Following on from the thread Pippa started re dogs in pubs , what about dogs on the beach ? Where I live in Cornwall , we are blessed with a handful of beaches where dogs are allowed all year round , as long as owners pick up after them, bins are provided . Some impose an Easter to October ban, which I guess it fair enough when the main influx of holiday makers are around, many with children who may not appreciate the presence of dogs . Some , such as Looe beach close to me , impose an all year round ban which many locals ignore , running the risk of the " Dog Police " who can and do impose fines . We tend to head to Daymer Bay on the north coast , a wonderful stretch of beach with safe waters , car park on the beach and, blessed be, toilets ! Dogs are allowed and welcome all year round here which is great except for those who use the beach and object strongly to the dogs, often in large numbers who are enjoying the freedom of a romp and swim . The irony is that five minutes away is the village of Rock , a haven for the sailing fraternity and rather more upmarket than Daymer Bay , strictly no dogs allowed at any time of year , so why oh why do people without dogs , with an obvious dislike of dogs , chose to use a beach where dogs are allowed, rather than one where there is a ban ? Beats me, but I refuse to take a guilt trip over my two , minding their own business and having fun
I go and stay with friends quite regularly, on the beach in northern Catalonia. There is a section of beach there that is specifically a "doggy beach". It's about a 500m stretch at the very far end from the tarmac road - about a 1.5km stroll down a rough road. It's absolutely ideal; the people that don't like dogs on the beach have their main strip, and the dog people have theirs. I occasionally walk the dogs on the "no dogs" part very early in the morning before people start to arrive for the sunbathing. There will be other dog walkers there, too, and the workers emptying bins, grooming the beach etc. They seem to be happy for us to be there first thing; I've only had one grouchy woman shout at me, at about 6am, saying dogs weren't allowed there. Fair enough, but I ignored here nonetheless. It does make me cross, though, because there are some people who walk their dogs there in the morning that don't pick up after them - it makes it more likely that we'll all end up being policed off of it in the future. It's very unusual to find dog-friendly beaches in Spain, I've been told. I was speaking to a couple from Barcelona last time I was there. They drive up for a day every weekend during the off-peak-but-warm months to take their dog to the beach - two hours in each direction - because there's nothing closer and their boy loves the sea
I would allow dogs on beaches all year round, as long as owners clean up although all too often dogs are banned and the beaches are empty. Most of our local beaches (well with in around an hour) are dog friendly all year round. While in France most of the beaches in the region were dog friendly October-April and then banned through the summer although quite a few have a "must be on a lead" policy. The best advice I heard when access was checked with a local mayor was that dogs must be on a lead, but the sign doesn't say you have to be holding it
The only beaches I visit are in Cornwall, very close to Kate. I use a large beach, Par, which dogs are allowed on all year, and don't have too much trouble with humans. I don't go when it's very busy with people though, or if I do I keep Charlie on a lead until we have some space, because he is prone to nicking buckets and spades and legging it. Mostly, the people I meet there with kids have dogs with them too, and that's good. It's a delight to meet a family with kids who know how to be sensible with dogs, but a nightmare to meet kids who scream and react to dogs. I do think that in the interests of sharing the world with others, kids should behave reasonably. Worryingly, the water quality at Par is often poor, and when the water quality is poor, I don't take my dog. People who don't check the water quality still take their kids though! There is a smaller beach, very close to my house - just moments down the hill, and Charlie loves it. It restricts dogs Easter to October, which disappoints Charlie. October to Easter, he finishes his morning walk with a swim, and a social visit on the beach with the rest of the local dogs. I would love this beach to be restricted only at certain times. Say, 8am - 7pm, or something like that, so people with dogs could use it early and late and I'm minded to try to get a little campaign going to make the powers that be have a look at this. We'll see. Particularly since the number of very wet dogs walking up the hill very early in the morning makes me suspect that many view that as a reasonable compromise anyway....
I can understand why dogs would be banned on some beaches at some times - not everyone is as good with their dogs as they ought to be. The thing that annoys me here on the Isle of Man is the bans are 9am-6pm or 10am-7pm depending on the beach (some beaches allow dogs at all times ) - but when you pass the beaches at say 9am - they are empty. Completely empty. What a waste of a wonderful resource.
We have many popular beaches down here in Pembrokeshire including Tenby and Saundersfoot where there is a dog ban in the summer months. Broad Haven beach has a ban on one end of the beach (you try stopping the dog legging it off on a long beach!) There are many small bays and beaches here where they can go all year round, so long as you clean up after your dog I think its fine. I have to say when you see the mess so many holidaymakers leave - broken bottles, left over food, nappies, BBqs etc. I begin to wonder who should be banned!
