Today a young Taiwanese couple was walking with their dogs in Oakland . I say “with” because they had their two maltese dogs in a baby carrier and were walking them that way.
Most other people simply walk their dogs on leashes or harnesses.
Its another Taiwan cultural export !
Kawai desu ?
Seriously drives me nuts. These are the same people who don’t want children because it’s too much work, yet they treat their pet like it was their child. Priorities misplaced much?
they may have forgotten how to make them. This gal was pretty cute. Id be happy to show her how 
Ehem, here comes the Devil’s advocate. Maybe it is too hot for the pets to walk? 
Just kidding. Well, then they shouldnt be out either, right? And yes, with pets, sometimes I feel it is only one extreme or the other.
I have a neighbor who is single and childless. She has 3 of those black and brown furry thinghies that look like moving and barking tupees when then fall on the floor. They have to be “walked” in a pram daily, which means taken for a ride on the MRT, or else they won’t be at peace… and no one else will have peace.
I bought a small one to take either Toto or Bobby -they both do not fit- to the specialist cardiologist vet, as it is a long way -more than 30 minutes on the MRT- and they are more comfortable if they can lie down. It is also safer, and easier to carry a long way, plus the drivers/MRT employees won’t scold at you. If I take my pets in a taxi -not often, it is like 300 one way to the vet-, in a pet carrier, most taxi drivers are not happy about it. If I use a doggie purse, it is only for short distances, as standing for a long time in a single position makes my doggies unconfortable.
I’d rather see dogs being over-pampered than tied to a post with 8 inches of rope without food or water - as at least 50% of “pets” are here.
But yeah - it’s weird. Although I think part of the reason is so that the dogs don’t trail the grime (and worse) from the streets back into the house.
[quote=“finley”]I’d rather see dogs being over-pampered than tied to a post with 8 inches of rope without food or water - as at least 50% of “pets” are here.
But yeah - it’s weird. Although I think part of the reason is so that the dogs don’t trail the grime (and worse) from the streets back into the house.[/quote]
Amen to that!!!
I’ve been here long enough that I saw the change! Everything from people’s attitudes to the quality of pet care has really improved… Dramatically…
Bags I can accept, but baby carrier’s are a bit too much.
I understand their reasoning though. They don’t want the dogs to leave dirty paw prints all over the house. I’m sure if they could, they’d buy the dog shoes and train it to take them off before they stepped inside 
[quote=“Amasashi”]Bags I can accept, but baby carrier’s are a bit too much.
I understand their reasoning though. They don’t want the dogs to leave dirty paw prints all over the house. I’m sure if they could, they’d buy the dog shoes and train it to take them off before they stepped inside :-)[/quote]
They don’t want their dogs to shit in front of their door either. That’s what the neighbours are for.
The animation below is an example of what we are dealing with. The only way to stop this kind of behaviour was throwing the shit into the elevator and smearing at to their door and into their mailboxes.
I saw somebody bend over and wipe their dog’s butt after it pooped…I think that’s the moment when you’ve lost a bit of your humanity…
Perhaps but its better then what happens when my cat has diarrhea. HE gets his butt all dirty and he is sure as heck is not going to lick it clean. He comes and sticks his butt in my face (especially when im sleeping) so i can wash his ass. Its that or he wipes his butt all over the carpet !
Still need some basic ettiquette for dog owners about how to manage dogs and their excrement.
Yesterday near my house in a very narrow alley (3 feet wide) a lady was letting her small dog take a piss. (this alley and most places around my house smell of dog urine) Afterwards the dog spotted 3 old people coming down the alley. The dog was yapping and snipping at their feet. The dog owner just told them “don’t worry he will not bite you”…and just watched as the old people struggled to get by the dog. Since they couldn’t get past the dog who was running around their feet very quicky while yapping and snipping at them, one of the old ladies asked her to pick up her dog and hold because she was scared of the dog. So the lady actually then made some effort to control her dog by holding it.
I used to volunteer to clean trash at a park. I soon learned that a tissue usually covered dog poop. Do the owners feel better by “hiding” the dog poop with a tissue?
Personally I think it’s a pity there can’t be more green/wild spaces within cities so that dogs (or cats, or whatever) have a place to actually poo in peace. I mean, it is biodegradable. The only problem arises when people step in it.
Surprisingly (maybe because they don’t have 150 stomachs like a cow or because of the crap they eat and we feed them), dog poo is actually really bad. It can’t act as fertilizer (it’s more like poison), and is full of many bad things.
So if other dogs are pooping around other dog’s poo too much, they could get sick. Or it could run off into the streets and make people sick.
OMG
this reminded me of a girl who I used to date’s parents. Her mother was INSANELY OCD, like crazy, I cannot even go into the details as it is so painful. I hated that b*tch.
