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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think not all city green spaces should be dog toilets?

74 replies

Cumberlover76 · 07/05/2014 09:40

I live in a city with a number of parks and green spaces and every single one is used as a dog toilet. I find it annoying and disgusting that i can't find any grass in the city (apart from very small segregated play parks) to sit on or let my DD run about on that hasn't had a dog shit or piss on in the recent past. I am aware that dog owners need to let their dogs shit exercise their dogs, but i think that there should be much bigger areas in parks and some green spaces where dogs are not allowed. Is this the same in all cities or are some better and should i be writing to the local council using them as examples?

OP posts:
goldencity1 · 07/05/2014 10:37

YANBU. I have 2 dogs, and I hate the amount of dog muck other people leave un-picked up!
There are 2 large dog walking areas near me, one a forestry commission place with lots of waymarked paths, café, v small play area etc., the other is a NT house with large park and gardens. Both are very popular.

I have stopped going to the Forestry one because it is a minefield of dog poo...even if people pick it up, most seem to just throw it in the bushes for the dog poo fairy to pick up.
The NT place, never see poo - paths are clean, dog bins emptied daily, every one picks up and bins it. There are areas for off lead dogs, other areas where it is strictly on-lead only and a few no dogs at all...

These places are within 3 miles of each other, both packed at weekends [4000 visitors on last bank hol Monday at the NT place] yet one is disgusting with dog poo and the other not. Don't know why.

riskit4abiskit · 07/05/2014 10:38

We have a baby and dog and I agree. It's not just the poo it would be nice to have picnic without risk of doggy foodnappers!

riskit4abiskit · 07/05/2014 10:39

NT sites are expensive tho!

KnittedJimmyChoos · 07/05/2014 10:41

not if you buy yearly membershp, bit people should not have too

Original poster
Cumberlover76 · 07/05/2014 10:51

I'd like to have a NT membership again, but i'd still have to drive to get to a dog free NT site nearby. It's a shame the NT don't do monthly payments as it would be much more affordable and more people would do it i'm sure.

OP posts:
turtleback · 07/05/2014 10:59

I live in lovely village. Covered in dog shit.

And weirdly bags of dogshit. Someone went to the effort to bag but left it sitting there to get wet and fester. It would be better if they just threw it in a bush without the bag Confused

LoveSardines · 07/05/2014 11:23

yy they do that round here

put the crap in a bag and then leave it on the path - or more often hang from bushes

it is a bizarre effect and arguably worse as it can't get washed away when it rains, it's like walking through a peverse christmas-land with the trees festooned with bags of shit Confused

i mean why would you even do that.

sparechange · 07/05/2014 11:31

I'm not defending anyone who doesn't pick up after their dog, because it is utterly disgusting and gives all dog owners a bad name. But compared to parks and pavements 20 years ago, it is a fraction of the problem it used to be.

And a slightly abstract point, but most green spaces in cities and villages will have their origins in being common grazing spaces for animals...
Clearly no one is suggesting they should go back to being overrun with sheep and cattle, but they've been places where animals and people have coexisted.

Original poster
Cumberlover76 · 07/05/2014 11:42

I'd be more than happy to share my park with sheep and cows, both vegetarian and therefore their shit does not stink as bad. Their manure can be used to fertalize the ground, unlike dog mess which is rank.

OP posts:
LoveSardines · 07/05/2014 11:45

Sheep are OK.

I get a bit twitchy around cows, they are big.

Agree about veggie animal shit being miles less offensive.

Maybe instead of dogs everyone could have those miniature shetland ponies, I could get on board with that Smile

IrrelevantSquirrel · 07/05/2014 11:52

Cumber - The NT do let you pay monthly via direct debit (just joined this weekend).

Original poster
Cumberlover76 · 07/05/2014 11:52

Cows are lovely unless you are at the bottom of a steep hill and they are at the top. They are rather curious and will come down the hill very fast to check you out! Sometimes they accidentally stand on your feet and it hurts, we used to have a cow that loved cuddles!- bulls however are another story!

I'd be happy with ponies, cows, sheep, chickens and other farm animals and just a space in my local park where the dogs don't shit!

