To remind you that dog poo can cause blindness?

[UnlimitedChipsAndSalsa]

Around 100 people (mostly children) a year in the UK experience vision loss because of exposure to dog poo. Clean up after your dog every time.

YABU - I already knew about dog poo and blindness.
YANBU - This is new information to me.

Thanks for voting. I'm really curious to know whether this is common knowledge.

Also, keep your dog out of "no dogs" parks! (Pretty much just a rant from here, so feel free to skip this part .) I'm also so tired of seeing entitled dogs owners bringing their dogs into "no dogs" parks, which are set up (in part) to reduce children's exposure to harmful faeces.

PREDICTABLE EXCUSES:
PE#1: "But I clean up after my dog."
Not 100% you don't. There's no way you would rub your hand in the place you just cleaned up and then stick it in your mouth. That's what kids do, and that's why there are a few but some areas that do not allow dogs.

PE#2: But I worm my dog regularly."
The reason it has to be redone is because dogs pick up roundworms again, so it's not 100% effective.

PE#3: "But I'm just passing through."
Passing through the "no dogs" park is being IN the park. And dog faeces aside, there are other reasons why people might go specifically to a "no dogs" parks (severe allergy, fear of dogs, etc.).

PE#4: "What about cats/foxes?"
We're talking about dogs here.

PE#5: "What about service animals?"
Service animals are allowed to go anywhere the owner goes, so obviously I'm not talking about those.

I know.

I have a dog.

I pick up his doings unless they are in unaccessible areas. He prefers to go in the undergrowth and will occasionally do it so far in that it impossible to get to despite best efforts but there is no way that a child or anyone else is going to happen upon it 10 feet into waist deep brambles

We don’t use ‘no dog’ spaces, especially not children’s parks. He’s patient around children but doesn’t actively seek their company.

I don’t use no dog spaces by the way. Never have and wouldn’t.

Urban and rural foxes are the primary source of toxocariasis in the UK, not dogs.

As for a dog free country - ha! Why should your fear / non-life threatening allergy trump anyone’s wish to share their life with a pet?

Want a dog free zone, stay at home. It’s as rational as suggesting anyone with a dog keeps them in their own house.

I bet you all have grey interiors with ‘Love Laugh, Live’ emblazoned on some cheap slate and spend so much on Zoflora you’re poisoning the water table.

Cats and Foxes roam free.

But cats don't need to.

Dog owners absolutely should pick up their dogs poo. But not really sure why cat owners think their cats, toxic leavings, aren't their responsibility.

Foxes no one can do anything about.

Fox poo potentially more of a threat as Foxes aren't regularly wormed and roam into gardens as well as public spaces. We had a real issue with Foxes getting into school bins/playground and pooping everywhere. The smell + the risk made it a huge problem.

Cats are just as bad and no control over where they crap either.

Absolutely agree it should be a name and shame offence with high penalties for those who don't pick up. No question. The £1000 fine seems to not deter loads of people. Maybe if there was more awareness of just how dangerous dog poo can be (TV ad campaign?) They'd be more responsible.

And don't get me started on the 'bag it but leave it hanging on a branch' crew 😡

As for off lead, should only be away from public or busy places. Sadly a lot of dog owners are absolutely awful at training their dogs and so they become menaces.

@KarmaStar

Ffs!!always people moaning constantly about dogs on mn. It's not dogs that are causing climate change It's not dogs that deal drugs. Dogs don't shoot or stab Dogs don't want money or power Dogs have, and do work hard for humans,protecting,guiding,helping,bringing joy,friendship and love into the world. Leave dogs alone!! They don't have flush toilets.Think back to human sewage that used to run down the street causing illness and death..The poo is picked up as best as possible. Give me a dog over a whining entitled human any day.🐶🐕🐩🐺🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

My dog wants power, and she doesn't do any work, and I'm going to guess that she wouldn't protect me if I were attacked by an axe murderer or similar. Unless I happened to be carrying chicken, and the axe murderer wanted the chicken, in which case she would gladly risk her life.

I always remember this from when I was a child! Don't hear it so much these days.
Think there is general move towards far more entitlement from dog owners in general 🙈🙄

@ExConstance

Approx 2% of adults have antibodies. Not exactly what I’d call ‘significant’

Dog and cat poo both cause health issues and blindness. Cats are particularly bad for parasites.

Meraas Thu 29-Jul-21 09:20:25
"Datingandnoideahowto
Why do you only care about dog poo and not cat or fox poo? Cats and foxes will be in your no dogs parks so even if people don’t bring dogs the risk is still there"
A silly comparison. Cats and Foxes roam free.

yes they do and therefore cats more likely to be unwormed and foxes deffo unwormed.

