Doggy dew.

[maac16324]

Just got back from 2+ weeks in Desolation Sound. First time back in 25 years. Seems that most boats had 2 or 3 dogs aboard with constant "doggy dew" runs to shore. My NZ friends commented that most paths on shore were covered with doggy dew. A big turn off for them where collecting the crap from dogs is the norm in NZ. What is the norm for cruising boats in the PNW? Do you let your dogs crap anywhere they wish without a thought for other users of the shore? Just want to know what the normal practice is?

 

[Jetstream]

Picking up is the law here in Australia and although some don't there are significant fines. When you get down to it its common courtesy really.

 

[BruceK]

In terms of remote natural areas, the problem maac16324 raises may explain partly why The National Parks and Wildlife Service here gets so upset and issues fines for taking dogs into national parks. Unfortunately for dogs and owners, I believe the waterways are part of the Park. And most owners take the dogs ashore, for obvious purposes. I understand that even if the wildlife don`t get chased, what`s left behind is not good and upsets the wildlife, though some of our 2 meter plus lizard "goannas" are far more likely to chase than be chased.
It`s a difficult issue, people and dogs like to go boating together, I don`t take a dog but friends do and I enjoy their dogs. Maybe cleaning up is the answer, at least in part.

 

[gaston]

I take my dog everywhere and I do as I do at home or anywhere we go "I PICK IT UP" simple ? We empty William in the morning and again around 7pm

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Yup, pick up after Fido or get a SMART dog that will go on board without necessary trips to shore.

 

[Marlinmike]

We always pickup!

 

[ksanders]

In Alaska...

When anchor'd out we do not pick anything up. There is just not the kind of population or traffic to warrant it. We generally anchor in a cove with nobody there, and the next rain, and or the weather will dissipate the dookie.

At the harbor we have 10' tides. My dogs go below the high tide level.

Everything that eats craps. dogs, people, seals, bears... every animal. I suppose in a different climate or with more people it would be a big deal with all the dooki laying around, but not here in Alaska.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Normally pet owners should pick up, especially in an area where there are lots of folks. In more remote areas, without a lot of folks, I don't see an issue. Fido owner will say I have to do something with the poo when I get back to the boat. Owners problem and I am not shy about saying so when Fido poos in the middle of the hiking trail.


The reason we don't have animals on ASD. If I did have one, a cat that was boat savvy would do.

 

[ancora]

Better yet, a cat that uses a litter box....

 

[Hawgwash]

In Alaska...

When anchor'd out we do not pick anything up. There is just not the kind of population or traffic to warrant it. We generally anchor in a cove with nobody there, and the next rain, and or the weather will dissipate the dookie.

At the harbor we have 10' tides. My dogs go below the high tide level.

Everything that eats craps. dogs, people, seals, bears... every animal. I suppose in a different climate or with more people it would be a big deal with all the dooki laying around, but not here in Alaska.

Good enough reason to bypass Desolation Sound which in itself is just an extension of the city where poop finds it's way from the sidewalks to the restaurants and blue bags adorn the shrubbery like Christmas ornaments.

The down side is, if you shame people into picking up, the waters and sea strainers are overwhelmed with little blue bags.

 

[GFC]

Better yet, a cat that uses a litter box....

Even better....my boat is a "pet hair free zone". No pets allowed. They all stay at home when we're on board.

 

[Marin]

Good enough reason to bypass Desolation Sound...

Hawgwash-- Partially true. Good reason to avoid Desolation Sound during those times when everyone else is visiting it, too.

Other than going to our property in the islands we never cruise during the summer. We do all our cruising in the fall, winter and spring. Our fortunately very short boating "season" is WAY too crowded with people and boats for our taste. We bought our cabin cruiser to get away from people, not to be surrounded by them.

So if you simply do your boating when all the noisy, inconsiderate, and annoying people are at work or in school these are still the best boating waters in the world including Desolation Sound.

 

[ancora]

Go to sea without Spanky? Never!

 

[dannc]

My wife started feeding our dog a raw meat diet. Danged dog eats better than I do, well usually, I was not so keen on the internal organs the dog was eating a few days ok. The dog has been a bit sensitive food wise and even with good quality, meaning expensive dog food, the dog had some health issues. Since changing to the raw food diet the dog is healthier and has more energy.

What heck does this have to do with Doggy Doo, well everything.

The volume of dog poop is much, much less on this raw meat diet. Drastically less. Furthermore, the poop degrades very quickly in the yard, though it would not surprised me if foxes or coyotes don't eat the poo. The poo also does not stink much at all and draws very few flies since what I do see dries out quickly.

