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?

Did you mean 'off the beaten track' in 6 foot grass covered in nettles and ragwort? annie? If so YANBU - kids should not be encouraged to run around knee high in nettles, and ragwort can also make you blind and cause serious burns.

If you meant on the side of a well used path YABU.

Appropriate name paula

But the OP was not "off the beaten track", miles from civilisation in the wilds of Wester Ross or in the Cambrian Mountains. She was 1.5 metres from a footpath, and near enough for a car driver (like you see in so many forests) to be able to challenge her on her disgusting habits. That sounds to me like a normal, everyday suburban dog walk as done by millions of dog owners every day.

Blimey. Saw the thread title and presumed it would BU as I really hate it when people leave their dog shit behind. Some of these comments are a bit harsh though.

I would have thought a small plastic bag is a tiny part of a dogs carbon footprint.

obvioussockpuppet - I'm quite prepared to accept people don't like dogs or poo, fair enough, and I have no issue with anyone who disagrees with me. It's the folks who are getting so downright overwrought and hand-wringy who have me going . And then [arf].

Me: AIBU?
Everyone else: YABU, kids could still step in it.
Me: Fair enough.

Me: AIBU?
Some nutters: YABVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVU, I shall poop on your windowsill, fling shit at you and smear my period blood all over the woods! Won't you think of the CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLDREN!!!
Me: Arf

Why don't we have an [arf] emoticon?

YABU. Stick and flick method is an improvement on swinging chandeliers of shitebags, but that shouldn't be happening either. Just take it home so the forestry commission don't have to deal with it either. Your dog, your shit.

I can't let my kids off the paths at all because they appear to be shit magnets. I can't afford to keep binning shoes! In fact, not only are YBU, but you owe me kids shoes OP.

x-post. The period blood revenge does seem a little excessive.

YABVVU and disgusting! I curse people like you when my kids come back from playing in the bushes/park/ field covered in dog poo because the lazy scuzzy owner can't be bothered to pick up. Wiping dog poo off the pram wheels used to be a daily occurrence too when they were younger.

I think dog owners who don't pick up their poo should have their dogs taken off them.

Where do your kids find all this dog shit? Mine are always off in the woods and have very rarely, if ever, stood in shit. The only shit they ever seem to step in is the stuff even more inconsiderate dog owners leave right in the middle of the footpath.

So are you going to pick it up tomorrow OP? Perhaps not the one done today... although maybe it's still there?

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, let me say it again for turnip's benefit, my dogs do not shit (or are picked after) on fields, paths, parks etc etc etc.....

1.5 metres from a footpath is not really that far, is it?

There's a footpath between my house and the local parade of shops and I've noticed that people don't pick up after their dogs if they crap on the grass verges either side rather than the path.

I guess this is why.

It's rank, I hate having to shout at my toddler not to go on the grass because it's covered in dog shit. 1.5 metres? That's less than my height, it's really not far.

But you know all this already

I don't always pick up my dog's poo either. I live in a very wooded rural area and in the depths of those forests the only traffic in places where my dog goes is other animals. Humans of any age would not be there even exploring, believe me. It is patently ridiculous to pick up from there. However, I would always pick up the poo left by my dog on the paths or traversable areas of those woods, and it goes without saying that I always pick up on pavements, etc.

I hate dogs because of all the shit people leave & it gets worse when its been snowing. why do people leave it when it snows??

Every time someone like you says they don't pick up their dog poo it makes the non-dog owners put another black mark against the rest of us.

The amount of places that dogs can run off leash is getting smaller and smaller because of issues exactly like this.

Unless there is a 'stick and flick' sign then please pick it and and bin it/take it home.

Do bears shit in the woods?

Thankfully my DC seem to avoid falling/standing in/eating dog/horse/cow/hedgehog shit even though we walk miles over the week.

They must take it off me as I have reached the grand old age of 28 without ruining a pair of shoes in a pile of shite.

Do I get brownie points for explaining reasonably why I think shit should be picked up without being a bitch?

Yes weasel. And extra brownie points for your awesome name!

Well, it's full of fields where I live, so I don't pick up after our dog when she does it on there. There's no kids, no nothing around here but moose, foxes, badgers and deer.

However, if she goes near any kind of civilization I bring the bags!

So, Annie, to summarise: YABU and are now a legitimate target for all those who hate dogs, dog owners and the forestry commission.

Other dogs can still run through it though, right?

So you leave your dog's shit there, then another dog runs through it. Not great?

I don't particularly want to clean my dogs paws every time we get in the house on the off chance that you've left a turd lying around and she's run through it.

Do your dogs shit under bushes in parks too? Anyone could throw a ball under a bush any time and find their hand covered in your dog poo whilst retrieving the ball. You can't be sure that no one will ever stand in your dog's shit because they hide away and do it.

She has said not in parks.

Op what if Martians landed and got poo on their green feet? They might have come in peace but then decide to destroy all of mankind.

You disgust me.

Or the Martians might love it Pickles and make dogs the master race.

Still don't know if she's picking up tomorrow or not. I shall think of this thread when I stoop to scoop tomorrow morning!