Active discussions

Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Help me solve the dog shit bag mystery!

30 replies

Allromanticsmeetthesamefate · 13/07/2026 11:18

So someone this morning, roughly half an hour ago, or so,put a dog shit bag through our letter box.

We do have a dog, a Labrador, however she has not been walked around our area for months due to both having a large garden (almost an acre) and also her daily routine of an AM and PM trip to our yard to see our horses where she gets a lot of exercise.

I haven’t yet opened the bag, that feels like a job for DH, but strangely the poo feels small in weight and absolutely not Labrador size.

We live in a cul-de-sac of a main road and have absolutely lovely neighbours, both sides and I just don’t think would even ever consider putting a poo bag through our door.

We did have one isolated incident around a year ago where a builder had left one of our side gates open and our Dog had managed to get to the front of the house and had a poo in front of one of our neighbours gardens which he politely pointed out and DH apologised profusely and picked up but that is only such incident, that we aware off, in 9 years of owning her.

We also have a cat, and I have to say the poo weight feel very much more in line with what she would produce but the cat is almost always in our back garden and surely no one is putting cat poo through our letter box?!

DH is at work and is quite friendly with one side of our neighbours and they do have a camera that covers our house so maybe the mystery will solved.

OP posts:
TheChosenTwo · 13/07/2026 11:21

Why would you ever think the bag needs opening? 😱😱
I suspect someone thinks your dog is shitting on their front lawn and so they’ve decided to give back what’s yours. Except it can’t be because you’ve not taken your dog out.
Check the doorbell footage, hopefully you’ll recognise the postie and you can go and have a conversation about it.
Honestly some people are batshit!

7238SM · 13/07/2026 11:23

Are you sure its poo and not someone returning a toy/item to you- admittedly weird to put in a poo bag though. Don't you have any disposable gloves to open and check what it is?

Original poster
Allromanticsmeetthesamefate · 13/07/2026 11:23

TheChosenTwo · 13/07/2026 11:21

Why would you ever think the bag needs opening? 😱😱
I suspect someone thinks your dog is shitting on their front lawn and so they’ve decided to give back what’s yours. Except it can’t be because you’ve not taken your dog out.
Check the doorbell footage, hopefully you’ll recognise the postie and you can go and have a conversation about it.
Honestly some people are batshit!

Haha I’m just curious if it’s a poo my dog could have produced or if from a cat.

It’s unfortunate that I would know this, but there you go. 😅

OP posts:

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Dogs
Original poster
Allromanticsmeetthesamefate · 13/07/2026 11:26

7238SM · 13/07/2026 11:23

Are you sure its poo and not someone returning a toy/item to you- admittedly weird to put in a poo bag though. Don't you have any disposable gloves to open and check what it is?

Definitely not a toy, all mine are teenagers and unfortunately due to not realising the deposit straight away there was definitely a distinct smell in the hall.

OP posts:
Cherrysoup · 13/07/2026 11:26

I'd be asking the neighbour to have a look at his camera footage. Odd.

Shewas · 13/07/2026 11:29

I think it will be the cat. I know it's accepted practice to let cats foul neighbours' gardens, but I've never understood quite why that's Ok.

redboxer321 · 13/07/2026 11:29

I think it's the cat's poo. Not something I would do but I do understand why people get fed up of cats pooing in their garden. Appreciate it's not something cat owners can really do anything about.

7238SM · 13/07/2026 11:32

I do understand why people get fed up of cats pooing in their garden. Appreciate it's not something cat owners can really do anything about

Surely cat owners can cat proof their own gardens so the cat only poos there?

Original poster
Allromanticsmeetthesamefate · 13/07/2026 11:35

Yes I think Cat too and I also do get the frustration of cat poo in your garden.

We keep her in our back garden as much as possible and she prefers it in there anyway so still not convinced she is the culprit but unlike the dog could not guarantee it.

Its just odd they wouldn’t come and speak to us first, we have a good relationship with all our neighbours and like to think we are very approachable.

OP posts:
redboxer321 · 13/07/2026 11:43

7238SM · 13/07/2026 11:32

I do understand why people get fed up of cats pooing in their garden. Appreciate it's not something cat owners can really do anything about

Surely cat owners can cat proof their own gardens so the cat only poos there?

I don't have much knowledge of cats but I believe they need to roam and the benefits of them roaming outweigh the risks.
Believe me, as the owner of a lurcher type dog, I'd be very happy if cats were kept in their garden!

Rondayvu · 13/07/2026 12:11

Not all cats are made to roam some are happy indoor cats like mine and my vets in fact.

redboxer321 · 13/07/2026 13:17

Rondayvu · 13/07/2026 12:11

Not all cats are made to roam some are happy indoor cats like mine and my vets in fact.

Ok, some need to roam. As I said, I'd much prefer if none of them roamed!

YesIKnowThatThankyou · 13/07/2026 13:23

It’s a cat issue (especially if no one else has one in the vicinity).
We fling our neighbour’s cat shit back over the fence.
It’s toxic and if we had small children I would go to further extremes.

Rondayvu · 13/07/2026 13:23

Oh same cos other cats come into my garden to try conquer my poor kitties territory as he doesnt go out himself!