I did know about toxocariasis. I think there was a public awareness campaign about this when I was a child, or at least a lot of publicity about it, though I've not heard much about it recently, so not surprised if younger people aren't aware.

I have a dog and I always pick up poo because it's horrible to leave poo lying on the street/park for 100 reasons, not just the risk of blindness. I don't think I've ever come across a no dogs park, but have seen this on beaches. It's just good manners to follow the rules.

The trouble is, I think most dog owner are responsible and will clear up and keep their dogs to the appropriate areas. The ones who won't aren't going to take any notice of posts like this. If you don't care about your dog frightening a child who's playing in a dog free area, or someone stepping on your dog's poo and treading it into their house, then you're probably not going to care about the health risks you pose to other people either.

@GCrebel

Think I failed the initiative test as I voted YANBU to your question To remind you that dog poo can cause blindness?

Then I re read it and realised that wasn’t how you’d organised the vote.

But good to publicise it OP.

Now my dataset is contaminated!

Overwhelming majority of dog owners just super selfish

And a happy Thursday to you too!

I have known this since I was pregnant 25 years ago. We had cats at the time and I was paranoid about it. However, the midwife told me that you were more likely to get it from handling raw meat than from gardening (where there might be cat poo). I have no idea if that's true.

We bought a dog last year and I am scrupulous about clearing up after him. It's part of the responsibility of being a dog owner. If I see dog poo that someone else has left then I pick that up as well. And of there is no dog bin nearby then I carry it until I can bin it. I don't understand the mentality of people who bag it and then tie the bag to a tree or fence. Madness.

@Hont1986

Total vision loss from toxocariasis is very very rare. As in, about the same risk as being struck by lightning. Clean up after your dog because it's mucky, not because of scare stories.

Partial vision loss happens to about 100 people a year. It doesn't have to be total loss to negatively affect one's quality of life. Responsible dogs owners already clean up after their dogs. Maybe the rest need some extra motivation.

Think there is general move towards far more entitlement from dog owners in general

REALLY???

I think entitlement rests firmly with the human race in general - not just dog owners.

That's new info to me (don't have a dog myself), and good to know.

I didn't know there were dog free parks in the UK

@UnlimitedChipsAndSalsa

That's new info to me (don't have a dog myself), and good to know.

You agreeing with yourself op? 😂😂

@Katedanielshasakitty

Cats and Foxes roam free.

But cats don't need to.

Dog owners absolutely should pick up their dogs poo. But not really sure why cat owners think their cats, toxic leavings, aren't their responsibility.

Foxes no one can do anything about.

But they are allowed to roam free by law. Do you let your dog out of the house on his own? If not, control where he goes and pick up the dog poo.

I can't believe anyone wouldn't already know the risks from fox/dog/cat poo.

@OneTC

I didn't know there were dog free parks in the UK

A lot of the fenced off playground areas are sig posted dog free

*signposted

@meraas But they are allowed to roam free by law. Do you let your dog out of the house on his own? If not, control where he goes and pick up the dog poo.

And that doesn't reduce the risk. Which is what OP is talking about. Not wether it's legal or not.

Cat shit in other people's gardens. How is a dog shitting in a park not ok, even when picked up, but a cat shitting in someone's gardens absolutely fine....when you are looking at risk of turning people blind. Not the law.

Dog shit should be picked up. Dogs shouldn't be in places they are not allowed. I totally agree with that. But, from a risk point of view. Compare the situations. A dog shots in a dog free zone and the owner picks it up. A cat shit shits in a families garden. Not picked up. Which situation poses most risk to the child? The residue of the now removed dog poo in a fairly large open space. Or the cat shit, that's still in a normal sized family garden?

The op would like a dog free country. Many people would like a cat free country too. But neither are actual law and neither are being campaigned for.

Personally, I think cats are a far bigger risk for this AND I don't see why they need to be allowed to roam free. All animal owners should be responsible for picking up their animals shit. Which would mean keeping cats in the boundaries of your property. I don't see a problem with that.

Dog owners who are also irresponsible should face much bigger fines, imo. As well.

A wild animal is a completely different argument. You can't compare foxes and cats.

I read a book in the 1980s by Inez Heron, "When Trees Were Green", about her little boy, Robin who picked up toxicara canis from dog-shit and was misdiagnosed and desperately ill for at least a year. Very upsetting book.

I am glad many (not all) dog-owners pick up the biggest lumps but that does leave residue adhering to grass or pavements. I'd like dog-owners to have their dogs shit in their own gardens (I do know at least two owners who have trained their dogs to do this .)