Dog owners will have to wash their pets' urine from trees under new rules in Vienna

A Vienna neighbourhood has introduced new rules that tell dog owners to wash their pets' urine from trees. 

The Neubau district, an up-and-coming part of the Austrian capital known for its cafes and galleries, this week rolled out the Schönes Gassi – or 'nice walk' – campaign. 

Aiming to address the impact of the district's estimated 600 dogs on the environment, including the 250 trees planted over the last ten years, officials have asked owners to stick to some basic rules. 

The guidelines say that animal urine corrodes tree bark, weakening its protective layer and potentially letting corrosive pathogens and fungi penetrate the trunk.

Fresh canine urine is highly water-soluble. As a result, pouring water over a patch can significantly reduce the concentration of ammonia and other harmful substances seeping into the soil, while also softening the smell. 

Grätzllabor, a community group, said: 'While marking territory is a form of communication for dogs, it causes stress for urban trees.

'This results in rot and, in the worst case, compromised stability.'

Owners can pick up a free water bottle to rinse their pets' urine off public property, and the voluntary scheme could be expanded to other areas of the city. 

Grätzllabor said the rinsing of urine should not be seen as a 'licence' for owners to allow their pets to mark trees or green space, but that it should prompt owners to take responsibility for their furry friends. 

And dog trainer Corry Sporrer said the Schönes Gassi scheme could head off more drastic and legally binding calls to mitigate problems linked with animal waste. 

She said: 'In Vienna, we don’t need a city full of dog bans, or a city where dogs are just allowed to urinate anywhere they please.

'What we need is consideration, education and sufficient suitable facilities for dogs.'

Austria has a relatively low level of dog ownership, with less than one-in-five households owning a dog. 

But the Schönes Gassi scheme apes similar ones seen in countries like Japan, Italy, Switzerland and Spain, which has the highest share of dog-owning households in the EU at 70 per cent. 

Over in Germany's Berlin, where the pandemic led to an increase in the number of dogs being kept as pets, officials have stopped planting black locust trees in some areas as they are particularly sensitive to urine. 

The city's Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district installed special 'pee stones' for dogs in the spring.