Poo, I wonder....

[cutteduppear]

I was walking the dog with a couple of friends last week, we were on a private farm track (public footpath) about 5 mins walk from the nearest (isolated) house. The track is bordered by fields and woodland, in a very rural area.
The dog went for a poo on the edge of the track, up a bank covered in ivy, dead leaves and twigs. This was about 3 ft away from the track and up a 3 ft high bank.

One of my friends was disgusted that I didn't pick up the poo. I wondered....I would pick it up if it was anywhere near habitation or children. I have poo bags and know how to use them, but never take them on that route, nor do any of my neighbours with dogs. I never see any poo there.

My friend said that the bank was the kind of place where her son (had he been with us) was likely to play.
My other friend didn't think it was an issue.

Am I a dirty sociopath?

[DickSwivellersTidyWife]

I would pick up any poo I could reasonably get to without having to climb into a hedge/down an unstable riverbank. I walked ours today and it was simply depressing how much shit and litter there was, everywhere

[minimuu]

Always pick up poo wherever it is (but it is a very rare occurrence as I train me dogs to poo/wee before they leave home)

[toboldlygo]

In the circumstances described I would leave it but, Thunderbolt, please pick it up in fields! Even if there's no livestock in them at the time there might be horses on it the very next day, or a hay crop being grown. Flicking/kicking well into the hedge would be fine.

[toboldlygo]

Perfect. :) I am a flicker/kicker in the countryside, only pick and bag in public parks, on tarmac, in town etc. but cannot bear the thought of dogs crapping where my horse grazes, when my own dogs do it it's buried in the muck heap or flicked well under the hedge. I do the same out of courtesy on grazing land for cattle and sheep.

[wildfig]

I live next to a similar footpath which is used by a lot of local dog walkers, and the general consensus seems to be that if the dog poos within about 200m of the houses, it's picked up and bagged, otherwise it's kicked into the hedge or bank, out of the way of boots, or hooves, or bike tyres. If my dogs poo in the woods, they tend to go off the track anyway - usually in pursuit of the copious unbagged badger/fox/rabbit/hare/squirrel poo that's already there.

I'd much rather people booted poo into the hedge than collect it in bags and leave it dangling from a branch for the poo bag fairy to whisk away at dawn.

[wildfig]

Sorry, too much poo. I've made it sound like I live next to some giant outdoor dog lavatory... I don't, honest. It's really very clean.