So much dog poo - what can be done?

[AntiDogPooBrigade]

Fines aren't working. Dog wardens are nowhere to be seen. Increase in dogs has meant a huge increase in the amount of poo on our pavements and in our parks. I am beyond fed up of it.

We need to do something. But what?

And before the dog people pile on saying it's only the minority, it's only a few, they've never seen dog poo on the pavement, I attach EIGHT photos from this morning alone, that I took on a small stretch of road where my DC go to school. I have reported this street to the council, as it is prolific here, and they cleaned it on Friday. So all this poo is fresh from sometime after Friday afternoon, to now. And it is not just one dog.

The thing is that you can say it's disgusting but obviously the people who do it don't care what you think.

Putting out free bags would be great if that was why they didn't pick it up, but it's not.

They just don't want to so there has to be an actual deterrent or punishment.

It definitely happens after dark. I should start going for a run early in my estate and catch a few of them.

My pet hate is owners who dawdle off ahead and don't watch their dogs like a hawk. I've yelled at a couple to tell them their dog has pooped behind them and I don't budge until they pick it up. I am quite gobby and a fast runner though.

Our local council did put out free bags and signposts to nearest bins, of which there are several in my neighbourhood. There’s still those who tell me ‘ the rain takes care of it’ etc etc.

Full disclosure, I have 2 labs, and they generate large turds. No way would I miss it. But even walking them ‘off piste’ as it were, we are dodging others leavings. I have no problem offering others bags, or pointing out that their dog has pooped while they amble on ahead. I hate picking up other dogs cold poo though 🤮 It’s like nappies, different when they are your own .

I would be happy to be registered and tested , but that scheme needs to be fully self funding.

It got a lot better for a while but it seems to have exploded again. I assume it’s lockdown and huge number of dog purchases.
It’s awful, something needs to be done, I noticed loads yesterday

It takes all of about 5 seconds to pick up a dog poo and I say this as a dog owner. I also hate the fuckers who do the half a job of picking it up then tying it to a tree or just toss it, so it can be ripped open!

It really is an owner issue! As for bits being left after picking it up OP - If the dogs diet is good, then there won't usually be.

I don't know the answer either but I definitely agree there should be dog licenses as so many clowns have dogs and don't train properly or anything.

Same goes for bits of spit on the ground! I see so much of that and it makes me rage!

I'm a dog owner and completely agree with you. I think the problem is that some people let their dogs walk off lead and are unaware of what they're doing. They are either on their phone or walking along and their dog is way behind them so they can't see them. Then you get the people who want a dog but don't want to pick up after it so will take their dogs out when its dark. Then you have the people who bag it up but are too lazy to find a bin/take it home so just hang it on a tree or throw it into bushes.

I'm not sure what the answer is. I do think there needs to be more waste/litter bins. It amazes me how much general litter there is about. This country has really gone downhill.

Extra bins won't help. Free poop bags won't help.

Some dog owners are just fucking lazy and couldn't care less about picking their dogs mess up. Nothing will change that!

Every single school run I have to warn my kids about at least 2 dog shits.

Bring back street cleaners.

I agree with the general state of the place. I'd like to see a clamp down on litterers too, but it doesn't bother me as much when my child walks on an empty crisp packet as it does when they stand in poo. But yes, it looks dreadful, and all the cigarette butts, chewing gum, vape things. But by far the worst is the dog poo.

Agree - the machines with the water and the scrubby circling brushes. With bleach. Funded by dog owners.

I think we should have dog wardens who not only fine dog owners, but name and shame on social media. Or better still, we put them in stocks and throw dog poo at them.
Good brainstorming session, MNers, I think we have the answer.

I had to hose my pram wheels off this morning, didn’t even see it until I got home.

Huge issue round here.

I have literally no idea what the root of it is. Dogs off lead so people don’t see them go? Doesn’t really account for the pavements as people tend to have dogs on leads.

A friend has a neighbour who just lets their dogs out loose into the street, meaning they poo everywhere. I’m not sure how common that is.

It's disgusting, keeps happening in my village, the parish council are always posting signs, putting messages on the village social media page and in the village magazine, we have loads of poo bins and even have free poo bags but still it happens, baffles me as to why?! You get a dog you know you have to pick up it's poo!
I spend my whole walk to and from school looking at the floor and steering my daughter if she's not spotted some.

Its the same where I am in Ireland, I am constantly saying "oh mind the poo" on our walk to school & I have a pushchair with me so it's constantly dodging it. Up near the school is a patch of land & I've noticed a load of poo bags just thrown in over the gate too. There are loads of dogs out around our walk to school but they all have bags etc with them & I've seen them clean up after. It's put up on our local page about it but nothing happens. There is one house in particular that is always been pooed outside & the owner cleans it & has put up a sign pick up the poop . It's ridiculous as there is literally a bin about 5 steps from the house, people just leave it in the middle of the path.

