Vienna already expects owners to carry a bag for the poop. Now one district wants them to carry a bottle for the pee.
Neubau, a dense district of cafes and galleries, launched a campaign this week called Schönes Gassi, or nice dog walk. The slogan is Das Flascherl zum Sackerl: the little bottle to go with the bag. Owners can pick up a free 270ml bottle at the town hall to rinse the spots their dogs mark.
Why trees are the target
The district has planted about 250 trees over the past decade, partly to soften hotter summers, and roughly 600 dogs live around them. Dog urine is corrosive to bark, and repeated hits wear down the tree’s protective layer, which lets fungi into the trunk. The community group behind the campaign, Grätzllabor, puts it plainly: marking territory is communication for a dog and stress for a tree.
Does water help? A little. Fresh urine is highly water-soluble, so rinsing dilutes the ammonia and cuts the smell along with the damage.
What this means for your dog
Nothing is banned here. The scheme is voluntary, and a dog trainer quoted in the coverage made the fair point that cities do not need dog bans or a free-for-all; they need owners to pay attention and enough places for dogs to go, not bans.
If you walk past young street trees, the habit is easy to borrow. Carry a small bottle, pour it over the spot, keep walking. Your dog will not care either way. One popular tree can collect urine from a dozen dogs a day, not just yours. Teaching a dog to use one favored spot is possible too, and it starts like any other cue outdoors.
The Guardian has the full story: bring a bottle.