OP posts:
Original poster
Cumberlover76 · 07/05/2014 12:02

Do they Squirrel, i can only see the annual DD option on their website, do you have a link or any info?

OP posts:
Goldenbear · 07/05/2014 12:36

I'm in Brighton and there is only one park nearish me that has a sectioned off grass area- 'no dogs allowed' that is not a playground. It is great to play ball games and have picnics without dogs taking your food.

In another park my DP had bought a quite expensive picnic for the himself and DC- Parma ham, crab pate, olives, fresh bread- treat food and a dog literally stole my son's 'creation' as he was about to bite into it. Needless to say the owner didn't give a shit, in fact he was on his phone and mumbled a pathetic insincere apology. DP walked the dog back to him and asked him for some money for the food- the man said he had none on him but seemed a little surprised that he was actually 'responsible' for his dog!

LucilleBluth · 07/05/2014 12:55

Slightly different but just this morning I was dropping DS2 off at school, I let him and toddler DD out of the car, they both ran off and straight through dog poo that was sitting on the pavement, outside a school....I would have the dogs taken away and the owners ver allowed to own a pet again, it is just rage inducing. Lazy, disgusting bastatds.

KnittedJimmyChoos · 07/05/2014 14:04

DP walked the dog back to him and asked him for some money for the food

Glorious!

the arrogance of owners has gone too far, people cannot be trusted with dogs.

KnittedJimmyChoos · 07/05/2014 14:05

lucile

I agree its got out of hand.

FuckyNell · 07/05/2014 14:12

It would be nice to just have dogs poo and wee on their own lawn. Some dog owners live in flats though so that wouldn't be feasible.

My dog loves a good shit and pee on her own lawn; however she always manages to squirt a bit out in the park too. My ds calls it texting her mates Grin

CrohnicallyHungry · 07/05/2014 14:13

Wandering slightly off the topic, when I had a dog he was trained to poo at home, or next to the dog bin, bar the occasional emergency. However, one such emergency occurred after he was chased off the park by an off lead, much bigger, aggressive dog (I dropped the lead on purpose as I didn't want that dog anywhere near me, and I knew my dog would have a better chance if he wasn't tethered to me). The adrenaline must have given him an upset stomach, and once I had him back and was walking home he suddenly, with no warning, stopped and shat right in the middle of the pavement- something which he had never done before or since.

Obviously I picked the poo up, bagged it, and began to carry it home. As I did so, someone came out of the house and began screaming and swearing at me about letting my dog crap outside her house.

I understand how frustrating it must be to have lots of dog owners passing by and not picking up after their dogs- but why shout at someone who did stop and pick up? Apart from anything else, she was so scary that if it happened again I might have been tempted to run for it rather than stop and pick up and have her shout at me again!

chickenwire · 07/05/2014 14:15

yanbu, there's little enough green space as it is.

In the parks there are tiny fenced off sections for children, and dogs get the run of the park. How about the other way around??

Ridiculous to compare it with bird poo as well.

FreeSpirit89 · 07/05/2014 16:08

As a dog owner and animal care worker. I find some of these comments disgusting.

Firstly, Animals off all shapes and sizes do their business on the local green spaces (Cats, Foxes, Rabbits, even some humans I might add) most people pick up after there dogs but the fact you are saying even the fact a dog has been there puts you off is ridiculous! So do you install a new toilet in your house once someone dares to use it?

Its about sharing green spaces, everyone has a right to them. Children want to play in them, teenagers want to doss in them, adults want to walk in them and the elderly like to sit in them. Dog walkers like to walk in them.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 07/05/2014 16:12

But the children/teenagers/adults/elderly are not (mostly) shitting in the park.

Surely a responsible dog owner could train the dog to shit on their doorstep, clean it up and then go for an enjoyable walk in the park.

No body objects to well mannered dogs being walked in the park - why is it necessary for the dog to shit there?

Goldenbear · 07/05/2014 16:36

KnittedJimmyChoos, yes 'arrogant' is the right word- he was laughing whilst apologising!

Ilovexmastime · 07/05/2014 17:14

I can't remember the last time I saw dog shit that hadn'tbeen picked up, are city dwellers just rank? Solution: move to the country!

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 07/05/2014 17:16

Presumably there is a lower concentration of dogs outside of cities

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