Real English Conversations: Don’t step on the dog doo (part 1 of 4)

Posted on October 6, 2008
Filed under Listening, Pets, Real English conversations, Weird stuff | 23 Comments

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Hi! Lori here, welcoming you to another episode of Real English Conversations from betteratenglish.com.

In today’s conversation, which is part one of four, my British friend “Michael” and I begin by talking about whether we are “dog people” or “cat people.” Then we move on to discuss the social etiquette of dog walking – particularly picking up after them in public places.

As always, you can find the full transcript of this podcast and vocabulary notes on our website, www.betteratenglish.com.

OK, here we go!

Conversation Transcript

(Note: Words in bold are featured in the vocabulary list [PDF])

Lori: Would you consider yourself a dog person or a cat person?
Michael: Oh, I’m a dog person, I can tell you straight away.
L: Really?
M: Absolutely, 100% confirmed, dog person. You bet.
L: [laughter] Dog person… Have you ever had a dog?
M: Yes, I have. Yes, I had — let me see, this would be about 10 years ago. I had my own doggy; I had a Norwegian Elk Hound.
L: Oh, was he cute?
M: He was very cute; he was painfully cute. He was great. But I don’t have a dog nowadays, but I have…I walk my neighbors’ dog.
L: Oh right, yeah, Bertie.
M: That’s right, I was telling you the other day. They’re a lovely old couple, who I’ve known for years, but they’re getting on a bit and they’re not so active, so I take their dog out for a walk quite often.
L: OK! Do you have a law in England or in your city that you have to pick up the dog poo when you’re walking your dog?
M: Well, I think it depends on the council, the local government. Because if you go to certain areas, they have signs up and it will say, “Don’t let your dog foul the footpath!” and they will actually tell you that there is a fine of fifty pounds or whatever. I think it can be a lot more than that, actually. But I don’t know whether it’s a blanket law, you know, I don’t know if it’s a law for everywhere. I think it’s more down to the local authorities.
L: OK. Do you notice that people are good about picking up dog poo when they’re out with their dogs? Do you find a lot of, you know, doggy doo?
M: I still see quite a few dog turds on the pavement, I’m afraid. And unfor- I’m sorry to say, and not nearly as much as in the seventies. That was part of my childhood. I remember.
L: Oh, stepping in dog poo, totally, in the summertime when you’re running around barefoot.
M: Oh when it squishes between your toes?
[laughter]
L: Oh. That is, oh, the worst. But at least if you’re barefoot it’s easy to wash off. It’s almost worse when you step in a pile with your sneakers on. It gets all inside the tread, oh man.
M: Oh. Right. OK. Like the Adidas trainers that used to have the ridged soles as well. So it would get.
L: Yeah, or any hiking boots or anything at all that has a, you know, a pattern and ridges and texture on the sole.
M: Well, my parents actually had a special stick and a scrubbing brush which was specifically for getting dog poo off your shoes.
L: Yeah, ’cause…that’s, oh, it’s such an annoyance. But I, you know, I have to say that here in Sweden I think it is some kind of law that you have to pick up after your dog. And when people go out walking their dogs they have little…special little plastic bags, little black bags…and there are actually special garbage receptacles for depositing the dog poo. And people are pretty good about it, I have to say.
M: Well we have those bins here, at least the area that…you know, around here where I take Bertie for a walk. There are quite a few of these special dog bins, these red bins, and there’s a picture of a dog on the front of it. So that’s never a problem. But, for me, still you find that people just let their dogs foul the footpath, even though there are these bins around. And I don’t know, I guess it’s not, it hasn’t quite caught on.
L: Maybe people think it doesn’t apply to them, or whatever.
M: Well, who knows? It’s no fun. I must admit I don’t relish…
L: No, it’s not nice.
M: …picking up the dog’s mess, but…
L: But you pick up after Bertie?
M: Absolutely I do. Yeah.
L: Do you have special little bags?
M: No, I just use my Tesco bags.
L: [laughing] Tesco bags?
M: Yeah, Tesco are great. You know how I feel about Tesco, but…
L: Yeah, maybe it’s almost like I feel about Google.
M: Yeah, Yeah. [laughing] It’s almost to that level. But the problem with that actually is because they’re typical plastic supermarket bags, you know, and so they’re actually perforated.
L: Oh, dear.
M: Yes. If you don’t hold the bag in the right place, then there can actually be contamination, and that’s not so nice. So…
L: Oh no. Oh dear. Well, are they…? That sounds like they could be big as well, so it could be a bit unwieldy.
M: All right. Quite. They’re quite big.
L: You should just take some little plastic baggies with you.
M: Well. Yeah. Yeah. I suppose so. But I manage OK with the Tesco bags. You know?
L: I could send you some from here…special plastic doggy-poo bags
[laughter]
M: No. That’s OK. We do have them here in England you know. But…
L: I hate to think of you getting contaminated. I think Bertie would probably hate it too.
[laughter]
M: He’s very cute. But I’m afraid, you know, his poo does smell. So it’s… you wouldn’t think so to look at him, but..Yeah.
L: Well anyway, we’re digressing. Enough about dog poo. What do you think the best thing about doggies is?

