Even as a dog owner, you are sometimes ashamed of other people with dogs. As recently at a bathing lake in the Schorfheide, which, like most of Brandenburg's lakes, is actually forbidden for dogs, at least during the day in midsummer: On the only beach, however, an unrepentant owner lets a retriever mix and an Airedale terrier play and swim unleashed between children during the holidays in the middle of summer .
Admittedly, the water-loving animals have their fun, but unfortunately the other bathers don't. The private dog show on the public beach lasts two hours. The animals bark excitedly, sprint after balls, use other swimmers as buoys, roll on someone else's towels and lift their legs at the sandcastles. And that for several days in a row. Since then there has been trouble on the tranquil beach.
So it's no wonder that most beaches in Europe are marked out like claims for dogs in midsummer and strictly separated from other beach sections so that there is no escalating argument until at some point an animal snaps. There is no community and no seaside resort that does not have at least one or two separate dog beaches.
That makes sense, especially since there are more and more beach vacationers who are out and about with their dogs. During the corona pandemic, a million people in this country got a new pet, many of them dogs.
Small, sweet, fluffy and a loyal companion in lockdown - since the beginning of the corona pandemic, the demand for puppies has skyrocketed. Criminal dealers also take advantage of this. Most recently, 70 pedigree puppies were discovered in North Rhine-Westphalia rather accidentally.
Source: WORLD / Lore Schulze-Velmede
21 percent of households are now dog owners, according to the Industry Association for Animal Needs, there are 10.3 million animals nationwide, 44 percent of which are mixed breeds. According to a survey by the animal pension portal Betreut.de, 34 percent take their pets, especially dogs, with them on their summer vacation.
However, such a holiday on the dog beach on the coast or at lakes takes some getting used to: a midsummer day between bulging dog waste bags, drag lines and treats such as buffalo skin bones and pizzles is not for everyone, even for dog owners who love their animals. The constant whistles and calls for order from the dog owners can also get on your nerves. Why is every second dog called Bella or Balu and does not listen to his name?
It is also a mystery why dog beaches are located in many places next to the nudist area. There is no plausible explanation for this, apart from the fact that in some places one obviously finds nudists bah and dogs bah-bah.
To make matters worse, there is sometimes stress between the two interest groups. Like on the beach at Dagebüll on the North Sea. There, the areas for nudists and dog owners were simply swapped for this season. This causes frustration for nude bathing fans. Because in the former dog area, the water is so shallow that you can't swim there, you can only sit waist-deep.
As for the recalcitrant dog owner, benevolent bathers have advised her to travel to Scotland. Dogs are allowed to romp around off-leash on almost all beaches. In any case, fewer people bathe in the cool Scottish waters than in the Brandenburg lakes.