Even good quality dog food is full of fillers like corn and rice which goes right through the dog and just makes a mess. The fillers bulk up the food bag and thus the dog poo.

Never thought I would be discussing dog poo on a boat forum! :lol::lol::lol:

Later,
Dan

 

[gaston]

My wife started feeding our dog a raw meat diet. Danged dog eats better than I do, well usually, I was not so keen on the internal organs the dog was eating a few days ok. The dog has been a bit sensitive food wise and even with good quality, meaning expensive dog food, the dog had some health issues. Since changing to the raw food diet the dog is healthier and has more energy.

What heck does this have to do with Doggy Doo, well everything.

The volume of dog poop is much, much less on this raw meat diet. Drastically less. Furthermore, the poop degrades very quickly in the yard, though it would not surprised me if foxes or coyotes don't eat the poo. The poo also does not stink much at all and draws very few flies since what I do see dries out quickly.

Even good quality dog food is full of fillers like corn and rice which goes right through the dog and just makes a mess. The fillers bulk up the food bag and thus the dog poo.

Never thought I would be discussing dog poo on a boat forum! :lol::lol::lol:

Later,
Dan

I'm thinking that I should eat more very rare steak

 

[Hawgwash]

So if you simply do your boating when all the noisy, inconsiderate, and annoying people are at work or in school these are still the best boating waters in the world including Desolation Sound.

Couldn't agree more.
My grown kids still talk about our Easter runs to anywhere in Jervis or Sechelt Inlets with a stop at Buccaneer for a swim in the pools on the way.

 

[JDCAVE]

Depends. Jenny usually goes off the trail for her business. For the most part we leave it. In more heavily trafficked areas, I pick up. While in the north of Caution, rarely picked up except on the manicured property of the of the Hakai Institute at Pruth, Shearwater etc.


Jim
Sent from my iPad using Trawler Forum

 

[Rebel112r]

I have heard the island at the north end of Squirrel Cove in Desolation sound, called Dog S--- Island. And from watching the parade of boats coming and going, I would say that it was aptly named.

 

[Besslb]

We always pick up....here, it's just the respectful thing to do. At any given time, I bet Tom or I or both have a poop bag in a pocket.

 

[Hawgwash]

We always pick up....here, it's just the respectful thing to do. At any given time, I bet Tom or I or both have a poop bag in a pocket.

Yup, me too and I don't even have a dog. Friends do but I got used to carrying them in Vancouver where everyone "forgets" or "just ran out."

We are a disgusting species.

 

[djones44]

My dog Ruby (a lab/shepherd) was raised on Saltspring, never a leash or doggie bag. I saw her go pooh maybe 3 times in 11 years, she always went to the perimeter, the process was transparent.

And did you know that salal depends on doggy dew just as surely as trees need salmon carcasses left by bears? Well, you see with all that human traffic, they have to be fertilized, see, or.... maybe find another less traveled path? No shortage on this coast.

 

[JDCAVE]

Yup, me too and I don't even have a dog. Friends do but I got used to carrying them in Vancouver where everyone "forgets" or "just ran out."

We are a disgusting species.

You know what's worse? Someone who respectfully bags their dog poop and leaves it on the trail in the middle of nowhere for others to take away. Happens all too often. Sorry, but if the poops off the trail a respectful distance away, I leave it. Elsewhere, in the "burbs" or"u-burbs" I bag it. And in the central coast I leave it unless it's in the town.


Jim
Sent from my iPad using Trawler Forum

 

[Marin]

Often the poop bags one sees alongside a trail were not left for others to pick up but for the dog owner to pick up on the way back so he or she doesn't have to carry it on the entire hike. The thin plastic bags sold these days are quickly permeated by odor and carrying one on a hike means walking in the odor the whole time.

While we don't leave a bag in obvious sight along a trail or road we will stash one for pickup on the way back and mark the spot with a stone or stick that we will notice as a reminder.

Not that every bag one sees is going to be picked up later, but I suspect most of them are. The dog owners we know who bother to pick up their dog's waste are almost always the type who are not going to then leave it for someone else to carry out. Someone who intends to do that most likely won't pick up the waste in the first place.

 

[JDCAVE]

Often the poop bags one sees alongside a trail were not left for others to pick up but for the dog owner to pick up on the way back so he or she doesn't have to carry it on the entire hike. The thin plastic bags sold these days are quickly permeated by odor and carrying one on a hike means walking in the odor the whole time.

While we don't leave a bag in obvious sight along a trail or road we will stash one for pickup on the way back and mark the spot with a stone or stick that we will notice as a reminder.

