AIBU to think you only need to pick up dog poo....

[AnnieLobeseder]

... where there is less than a one in a million chance of someone actually stepping in it?

I know I'm probably opening myself up to a flaming here but.....

I have taken great pains to train my dogs to poop way off the beaten track, under bushes etc etc. Plastic bags are an environmental hazard, as is incinerating dog waste. Dog waste itself is a natural biodegradable product, and in only a problem if it gets stepped in. So while I pick up and dispose of my dogs' droppings if they go near paths, on greens or anywhere else I think there's a chance someone will step in it, I don't if I consider where they go to be 'safe'.

Today, Large Dog was doing her thing on an overgrown bit of grass, past which was a ditch and a fence, a good 1.5m from the footpath. This was not a bit of ground that I would expect anyone ever to be walking on. So I didn't pick it up.

A lady driving past stopped and gave me a bollocking for not picking it up, and shot back a sarcastic "Oh really?" when I said plastic bags aren't environmentally friendly and no-one was likely to step in it. Um, yes, really.

So, AIBU to not pick up dog poop in pedestrian-unlikely places?

You have a dog, clean up after it. It's not rocket science.

YABU, many times I have had to climb into awkward, hard to get to places to clear up after my dog. It is part of being a responsible dog owner.

Balls also roll into those downhill places off the footpath, so the kids go after and they get covered.

YABU (and I'm surprised because I almost always agree with your posts!)

I don't think it's up to individuals to decide where they think it's reasonable to leave dog shit. As others have said, children love to roam off the beaten track, under bushes etc. Basically if you want a dog, then you should clean up after it. Fox poo? Totally irrelevant; foxes aren't pets so no one has a responsibility to clear up after them. If a toddler gets covered in fox shit, it ain't pleasant, but it's no one elses fault. If a toddler gets covered in dog shit, it's because some lazy slob couldn't be arsed to clean up after their pet.

Yadbu!! Grim. Wherever we are, we always pick up the poo and would never just leave it.

Environmentally friendly???? Dog shit is one of the most toxic substances kids can be exposed to; you're an absolute disgrace to even consider leaving giant dollops of it everywhere, whether you consider it off the beaten track or not.
Pick up your shit

The fox shit comparison is nonsense btw.

And yes agree enjoyGOLD - it's a bit laughable that anyone is seriously trying to use the environmental argument about not wanting to use plastic bags as an excuse. If it bothers you that much, use a reuseable plastic box/bag which you wash out after use. If you can't be arsed to do that, don't have a dog - it isn't rocket science

Yabu and frankly give dog owners a bad name.

I spoke to a forest park ranger a short while ago about his job. Hevtold me his job had become more of a 'gather dog poo bags' than rangering, having just retrieved 130 bags from one smallish woodland walk sirte. He said the bags are left hanging and can fall off/become a hazard, and if they put bins in it would be even worse. it would be far better, he said, if people let their dogs go under bushes away from the paths (there are areas rarely used by pedestrians). I tend to agree with him. You know where people are unlikely to be and it sounds as though you are in a fairly rural area.

However i hate hate hate people who dont pick up after their dogs around paths/tracks and even worse, in towns/on estates. You sound like you are being considerate, however tgat women might have known that bit of area better and you should pick up if someone is that concerned to stop and say something, no matter how rudely she may have put it!

So YANBU in your approach, but perhaps YWBU that you didnt head someones concerns in this instance.

yabvvu dog poo is dirty and dangerous and just getting dogs to poo where you can't see it (out of sight out of mind) does not mean an exploring child won't step in it.
if you have a dog you pick its poo up

YABU.

This is why I make my children stay on the path. Because of dirty people like you, OP, ruining the countryside so people like me worry about children exploring and restrict their freedom . It may be a natural product, but it can cause blindness. I am terrified of my kids going blind so I don't let them explore.

You mean more than a one in a million chance.

And YABU

You are being unreasonable and very, very lazy.

And foxes don't shit where people walk.

My bil used to let his dog run into bushes and shit, he said if he didn't know where it was then he couldn't pick it up. he had a very good dressing down by myself.
It can make kids blind and its horrible cleaning shoes with shit on. I have actually thrown some of the kids shoes out when caked in a huge chunk of dog crap

But cats can shit where they like and its fine because they are classed as free roaming.

I see where you are coming from OP and I do think it comes down to where you walk your dog. But I think I would have to be absolutely sure before I left it.

Also, is dog poo toxic because its dog poo and thats just how it is, or is it because of dog food?

YABU, unless 'off the beaten track' means 'deep in the woods where only other dogs are likely to wander, through brush and bracken etc'. Because I don't pick up dog poo deposited deep in a patch of nettles. Anywhere near a footpath/park/road/people place, though, you've got to bag it and bin it.

cats bury their shit though so its not like your going to stand in it.
Its only when weeding or digging in the garden you may come across a cat shit. unpleasant yes but I would not garden without gloves on.

wannabe here is a link explaining why dog poo is dangerous
here

There is a parasite in cat poo that's bad if you are pregnant...which is why people use litter trays...but other cats who poo outside at least usually bury it.

Dogs do no such thing.

For the poster who asked, it is specifically dog poo thats toxic to very young children. No idea why though.

Okay, accept I am BU. I didn't know it was toxic, just smelly, in my defence.

And I do still believe the environmental angle. Even biodegradable bags don't help much when it's all being incinerated.