Dogs and poo and public areas. Why isn't this practice questioned more?

[Exgiraffe]

Just returned from a walk (with dc, no dogs as I don't have one) and started to think about how extraordinary it is that people take dogs on walks in public parks and green spaces specifically to give them the opportunity to poo!!

Why isn't this practice questioned more by the community? Surely dog owners are the minority so why aren't communities discussing this and requiring dog owners to change their behaviour and encourage dogs to poo at home.

This is especially an issue in cities where green grass and space are limited. Even if dog owners scoop up the poo there would be remnants on the grass where unsuspecting picnickers sit and children play upon.

Where else should people walk their dogs if not in public?

I see what you are saying but it's not realistic is it?

All kinds of wild animals are peeing and shitting on greenspaces. It's nice to walk your dog different places.

And you can't control where an animal poos. My dog would rather hold on than poo in the garden. In fact I've actively encouraged him to use the garden because I'm sick of his fussing for a walk as soon as I've got up.

They don't only poo once a day either.

I don't have a problem with a dog walking around in public. Just the poo issue.

And I know often the purpose of the dog walk is to allow the dog to do a poo outside of the home.

Was just wondering why it is so accepted and unquestioned by the general community since it is pretty unhygienic if you think about it. Especially in cities and places with limited green areas. So wondering if others are thought similar?

We don't take them out to poo, we take them out to exercise them....they may or may not shit on the walk, well mine don't . I'm not a dog nutter and I have three DC but it's totally reasonable for dogs to be out and about in public.

For me it's simpler than that - movement causes dogs to poo once their system is working.

My dog will crap in the garden but on a decent walk she will do a MASSIVE poo - it's her system being efficient

The cheek of dogs doing that. Someone has to invent a non shitting non peeing dog.

Also non shitting pigeons, tidy trees, non muddy forests.

Nature is so unhygienic.

Poor dogs, as long as it's cleaned up and it makes sense once they are moving about.

Its not the pooing, it’s the lack of dog bins, owners not removing said poo or putting it in bags and leaving it there.
That’s a big problem in the Uk.

It would be great if dogs would only poo at home, I'm a dog owner and have dc and I'm fed up of other people not picking up after their dogs.

However in the green public spaces near me I've never once seen dog poo, it's so clean and with the number of dogs out with their families I can only assume the owners clean up properly as I do.

It's the pavements around housing estates that are terrible in my area.

I understand exactly what you mean op

I live opposite a lovely open area & people let their animals urinate & defecate right outside my gate & look in in window

There is nothing wrong with exercising your dog/s but please clear up after your dog or better still let it poo in YOUR space

I agree that the problem is people not removing their dog poo & allowing them to wee up peoples fences & gates

I hate it too. I feel if You have a dog should be suitable size for your own property. (And not bark if you are in a residential area).

Also people get up in arms about men pissing in the street so why is it OK for dogs to do it.

What about cats pooing in public areas?

(I should say that my dog only poos in our garden. He’s a creature of habit! But they’re not the only domesticated animal to poo in public spaces)

Cats are fastidiously clean and bury their faeces, Soydora! Mine carefully sniffs the soil after burying, and if there’s any trace of a smell, will bury it some more.

Then why is there always a fresh cat shit on my front lawn every morning?

I think people generally walk their dogs to exercise them. The pooing is a side effect of the walking. Think the exercise gets their guts moving!

I'd be perfectly happy if my dog only pooed in the garden but she will poo on walks as well.

Dog had a poo in the back garden this morning. Went for a run and had another. Poo bag out, cleaned up the best I could. My DDog has just come home to me skin and bones and I'm feeding her up , so maybe she will poo more often. Can't be helped. I can't put a cork up her bum each time we go out!

My dog only poos when out on a walk and we do take him to a local unofficial dog park and he will not go in the back garden and yes I pick up every single poo he does

I still have to pick up right stinking cat shite every week out of my back garden though

TBH, it's the irresponsible dog owners (those who bring untrained unmanageable dogs to parks and then sneer at small children their dog has knocked over with "FGS, it's a PARK, you shouldn't come to PARKS if you don't like dogs") that are the biggest problem. Unfortunately, there seem to be so many horrifically entitled dog owners, and responsible ones never seem to call them out, just sneer at other park users.

I do get where you're coming from. Our local play area lost all its swings over the summer because some entitled dog fucker decided that the 90% of public park their dogs had the run wasn't good enough for them. So they brought their dog into the one small "dog-free" corner and let it chew the (rubber) swings to shreds. Cue no more swings for the kids that whole summer holiday as the council don't have the budget to replace them, just remove.

I don't think its at all workable, sadly, but if we could nudge public attitude a little bit more towards "using this park for my dogs is a privilege, and everyone in the city pays for its upkeep so I should behave or be banned", and away from "I OWN this fucking green space I'll let my hound shit where it fancies, bark and jump and bite whoever it fancies and it's their lookout" then a lot of the aggro would go away, without the least impact on people who actually pick up after their poo, train them properly, leash them when needed for theur/others safety.

I have a dog, and young dc as well. Poo that's not picked up riles me, but I've always thought it funny that dogs walk up and down the streets peeing on everything, no one ever goes around cleaning the pavements, but in town centres when some drunk idiot pees in an alley, the street cleaners clean that up! Is dog wee more sanitary than human pee?

My dog is yet to do a wee or poo during a walk and only ever goes in our garden, but I just don't see how your issue is something that can be fixed? Dogs need to be walked in order to be exercised and if a dog starts to wee or poo during that walk what is the owner supposed to do? Catch it in their hands before it touches the floor? You house train a dog to toilet outside but then when it's on a walk outside it needs to learn not to toilet? I'm not saying that training couldn't be achieved but most are already holding it in while indoors and then have to hold it in while on walks, which I'm sure for those with larger breeds can last a couple of hours. Also, I do not agree with people with no gardens should have a dog but many do so what is their option when they have no outside space?

Granted it's not as common or as large(?) but how do you propose to deal with foxes? Hedgehogs? Rats? Rabbits? Badgers? Pigeons? Cats? Squirrels? Stray dogs?

Yes, wild animals do shit in public places too, but the difference is that there are naturally very few meat-eating, top of the food chain type wild animals in one area. Thousands of dogs and cats being kept in one neighbourhood isn't a natural situation, and nature isn't set up to deal with that volume of potentially disease-carrying excrement. Particularly if people leave it in plastic bags, FFS.