airport we have at Momona: the gateway to the city of Dunedin and the region we are in. Development is everywhere, and with that development we need to alter the accompanying regulations that keep our overall image good and clean. The cleanliness of our streets, parks, and reserves is essential in 2013. Dog laws as they stand are an international embarrassment to our city of Dunedin: these (dog) laws are well overdue for an upgrade, thus penalties for dog owners whom break the bylaws have to be hardened dramatically. 

Horse has a wry sense of humour, she/he tells us Dunedin is a world class city. More correctly it is a small rural service town with a university, very few export-producing companies, and an aging population. This place is tilting on the edge of ethical collapse and bankruptcy, without the brainpower to force transparency and full accountability. Perhaps we do need more animal control, electric fences and petfood factories. [abridged]

Dunedin is that - with the Forsyth Barr Staduim, and the planned new 28-storey building along the harbour waterfront, we as Dunedinites have a new responsibility to start thinking differently - as a first class society.
All Dunedin people should pull together to make sure that this new view of our city stays. The average citizen has a duty to get on their mobile phones and start reporting dog offenders as and when they are doing the wrong thing in town, and elsewhere. Just kicking the offenders up the behind is playing into the hands of the offenders, as it is repeating the violence [violation]. The courts have to be involved! [Abridged]

"We have real hygiene in our homes," says Horse with more goodwill than accuracy.   On the whole there are probably about the same proportion of people who let their dogs' doings lie around as there are people with spotless house or, at the other extreme, indoor germ sanctuaries where whole fascinating ecosystems of bugs raise their families without a moment's fear of soap and disinfectants.  But then Horse goes on to show that goodwill only goes so far regarding miscreant dog owners: "A court sentence on the level of a criminal offence should be handed down."  To quote one of the wittiest men I ever had a beer with for all that he was Aberdonian in origin, economist Peter Henderson, "Hangin's too good for'em, what they want is a good kick up the bum."

A court sentence on the level of a criminal offence should be handed down to all of those dog owners who allow their dogs to 'pop' all over town. In many ways Dunedin is somewhat equivalent to real third world status with it's way behind the times 'dog laws'. We have real hygiene in our homes, but when it comes to the common public ground - the offenders get the upper hand - which in turn - spoils it - for the rest of us.

It's everywhere. Try walking around South Dunedin most days. Just as bad, is those who ostentatiously carry all the pooper-scooper gear, but having bagged the stuff, then commence to tie a knot in the top of the bag, then drop it into the kerb, or if in no danger of being seen, over someone else's fence and onto their garden/front-lawn. Community service might be one solution, but I actually favour public 'stocks', and in the best tradition of those, flag away the eggs and rotten tomatoes, and use the contents of the bags, instead.

Dog owners are the culprit at St Clair Beach. The fines should be doubled, and more vigilant patrolling should be done by council animal control officers. Offenders should have to do a short term of community service for their sloppiness in an area which does have world class appeal for our overseas visitors.