…hear the answer in part two!

Final Words

Thanks for listening. We’ll be back soon with part two. This is Lori from BetterAtEnglish.com signing off until next time. Bye for now!

Download full transcript and vocabulary list (PDF).

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23 Comments

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Comments

23 Responses to “Real English Conversations: Don’t step on the dog doo (part 1 of 4)”

Sahm on October 10th, 2008 02:04

I would like to appreciate for your web site.
It’s the very ‘real’ English conversation with kind full transcript and thoughtful notes.
Though it’s my firt step to this site, I’m already waiting for your next class.

Best wishes
Sahm from Korea
Prinkle | India on October 10th, 2008 10:31

I’m a big fan of Lori now.

The way she delivers her dialogue in podcast is really great!

Outstanding voice.

Now I’m switched to Butteratenglish from Eslpod
Lori on October 10th, 2008 12:13

Thanks Sahm, I’m glad you are finding B@E useful, particularly the transcripts. Preparing the transcript is very time-consuming, so it’s good to know that people appreciate the effort! I hope to post the next episode on Oct 13.

Thanks Prinkle, I’m blushing now! No need to “switch” podcasts, though — the more podcasts you listen to, the more opportunities you have for learning!
Claire on October 11th, 2008 18:26

Still alive and kicking, wow!
Lori on October 11th, 2008 21:41

Hi Clare! Yes, still alive and ornery as ever. So sorry for the long silence, but I hope to be able to post at least somewhat regular episodes from now on. For better or worse, haha!
Mabel on October 13th, 2008 05:18

Don´t step on the dog doo, where can I find the following chapters?
Tks in advance
Thomas on October 13th, 2008 16:01

Hey!! Lori is back in da house!! I’m sooooo glad!! I thought you formed a band and were singing or something. Now I have something (podcasts)to look forward to every once in a while!………..hmmm…in the conversation you said “…here in Sweden” so I was wondering if you are back again in Sweden now or you did this episode when you were still in Sweden?

Anyway it’s great to hear from you and Mike again.
Lori on October 13th, 2008 16:56

Mabel, the three remaining parts haven’t been posted yet. They’ll be coming soon

Thomas, thanks for the enthusiasm! Yes, the episode was recorded last autumn, when I was still in Sweden. I’m aiming for one podcast a week, but my workload is highly variable, so that’s a very optimistic goal. Michael is not always available these days, so I’m looking for another BrE native who’d be willing to record with me. Michael is a tough act to follow, though…
Parvinder Singh on October 14th, 2008 13:10

Hi Lori,

This is my first visit to B@E. I found this pod cast very realistic. How did you get such unusual & rare topics? I haven’t heard this type of lesson before. Other 3 parts would be more informative!

I’m also going to listen “uncensored English”.

Above Prinkle from India commented well your voice and style of presentation is really great!
Behnam on October 15th, 2008 15:34

Hi Lori,
How are you? I hope everything is going well with you.
Thank you for your powerful site. I am interested in your site, and I have been one of the visitors of this site for two years. I was very sad for some months that you were silent. Thank you for starting again.

