Dog poo left in plastic bags in the street / park

[MRex]

I used to think it was people who meant to collect it later and lost an occasional one, but there seems to be an epidemic of leaving poo in pags. Surely lifting the poo up in the bag is the unpleasant part (warm, squishy and smelly). After that, why not just take it to a bin? Keep a spare carrier bag in a rucksack for transport if you want your hands free. Obviously leaving poo lying around in bags is unreasonable and dog poo just left behind would biodegrade quicker, particularly in the park, so surely it's better to just leave the poo than bag it and leave the bag? Does anybody understand the motivations behind leaving the poo in bags?

In my area they don’t even pick it up so you have a nice day of navigating 2 little ones around dog shit day in and day out 🤢

Our poo bin has been removed and the litter bin says you can't put poo in there, we have dog crap on the pavements and in the grass verges. It's bloody disgusting and no one takes any notice of the signs.

Sheep eating dog poo? I dont think so. Take a stick and flick it off the path into the undergrowth if you are in the country. In a town, bag it and take it home. Our woods are festooned with bags, they last for years. Just be appropriate for your environment and use some common sense

I dislike picking up poo. The idea of them carrying around a bag of shit with me is even more unappealing. Hence I don’t have a dog. No one is forced into dog ownership. If you don’t want to carry around bags of dog shit then don’t get a dog. If there is no dog there will be no shit that must be carried around. No dog. Therefore no carrying of shit. Not a hard concept.

I don’t get it. It seems popular here for dog walkers to go to the effort of scooping and bagging it up but then tying the bag to a tree. Why?? There’s always plenty of bins so I don’t understand it. Manky feckers.

I live in the country and I don't want people flicking dog shit into the undergrowth thank you, it attracts flies and other vermin . Take your dog shit home with you or bin it properly.

I'm a park ranger and our park is covered in dog poo. There are poo bags left all over the place and swinging from trees. Our litter bins are incredibly heavy as they now contain a large amount of dog poo.
When we are out in the park working, we have to be very vigilant to avoid stepping in it or putting tools down in it. The tyres of our work vehicles are often caked in dog poo.
Dog walkers make up a large proportion of our park users. Some are responsible, some are not. They essentially rule the roost. Our local council has tried to encourage better dog owners behaviour through a variety of ways but have been overwhelmingly shouted down. They are a strong and often entitled group.
It's a very difficult problem to address and there is no short term solution.

I don't understand it either, I have a dog and picking up and carrying around his poo until I reach an appropriate bin is really no big deal. In fact I'd say it's the least challenging part of owning a dog!

Some total arses have started doing this at the top of our road. There is a bloody skip right next to them. About 30 poo bags. Who consciously picks up their dog's crap then consciously dumps it?

My dog has 2-3 long walks every day. A variety of on/off lead walks. I can honestly say I never see any poo bags lying about. We do have plenty of bins though.

In Spain dog poo is just left on the pavements. It’s disgusting.

I think people caught not picking up after dogs should face massive fines.

There are lots of bags of poo hanging in the trees along the canal tow path here and now shortage of poo bins. Some people on here object to the 'stick and flick' into the hedge but our local council (semi-rural) recommend it.

WE have one person that bags it and dumps it on the edge of the pavement, on the kerb or by the grit bin. People don't see it when getting out of their cars or in the dark and tread on the bags.

I have posted it several times in the local Facebook groups and it seems to have eased off now, however I do go around with a chalk spray and highlight it so that people don't always stand in it or go through it with buggies.

There is one man that has made the news in the last few weeks for picking his dog shit up and sticking it to a poster asking people not to leave their poo on the pavement (unbagged). He still seems to be active but has changed roads now.

Agree with PP that some owners bag up to be seen to be doing the right thing then get rid ASAP, we've had them thrown over the fence into our back garden - grim.
When our dog was still with us we bagged and carried until a suitable bin/got home, it's not difficult, there is no excuse for not doing it.

Only last week I was standing on the poof to close the window when a young girl of about 12 skipped by with her dog. Whilst admiring the dog the girl dropped the poo bag outside our neighbours wall and carried on skipping away.

I ran to the door, shouted and she went back to pick it up, but I suppose it's not cool at that age to be seen with a poo bag.

