to think the dog mess problem is getting much worse since Covid?

[sadpapercourtesan]

It's actually spoiling most of my longer walks, now. It's so disgusting, especially when it's left right in the middle of a pavement so people have walked through it already and made it virtually impossible to avoid.

In the interest of not drip-feeding, I have ASD and I know I am a bit of a loon about disgusting things/poo/bad smells. I avoid the local park in high summer because the stench walking past the dog bins makes me swoon.

Has anyone else noticed the dog mess being much more of a problem in recent months? What can be done about it? I know it's on me to "get over it" and not let it stop me from going for long walks, but I honestly find it so difficult when there's shit every 50 metres or so and even though I'm ridiculously hypervigilant, DH and the kids aren't.

YANBU it’s horrendous.

It's prob worse in winter as the dark nights and mornings mean they can get away with not being seen. No excuse tho. In some ways makes in workers as they clearly know it's wrong.

Could it be the council don't have as many staff out doing the normal cleanups due to staff shortage/sick leave etc?

Yes it's been much worse here too. Bloody sick of wiping shit off my kids shoes (and mine) 😤 I spend most of my walks glaring a couple of feet ahead of us to try and stop anyone treading in it. Tired of hearing myself shout 'watch out for poo'! Some people are f disgusting!

You’re right op.

@HappyThursdays so you not say anything?

No, not really.

I posted a similar thread to this recently. I am spending so much time cleaning dog shot off my kids shoes and the pram wheels that I have got to the point where I think dogs should be banned. I understand some good owners will lose out but that has got to better than living in a community covered in shit.
I don’t include service or working dogs.

@ivegotaheadacheneedabagette I'm ok thanks. I don't want my dog running through other dogs shit and probably getting jumped on by out of control untrained dogs. I pick my dogs shit up and will continue to do so.

I am spending so much time cleaning dog shot off my kids shoes and the pram wheels that I have got to the point where I think dogs should be banned.

I know this wouldn't be fair on those who do pick up after their dogs but I can absolutely see how you get to this place of thinking. This weekend will be the first in months I don't have to clean shit from pram wheels and that's only because we're isolating so we wont be going out.

It's always been a problem here, supposedly nice middle class village, our road has always been lined with piles of dog shit, we lived rural prior to this and i've never known the like.

We have an outdoor historical attraction on our street - free parking and no entrance fee. it's exclusive for dog walkers as it is so full of dog shit - even on the paths, let alone on the grass and off lead dogs that it's just dangerous to take the kids. i've been treated with contempt for daring to complain (pre covid) by both the council and when i put something on the local Facebook group, admin turned off commenting and when i asked why they said people had complained about me complaining - it appears people are far too good for picking up their dog's shit here!

Wider speaking it has got worse, we went back to the village I lived in previous before xmas, walked a trail I used to run several times a wk, never had to play dodge the shit or poo bag now, there was a bag or a pile every few metres.

Yes. It’s downright disgusting. People who do this should have their animals taken off them as they aren’t responsible enough to own them.

Yep dog poo everywhere including kids play areas (not enclosed ones but more open ones). Its disgusting. Last week I saw a guy there with 4 dogs and at least 3 kids - not sure how hed manage to keep an eye on the all the dogs. Later on in a different part of the park there was a trail of runny dog poo... I certainly dont think dogs should be in kids outdoor play areas. I think maybe it's got worse since Covid but was a problem beforehand.

Bagging and leaving is actually worse.

Who do they think is going to pick it up?

All they’ve done is litter a shit stained plastic bag as well as their dog crap. Disgusting twats.

The smell of dog shit makes you swoon ?

Our council seem to have cut waste bin collections so the park bins are overflowing with it! It’s a real problem.

My dog goes in the garden but if he does do it outdoors I pick it up and carry it home if no bin.

So many dogs these days too.

The absolute worst was a giant poo right underneath the swings in my local 'NO DOGS ALLOWED' gated play area....that one really pissed me off. Credit to them when I told the council they did clean it up but JFC what is wrong with people???!!

It's really bad here too. Every walk we go on now it's "mind the poo!" It's everywhere.

@Mydogisagentleman

I collect other dog’s droppings when I’m out with mine

I do too. With a hefty sigh. I don’t know what’s wrong with some people.

I've noticed how bad it is. I've been abroad for the past 3 years, came back last summer and couldn't get over how awful it was. It gets worse in autumn and winter in my opinion with the darker nights

I started calling our walk to school last autumn 'the daily dog shit dodge' because that's what it was. Disgusting.

Probably the only way to do something about it would be to name and shame in the local paper or something and then take people's animals away from them. (not advocating this)

The people that do this are really disgusting. I think they know, too: It's interesting that nobody admits to it, not even on places like MN which are mostly anonymous. But we can all see some people are doing it.

I am a dog owner and I have noticed this too. Also a lot more badly trained dogs out and about. They should make people take a test annually to own a dog.

I have also notice a lot more human poo around on my walks. Usually accompanied by a pile of dirty tissues. I just don’t understand people sometimes. Surely they are ruining their own walking environment as well as other people’s?

My daughter has just gone back to work after maternity leave. I take my granddaughter out for a walk in her pushchair every day. There is much more dog dirt where she lives. Who wants to take dog dirt back to their own homes? It's also a much more affluent area. Are people truly too posh to pick?

When I was a child my mother wouldn't take her dog out for a walk without the dog having done it's 'business'. My father cleared the garden every evening. The dog used the same spot every day.

If you're wanting to keep a dog why don't you make it crap on your own property? Then it won't affect others. It's selfishness in the extreme to foul public places.

Barbara Woodhouse (famous dog trainer) taught dogs to poop on command and if my mother managed to keep it from public highways why can't others?

There's a young woman who pretends to pick it up and then leaves it, where my daughter lives. Next time I walk my granddaughter I'll have my phone ready (creatures of habit where she lives) and I'll video her.

I can't understand why people keep dogs but refuse to keep their dog waste private - they have to inflict it on others each and every day.

My dad used to say that the owners who leave dog mess behind need their faces rubbing in it after he walked an enormous pile of ginger shite into my house. He was so upset about it that he cried when he was scrubbing my floor and hosing the drive. Apparently this used to be a method of house training animals when he was young.

I was watching a day time tv program the other day and Janet Street Porter was raging about dog dirt bags left in trees. Colleen Nolan said 'Well I'm not carrying mine for an hour.' What a star!

@ChessIsASport

I am a dog owner and I have noticed this too. Also a lot more badly trained dogs out and about. They should make people take a test annually to own a dog.

I have also notice a lot more human poo around on my walks. Usually accompanied by a pile of dirty tissues. I just don’t understand people sometimes. Surely they are ruining their own walking environment as well as other people’s?

I... what... that is fucking disgusting!! 🤮🤢