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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think picking up dog mess isn't enough?

57 replies

DoggyPoo · 06/02/2013 22:12

I've name changed even though this is a genuine question (expect a lot of flaming but want to return IYSWIM).

Why do dogs have to shit on the pavement? Even when it's picked up it leaves a horrible shitty streak. I know the dogs diet/age will have a lot to do with this but if your pushing a buggy or using a mobility chair it's really hard to avoid.

Why can't dog owners make them "park it" in the gutter? You'd still need to clean up but shitty streaks wouldn't be a concern.

Where I live there a quite a few dogs so lots of turds. Even the owners who pick up still leave a nasty calling card and I have to take my buggy into my flat (I can't leave it anywhere else).

I don't expect pavements to be my personal red carpet but surely dog owners can see that their mess lingers so to do it in the gutter would be better?

Or...

AIBU?

OP posts:
Sparklingbrook · 06/02/2013 22:31

Why do owners take their dogs out specifically to have a wee and a poo? Can this not be done in the garden? Confused

Original poster
DoggyPoo · 06/02/2013 22:32

I'm sorry if this made some think I was dog bashing, I'm not. I don't have a dog but thought I'd stumbled across the golden ticket of training advice!

OP posts:
cate16 · 06/02/2013 22:33

I trained mine easy enough to go in the gutter.

it was a little sod in all other aspects- but always 'went' in the gutter :)

WinkyWinkola · 06/02/2013 22:42

Gutter is a great idea. Every dog owner should train their hounds to do it and then pick up of course.

It can't be hard.

frustratedworkingmum · 06/02/2013 22:47

Sparkling - you don't have a dog do you? Grin

Original poster
DoggyPoo · 06/02/2013 22:53

I didn't suggest anyone detol the pavement or hose it down after their dog went, but rather that Future Dogs could be trained to not go in the middle of the pavement (of all places!).

Why aren't more people training their dogs now?

Shitty streaks are a problem though.

OP posts:
TwelveLeggedWalk · 06/02/2013 22:56

The relative size of the roads around here and GiantDog means he would block the traffic if he went in the gutter Grin.

fortunately he only really goes on grass

toboldlygo · 06/02/2013 22:59

Sparklingbrook - I don't have a garden.

MechanicalTheatre · 06/02/2013 22:59

LifeofPo It's not a lifestyle choice as much as it is a compulsion.

Xmasbaby11 · 06/02/2013 23:02

I see your point, OP. I do like dogs, but their habits are vile.

piprabbit · 06/02/2013 23:06

I worry about the people who stop to pick up the poo with their little plastic bag and then decide they can't be asked to take it home so they fling it in a tree.

Why?

Why bother picking it up at all?

If left on the pavement it will eventually wash away. Fucking shit baubles in the trees will stay wrapped in their non-biodegradable bags for eternity.

Booyhoo · 06/02/2013 23:07

maybe dog owners could carry a supply of little disposable trays that they could slide under dog's arse as soon as the back legs bend Grin

MyDarlingClementine · 06/02/2013 23:08

BobbyBird

"My dog often craps without warning so directing him into the gutter is a no no. I'm sick of this dog bashing."

What about a dog nappy?

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 06/02/2013 23:08

YANBU.
Having a dog is a choice not a necessity. I'm all for people having choice, but not when it negatively impacts other people. A shit smear is still dog shit and it still gets on my dogs shoes. And that's when people can actually be arsed picking up after their dogs. And presumably those who do pick up are the ones that lovingly festoon trees with their shit bags.

And to the poster up thread who said someone had a go at her for not picking up off the path in the countryside. They were right too - children love walking off paths and have a right to do so without being smeared in dog shit.

If your dog does a shit you pick it up. If it leaves a smear you pick it up. If it does a massive runny poo you wipe it up.

People are getting more and more fed up, and I am starting to believe that perhaps a total ban on keeping dogs isn't actually that extreme and unfair.

Booyhoo · 06/02/2013 23:09

'cant be assed'

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 06/02/2013 23:09

And it's not dog bashing. It's feckless selfish lazy dog owner bashing.

MyDarlingClementine · 06/02/2013 23:10

"I didn't suggest anyone detol the pavement or hose it down after their dog went, but rather that Future Dogs could be trained to not go in the middle of the pavement (of all places!)."

I can envisage a Dragons Den pitch including an extremly small lightweight pressure hose ruck sack, to hose pavement after dog has shat on it.

I wonder if the same people that freak out about skid marks in thier loo - then take thier dog for a walk and don't blink an eye when it shites all over the pavement?

Floralnomad · 06/02/2013 23:11

itsallgoingtobefine where do you get your dogs shoes from ? My terrier could do with some wellies

Booyhoo · 06/02/2013 23:13

btw i'm a dog owner and i think dog shit is vile, including the shitty streaks. i carry a squirty bottle with water to sluice any remains if my dog poos while out although i try to get him to go in the garden before we have our walk. i don't think it's unreasonable to ask that people to leave the streets as they find them, this goes for littering and chewing gum and fag ends and dog shit smears.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 06/02/2013 23:17

Oops - I meant toddlers shoes - I couldn't see through the rant induced red mist.

But dog shoes here (they have other styles, and socks)
www.ruffwear.co.uk/dog-gear/bark-n-boots-grip-trex?___SID=U

Floralnomad · 06/02/2013 23:20

Thanks for the link but its really wellies he's after !

Original poster
DoggyPoo · 06/02/2013 23:26

Thank you to everyone who has posted.

I think picking up dog shit should mean just that: pick it up.

If you are leaving shitty streaks then you're not not cleaning up. People still can't use that part of the pavement if there's shit on it.

Well done to Booyhoo and others alike. I'm beginning to think I Am Not Being Unreasonable to think dogs should not and do not have to shit on the pavement.

OP posts:
CoolaSchmoola · 06/02/2013 23:41

My dog only toilets on grass, I then pick the poo up I leave the wee!.

If we are road walking she will hang on until we reach some grass.

I wouldn't train her to crap in the gutter because a dog in the road, even in the gutter, presents a hazard to road users. It's a risk to the dog, and other people. The owner would also be at risk bending into the road to pick up the doings. It's just potentially dangerous all round.

Yup, grass toileting is the only way forward IMO.

musicmadness · 06/02/2013 23:42

Where on earth does everyone live?! I have never in my life seen a shit streak on the pavement. Not once. It can't be that common. I've seen the odd bit of dog crap that hasn't been picked up but never enough to make me think there is a major problem with people leaving it. Maybe it just doesn't bother me as much or something, sure it's a bit annoying if people don't clear up after their dog but I can't say I've ever felt particularly bothered or angry about it. The poo bags in a tree thing bothers me a lot more!

My dog doesn't like crapping unless he can tuck himself under a hedge or something, he's been the same since he was a puppy. Even if he didn't do that automatically I'd never train him to go in the gutter, we live near a busy main road and it would be dangerous for both him and me.

Floral your vet might have some for sale, mine did :)