by 
After 2,868 fixed penalties were issued to dog owners failing to pick up their dogs’ mess, councils have been urged to try rubbing the dog owners’ noses in it instead.
Despite fines falling 20% the last year, there are still thousands of incidents where people let their dog shit wherever it likes, and then choose to just leave it there.
Park walker Simon Williams told us, “Clearly something has to be done. If 2,868 people were fined for not picking up their dogshit, that means thousands more got away with just leaving it where it landed.
“You have to remember that treading in dogshit is still one of modern life’s nightmare scenarios.
“Particularly if you have shoes that have a squiggly lined pattern on the soles. Once it gets in there it’s never coming out again.
“Clearly the people issuing these fines need something else in their arsenal.”
Other regular users of public spaces have welcomed the suggestion of better deterrents against shit-happy dog owners.
Keith Sloper told us, “It says in all the dog owner manuals that if your dog shits where it shouldn’t, then rubbing its nose in it will prevent them wanting to do it again, so why not try this with dog owners?
“A £75 fine isn’t particularly effective, clearly, and most people could pay that fine easily enough – but you can’t use a debit card to wipe dogshit out of your eye.
“Well you can, but it won’t do a very good job.
“I think we all agree it’s time to step the war on dogshit up a notch.”
