Every dog has its day and for city pooches it is this Saturday at Hove Park where they are invited to take part in a show organised by Brighton and Hove City Council.

The only conditions are that their owners bring along both an ID tag and a poop scoop bag.

In case you didn't know, this is National Poop Scoop Week which has been organised in a heroic attempt to keep our parks, beaches and pavements free of dog dirt.

I don't know what other activities could or should be staged but it's a sign of the times that the week is taking place at all.

Turn the clock back 35 years and towns such as Hove were in danger of sinking under the collective weight of dog dirt.

Owners widely ignored the innovative dog lavatories in the park, claiming they were too dirty for their animals to use. Instead they allowed their animals to defecate almost everywhere and criticism was often met with a volley of abuse.

It made visiting parks and walking along pavements an obstacle race which all too often resulted in failure for the parents of young children. Things became so bad it was impossible to sit down in safety on the grass of Wish Park, St Ann's Well Gardens and other open spaces.

One of those slow shifts in public opinion has taken place over the years so that it is now regarded as unacceptable by most people for dogs to leave mess on grass or in the streets.

Poop scoop bins are in almost every park and the scale of the problem is indicated by the fact that when Hove started doing this it was collecting half a ton of mess a week.

I fancy the change of attitude has been a factor in causing the first real drop in dog ownership for many years as some owners would rather not have dogs than clear up after them or face the public obloquy if they do not.

But a further decline in numbers would be highly welcome in closely packed urban areas such as the coastal towns of Sussex. There are simply far too many dogs for the space available. It's not fair either on the dogs or those who have to put up with their unpleasant habits which besides pooing can include persistent barking and frightening people.

Most dogs are athletic animals liking nothing better than to be active for much of the day. Yet many of them are kept cooped up in flats or cars and few are given the exercise they deserve.

Big dogs are fine in the country where they can enjoy the open air but their freedom is severely cramped in towns.

While most parks have small dog-free areas, it would really be better to look at this the other way and reserve parks for people, fencing off small areas for dogs.

Not to put too fine a point on it, even if the poop is cleared using a scoop, it has still been on the ground making it unpleasant and possibly unhealthy for anyone to sit there even if no visible sign of the poo remains.

On fine summer days, you can see people sitting on Hove Lawns or on the beach with a few large dogs running freely around and it is not always a happy mix.

It might not be a bad idea to bring back dog licences with fees graded on the size of dogs were it not for all the bureaucracy involved.

Certainly many people could benefit from having instructions on how to look after their pets with an emphasis on continued daily care including plenty of outdoor exercise rather than buying them on impulse and then ignoring their needs.

Categories in Saturday's dog show include prettiest bitch, most handsome dog and the animals in the best condition. Although it is being held as part of National Poop Scoop Week, I can see no category for how to clear up after their dogs unless this is included in Best Party Trick.