poop chronicles

although i really don't want to be the poop chronicler, there were a few this morning that sort of amazed me, so here they are.

i don't even need to say anything about the first 2, but the third one- how do you not notice that your dog is perched on a sagebrush defecating? unless your dog is nowhere near you- but this one was certainly right by the trail.



on a more attractive note, the bachelor buttons are starting to pop out, and it was a lovely morning. 3 groups of dogless runners, 2 others with dogs- one off leash in the off leash area and one on leash in the on leash areas, 2 walkers with dogs and 3 mountain bikers. it's getting busier in the mornings. and will continue to as it gets warmer. everyone was very nice & polite and seemed happy to be out.

have a great day!

5000 homes

seems like conserving what we have in the foothills is a much bigger issue than dogs or mountain bikes. i am no expert and am not a biologist, but i have been researching the effects of dogs on wildlife online. what i have gleaned is that, aside from chasing, digging and random unsupervised hunting (which is behavior that no responsible dog owner would allow) the biggest issue is that dog scent changes wildlife behavior. animals who are prey of canids (coyote, fox, etc.) will move farther off the trails. how much of a problem this is depends on what sort of habitat is available.

i wonder how much impact 5000 more homes in the foothills has on habitat? i wonder how many dog owners would vote for another levy?




on to this morning's jaunt. i don't want this to be the poop report, so suffice it to say that there were at least 15 piles between heron and the pond coming in from 10th. right on the trail between 2 trash cans & bag dispensers.

bitterbrush is blooming- and fragrant. the arrowleaf balsamroot is still going strong, and these little purple guys- i think that they are brodiaea- are popping up. meadowlarks and redwing blackbirds singing.

2 runners, one mountain biker, one woman with off leash dog in the on leash area. she did leash up right away when i asked her not to let him run up to us.

another beautiful morning!

wake up call

chloe and tuck, sent in by renee cawley. thanks renee- hope to meet you at wednesday's meeting.

i talked with a woman yesterday who is uncomfortable that our meeting is at the foothills learning center next wednesday, discouraged by yesterday's meeting and not sure whether to trust r2r dog.

anyone who has read the posts on this blog should have a pretty good idea what we think.

i personally feel like maybe this whole thing was a needed wake up call to get dog owners organized.

the reality is that there are dog owners who do not watch their dogs, do not pick up poop, who allow their dogs to run up to people and other dogs without asking if it's ok, who let their dogs chase runners and mountain bikes and wildlife. those people are not the majority, but they are visible and they cause problems for the rest of us.

it's not our job to be the police, but i believe that we have a responsibility to work with the city to resolve the issues. i also believe that if we put forth a good faith effort it will go a long way toward preserving access.

paula, margie and i are just 3 dog owners who enjoy biking, hiking and running in the foothills with our dogs and want to be able to continue to do so with them off leash. we are going to put the best effort we can into maintaining access.

reprieve

http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/373257.html

the process worked the way it is supposed to, and we got what many of us asked for. now it's time to step up and provide solutions to the issues that started this whole thing. anti dog sentiment will not go away. i have been appalled by how mean spirited and nasty some of the statesman blog comments are.

we'll meet at the foothills learning center next wednesday evening from 7- 9 p.m. to plan a poop scoop/education day and to discuss ways of improving educational efforts. the more we can help the city help this succeed, the safer our access.

thanks to everyone who worked so hard to get this far.

poop!

morning started out beautifully- nice and quiet, sun coming up, birds singing. passed a few runners, one group with well behaved off leash dog. ran into some walkers with a off leash dog on red fox- mine were on, but i let go & they all ran around. no harm.

mostly i keep echo back because he scares people with his big blackness and cropped ears. he also plays rough and doesn't tolerate bad dog manners, which other owners don't always appreciate (hint: if your dog's back hair is up when they approach another dog, don't expect a warm fuzzy greeting)

on down red fox, we find this- right on the trail, hard to miss. picked it up.





up across chickadee ridge and back down onto red fox and suddenly i am seeing poop all over. all of these piles were either right on or within 2 feet of the trail. i was not hunting high & low for poop. and yes it looked like dog poop, not coyote or anything.

come on people! this is the single biggest problem we have with dogs in the reserves and one of the main reasons there is discussion about taking away off leash access. this is ridiculous. 2 piles were within 4 feet of a trash can (guess the owner didn't have bags).

4 piles were in the currently on leash area. maybe we should enforce on leash in the on leash area and see if it reduces the amount of poop there before assuming that is the answer for most of the trails system.

as for the poop is icky to carry issue- i take a big freezer ziplock and put the individual poop bags in that. it reduces the smell and makes it easier to carry multiple bags (they never go just once). i put it in a back pocket (when we get going with the dog packs, they can carry it). ziplock can be reused.

May Day

on this morning's walk/run:

near the pond in the on leash area:

• one half hearted barking charge by an off leash dog whose owner quickly called him off


• one owner hear calling- augie! augie! and standing looking perplexed near the trees by the creek with a leash around their neck (the calling started, near as i can tell, by the lower parking lot- so that whole area would be on leash)


• another off leash dog trotting in front of walkers- who called him back as i turned around and went the other way

on chickadee ridge:

• one man digging up phlox from behind sagebrush (at least he wasn't upset when halle started barking at him- seemed to understand that she was just doing her job)

at 10th st entrance (also on leash area):

• woman walking in with 2 loose dogs. when i asked her not to let them run up to us, she immediately put them in a heel and it was all good

so- 4 groups with off leash dogs in the on leash area, but 3 of the 4 had their dogs controlled. unfortunately, it's still the on leash area. i don't understand why, if i can walk dogs through that part to get to where they can be off leash, others can't as well.

here's the thing- most leashed dogs do not react well to being approached by loose dogs. so the best thing to do is not let your dog run up to another dog (or person) without asking permission. period. i have started asking people not to let their dogs run up to us. it's just easier.

when i want my dogs to be social, we go to the dog park, or doggy day care, or training class. when we are in the foothills, we are there for different reasons. it is just common courtesy to respect other people, and for me, that includes not intruding (or letting our dogs intrude).

anyway- that's today's soapbox. i know that suggesting enforcement of the current rules is probably not a popular idea, but i would really like to see it happen until we can get some sort of certification program for people like the woman i met going out who truly have dogs under control.

compost

watch out for the tasty organic snacks ( if you're one of my dogs anyway) littering lower hull's gulch trail- the sheep have been there!

remember to sign the petition (under links of interest to the left), send a letter & pick up poop- your dog's that is!

FAC comments

to get your comments to the Foothills Advisory committee, send a letter to Julia Grant, Foothills Learning Center, 3188 Sunset Peak Road, Boise, ID 83702. Please request that the committee receive a copy, be polite and offer constructive solutions. If your letter does not arrive by the 5th, there may not be time to copy & pass out to the committee.

there will still be opportunity to provide input to council, but this is the first step.