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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not always pick up dog poo...

106 replies

ThinkingInColour · 26/03/2016 09:44

I walk my dog in a very remote, rural area. She is pretty consistent in the general area that she normally goes to toilet on a very old, rarely used lane which is bordered by a massive over grown thicket hedge and woodland. I usually get a stick and knock it into the hedge. No one really walks down here, no one would ever get through that hedge and see it no different than a fox having a poo there - which many do! If I am in a public place, on a public footpath etc of course I'd always pick it up. But picking it up there means carrying smelly poo for three miles home as no bins etc and seems unnecessary
AIBU?

OP posts:

FreeSpirit89 · 26/03/2016 12:45

As a dog owner, YABU.

You knew you'd have too scoop poop when having a dog. Don't wanna do it, don't have the dog!

Slutbucket · 26/03/2016 12:48

I live in a rural location there is a lovely path full of dog shit it is awful. Pick up your dog shit!

AnthonyBlanche · 26/03/2016 12:50

We have exactly the same problem near us Slut. We have all but given up going for walks in some very large and lovely woods which are practically on our doorstep becuase of dog shit everywhere. It is absolutely disgusting and stinks on warm days.

CaptainMarvelDanvers · 26/03/2016 12:50

My dog likes to stick his nose in other dog's poo, YABU. Just pick it up, it's not that hard and you get used to the smell after a while.

mamadoc · 26/03/2016 12:51

YABU

I grew up in a rural area and recently went for a walk in a fairly remote woodland much as you describe. I have fond memories of childhood walks with my grandad there. I was really shocked at the accumulation of dog shit practically everywhere you looked. It was nauseating and completely spoilt my enjoyment.

The area is popular with dog walkers, there are no bins so I guess they all 'stick and flick'. When I was a kid it definitely wasn't like that and that was when no-one routinely picked up after their dog BUT there were less dogs. It's probably OK if it's just one or two but if it's lots of dogs every day it will just build up to disgusting levels before it has any chance to degrade.

I have even less sympathy with leaving it in a bag on a fence. Take it away with you. How hard is that? If you don't want to deal with dog shit don't get a dog.

PoshPenny · 26/03/2016 12:52

The new forest is full of dog shit bags hanging in trees and bushes because there aren't bins to dispose of the bags in out in the open forest. It would be better that the owners took the bags of shit home with them to be disposed of appropriately or the turds were left to degrade naturally having been stocked and flicked rather than bags flung in trees to hang there for years.

WhoTheFuckIsSimon · 26/03/2016 12:54

I always pick up and carry it with me even if I carry it miles. Even in areas with posters advocating "stick and flick". I will sometimes if I'm doing a "there and back" route tuck the bag somewhere a bit hidden and pick it up on the way back.

I saw something mind bogglingly gross the other day. In the country side and a dog infront of me had a shit on the path. Bloke picked it up with a poo bag, then shook the poo over a stone wall and folded the now empty bag up and put it in his trouser pocket!!! And I'm 99% sure as he shook the poo out he turned the bag inside out so surely he would then have had the shit touching side of the bag rubbing along in his pocket!!

AnthonyBlanche · 26/03/2016 13:00

The stick and flick thing is a mistake. Dog shit is extremely hazardous to farm animals and wildlife. The compulsory DNA testing is definitely the way forward. All of you who think it ok to make your dogs shit someone else's problem would soon learn to pick up and take home with you!

As others have said, if you don't want to pick up poo don't get a dog.

Peaceandloveeveryone · 26/03/2016 13:02

I always pick mine up even in remote areas, it's awful to see/smell/tread in when you go off the beaten track. I use biodegrade able bags and take them home if no bins.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 26/03/2016 13:06

gets halfway up a rocky hill covered in heather that no person in their right minds would walk up

Sounds like exactly the sort if place a child would enjoy climbing....

This is the problem with the "if it's well away from the path I leave it" mentality. Many, many people, especially children, enjoy running and roaming off the path. It'd be great if they could do that freely without worrying about getting covered in dog shit.

And the shit of other meat eaters eg foxes is far less prevalent than dog shit.

GinAndColonic · 26/03/2016 13:15

Yabu. Dog poo is not like other poo like horses etc due to their diet it takes a long time to biodegrade. I heard 7 years but I am not saying that as fact.

On top of that is filthy and germ ridden and you are introducing that to local wildlife. He could have worms etc.

I always clamber to clean up after my dog no matter how tricky to get to its my job.

Minisoksmakehardwork · 26/03/2016 13:28

Whilst I loathe stick and flick, I understand why forestry commission and similar places have that policy. Most of the ones I've been to have no bins at all as you are required to take all your rubbish with you. But; it does mean I have to watch my children like a hawk when actually I'd love them to just get on and explore the natural areas without having to stick to the footpath or worrying that what they pick up could make them ill.

