- If you have a garden, teach your dog to toilet there, before you leave home. The faeces can then be bagged and put straight into your dustbin, burnt or digested in a sunken 'dog-loo'.
- Always carry the means to clear up after your dog. Research shows that simple plastic bags are far more convenient, more effective and cheaper than any cumbersome poop scoops. Your bags should be as unforgettable as a lead when you take your dog out.
- Every time your dog fouls, 'bag it and bin it’ - whether it is in a park or a roadside gutter. Remember, the rain does not wash the problem away, as some lazy, anti-social people think.
- Respect your local authority's rules on dog-free areas. Dogs cannot read signs, so it is up to you to keep them away from children's play areas and sports pitches. If dog waste bins have been provided, use them. Local authorities monitor their usage to gauge their effectiveness.
- Get involved when your local authority is considering new rules on dog access. Keep an eye on the announcements in your local paper, or find details of meetings on posters in your park. If positive views and opinions on dog ownership and the benefits dog walkers have to their communities are not presented, they will never be considered.
- Never let your dog out alone to 'go to the loo'. This should go without saying, but does still happen. Apart from the fouling problem, you need to consider that your dog may go missing.
- Get your dog wormed regularly. Visit your veterinary surgery for advice on the products suitable for your pet and how often you will need them.
- Always wash your hands after a walk or petting your dog and before eating. While Toxocara infections are very rare and are more likely to affect children (because of their play habits), remember however, adults can become ill too.
It is every owner's duty to clean up after their dog. There are no excuses. Fouling is unacceptable.