Foreword

Dog poo on the shoe, or even worse in the car or on the carpet, is a very maddening and unpleasant experience often associated with exclamations of what it is: Oh Sh#@!

Dog poo left lying where it was deposited is a major worry for local communities and councils with concerns focusing on the wide-ranging impacts on amenity, health and the environment.

Many individual dog owners and dog clubs, particularly those set in a specific park, set a sparkling example, some also cleaning up after other dog owners. Asking dog owners if they are going to pick up after their dogs, giving them bags, and showing them the easiest way possible is a powerful education tool for behaviour change for dog owners who aren't doing the right thing.

Local government can and has taken a lead role in building community programs to reduce the level of dog poo left lying about in our environment. Councils have installed infrastructure, run education programs, and provided incentives, like free bags, to dog owners to encourage them to pick up their pets' poo. Actions like this have often been taken in consultation and partnership with local dog clubs - a powerful model for behaviour change when backed up by the enforcement of local laws.

The reasons for owners not picking up vary from distaste, through to simply not accepting responsibility for cleaning up after their dogs, or situational factors such as the lack of bags and bins or the absence of peer pressure to do the right thing, and the low probability of being caught by council.

Owning dogs and cats has considerable benefits for both individuals and society as a whole, with studies suggesting pets may improve human health, both physical and psychological, by providing stress relief, companionship and stability in the lives of many people. With housing moving away from the quarter acre block to medium or high density, we need to work together to ensure that dogs and other pets have a place in the lives of those that choose to own them while not encroaching on the lives of those who don't. Picking up dog poo is a key aspect of responsible pet ownership.

This kit, the third in a series of litter prevention kits produced by Victoria's Litter Champion Project, has been developed by the Victorian Litter Action Alliance (VLAA) in partnership with the Bureau of Animal Welfare's Community Education Program, Department of Primary Industries. It represents the capture of current best practice in the expanding field of dog poo management. It has been designed as a tool for councils and other groups or organisations to implement a quick and easy dog poo reduction and prevention program in your local area.