I so agree with your last paragraph , nappies are my absolute most hated item being left on beaches, its quite disgusting
I own a small patch just big enough to park a couple of cars across the road from my house in Cornwall, it's just off the public road. People often stand in it to take photos because the view of the harbour behind them is lovely - which I don't mind all that much (a bit, but not much). But three times last year, people walking back from the beach and stopping there left bags of nappies in my car parking space! Gosh, and people moan about dog walkers and poo.....was very, very, super annoyed about it.
There are restrictions where I live and no dogs on beach in summer (can't remember dates off top of my head). One section they can be on lead during this time at other times of year they can be off lead. My big bug bear is that so many dog owners here do not pick up after their dogs and it makes me so angry and it's thought of as the posher part of our beach! Someone told me "it's because people walk their dogs when it's getting dark and they don't see it" my reply was "oh, I thought that torches had been invented to help us see in the dark and why are their dogs so far away that they can't see them squatting"
I live 5 minutes from beach, no restrictions apart from keep your dog under control which can mean a lot of things. What really gets me is there is lots of bins that you can use, and one of the roads down to beach has a bin at top, a 2 minute walk to bottom of road with another bin there and you will still see poo on the pavement.. or even more selfish dump a filled poo bag on a wall! how selfish can you get It give us all a bad name. I don't think i have one Jacket now that doesn't have one pocket stuffed with treats and the other stuffed with poo bags!
Who are these people inhabiting my planet who think it is acceptable to leave poo from their animal (either human or canine) behind for someone else to clear up. There should be considerable fines for anyone choosing to leave faeces in a public place. Perhaps it would be a good idea to allow dogs on the beach in the hour before High Tide, then nature would clean the beach. Tides are predictable and the dog times could be posted on a weekly basis. We are quite lucky, the general public recognises the Labrador and their good nature wins them many friends, but it should not be forgotten that there are people genuinely scared of dogs and a frolicking Labrador can seem very intimidating.
I'm never all that sympathetic to this one. Although agree 100% my dog shouldn't approach anyone while out and about. There are lots of things that could be dangerous and people might feel nervous about. Dodgy looking people on dark streets, cars and buses that might run you over, airplanes that might crash on you, fireworks that might explode, lorry drivers that might fall asleep at the wheel, horses that could kick you, cattle or sheep on a country lane that might trample you to death, elevators that might fail...the list is endless, really. Sure, there are dangerous dogs in the world, just as there are dangerous lorry drivers in the world. I think there comes a point where people have to deal with their own fears really...
According to the Independent - so it must be right 3% of people in the UK say they are very afraid of dogs, and 11% a little afraid. About the same as clowns then....good, we can ban clowns from beaches first. Anyway, it's only London wimps that are scared, people in Scotland are much tougher. "At the lower end of the scale, 12 per cent of respondents suffered from coulrophobia – fear of clowns – and 14 per cent were at least a little afraid of the sight of blood. “All are not created equal when it comes to fears,” YouGov’s William Jordan said. “With the exception of needles and getting shots and blood – of which British men and women are about equally afraid – more women than men are afraid of each thing [on the list].” This gender gap was widest when it came to spiders, which scare the majority of women (52 per cent) but only a third of men. The survey results were also broken down by age groups, and found that fears varied enormously when comparing 18 to 24-year-olds with those 60 and above. It found that young people were much more likely to be scared of spiders, needles and public speaking, while older people tend more to fear snakes and heights. And the results also showed wide discrepancies between the regions of the UK, with people in London and the south consistently more afraid of just about everything when compared to the north and Scotland." http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...briton-uks-top-13-fears-revealed-9212346.html
Living in the centre of England we don't get much chance to visit the beach, so last year when we were looking at take our puppy on holiday I was surprised how many British beaches had restrictions. I'm glad I did my research before I booked. I can understand why some beaches have restrictions I just think it's a real shame, but there are some really irresponsible owners around. Yet again there are irresponsible parents maybe there should be some beaches that have child restrictions
I'm ok with dogs being banned from really busy beaches in the summer - I think when there are a lot of people lying on the ground with kids, food etc. adding a dog into the mix can be asking for trouble....I'd like to see dog walkers being able to use beaches really early and late though.
Perhaps we should have some dog only beaches where children and frightened wimps are banned - oh and clowns
