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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask certain dog owners to actually answer this honestly

259 replies

ElenaCouch · 14/01/2022 13:49

If you don't pick up your dogs shit in the street:

A.) What is your excuse/excuses

B.) Do you worry about stepping in dog shit in your neighborhood, or you don't care if it happened.

C.) Does the thought of someone getting your dogs shit on their shoes/pram/wheelchair/ a small child falling in it make you feel GUILTY/INDIFFERENT/HAPPY.

you are anonymous, AIBU to want you to actually admit it and explain yourself

OP posts:
UpThe · 14/01/2022 16:26

Yes OP! We had to side step 3 massive dog shits today, I am sick of it.

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 14/01/2022 16:28

@ComtesseDeSpair

I think the answer is the same as people who throw their trash on the street or flytip their old white goods or leave a mess on and under their table in a restaurant for the staff to clean up: they consider the cost to them, in terms of effort, is something they consider more important than the comfort and wellbeing of others around them.
Yup. Dog-walkers tread in more dog shit than anyone else (because we walk in the most doggy places) so all decent dog owners feel your pain.

I have had dogs for over 15 years and the only times I haven't picked up are the once or twice when delightful DDog 1 chose to crap into a liquid cowpat. It's really not hard to pick up if you're not a twat, but some people are.

Wombat98 · 14/01/2022 16:29

I yelled at someone yesterday as I watched them not keep an eye on their dog.

Same as with the litter I was moaning about yesterday, can't be asked or distracted or don't care.

Don't get me started on bagged poo lobbed into bushes & streams, why?

SmallOrFarAway · 14/01/2022 16:30

A friend of a friend came on a walk with me and was surprised when he saw me picking up my dog's poo. He said he couldn't ever be bothered picking up after his mums dog when he walked it. He made out like if the poo is off the path then it's fine. I pointed out of other dogs or kids are also exploring the off-path bits then it's definitely not fine. He then pointed out that the countryside rules say that you should 'stick it and flick it' off the path so technically it's fine to leave it if it's off the path. I decided not to argue as he's obviously made his mind up. Maybe lots of people think like him. Doesn't explain why our local pavements are covered in it, not just verges and bush areas.

megletthesecond · 14/01/2022 16:31

I've pointed out dogs pooing to their owners who are ahead and chatting on their phones. I don't think they would have noticed I've I hadn't called after them.

User1isnotavailable · 14/01/2022 16:33

I have tackled people on not picking up. A couple of them were busy on their phones and not paying attention so apologised and picked up. Imagine all the times when this happens and no-one there to remind them Hmm.

I have also tackled people and had rude reactions. Waving their bag of dog poo saying there you go happy now! Odd behaviour.

Blossomtoes · 14/01/2022 16:33

The only place I ever stick and flick is in some Forestry Commission woods where they specifically ask you to.

CaptainCabinets · 14/01/2022 16:33

I’ve never left a poo my dog has done. HOWEVER, I have had to clean human shit off my dog when he rolled in some in the bushes once 😬🤢

rifling · 14/01/2022 16:35

I can tell you why my neighbour doesn't pick it up because he told me: nobody cares if it is on the side of the pavement and I am an uptight busybody for telling him that actually I care as do others. I also see a lot of dog walkers who are not paying any attention /don't have their dog anywhere near them or on a lead so they (I presume, on purpose) don't know that the dog has pooed. Ignorance is bliss!

ImpossibleDetails · 14/01/2022 16:35

We used to live on a new build estate mostly populated by young families - saw very, very little dog shit on the street.

Have now moved to area mostly populated by old people bungalows and retirement community - shit absolutely everywhere, all the time.

It makes me so livid, quite apart from worrying I'll step in it myself, I worry my ddog will step in it! I honestly think non-pickers should be subject to on-the-spot fines.

sadpapercourtesan · 14/01/2022 16:36

@Blossomtoes

The only place I ever stick and flick is in some Forestry Commission woods where they specifically ask you to.
The only ask you to because the alternative is arseholes leaving bagged shit on the paths and in the trees. It's not because they actively want your dog's shit tossed into the undergrowth.