Your way of teaching is really great. There are a lot of reasons for this claim, but the most important one is that you are, in fact, two teachers with two different accents; British accent and American accent. Therefore, the students (I am one of them.) get much benefit from this site. They kill two birds with one stone!

I have got a suggestion, or recommendation. Please try your best to make us know the differences between American accent and British accent.

I hope to hear more from you. Please keep on teaching.

All the best,
Behnam, 15 October, 2008 (From Iran)
David on October 18th, 2008 21:06

Dj here from Bolivia….. I really appreciate your Real English conversations.. Lori …. and I hope you won’t quit doig this for us, they are very helpfull for us and we are very thankfull for that ……well ……we’re ready to rock again ….let’s do it…..bye……
eli on October 22nd, 2008 15:03

hi lori!
i want to tell that i really enjoy hearing your conversations with michael and it really helps me to improve my english, because most of the time in my english lessons we usually do writting exercises and don’t do many listenning.
well, oh and another thing is the topic’s conversation are really interesting and funny!
thanks lori and michael!
it’s great hear from you again!
bye!
eli..from argentina..
blixa on November 15th, 2008 10:16

Hey, Lori!

Lori’s come back!! My ears and I really appreciate it

Keep rockin’!

Thanks for your help,
blixa
Igor on November 23rd, 2008 19:58

Oh, Lori! Thanks god you continue your podcasts. I missed you, your voice so much!
Sauda Saleh on December 23rd, 2008 15:45

Hi Teacher Lori,

I found you the best in the style of teaching English. I bless you and your partner Mr. M.
Both of you are good enough to teach the Language English. Teacher I have certain ideas to tell you to make betteratenglish much better than ever. I will tell you if you like to .. ..

Take a good care
Sauda Saleh, Lahore, Pakistan.
Jamie on February 23rd, 2009 23:08

HI LORI!

LOVE YOUR PODCAST AND THE WONDERFUL JOB YOU ARE DOING WITH YOUR FRIEND. I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO LISTENING TO NEW PODCASTS!

BEST REGARDS!

JAMIE
joly on February 26th, 2009 12:03

I just downloaded your outstanding four podcasts “Dogs and their owners”.

My ears need to be trained yet because I never had the opportunity to follow such real, spontaneous and fast conversations.

Thanks for transcripts that are so useful. I realize I am far from catching the whole “lecture”.

Keep up helping us (I am 70 years old and decided to improve poor English language rests from my young days).
Amir Attari on April 9th, 2009 11:07

All I can say is that your website is fantastic! You’re helping us learn English as easy as possible.
Thanks a million.

Amir Attari
Iran
Marie on September 12th, 2009 00:43

Wow, your podcast is amazing! It’s so helpful.
Thank you so much!
William on October 1st, 2009 22:55

Hello, it is very nice lesson but for my is difficult because I need more study.

Thanks

William – Ecuador
wilson chan on December 6th, 2009 21:22

it seems suit me to practice the listening with the script of cause.

many thanks
M. on January 13th, 2010 02:28

Hello,

First of all, I’m not a native English speaker, please, pardon my mistakes.

I’ve read the first part of the transcript (so far), have to say it’s really well and thorough!

I have a question though: when they talk about Tesco chain I’ve got an impression that they mean it in a sarcastic way, as in “cheap bags, but oh well, what you pay is what you get” – perforations in this case. And the answer seems to fit perfectly – G. as in “overfed giant” which is starting all sorts of negative trends, judging from the media.
I was genuinely puzzled by the explanation that the person who mentioned Tesco is extremely fond of it – a complete opposite of what I initially thought.
Am I completely wrong here? Please answer if possible,

Thank You!
M. on January 13th, 2010 04:17

I’d like to add – have read the entire conversation by now, – I’m truly grateful, learned quite a bit!
One more question if I may: in the second part when the conversation goes about the inbred dogs, the word “crackers”, is it common to use it as a synonym to “retarded”? Never seen it used in this context, I had an impression that it’s rather reserved for a mildly racist slang term for a white person (e.g. “crackers can’t dance”).
Again, thank You very much for Your work!