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.

My husband is partially sighted (from birth) and will never drive due to toxoplasmosis. Luckily he's had a very full and successful life but it's definitely made me more wary of cleanliness, food hygiene etc. He is obsessive about our toddler not picking up sticks etc at the park. Luckily we are on 5 acres and have no dogs, but I'm waiting for the day DH finds a reason to be fearful at home too!

I dont pick it up in the woods and my dogs go off into the undergrowth to do a big poo so its never on the path

There's a very small risk of going blind from touching dog poo - however there is a MASSIVE risk of my dog eating human poo he finds that disgusting scumbags haven't bothered burying or bagging (not envy). In that case I would actually prefer them to bag it and hang it in a tree rather than it get stuck all around my dog's teeth and gums!

I bag and bin in the streets but in the woods/on the moors I pick it up and chuck it into nettles, brambles or gorse where nobody is going to step in it or touch it, then turn the bag inside out, knot it and take it home. That way I don't have to carry smelly bags of heavy dog turds around for hours .

[quote icedcoffees]@UnlimitedChipsAndSalsa

Yes, I know that.

I'm just saying that even if every owner knows the country picked up after their dogs 100% of the time, it wouldn't eliminate the danger.[/quote]
Of course it wouldn't eliminate it, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't encourage people to act responsibly, which would reduce the risk.

@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.

I have almost complete vision loss in my right eye due to either toxocara or toxoplasmosis (Dr's disagree on which) and I agree with you. I have never met another person with ocular toxocara and when I go for my yearly check at the hospital they always have a line of students (and staff) ready to have a look as they will probably never see a real life case in their career.

For context toxocariosis is vanishingly rare. As a doctor I have never seen a case.

The few cases that do exist may also be attributable to cats or foxes. It's very unlikely that any case is caused by a responsible owner who works their pet regularly, and picks up their mess.

For context, there are around 49 injuries caused by lightening to people a year in the uk, and the incidence of toxocariosis is estimated to be between 50-100 cases a year in the UK.

I’m not sure it really matters of toxoplasmosis is rare, leaving your dog’s shit lying around or in plastic bags is absolutely fucking disgusting and I’d support pretty harsh measures to stamp it out.

@HamsterHelp

Isn’t it funny how all dog owners (on here and in real life) are so quick to note that of course they pick up after their dog and would never dream of not doing so.

And yet the pavements are grassy areas are riddled with shite regardless of all these wide-eyed, innocent dog owners.

Not really - no-one who lets their dog shit all over the place is going to own up to it on here are they? Unlike Cat owners.....

This is my absolute pet hate. We've always been meticuous in cleaning up after our own dog and will pick up other dogs' poo on paths as well, and my DH in particular is excellent at putting on his Teacher Voice and booming 'Are you going to pick that up?' if he spots someone in a park leaving dog mess behind. He got a round of applause for this from other walkers a few months back, while the very sheepish culprit scuttled back to his (massive) dog's poo and then had to ask someone else for a bag while the entire park watched

@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.🐶🐕🐩🐺🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

Entitled humans are the problem exactly--people not cleaning up after their dogs and people bringing their dogs into public spaces specifically designated as "no dog" areas.

If you're saying I'm entitled for asking how many people know about this specific risk when it comes to contact with dog faeces (in addition to the general health risks, which are much better known), I would genuinely like to hear that explanation.

And, for the record, nowhere did I claim this matter was more important than the other issues you mentioned.

@Katedanielshasakitty

But in my dream world, people would only be allowed to let their dogs defecate in their own garden instead of taking them for a walk to leave smears all over public and private spaces. Of course, I recognisethatis being unreasonable

I understand that. Even as a dog owner, I get it.

In my dream world cats wouldn't be allowed to wander and shit in people's gardens. We don't always get everything we want unfortunately.

I would wish for that too, being someone who regularly removes cat faeces from my flowerbed.

I think you’re a bit weird to be so concerned solely about dogs when foxes and cats are as big if not bigger an issue. To be honest.

@godmum56

i worm my dog and clear up after him but as a matter of factual factiness, this website says "Up to" 100 childen a year not "around" and as we all know from sales shopping 101 "up to" includes the figure zero as well as all the figures between zero and 100.

www.netdoctor.co.uk/ask-the-expert/babies-children/a9459/toxicariasis/

Its also an issue in cats (worm your cats folks!) and in foxes and the NHS says rare in the uk, even rarer for sight to be affected.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/toxocariasis/

PS dog poo is gross in public places though.

Yes, you're right that "up to" is not the same as "around". I was surprised to learn that this was a thing at all. Though somewhat rare, it's not rare as in "happening once in 1972", and it's worth reminding people who maybe don't think about the wider Healey implications of their behaviour.

