DS’s and Dog poo duty

[Jphunt]

My DS who’s 11 and other DS who’s 14 are expected to do various bits around the house/garden and one of the jobs is clearing the lawn of dog poo every day or two.
We have a medium sized garden and two big dogs so it needs to be cleared regularly. I do it sometimes but I ask my DS who’s 11 and other DS who’s 14 to do it too.
I was telling another mum that this was one of the jobs my DS’s do and she was horrified. She said it was a job for grown ups only as it was too dirty for kids.
Do you think I'm being unreasonable?
I get them to double bag the poo bags on their hands and and our dogs are fed a good quality food so their poos are easy to pick up. The dogs are regularly treated for parasites and the kids wash their hands afterwards.
None of them mind, to them it's just part of having dogs. They'd rather do ‘poo patrol' as we call it, than unload the dishwasher!
Many Thanks

[Feralkidsatthecampsite]

We have 4 ddogs and 4 under 16's. All but the 5 yo pick poo!
Ds 16 pays his siblings a quid if he has bigger ddog out and she needs a poo!!
Waaay beneath him to do it himself...

[Jphunt]

@Feralkidsatthecampsite do they double bag and I’m guessing they are all ok and happy enough doing it I explained to the other parent it’s an essential part of dog ownership for kids to understand about and take responsibility for

[sunshinesheila]

Maybe she is not a doggy person... mine have to be able to pick the poo up and get the dog good with recall before they can take them anywhere. Part of having dogs

[pigsDOfly]

No reason why they shouldn't be picking it up. It's a shame more people don't realise that picking up poo is part of owning a dog.

But wouldn't it be pleasanter for them if they picked it up as soon as the dog deposited it? Why leave it for a couple of days so that it becomes more of a chore?

I have one small dog, when she poos in the garden I pick it up immediately, as I do when she poos in the park.

Can't imagine why anyone would leave it in their own garden, there must be flies everywhere.

[Feralkidsatthecampsite]

No double bagging. Lots of bins near us.
If ds complains I just tell him I haven't asked him to use bare hands and hurry up!!

[heatseeker14]

My kids are a similar age to yours and have bagged up dog poo. It doesn’t happen very often, but I would have no shame in asking them to do it. They wanted a dog and said they would walk him, so they have to pick up his poo.

[moosemama]

One large dog and three dcs aged 18, 16 and 11 here. Rule is, any poo gets picked up as soon as it’s deposited and whoever goes out with the dog clears it up. If the weather is bad, whoever lets the dog out watches from the kitchen window, then nips out and cleans up.

The exception to that is ds1, as he has health and contamination related OCD and Is phobic of the garden, let alone picking up poo.

They all love dogs and the younger two will definitely want their own as adults, so I try make sure they all understand the full extent of what having your own dog involves.

[MissShapesMissStakes]

I pick up poo daily - if I see ddog do it I will pick it up straight away. We all use the garden a lot. I'd hate it hanging around there for days!

Saying that my kids pick it up too- ages 8 and 11. Its just a part of being a dog owner. We don't double bag and wash hands after.

[blacktop]

Meh, each to their own here I think. I wouldn't expect a child to take responsibility for an adults choice to have a pet though. I don't have a dog because the idea of picking poo puts me off. I guess children should be allowed the choice? If they are happy to do it then it's fine, if not, it isn't a 'job/chore' I would insist on them doing.

[cautiouscovidity]

Your 14 year old is barely a 'child' and your 11 year old is plenty old enough to do this hygienically. Fair enough if they were young children, but they're not. Your friend is being very unreasonable.