Should the gardener pick up the dog poo as part of their 'duties'?

[SicSay]

My DH works part time as a gardener for a couple of wealthy people with large houses and gardens - he does each of them alternatively every other week. This has been a good arrangement for the past few years and works well with us as the rest of the time he takes care of our small farm and woodland. the farm does not make enough for it to be full time work but with this extra work it works all round. The properties are close, so he can pop down check animals etc and we've always got on well. Recently one of the houses got two big dogs. They let the dogs run free in the garden and I don't regularly walk them, just let them out in the garden to play (their admission). They now expect DH as part of normal gardening duties to pick up the two weeks worth of dog poo on each visit? They think he is being unreasonable in refusing, he thinks they are being unreasonable in asking. The arrangement does work really well in terms of the other parts of our life, but I agree with DH that this is more than a bit much and not the gardeners role! What do others think?

That's disgusting! Would they leave 2 weeks worth of shite in their toilet for their cleaner to flush!! Manky bastards!

Plus that means their dogs are running about in shite for 2 weeks? So grim.

Omg I wrote that without reading your update!!! Unbelievable they would actually ask the cleaner. I didn't realise that a stick up the arse actually comes with being wealthy. Must be that that is preventing them from bending down and picking up the shit.

The cleaner will say no too I imagine? There’ll be extra cleaning inside with 2 big dogs!

Maybe they’ll have second thoughts about the rescue as they begin to realise what they’ve taken on? Or at least hire a dog walker to exercise them & pick up the poo (& hang it on a hedge, probably )

We have no dog poo in our garden. We walk her at 7am and between 4 and 6pm, then at 10pm. If you walk them enough you don't have it in your garden.It's not the gardener's job or the cleaner's job, it's the dog owner's job.

Oops! It's NOT

The poor cleaner
If she is forced to accept i hope she at least negotiates some extra pay.

I think suggesting the professional dog poo picker is a good idea too

No

Or at least hire a dog walker to exercise them & pick up the poo (& hang it on a hedge, probably

Excuse me, but I walk six dogs at a time and ALWAYS pick up and dispose of the crap correctly. Don’t assume dog walkers are the irresponsible people. Most professional dog walkers are extremely careful about dog poo. We’re careful because we know what it’s like to step in shite, how dangerous it can be and we want to maintain our, at least in my case, good reputation. It’s the minority of individual dog owners that are the issue. You want to be on some of the professional dog sitters/walkers sites and read the comments. They are full of true anger at the irresponsible dog owners.

I’ve also realised that I am around dogs too long as I’ve used so many different terms to describe 💩😁

Watch out for this thread over the next couple of days:

AIBU to tell the family i clean for to get stuffed! They've asked me to start picking up their dog shit!

Hope the poor cleaner tells them where to go!!

Laiste 😆

I really hope their cleaner is a Mumsnetter, so she knows what to expect, this week. 😁

OP, does your dh know the cleaner. It would be brilliant if he could give her a heads up, so she can prepare her answer, rather than fall into her female socialisation and saying yes.

When I was a cleaner, I was asked to pick up dog poo outside and I refused.

They also had a broken toilet that didn't flush. The family would shit and piss in it all week and I would clean it (by pouring a bucket of water down it.)

I finally told her that I wasn't going to do that any more and she fired me.

I've been reading this open mouthed as my husband just left his job for a family he's worked for, for many years (self employed handyman) as they texted him, rather rudely I must add, chastising him for not picking up the dog poo in the grounds of their house or around the swimming pool the man of the house was most disgruntled that he'd had to spend a morning picking up his own dogs poo Anyway long story short, he never went back it was the straw that broke the camels back , self-entitled doesn't even cover their attitude over the years but pooper scooping was a step too far !

I should think the cleaner has enough on scrubbing the floors 🤢 dirty, lazy, cheeky bastards

To the pp who said if dogs are walked often enough they won't poo in the garden: I wish my dog knew this. She loves pooing on the decking right at the end of the garden.

Picking up poo isn't gardening. I'd be getting new clients OP. They'll never get a gardener happy to do that so their loss.

@SicSay - how are thing's with Poogate...

The cleaner agreed to do it apparently!! At least she is there every other day! Though they have started muting that they are not sure having the dogs was the best idea...

Absolutely not. In the same way that a cleaner shouldn’t be flushing their employer’s shit away.

Though they have started muting that they are not sure having the dogs was the best idea...

I thought that. Kind of them to volunteer, but no real understanding of what’s required