Also, that's a good point about worming cats, as they are legally permitting to roam (rightly or wrongly), and that certainly would help.

@HamsterHelp

Isn’t it funny how all dog owners (on here and in real life) are so quick to note that of course they pick up after their dog and would never dream of not doing so.

And yet the pavements are grassy areas are riddled with shite regardless of all these wide-eyed, innocent dog owners.

Yes I am one of those that say I always pick up my dogs poo…because I ALWAYS do! Every dog I have ever had I have picked up after.

What about all these innocent cat owners who claim their cats only poo in their own garden…now that’s ridiculously funny!

years ago dogs roamed free and no one had a problem then with dog mess every where 🤷🏼‍♀️

What an a absurd thing to say. Dog ownership has soared lately, they didnt used to "roam everywhere".

Either way, millions of babies used to die of dysentery etc too. What happened in the past wasnt necessarily right

@ExConstance

Of course we should clean up after our dogs, no doubt about that. The major risk is not from fresh dog poo, as the parasite is in a form that can't infect anyone at that stage. It is later when the eggs are on or in the ground that the problems can arise. Most important to keep young children off the ground in places where dogs are exercised as that is when they can pick it up.Blindness is very rare, but a significant number of adults have antibodies so infection not that unusual.

My rant is about how there are places where dogs are not allowed to be taken/exercised, and yet entitled dogs owners do it anyway. I'm really only asking for the bare minimum here.

I'm sure a lot of people know that exposure to faeces of any kind possess health risks, but it looks like about 25% of people did not know about the vision loss thing (I learned about it somewhat recently). If you are challenging someone who is not cleaning up after their dog, you have yet another reason to do so.

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

years ago dogs roamed free and no one had a problem then with dog mess every where 🤷🏼‍♀️

What an a absurd thing to say. Dog ownership has soared lately, they didnt used to "roam everywhere".

Either way, millions of babies used to die of dysentery etc too. What happened in the past wasnt necessarily right

Dog ownership soaring lately and millions of babies that sadly died of dysentery hasn’t got anything to do with what was being spoken about

Not long ago dogs did roam they wasn’t the pampered pooches they are now.

Does not mean it was right but it happened.

Isn’t it funny how all dog owners (on here and in real life) are so quick to note that of course they pick up after their dog and would never dream of not doing so.

To be fair the majority of people round here do pick up their dog poo, the ones I see who don't are very very unlikely to be on mumsnet so I'd imagine the people here are telling the truth.

I have often wondered why dog owners don't put down a newspaper or a puppy pad when their dogs are about to defecate in a public place. I have seen smears of poop left on the pavement when it has been a soft poop. That is not really clearing it up.
Better still keep the dog in your own garden and don't have it going about public streets. I am in with the dog free country group. I just don't see it as at all decent to share your dog's poop with all of us.

Thanks for posting. I'm sick of the selfish so-called dog lovers

@User57327259

I have often wondered why dog owners don't put down a newspaper or a puppy pad when their dogs are about to defecate in a public place. I have seen smears of poop left on the pavement when it has been a soft poop. That is not really clearing it up. Better still keep the dog in your own garden and don't have it going about public streets. I am in with the dog free country group. I just don't see it as at all decent to share your dog's poop with all of us.

Only if cat owners keep their cats to their own garden as well…that would also be the decent thing to do, so we don’t have to share looking after their cat by removing their shit from our gardens.

Works both ways.

@User57327259

I have often wondered why dog owners don't put down a newspaper or a puppy pad when their dogs are about to defecate in a public place. I have seen smears of poop left on the pavement when it has been a soft poop. That is not really clearing it up. Better still keep the dog in your own garden and don't have it going about public streets. I am in with the dog free country group. I just don't see it as at all decent to share your dog's poop with all of us.

Never allow a dog to go for a walk? Dear god almighty.

You posting this on Mumsnet will not make people pick up their dog poo. They know thy are supposed too they just can't be arsed and nothing will change their minds.

I knew this but thought it was rare - that's a lot of people suffering each year.

@User57327259

I have often wondered why dog owners don't put down a newspaper or a puppy pad when their dogs are about to defecate in a public place. I have seen smears of poop left on the pavement when it has been a soft poop. That is not really clearing it up. Better still keep the dog in your own garden and don't have it going about public streets. I am in with the dog free country group. I just don't see it as at all decent to share your dog's poop with all of us.

Great idea. As long as it would also mean making cats unable to roam to just shit wherever they like, with their owners unable to even clean most of it up.