Dog walkers make up a large proportion of our park users. Some are responsible, some are not. They essentially rule the roost. Our local council has tried to encourage better dog owners behaviour through a variety of ways but have been overwhelmingly shouted down. They are a strong and often entitled group

this is so depressing to read, our lovely parks and gardens are just places for dogs to shit in
take your furbaby feces home with you ffs

owners bag up to be seen to be doing the right thing then get rid ASAP
this is what most people do, and yet no mumsnetter ever left furbaby shit did they

@Fripit, from what you say you are on the frontline of this problem, what do you think will happen, are there any moves to legislate to control the dog population?

My 4yo DD put her foot in some dog poo on the way to school this morning so as soon as we got there I had to try and clean it up in the toilets as best I could so she didn't trample it all round her reception classroom. I was raging about the lazy, filthy person who left it on the pavement so I suppose it being bagged up in the hedge would have been marginally preferable!

Agree with pp that if you don't want to pick up poo and take it home with you, don't get a dog. Sadly there are a few roads on the way to school here that are always riddled with it.

Anyone got any good tips for reducing it/raising awareness of how disgusting it is? I never catch anyone in the act so haven't even had the chance to shame anyone if I'm brave enough

no one takes their shit home with them

they bag it and if there's not a conveniently placed bin they feel justified in just leaving it right there

perhaps to them it's just the same as litter, maybe they are the type of people who have dog turds scattered around the front room?

dirty scummy dog owners

Wordthe our local council has completed a public consultation incl topics like having specific areas in parks where dogs must be on a lead, areas to let dogs run free, no dogs on playing fields and play areas etc. Dog owners essentially overturned every proposal. Many dog owners replied saying dogs have a right to run free for their health and wellbeing. Thing is its a very selfish and entitled attitude and ignores all the other park users needs.
My colleagues and I are sick of the whole dog situation. Many dog owners ignore signs and are often very rude and aggressive if we dare to point out their dogs bad behaviour.
I think it's essentially down to local councils to manage the situation.
Weirdly in the last few years I've noticed things like doggy xmas grottos, dog beer and wine, doggy ice cream etc in the shops. I think many owners now see dogs as equal to and sometimes above humans in the pecking order!
God knows how it's all going to end! I was a dog owners myself for many years, I love greyhounds and lurchers. I think the UKs gone a bit mad doggy wise.

You see the thing is,even if they do pick up their doggo there will in many cases, still be some remnants depending on the consistency of the doggo and the surface upon which it is deposited.

I could well imagine that picking up doggo from grass would leave some behind. Maybe dog owners should also be required to carry a small disinfectant spray to spray the area once the doggo has been picked up?

My local authority has just launched a big publicity campaign to clamp down on dog fouling. Hopefully we will some prosecutions soon.

Whilst we are at it, lets make horse owners pick up their shite. It may well be fine in a country environment but we also have horses traversing urban environments. They drop a load on the road and just trot on.

Horse poo is not in the same league as dog poo though, because of the animals' diets I think.

What is the publicity campaign like where you are Arnold? Wondering what can be done where I am. Certainly they don't take any notice of the little signs telling them about the potential fine!

doggy xmas grottos, dog beer and wine, doggy ice cream etc in the shops. I think many owners now see dogs as equal to and sometimes above humans in the pecking order!
you are spot on, the pet industry encourages people to view their dogs as equivalent to children because thats the best way to get more profit out of them...and they need very little encouragement anyway.

What can we do to encourage local councils to take notice of the problem?

Whilst we are at it, lets make horse owners pick up their shite. It may well be fine in a country environment but we also have horses traversing urban environments. They drop a load on the road and just trot on.

Not even remotely comparable. Horse poo is just grass and hay. Back where I used to live people would scoop it up to stick on the garden.
Dog poo is full of all kinds of hideousness.

Horse pp..well it doesnt matter whether or not it is comparable. If faeces are deposited in the public domain then it is unacceptable.

Isabelle,,, the doggo campaign involves the application of public space protection orders on parks/open spaces owned by the local authority,also they have linked with keep Britain tidy with the "we are watching you" campaign,being stepped up now in the darker months when shitters may feel they can get away with it under cover of darkness.

www.keepbritaintidy.org/local-authorities/reduce-litter/dog-fouling

It’s absolutwly foul!!! I have 2 dogs and if there’s no bin around I double bag the poo to save myself from the stench and walk with it until I find a bin. Leaving it whether in a bag or not is just not an option 🤢
It gives good decent dog walkers a bad name.