As long as stick and poo are flicked well into a thick, impenetrable to humans bush, then I guess carry on. But if there is even the smallest chance the bush could be used for hide and seek, a den etc. Then please bag and remove, or bury it.

It's one thing coming across wild animal faeces which is to be expected in wooded areas and from what I've seen most animals choose specific areas to regularly toilet in. But it's careless and inconsiderate not to clean up after an animal which you are responsible for that is toileting willy nilly where it stands.

MinecraftyMum · 26/03/2016 13:29

gets halfway up a rocky hill covered in heather that no person in their right minds would walk up

Sounds like exactly the sort if place a child would enjoy climbing

Er no. The particular heather covered rock face i'm thinking of is in the Brecon Beacons...and nowhere any sane adult would walk (or even be able to), let alone let their child play on (assuming a child had managed the four hour walk to even get there of course).

When I say I leave my dogs poo in inaccessible areas, I do actually mean inaccessible.

AnthonyBlanche · 26/03/2016 13:43

Minecrafty you need to train your dog to shit somewhere you can pick it up and take it away. Even if no human is likely to step in it, it is still a hazard to wildlife and sheep.

crappyday · 26/03/2016 14:42

I think YANBU.
But had to comment on the post which said that dog shit is worse than fox shit. Have you ever smelt fox shit? It's really gross. Much worse than dog imo.

I always pick up after my dog if we're anywhere accessible, but when I walk in private woods I stick & flick.
And private- as in, no other people walk there.

fresta · 26/03/2016 14:48

So putting it in your bin at home protects wildlife ? Who are you trying to kid? Where do you think it goes from there? And what about the bag?

Crazypetlady · 26/03/2016 14:57

Train your dog to shit somewhere you can pick it up

That is one of the most ridiculous things I've heard on here.

AnthonyBlanche · 26/03/2016 15:01

fresta dog shit is toxic stuff. In the amounts it is abandoned by dog owners taking their pets on nature walks it definitely has a detrimental effect on farm animals and wildlife. I don't think there are many foxes, badgers, rabbits, mice etc etc raiding the average wheely bin. Some household rubbish is now incinerated and the rest buried in land fill - which I admit is a problem especially with plastics. Perhaps the solutions are to either dramatically reduce the amount of dogs in the country or, as I suggested upthread, teach your dog to poo at home and then pick it up and flush it down the loo.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 26/03/2016 15:01

That is one of the most ridiculous things I've heard on here.

Why? Guide dogs are taught to shit in a particular place at home, at a particular time. It would be far better if dog owners trained their dogs to shit on their own property - that solves the whole problem of the poo bags into land fill (you can just pick and flush) and it solves the whole problem of dog poo in public places.

It is the attitude of a few dog owners that results in the number if places where dogs are welcome being more and more restricted.

AnthonyBlanche · 26/03/2016 15:02

Why is it ridiculous crazy? Lots of dogs are trained in that way.

BlackMarigold · 26/03/2016 15:04

Yabu. Its just as easy to pick up poo as it is to use a stick to flick it into hedge.

Sallygoroundthemoon · 26/03/2016 15:38

YABU. As a child growing up in the country my friends and I would roam for miles. We scrambled around everywhere, in exactly the sorts of places you think it is OK to leave your dog's shit. Be a responsible owner, pick it up, bag it and carry the bag home with you.

Noofly · 26/03/2016 16:54

My dog is trained to poo on command, but he has to have eaten around 10-15 minutes before and it still doesn't stop him needing a poo on a long walk- there's something to do with exercise that stimulates their bowels. I don't know how to train him to not poo when he needs to go.

I hate the idea of flicking poo into the woods. My children love to explore off paths and have trodden in too much poo for me to think about. I pick up no matter where our dog goes and if there are no bins about I carry it with me- wish more people would stop hanging poo bags from trees and just carry it. I figure I've manipulated dead squirrels and dead birds from our dog's mouth (already dead!). A poo in a plastic bag won't do me any harm.

BitchyComment · 26/03/2016 17:01

I used to walk a dog that was trained to poo on the drain grates at the side of the road. The poo used to fall through the slats. It was nearly 40 years ago when people generally didn't pick up after their dogs.

apricot72 · 26/03/2016 20:10

Just curious as to whether people know farmers that pick up their dogs' poo? I live next to a very rural farm, the farmer is up here every day with a combination of his 8 or so working dogs and he doesn't pick up poo. Fact. Neither I suspect do any of the farmers round here. If I am on the private farm land or on a bit of open rough fell where no-one goes then I also don't pick up (though I do flick if needed eg; away from a gate). I don't believe poo takes 7 years to bio-degrade because if it did we would have a lot of poo round here and we don't. So in my view there are some circumstances where not picking up is more acceptable than bagging up in a non degradeable bag and sending said bag to a giant landfill to fester and not degrade for millions of years.... I await a flaming.

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