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?

only 1.5 m from the path... of course childrenare going to wander around and explore. pick it up.

tunip, I suspect someone has misinterpreted statistical data in the writing of that article!
American Humane Society reckons:
Dogs
* There are approximately 78.2 million owned dogs in the United States
* Thirty-nine percent of U.S. households own at least one dog
* Most owners (60 percent) own one dog
* Twenty-eight percent of owners own two dogs
* Twelve percent of owners own three or more dogs
* On average, owners have almost two dogs (1.69 percent)

Cats
* There are approximately 86.4 million owned cats in the United States
* Thirty-three percent of U.S. households own at least one cat
* Fifty-two percent of owners own more than one cat
* On average, owners have two cats (2.2)

Thank you brdgrl. That makes sense.

I really dont know how I feel about this my gut feeling is ALWAYS, ALWAYS pick up on paths and near paths. On the other hand I wonder how many of the people, happy to come and flame a dogwalker for not picking up EVERY poo, own cats who SHIT ALL OVER THE PLACE...my sisters garden is covered in it (unburied), she doesnt own, or even like cats.

Off the beaten areas of woods will almost certainly have deer, rat, mouse, bird and, foulest of the foul, fox poo on them.

Can I second "Why don't we have an [arf] emoticon?"