There are just far too many dogs. We have almost 13 million in the UK now, compared to 8.3 million in 2011 and given that owners haven't become better owners in the interim, that's a whole lot more discarded shit around.

Same around mine as well. I reported some last week (a massive pile) and was able to give the exact location as it was just outside someone's gate bit I'd also put in the report there were smaller deposits all down the same street...the mess I'd reported outside the gate was gone but not the rest. Why if the cleaning team were out and it said on the report that there were further messes couldn't they have have just looked, it's not a particularly long street so I don't think it's unreasonable. Plus there's shit every 10feet or so!

Dogs should all have number plates,

(so should cyclists)

I've noticed increase myself - it really is gross.

As a dog owner myself, I would absolutely be happy to have to license/register my dog, and have any tests done which could lead to my dogs identity being found if I was to miss a poo.
I take cleaning up after my dog seriously, and in the 2.5 years that I've owned him I've unfortunately been caught short without a poo bag three times. The first time I was about 5 mins from home so took him home, grabbed a bag and drove down to pick it up. The second time I knocked on someone's door to ask if they had anything to use, and the third time I was super close to a bin so picked up a stray receipt that was on the floor (yay for litterbugs!), used that and threw it directly in to the bin.
The reasons for being caught short was my own forgetfulness/not checking how many bags I had on me - so I now no longer own a jacket/coat that doesn't have a roll of poo bags in the pocket.
I would never leave a pile of dog dirt for people to trample on.

It's noticeably worse in London where I live at the moment. I'm not sure if it's because it's cold or something or whether the council is doing less street cleaning. I hate it

Dog poo not a problem round here, but we've got broken glass, McDonalds wrappers, pizza boxes, cigarette packets etc. Disgusting people are the common denominator, not dogs.

I notice it constantly on our school run and my own dog walks too. Lack of bins aren't the issue, there's loads round here that all accept dog waste. (They need to be emptied more regularly, but that's another issue, however even when there's loads of space, pavement poo still persists). We even had free poo bags for a while which also didn't help. It's everywhere, pavements, rural paths, in some cases piles right next to the bloody bin! I have emailed my MP about it as it's just so horrible. I report it to the council online regularly too, but it's always too late because by the time they turn up (if at all) it's already been smeared all over by some poor persons shoes or pram wheels. If I have my own poo bags with me I will just pick it up to avoid the inevitable mess, along with my own dog's. But that isn't fair on the responsible dog owners, it's one thing accepting dealing with your own dog, why should I have to pick up after everyone else's?

I agree with pp, its owners who either just don't care and are staring at their phones with their dog off lead nowhere in sight, and so are unaware of when their dog has shat. Or are aware but can't be bothered. That's not acceptable. Clearly fines don't work, I've never clocked anyone doing it to be able to report them.

Yet when I travel out of the UK it doesn't seem to be an issue. Last year for eg I visited a Couple of different Spanish cities and saw people walking dogs. But no poo anywhere. And their pavements were spotless, mostly litter free, and had been cleaned every morning despite the water shortages in some places. What are other countries with cleaner streets doing differently? Do Spanish people just care more? Do they have higher/more taxes that pay for the regular street cleaning? Whatever it is, we need to implement it here too. It's disgusting and we must look so backward and dirty to visiting tourists.

Absolute pet hate of mine. Streets are covered in it. Grassy areas unusable by kids because of it. It’s even on the football pitches.

It does seem worse in the uk than any other country I have been to. Even in countries with stray dogs, there was never such an issue as we have here.

I think we all need to get on to our MPs and nag them about this. I am at the end of my tether with it.

Yanbu. It’s everywhere. I live on a road connected to a footpath leading to woods and a field and dog walkers regularly walk down my road to get to it. The amount of dog poo down my road is disgusting and has increased massively since Covid. I am constantly telling my children to watch out for the poo. That or cleaning it off my pramwheels or the kids shoes. There are free dog poo bags hanging up on a few signposts nearby so there’s really no excuse. And the ones that do bag it up seem to leave it hanging on trees or just on the floor. I caught one woman who had entered my front garden and put it in my garden waste bin (which had just been emptied!) she ran off when I asked her what she was doing! Absolutely vile and I wish something could be done about it. There are signs about fines but I highly doubt anyone ever actually gets fined.

I’m a dog owner and would completely support licensing and paying a decent fee for actual dog wardens.

A lot of the owners who genuinely think they are great at cleaning up after their dogs actually ignore the fact that while they are in the park power walking, on their phone, talking to their friends, their dog is laying a huge dump behind them and then it comes charging up behind them - it takes less than a minute and the owners are totally oblivious . My dog has to be on a lead and I see this all the time.

I live in a very nice area so when I tell the owners, they generally look embarrassed and say thanks and go and clean up. Totally believe they would clean it up if they saw it but seriously pay more attention to your dogs people!!!