The Canine Committee has been working on solutions to the problems of dog waste and unruly dogs on public lands, and they believe that a three-pronged approach of updated rules, enhanced enforcement and additional signage will help.

Town Manager Richard MacDonald appointed the committee in January in response to numerous complaints he received regarding dog related issues.

The committee was charged with reviewing the dog control rules and regulations and the complaints and presenting their recommendations to the Board of Selectmen.

At their meeting last Wednesday, Canine Committee chairman Mark Cleveland outlined the changes the committee had made to the town’s animal control bylaws. Any bylaw changes must be approved by voters at the annual town meeting in March.

The new bylaw will apply to all conservation lands in Duxbury, not just those owned by the town. It will require dog owners to both remove dog waste from these areas and properly dispose of it.

This means “picking it up and properly disposing of it instead of just moving it off the trail,” explained Cleveland.

“We’re trying to make it clear that at every place in town there is a pick-up requirement,” said committee member Steve Schroeder.

The revised bylaw contains a new section that allows the animal control officer to ban a dog who is determined to be a threat to public safety from Duxbury public lands. The ACO can either ban the dog from some or all public areas or put restrictions on the dog’s use of the lands. The ACO must notify the person responsible for the unruly dog in writing. Dog owners can appeal the ACO’s ruling to the board of selectmen within 21 days.

“This gives the ACO the authority to deal with out-of-control animals,” Cleveland said.

The Committee also expanded the type of town officials who can enforce these rules. In addition to the ACO and the police, the health agent and the conservation administrator would have the power to enforce the bylaw. The harbormaster’s department has “concurrent authority” to enforce these laws on Duxbury Beach.

The bylaw still contains fines for violations: $25 for the first offense; $50 for the second offense; $100 for the third offense and $200 for the fourth and subsequent offenses.

The Canine Committee voted unanimously to recommend the revised bylaws to the town and create a packet to give to selectmen containing the public awareness and waste pick-up components of their plan.

“We look at this as a step-by-step approach,” said Cleveland. “We’re starting a campaign to make people aware of what dogs are doing and then by clarifying the rules, having stronger enforcement, and with better signage, we can get people to co-operate.”

To combat the dog waste problem, the committee has discussed erecting waste disposal barrels at the town forest, the East Street bogs and at Bay Farm. They discussed this idea with Department of Public Works director Peter Buttkus in July, however, receptacles cost money to empty.

Buttkus said that would cost $28.50 per hour for a two person crew to remove barrels three times a week for three hours a week, or $171 a week. An outside company would be less. Waikus Disposal would charge $120 a week or $100 if their barrels had advertising.

Renee Magliano of Priscilla Ave walks in the Powder Point area and said that there is more dog waste in that location in the winter after the trash barrels have been removed from the west end of the Powder Point bridge. She wondered if those barrels could stay year-round to help combat the problem.

“It’s amazing how much more dog waste is left when the barrels are gone,” she said. “People do not want to pick up the dog waste and drive it home with them in the car.”

The committee said it would look into this suggestion.

To educate the public, the committee wants more signs encouraging dog owners to be responsible for their pets. Animal Control Officer Eddy Ramos said Bay Farm field, which consists of 80 acres owned jointly by Duxbury, Kingston and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management, improved because people policed themselves.

“You look at Bay Farm now and Bay Farm a year and a half ago, you couldn’t go five steps without stepping in poo. It’s gotten better because people stood out there and said we are going to lose these rights and privileges if we don’t make it better,” he said.

“The main component will be enforcement,” said Cleveland, who wondered if new signs should underscore the idea that walking dogs on town land is a privilege, not a right, and could be denied if abused.

In addition to new signs, the committee wants to update the ACO’s Web site, create a flyer to be given out with dog licenses, and publish educational articles in the local media.

However, they acknowledged that these efforts won’t reach everyone and that many people either don’t have licensed dogs or are from out of town.

“By and large, it will be a question of how the dog-walking public responds,” said committee member Susan Curtis. “That’s the biggest challenge.

The Canine Committee consists of Susan Curtis, Steve Schroeder, Mark Cleveland, Jason Wolfson of Duxbury Beach Reservation, Holly Morris of the Conservation Commission, Harbormaster Don Beers, ex officio, DPW Director Peter Buttkus ex officio,  Animal Control Officer Eddy Ramos ex officio, Health Agent Tracy Mayo, ex officio and Conservation Agent Joe Grady, ex officio.