Not that every bag one sees is going to be picked up later, but I suspect most of them are. The dog owners we know who bother to pick up their dog's waste are almost always the type who are not going to then leave it for someone else to carry out. Someone who intends to do that most likely won't pick up the waste in the first place.

Caulfield/cypress trails, West Vacouver: we walk these trails a lot. Far too many bags left behind! They remain there for days! It's a pet peeve of mine...and I pick up these bags. My dogs have always left the trail to poop and I leave it there. It's just plain silly to remove dog poop from miles from any property when it isn't even on the trail for someone to step on it.


Jim
Sent from my iPad using Trawler Forum

 

[Marin]

Caulfield/cypress trails, West Vacouver: we walk these trails a lot. Far too many bags left behind! They remain there for days!

Well, I put those folks in the same category as the ones in our marina who take a portable pump-out cart to their boat, pump their holding tank(s) into the cart, then return the full cart to it's "hangar" but don't bother to pump the cart's tank into the sewer connection but instead leave it for the next user to pump out for them.

Frankly I think people who do that sort of thing deserve to have the pump-out carts pumped into the front seats of their cars.

 

[kthoennes]

Well, I put those folks in the same category as the ones in our marina who take a portable pump-out cart to their boat, pump their holding tank(s) into the cart, then return the full cart to it's "hangar" but don't bother to pump...

Huh, I didn't know there were such things as pump out carts. Boy, with my 40 gallon tank, that would be awfully heavy. Ew.

 

[Marin]

Huh, I didn't know there were such things as pump out carts. Boy, with my 40 gallon tank, that would be awfully heavy. Ew.

Yes, they're terrific. Our harbor installed them a long time ago. They are stationed on the various docks in the harbor in fiberglass "hangars" or little parking areas at the midpoint on some docks and can be wheeled to your boat.

The pump is a peristaltic pump, I believe it's called. Sort of a giant blood transfusion pump where an arm with rollers on each end rotates around in a big round chamber with a heavy rubber tube around its inside circumference. The action of the rollers compressing the tube moves the contents through the tube and provides the pump suction.

The carts plug into the standard 30 amp twist receptacles on the power stands at the slips and there is a similar outlet at their hangar or parking spot.

The tanks on the carts hold 25 gallons. So you wheel the thing to your boat (they roll and steer easily), pump out the tank, then roll it back to its hangar or parking spot and connect it to the sewer line. The pump then rotates the other direction to pump the tank out into the sewer line.

They're great because you don't have to take your boat to the pumpout dock, you can take care of this right at your slip.

We have two holding tanks on our boat, a 40 gallon tank and a 25 gallon tank. Since it's so easy and quick to pump the tanks out we tend to do it after almost every cruise, even the short weekend ones. So the 25 gallon tank on the cart is generally sufficient. If not, it's easy enough to fill the cart's tank (there is an auto-shutoff so you can't overflow the tank) empty the cart and then bring it back to the boat.

In our opinion it's one of the smartest things the Port of Bellingham has done in our harbor.

 

[THD]

We always pick up after out dog, pretty much no matter where we are. If there is not a trash can around to dispose of it, we take it back to the boat and it goes the same place ours does-the holding tank-we flush it. We have a sealed container to put the used bag until we reach a trash can.

 

[Hawgwash]

Well, I am so relieved.
I finally get to disagree with Marin.
I was beginning to worry about myself being some kind of hero worshipper because I believed everything the man said.
Not so any more.
CRAP! I say.

Not that every bag one sees is going to be picked up later, but I suspect most of them are. The dog owners we know who bother to pick up their dog's waste are almost always the type who are not going to then leave it for someone else to carry out. Someone who intends to do that most likely won't pick up the waste in the first place.

Here in "Metro" (God I hate that term) Vancouver, when the leaves fly south for the winter, the Alders are fully adorned with miniature white, green and blue piñatas. The same occurs when the snow melts; a landscape of Hershey Kisses.

I just do not understand the mentality of an individual who takes the time to stoop and scoop then flings things over fences into the tennis court or onto the Starbucks canopy.

 

[Hawgwash]

Caulfield/cypress trails, West Vacouver: we walk these trails a lot. Far too many bags left behind! They remain there for days! It's a pet peeve of mine...and I pick up these bags.

I moved to Sidney in early June, have been exploring all the parks and trails from Swartz Bay to Sooke and have have been so impressed with the dog owners here.

Until this past weekend I had not seen any tiny care packages left behind.
On Saturday, at Thetis Lake I came across a bag perched atop a trash receptacle.

The writing on the bag???

"Provided by Metro Vancouver."