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.

Having to own another living creature for self-expression when you have a long commute and cannot offer it the attention it needs is...pretty appalling. Making an animal suffer for Instagram pics - that's fucking cold.

A "dog person" can still, as leaveby10 describes, get enjoyment from being around dogs without owning them. But that doesn't seem to be fashionable.

Sorry leaveby but I can guarantee not everyone finds you dog lovely and there are certainly many people that would not be smiling at it.
It's actually the dog owners that are smiling (in a very, isn't my dog great way) as I hold my nose and cross the road.

Wordthe: I totally agree. This trend for treating a dog like part of the family makes a lot of money for these companies though.

I'm afraid I also do this quite a lot now @Starzig
I see a person approaching with the dog and there it is ....the grim swinging bag of fecal bon-bons
If at all possible I will cross the road if not I hold my breath as I walk past, I don't want to breathe it in

It's just so vile, as soon as I leave home I'm assaulted by the sight of defecating dogs everywhere

Actually feeling real pity now for some posters on this thread, you must live in some horrific areas, I thought mine was bad but I've never seen all this shit and filth and disease and dogs that smell so bad you even have to hold your nose in the open air, it be so miserable. Where I live is considered very deprived but it's not this bad. I suppose no one can't blame any of you for feeling the way you do if you live in such awful areas with so many terrible dog owners.

ADastardlyThing I was thinking the same, some posters must live in really awful areas .
The area I live in has a lot of dogs and a big green space with frequent dog walkers. I have encountered dog poo on the street once since living here (and it was notable as it’s so rare, it was even posted on our village Facebook page!).

The mess on the pavements is real.

As a runner I have to dodge it frequently. I run round the residential streets - where there are a few schools and a lot of pedestrians. However there are wide open fields within a short walk so I don't see why the dog walkers can't head off up there instead of leaving mess on the pavements for children to walk in, and pram wheels to spread around.

Grim.

Dog shit is a national crisis the streets are utterly vile

I'm not a fan of dogs at all but I think this is a massive overexaggeration. It was far worse in the 1970s and also dogs were allowed to roam wild. I was terrified of one down the road from me, it would chase me down the street when I was about 10. Horrible thing. At least now they do tend to be better looked after.

But they are pets and an indulgence. Other than guide/hearing dogs, not a necessity and they shouldn't be an inconvenience to others. Where I live there are more and more houses being built and of course many of the families moving in have dogs. But there aren't enough green areas despite the development of SANGS and so you get more and more conflict between dog owners and those who want to go out running/cycling or just walking in the countryside.

The Cardiff example is interesting and quite sad. But those of you live in the Bristol area may remember the Little Stoke parkrun fiasco. Ostensibly stopped because the runners damaged the paths (complete nonsense, they are tarmac), but actually because dog owners had to absolutely walk their dogs between 9 and 10 on a Saturday morning and no other time and didn't like those pesky runners being around.

Our current Big Shitter likes to pick the pavement next to the primary school. It only really takes one or two to turn a street into a shitstrewn obstacle course.

Satsumaeater Wow, is that true about the dogwalkers stopping a parkrun? Selfish fuckers! How did they do that, complain en-masse?

And actually dog owners who pick up shouldn't feel too smug about it either. Perhaps some of it ends up being incinerated or properly composted but the majority is being wrapped in plastic and sent to landfill. Where it will very slowly degrade over decades, releasing methane, micro-plastics and pathogens into the environment.

Maybe it isn't top of the list of the ways that humans are destroying the planet, but mass pet ownership (cats and dogs) is still an environmental issue, and one that shouldn't be ignored just because it's a popular hobby. Pet owners need to consider where the waste ends up and seek better ways to dispose of it. And consider owning fewer pets altogether.

@starzig I know - you wouldn't be smiling...but we can't please all the people all the time...Your reaction is quite extreme - freshly bagged poo outdoors doesn't smell very much at all, you must have a very acute sense of smell, which must make life very challenging for you. Ever thought of putting that nose to good use - a perfumer?

Afaik that's not true re parkrun, it was because the runners wanted sole use of the park so the council wanted to impose a fee if they wanted parts of the park closed off to other users (a friend used to volunteer and it was on his Facebook)

Where do you think rabbits, birds, foxes etc poo?

My mistake it wasn't because they wanted sole use www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/little-stoke-parkrun-outrage-after-parish-council-becomes-first-in-world-to-charge-runners-to-use-a6981736.html

Haven’t read the whole thread but I live in a city and there are far too many dogs and cats.

Plus people who feed foxes and badgers and hedgehogs with no care for the dynamics of the more vulnerable wild animals they don’t see. Trying to point out to people that feeding badgers could be really bad for creatures further down the food chain is met with blank looks, people don’t care because a badger in your garden makes for a good picture.

Cats where I live don’t seem to bury their poo - I’ve heard not burying is a sign of stress, and common when lots of cats are occupying the same area.

People seem to think animals are just accessories who should fit into human lifestyles. It’s a real shame.

Where do rabbits and birds poo?

The dog population is kept at an unsustainably high level by humans

this is not the case with populations of wild animals
In some instances rat populations fox populations etc do get out of control and cause problems
when this happens we cull them

When pet populations get out of control the pet industry rubs its hands at the prospect of increased profits and redoubles its efforts to persuade us that dogs are really fur babies so that we spend more money on them and buy more of them to make ourselves feel happier

I think that if you have space/garden enough to toilet your dog on your own property is in your own garden then that's all well and good. People who have a small flat or whatever and bring their dog outside specifically to shit on public spaces is just gross. Where I live people also let their dogs piss against lamp posts and it just runs across the pavement. It's foul especially outside food shops etc. I don't really see why dogs are allowed in any flats.

Dogs are the new vermin

My thoughts exactly babymama

Leaveby it is the smell of dog that is horrible. My smell is not acute but as a dog owner you probably don't notice the dog smell but as a non dog owner I will. To me it is stinkier than some smokers.

Dogs are the new vermin
This. Should be banned.

Bollocks is that true about ParkRun @Satsuma

I divide my time between Cardiff and Bristol with DDog, and am quite plugged into local dog-related social media for both areas (eg Facebook groups). I didn't hear so much as a whisper about ParkRun on the Bristol groups (by contrast, the Cardiff issue was everywhere on social media). I've honestly never heard anyone complain about ParkRun in a dog related context either.

Some dogs are stinky - especially if they have rolled in fox poo but my dog is more likely to smell of my perfume - not that you would believe anything an evil dog owner would say - he really is low on odour - I used to have a lab and regardless of how much time I spent with him he really smelled quite strongly of dog, not that I minded!

The little stoke park Run was stopped because the parish council wanted to charge park run U.K. for using the park. It is against the park run philosophy to pay to use a location.