Dog Poo on the walk to school is getting ridiculous!

[OhJustPassTheCake]

AIBU to want to personally "police" the dog walkers in our area to make them pick up poo on the goddamn PATH TO SCHOOL!!!???

We live in a very child friendly area, lots of playgrounds and green spaces but the path to school runs right along a playing field (which clearly states that dogs should be kept on leads at all times, but this is massively ignored). Dog walkers actually congregate on the playing field and there is literally dog sh** everywhere, we have to dodge it every single morning.

There is an alternative way to school but it involves roads, which the playing field way doesn't, plus, I don't see why we shouldn't take our chosen way to school just because of in-considerate dog owners!

Any advice welcome on what we could do about this?? I contemplated some bright coloured chalk drawn around all the sh** on the paths to draw attention to it but also to guilt owners into picking it up, but can't say I'm keen on getting close enough to draw around it!

This used to happen when I walked my DCs to infant school. The path you describe next to a playing field could actually be the same one... I wd have to scan the path ahead and get really stressed keeping up a running commentary of 'Mind that one', 'Careful,' 'Watch out for that dollop', 'And another one there!'. Meanwhile, with dismay I wd observe the lumps that other DCs had wd unknowingly marched through, knowing they'd be soon on the carpet at class registration time, sitting cross legged clutching their shoes. It was a daily occurrence and it was sickening.

hainault i was walking home from school.with a mum whose twins call it "Dog Turd Alley."
Our name for this stretch of road is "Poosville"

Not Shit City, then

The road I used to walk along from Tube station was Dog Shit Central.
My colleague and I (she lived near me) used to warn each other by saying "Turd Alert!". It sounded musical in her Welsh accent

there are one or two dog owners near school who let their dog shit all aong the path outside school too. and outside the local shops. it is grim.

Is there a bin? Only asking because we had a similar problem with playing field & my son's nursery at the end of it. We (the parents) all complained to the council and kept asking for a bin. 6months later, we had a bin & problem was a lot better!
(Unfortunately some dog owners have to spoil it for the rest...)

Ah, Dog Turd Alley...the penny has dropped! Poosville is not nearly so witty.
I'd love to use Shit City and Dog Shit Central but dc would be telling all the other kids about it on their way home.

Same problem here, in fact I've just reported it on the council website. 2 primary schools on the same street and dog shit all the way up on both sides. It should get better once it's not getting darker so early hopefully.

I'm willing to see if my neighbour will rent herself out that sounded wrong to come and catch the culprits ? She's had a nap and informed me she is feeling very pleased with herself

You know what, for dog owners who DO pick up, frankly its even worse..

Dogs are not immune to standing in it themselves so you run the risk of not two kiddy feet with poo on them but four dog paws covered in shit, and unlike kids dogs don't go EW I STEPPED IN IT.. they just run in the house.....

As a scooter and wheelchair user I pay close attention to what is on the pavement and frankly, poo is the tip of the sodding iceberg.

Spat out sweeties, spit, vomit, child piss, child poo, dog piss, dog poo, broken glass and torn sharp metal cans...

I don't want any of this stuff under my wheels on my hands or under my dogs paws.

Where is the education and public awareness about leaving litter and how it affects other people and animals? I haven't seen any in years!

Widdlin I can't begin to imagine how fed up you must get with it.
I've seen no literature in the past few years from the gov and dog poo bins are getting scarcer, I swear.
It must be awful for people with vision impairment, white sticks etc must have to be cleaned regularly.

I think it always bad this time of year. Evening/morning walkers hide under the cover of darkness so they get away with their lazy foul selfish ways.

It's disgusting. I spent literally hours last week trying to get dog shit out of the tiny grooves in my toddler"s boots after he had stood in it. It's everywhere near us!

The alley beside our school is one huge dog poo toilet.
It's beyond grim.
And what makes it worse is that there is a poo bin at either end.

Do you lot all live in my corner of Cheshire as you're acurately describing our school run obstacle course. It's flippin grim! We even had someone let their elephant dog shit on our drive last year. Wtf does this?

Makes me so mad, I only wish I knew what we could do about it.

You make a very good point, Widdlin,

Broken glass, especially. We're in close proximity to 2 pubs and a bus stop (town centre), and smashed glass &...er...'recycled' kebabs is just delightful for both 2 and 4-legged Sunday morning walkers. And wheelers, like you mention.

We who live there end up having to whip out with dustpan and brush from time to time. Dogs' / cats' paws and unsteady kids' knees/ hands, plus lethal shards strewn across the pavements = nasty combination.

(Rant over. And breathe).

We have the same problem around here, litter too. I am the only parent calling out to my dc, I swear. Why does no one else seem to care?

I've complained to the council this week when I could barely walk down a stretch of pavement without stepping through poo. Foul.

Chatty,

Pro Tip for removing ground-in dog poo from fine tread kids' soles :

Stand them in enough hot water & dish soap (in an old baking tray or similar) to submerge sole but not damage actual shoe leather.

It usually dissolves everything nicely, and any tiny amounts remaining can easily be brushed away.

Only realised this after once chiselling away for ages semi-dried dog poo with an old knife!

I can second that, except I use a combo of washing up liquid and zoflo.

This drives me crazy too! Surprised the BBC article linked to says there is less dog mess around than 15 years ago as it really seems like more. At least dogs are usually banned from kids play areas now - I remember a gruesome incident from my childhood involving poo under the swings...

It doesn't solve the problem of course but does anyone else agree that infant schools should have a policy of kids wearing different shoes inside to out? Could just be those slip on pumps like they use for PE so not too time consuming to change but would be so much cleaner for them sitting on the carpet all the time.

Genius driving!

Yanbu. Recently we have had trouble with people letting their dogs poo all over the path near our front door (it opens onto a path) and not picking it up. There were four piles the other day before I gave in and picked it up! I have put an angry note in my front window about it now to shame people.

I think they think that because we have a dog people will assume it is our mess and they don't have to bother; but the piles are not the right size to come from our giant breed dog (sorry for TMI) so everyone can see it isn't us. Plus we always pick up our dogs mess and frequently litter pick in the local areas so neighbours know we would never let it happen!

I hope the note works -.-

FuckTheJournos,

If all else fails, may I suggest this sign ...

It's completely revolting. Around where i live (North London) I think it's getting worse. It makes me really angry.