But anyway, EVERY time the dog would go to poo, she would make her husband or daughter (she tried that crap on me too, I said hell no) wipe the dog’s ass before it came in. They would actually stick the paper a bit into its bunghole to make sure it was extra clean to appease the crazy ocd queen.
Perhaps but its better then what happens when my cat has diarrhea. HE gets his butt all dirty and he is sure as heck is not going to lick it clean. He comes and sticks his butt in my face (especially when im sleeping) so i can wash his ass. Its that or he wipes his butt all over the carpet ![/quote]
TMI, man. TMI.
One thing that drives me nuts is the lack of rubbish bins in public areas, especially city streets. On a hot day, it takes every ounce of willpower to use the baggie to pick up the poo and then take it all the way home. There is one park here with the right idea; Grasslands Park in Hsinchu has copious trash cans and even supplies poop baggies and handwashing stations! It REALLY pisses me off when I find dog shit on the ground there, understandably.
I’ve been in Taiwan for about twelve years, and like Taiwan Student mentioned, there has been a HUGE paradigm shift in animal care here. I’m willing to put up with pampered pups in carriers if it means the same dogs were spared a life of misery. More and more people are adopting healthy attitudes toward dogs and cats, and it’s more and more common to see well-cared-for dogs walking on leashes or interacting with their people. There are still a LOT of backward attitudes, but there is hope. Most people I know make a point of getting their dogs out there, and leading by example. I tell my students stories about my dogs and cats all the time. Sometimes they ask if I hit them (when they’ve been naughty) and I calmly explain why not. It was most heartwarming when one girl told me that she’d talked her mom out of beating the family dog for peeing in the house (during a typhoon). A local couple in my community shows the neighbourhood kids how to approach strange dogs (by using their own dogs while on walks). The message IS being passed on, and a LOT of people are passing it! There’s a long way to go, but the journey has begun.
Yea they generally have trash cans in public parks, just not on sidewalks or anywhere there is residents living there… because there are problems with people throwing household garbage into them. MRT stations have trans cans too. I agree the garbage collection sucks here, especially having to be out at a certain time to take care of them, and if you work you would have to take days off just to throw your garbage. The thing is, I am not sure how else they can do it. If they leave dumpsters in places people will not respect the whole recycling and paid garbage collection thing and it will stink up the whole neighborhood. The space just isn’t there in Taiwan.
You should walk your dogs in parks, no worries about traffic, and you generally have trash cans to dispose of your dog’s crap. I just don’t like taking walks around anything commercial or residential because it’s always crazy with or without sidewalks.
[quote=“Taiwan Luthiers”]Yea they generally have trash cans in public parks, just not on sidewalks or anywhere there is residents living there… because there are problems with people throwing household garbage into them. MRT stations have trans cans too. I agree the garbage collection sucks here, especially having to be out at a certain time to take care of them, and if you work you would have to take days off just to throw your garbage. The thing is, I am not sure how else they can do it. If they leave dumpsters in places people will not respect the whole recycling and paid garbage collection thing and it will stink up the whole neighborhood. The space just isn’t there in Taiwan.
You should walk your dogs in parks, no worries about traffic, and you generally have trash cans to dispose of your dog’s crap. I just don’t like taking walks around anything commercial or residential because it’s always crazy with or without sidewalks.[/quote]
Problem is where I live:
so if it is raining, or I have not enough time -at least an hour- they have to go on the streets or storefront sidewalks, and the neighbors will not be happy.
[quote=“Icon”]
2. the ones that exist are closed off to dogs, ie, it is forbidden to take dogs in.[/quote]
Yah, WTF is up with that???
Parks are for people who own dogs!!! Now, I understand leash laws, sure, but not allowing dogs in at all?
My park is like that, though they have a small fenced in dog park area too, so I guess thats OK. When I first moved here, there was a park nazi cop who would blow his whistle and chase me out of the main park to the dog park. He hasn’t been around for a few months now, so I just ignore the no dog rule (as do all the Taiwanese).
Yes, I’m aware of that. In fact poo in general is virtually nutrient-free. That’s not the point though. When we collect poo and “dispose of it properly”, we’re doing (inefficiently) what nature is perfectly capable of doing all by itself. If dropped into a properly-functioning biome (NOT some over-managed park) with a modest amount of other compostable matter, dog poo, or any other kind, will disappear within a week. Literally disappear. Don’t ask me how I know this! Anyway, it’s obvious really - otherwise the planet would be awash with assorted excrement. The trick is not to overload whatever ecosystem you’re dumping into.
Remember also that dogs pee as much as they poo, and that does have plenty of bioavailable nutrients in it.