Victorius19 · 13/07/2026 13:24

Our ndn's have got 2 cats that use our garden as a toilet. And I spend my life patrolling to look for it before I can let my dogs out as they will eat it and given both are prone to colitis, it often means a trip to the vets.

Thankfully they've got a shed at the bottom of the garden and a little area next to it so I throw it back over and let it pile up there. I do have to say that it seriously pisses me off though.... I only wish my stupid dogs were better at chasing cats Hmm

Bricayak · 13/07/2026 13:27

It sounds like it’s probably the cat. I wouldn’t put it through the letterbox but having lived where many neighbours had cats and I had small children, it’s miserable when a cat chooses your garden to be its toilet because it tends to go there everyday. I know people say cats are allowed to roam but it’s horrible, and I wish it wasn’t treated like it’s okay.

aliasfrog · 13/07/2026 13:28

Allromanticsmeetthesamefate · 13/07/2026 11:35

Yes I think Cat too and I also do get the frustration of cat poo in your garden.

We keep her in our back garden as much as possible and she prefers it in there anyway so still not convinced she is the culprit but unlike the dog could not guarantee it.

Its just odd they wouldn’t come and speak to us first, we have a good relationship with all our neighbours and like to think we are very approachable.

It's really weird, and I think something like that should be ignored unless it happens again, and then report it to the council ot police.

They need to grow up and talk to you about what the issue is instead of doing something so disgusting.

YesIKnowThatThankyou · 13/07/2026 13:28

Victorius19 · 13/07/2026 13:24

Our ndn's have got 2 cats that use our garden as a toilet. And I spend my life patrolling to look for it before I can let my dogs out as they will eat it and given both are prone to colitis, it often means a trip to the vets.

Thankfully they've got a shed at the bottom of the garden and a little area next to it so I throw it back over and let it pile up there. I do have to say that it seriously pisses me off though.... I only wish my stupid dogs were better at chasing cats Hmm

You have my sympathies. I patrol too as our dog adores cat shit! Despite spending a fortune on Origen. Little bugger, have to scrub his whiskers, lips and teeth if he finds some.

Friendlygingercat · 13/07/2026 13:56

Some years ago when I got my first set of cctv cameras there were thumbnails of one of my neighbours depositing a black bag in my bin after it had been emptied. When I checked it was full of stinking tins of cat food. I don't have a cat or any pets so the bag ended up right back on her door step. By then there was a slit in the bag and some of the smelly contents leaked out all over her step.

When I first moved into the area the NDN used to leave her wheelie bin on bin day in front of my gate. Each week I moved it back to where it should have been, in front of HER gate. The following week it was always back because she was poor at taking a hint. Over the christmas period there the bin was again, opposite my gate. Plus a few black bin bags which the refuse men will not take. My friend dumped the bin and the bags back on her drive and - oh dear - the bags had split so the rubbish blew all over her path. The bin men would not take it so there it all was when she returned from work. It never happened again.

I believe in quietly returning property to the appropriate owners when they have apparently "lost" it. It saves an argument (where I go nuclear) and gets the message across wonderfully.

Stompythedinosaur · 13/07/2026 14:05

It's probably the cat, and a neighbour with an odd way of addressing their issues.

I admit, is want to know who, so I hope the camera has something!

I think posting poo through a letterbox is far more antisocial than having a pet cat.

Original poster
Allromanticsmeetthesamefate · 13/07/2026 19:07

The funniest update.

after informing my husband of the shit bag incident he came back from work and instantly went to our friendly neighbours and asked if the camera was working, which unfortunately it wasn’t and they both said they hadn’t seen anyone…

DH also held the bag up and agreed it was too light for Labrador bomb and was probably the cat and some absolute lunatic with poor communication skills, eldest DD also had risen by this point and joined in with the speculation and said she actually found that behaviour quite threatening especially as no one else on our street owns a dog, to have poo bags.

DD (20) nominated herself to open the bag so we could see what animal the poo came from but she definitely wanted her breakfast first.

Somewhere in the midst of this youngest DD arrived home from riding and cool as a cucumber and unaware of the drama of the morning announced that eldest DD had left her Pandora bracelet in a mutual friends car due to keeping it safe on a trip to the beach, friend had popped in in a “bag” and was going to drop it off…

Well you can guess the rest.

In my defence I did not squish the bag, just went by weight, did not want to open it because eww and turns out our lab has a bit of sensitive tummy today as has been doing lots of pumping all day which would explain the smell in the hall!

Mystery over but who the hell puts a laden Pandora bracelet in a dog poo bag!!! 😅

OP posts:
Wizardonabroom · 13/07/2026 19:19

Removed as saw OPs update. Very funny.

7238SM · 13/07/2026 19:45

I'm glad it turned out to be an absolute non issue which could have been solved 8hrs ago when I suggested it might be returned item and to put gloves on and have a look.

ThinAir7 · 13/07/2026 19:48

Did it not chink when you weighed it in your hand? This is so funny😁!

Cherrysoup · 13/07/2026 19:52

I discovered a wild raspberry bush in the field where I walk the dogs. They were all ripe. I used a dog poo bag, which probably received a few odd looks as I waltzed past the dog poo bin and carefully carried it to my car. 🤣 I’ve done it a few times since with the wild blackberries/sloes. Whatever’s handy!