Dog Beach? Poison Plants?

[hotzcatz]

A neighbor took her german shepards out walking last week. They were off leash and saw a feral pig and went chasing after it, then the pig went down a steep ravine on a pig trail and one of her dogs fell off the trail to the bottom of the ravine. It was knocked out for awhile and someone had to go down the forty feet to get it. It's okay now, but there are some areas near here where if the dog goes over the side that would be it.

There are a lot of different dangers around here so be careful. Will your boxers come back when you call them if they are chasing something?

[Balad1]

There aren't enough beaches on the Big Island for residents and visitors to enjoy no less for unsecured dogs.

[AlohaHuey]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

A neighbor took her german shepards out walking last week. They were off leash and saw a feral pig and went chasing after it, then the pig went down a steep ravine on a pig trail and one of her dogs fell off the trail to the bottom of the ravine. It was knocked out for awhile and someone had to go down the forty feet to get it. It's okay now, but there are some areas near here where if the dog goes over the side that would be it.

There are a lot of different dangers around here so be careful. Will your boxers come back when you call them if they are chasing something?

Good to know, thanks. I don't plan on having them offleash unless they are in a park that has relatively few distractions, or a beach. We realize that there may be feral pigs, chickens/roosters, nene and a host of other interesting playthings and we'll be careful...boxers get into a lot so we watch them carefully. I think they'd come when I called but I don't want to test that!

[AlohaHuey]

Originally Posted by Balad1

There aren't enough beaches on the Big Island for residents and visitors to enjoy no less for unsecured dogs.

That may be, but I've yet to see a human so visibly enjoy a day at the beach as much as a dog does.

[AlohaHuey]

Originally Posted by mdand3boys

People DO bring their dogs - but it is illegal. As long as you are not being an idiot and your dog is well-behaved, most police are not going to bother citing you.

Thanks to everyone who responded...we always take care of the dogs' droppings and our dogs are friendly and well-behaved, so we'll try taking them on-leash and see if we run into problems. If you see two people walking a couple of boxers near Kailua-Kona in six months, come over and say hi.

[KoaKine]

Aloha,
I'm interested in the other question from the OP what are the poisonous plants in Hawaii ?

[whynot?]

Here's a link to a PDF of poisonous plants in Hawaii: http://hurthawaii.blogs.com/PoisonPlantsHawaii.pdf

I can't say it's 100% accurate, and I don't know how common some of the plants are on the Big Island. I did look at it, and two of the plants that people often complain about on Maui are "Be Still" (yellow oleander or noho maile) and castor bean trees (paaila). Every once in a while we have a lively debate in the letters to the editors of The Maui News about both being poison.

I also noted that poinsettias are on the list, which I know are plentiful on Moku Nui. I was a little surprised, as I thought that old saw had more or less been debunked for both people and pets. (Can cause digestive distress, but are only "poisonous" in very large quantities.)

I hope this helps get you started.

[WindRide]

Just wondering what you've discovered now that you're here Huey? Have you found anywhere your dogs can go swimming?

I just read that the BI Humane Society opened a dog park at their facility in Kailua-Kona and I've had a couple of locals tell me where I can take my pups swimming. I just wanted to ask about your experience.

[EdLo]

I loved citing people for dogs off leash. And if they were in the water I'd want to shoot them! (the dogs, not the people) NAH!
But ever see pristine water polluted by a dog with diarrhea? Usually the dog owners were not local and were not aware of law relating to dogs on a beach. imho beaches are for people, not animals.
As for plants, check this site: http://hurthawaii.blogs.com/PoisonPlantsHawaii.pdf
Being from da islands, we never had problems with our dogs eating stuff like this. Dogs aren't that dumb.

[WindRide]

Originally Posted by EdLo

I loved citing people for dogs off leash. And if they were in the water I'd want to shoot them! (the dogs, not the people) NAH!
But ever see pristine water polluted by a dog with diarrhea? Usually the dog owners were not local and were not aware of law relating to dogs on a beach. imho beaches are for people, not animals.
As for plants, check this site: http://hurthawaii.blogs.com/PoisonPlantsHawaii.pdf
Being from da islands, we never had problems with our dogs eating stuff like this. Dogs aren't that dumb.

Have you ever been snorkeling or diving and had a fish poop in your face? I was watching shark week and watched some poor stooge in a shark cage get shark dookie shot into his face at point blank range. I laughed myself sick. Do you really think other animals don't use the water as their personal outhouse?

While a dog with diarrhea isn't attractive (especially at the beach) I don't think that this rare event should preclude dogs being allowed to swim. I've seen more humans barf into the water than I've seen dogs poop. You can't tell me that people aren't peeing in the water at the rate of about 1 person every 5 minutes. SCUBA divers pee into their wetsuits for warmth as a matter of course where I'm from.

I do not take my dogs to crowded public beaches, but I did find a secluded beach today where several people had their well behaved dogs swimming and playing in the water with them. I didn't see any dogs (or people) having accidents in the water and everyone kept their dogs under control. The pups were clearly enjoying themselves as were we. My dog was the only I noticed who pooped, but I brought bags with me and cleaned up and disposed of said poop properly.

I don't think all beaches should be open to dogs. I also don't think all dog owners are responsible or respectful. But I do think that dogs have just as much right to go swimming as humans do and I think there should be places where they are allowed to do just this. The key as always is appropriate and respectful behavior. And that means some humans shouldn't be allowed there either.