Design for dogs: getting a dog is one of those life changing experiences: it has raised my awareness of the micro landscape of my neighbourhood and how dogs interact with the public realm. But not everyone likes dogs and unless local authorities and dog owners start a dialogue, there will always be friction.

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Dog owners usually have no problem in communicating with each other, as having a dog provides entry to a club. Complete strangers will frequently engage in conversation, but the protocol is strict and topics are limited to your dog, their dog and the weather. Dog walkers all need a safe place to exercise their animals regularly, as dogs like to walk, run and socialise with other dogs, plus reading the Dog News by sniffing, is a vital part of a dog's day. However, on the downside, some dogs scare the living daylights out of vulnerable people and unfortunately all dogs urinate and defecate.

It is estimated that there are 23 million households in the UK and 21% of them own one or more of the 6.8 to 7.4 million dogs that exist in the country today. On the positive side all these people should be taking healthy daily exercise, but on the negative side, this results in 100,000 tonnes of dog faeces per day. The etiquette is simple; an owner is responsible for clearing up after their dog. That this does not always happen is a disgrace and owners who do not pick up after their dog let the rest of us down.

The fouling debate

Dog faeces contains harmful infections including toxocariasis, which creates the most alarm as it can cause blindness. Toxocara eggs are not infectious until they mature two to three weeks after they have been deposited by a dog. If owners immediately clean up after their dog the threat of toxocariasis would be virtually eradicated.

The website for ENCAMS that runs the Keep Britain Tidy campaign has a useful overview of the law relating to dog fouling. Local authorities and parish councils have the power to keep public areas clear of dogs and dog faeces. ENCAMS report that dog fouling is consistently one of the highest sources of complaints by the public to MPs, local councillors and local authorities, but understaffed dog wardens frequently spend more time on stray dogs than on enforcement for dog fouling.

Soon after my dog arrived, the local authority in the next town proposed to ban dogs from playing fields that are a major part of the main town park. Uproar ensued. The argument ran--who should be banned first--the people who vandalise the children's play equipment and the other buildings in the park, drink alcohol, take illegal drugs and intimidate old and young alike or dogs? Needless to say the proposal was withdrawn, but the episode was revealing. Compared to the USA, the dog owners did not appear to be organised as a lobby group. The opposition to the ban was orchestrated by articulate individuals through letters to the local newspaper rather than by a campaign group.

The local authorities are in a double bind as they have a duty and the legal clout to ban dogs, but lack the funds to see it through comprehensively. In the same way that the government penalises us for using the car without providing an effective public transport system, a local authority cannot ban dogs without having a strategy in place.

SLOOPS

My neighbourhood is a large village with a 1960s estate next to the rural countryside. It provides the best of all worlds for dog walking. All those SLOOPs (Space Left Over On Plan)--those silly bits of grass that everyone tries to design out, become very useful to the dog walker. The 600mm wide grass verges next to a fence or the grass triangles for visibility splays at junctions are perfect for use as a toilet and for sniffing. The 10m wide verge next to the busy lit road provides a grass area for walks on the dark evenings. A tree shaded footpath provides a lunchtime walk on a sunny day. The village green is a quadrant, 30m to 35m radius and big enough to throw a toy for an energetic dog. The common, about 100m x 100m, is ideal for that mad run after the swallows or an imaginary rabbit.

Public footpaths provide excellent access to the countryside, but the lanes are dangerous for dog walkers as many are used by motorists as rat runs, the visibility is poor and the verges often narrow or steeply banked making escape difficult. Within five kilometres is a large open space, which provides a variety of dog walking opportunities, but access is dependent on having a car. The Parish Council is vigilant over dog fouling and overall with a range of open space my dog and I are served well by the public realm.

However, looking at the current residential layouts that conform to the higher densities of PPS3, the dog walker is poorly served. Any pocket parks doubling up as play areas, are fenced and dogs are excluded. Most external areas are hard surfaced and the few grass areas that do exist have to be shared. In urban areas there is potential for dogs and their owners to be marginalised, with the problem of defecation used as the first weapon in any argument.

The Australian experience

The Australian urban policy analyst and town planner, Virginia Jackson, works with all levels of government, to produce better outcomes in animal management and pet friendly guidelines for new housing and public open space. She believes that we have a stark choice and says: "left untouched, pet ownership may well become a thing of the past, due to a constellation of forces making it more difficult to own pets. Changing lifestyles and housing type, increasing restrictions on pet ownership and declining tolerance suggest the trend is with us already".

She argues that by following relatively simple guidelines for pet-friendly design, designers can dramatically improve access to pet ownership and the quality of life of urban residents. For example, allowing front fences can double the space available to dogs at home alone and help reduce the incidence of dog problem behaviours related to lack of exercise and boredom.

Rather than banning dogs from parks, integrating dog owners with other park users offers many advantages. Crime and vandalism in all parks is reduced, it gives more flexible options, results in more efficient and equitable distribution of resources and is more cost efficient, since it accommodates multiple uses. The options to consider are:

* Banning dogs

* On-lead exercising

* Free-run areas

* Different zones in one park

* Timeshare arrangements

* A combination of the above across the district.

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Each of these can be seen as a different type of opportunity for the residents of the area. Jackson suggests that by taking a strategic approach, councils can arrive at a mix of opportunities that caters fairly for all--owners and non-owners alike. The ideal mix will depend on many factors including levels and distribution of pet ownership, housing types, existing opportunities, features of individual open space areas and local opinion. Once an overall plan has been arrived at, individual open space areas may need to be modified to accommodate the needs of new groups of users.

Off leash in Seattle

The US city of Seattle has a number of off-leash areas, which range from large scale flood relief areas to fenced dog areas within parks. The suggestion is to see the fenced areas like children's play areas for high intensity dog use. As grass does not survive, decomposed granite is used as a surface and dog fountains are also provided. The area is often associated with a cafe and becomes a social focus for the park. People come to watch the dogs, to see what breed they might like to have and yes, it is a meeting place for singles.

Looking at the Australian and American experience, the UK is at the confrontation stage with animal management and pet friendly guidelines for the public realm. Dog owners need to form lobby groups, councils need to listen and integrate the dog walkers in a way that makes it fair to all park users. There is so much research to support the health benefits of pet ownership that it should not be discouraged or marginalised.

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References

www.encams.org.uk

www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localenv/dogs/owner.htm

www.harlockjackson.com.au

www.ci.seattle.wa.us/parks/offleash.asp

www.coladog.org

Liz Lake is the Principal of LiZLaKe, Chartered Landscape Architects and Urban Designers and Chair of the Landscape Design Trust. www.lizlake.com