Obviously removing it from the site and disposing of it in a civilised manner is better. And you can use a paper bag if you're concerned about the environmental impact.

Porcupineintherough · 14/01/2022 16:38

The countryside rules do not say "stick and flick" only the Forestry Commission say that and that's because a lot of what they own are large conifer plantations with negligible wildlife interest. On land that's good for wildlife or has livestock the rule is pick it up and take it to the nearest bin.

VelmaandShaggy · 14/01/2022 16:38

I do think for dog walkers who are a older.and achier, they just don't want to / can't actually bend over to pick it up

RestingMurderousFace · 14/01/2022 16:40

I have poo bags stuffed in literally every pocket and bag, even found one in my bra once. Not picking up shit is not an option.

VelmaandShaggy · 14/01/2022 16:40

@pawpatrolneedaunion

I didn't pick up after my dog if he'd done it in a middle of a huge field as I felt no one walks in those areas (I know the fields well) and using a plastic bag was worse than it just degrading naturally. On paths then I'd always pick up.

I used to know an old guy who would kick stuff over the poo. Leaves of mud. He thought that was a good thing. In reality he was peppering the paths with poo traps.

Jesus, bit arrogant to assume there's never any walkers or other dog owners. My dog will actively hunt down and eat other dog shit, so thanks for that Xmas Angry
RestingMurderousFace · 14/01/2022 16:42

@CaptainCabinets

I’ve never left a poo my dog has done. HOWEVER, I have had to clean human shit off my dog when he rolled in some in the bushes once 😬🤢
OMG I had that just before Christmas! From the texture of it I'm guessing they couldn't hold on. Heaving as I type. 🤢
StillMedusa · 14/01/2022 16:44

I keep a roll of poo bags in my dog walking coat so there is no risk of running out and a couple in my treat pouch just in case I lose the roll!
I'm lucky in that I have a once a day pooper who will only go on carefully selected grassy areas, so her off lead walk in the fields generally ensures that there is one decent poo to pick up a day! I've never had a street poo to pick up ever!
One thing I have noticed is that those who walk their dogs staring at their phones tend to not notice their dog has stopped..especially if they are off lead.
I don't have that luxury as mine needs a close eye to ensure she doesn't dash off somewhere after squirrels! 'Oy your dog's just pooed!' tends to alert them :D
One thing I hate though is finding a random poo near my dogs... I pick them up but somehow another dogs cold poo is so much worse that your own dog's warm deposit!!

Blossomtoes · 14/01/2022 16:46

@RestingMurderousFace

I have poo bags stuffed in literally every pocket and bag, even found one in my bra once. Not picking up shit is not an option.
Same. Poo bags on the right, treats on the left.
Nemorth · 14/01/2022 16:47

I don't have a dog, I will walk for friends though. I pick up then. Have never left it.

The only person I know who doesn't pick up does so because they lost both legs (just below knee amputation) due to an accident. Always use a mobility scooter now and it's too difficult to pick up.

There's hundreds of people I don't know that don't pick up. I have been known to shout "your dog has poohed". This has shamed a few into action.

Shade17 · 14/01/2022 16:48

With the exception of an unexpected liquid shit, anyone caught not picking up after their dog should be force fed it (the shit, not the dog that is)

KhaleesiOfChaos · 14/01/2022 16:49

Someone near me obviously carries neon pink spray paint to help the dog poo show up. I might copy as it's very useful!

Doesn't solve the problem but it must reduce the likelihood of someone stepping in it.

blacklilypad · 14/01/2022 16:49

I've given up asking people to pick up when I see them deliberately not. It has never ended with them picking up the poo, best case you get a rubbish excuse and worse you get a lot of abuse.

My favourite excuse was a charming young lady who let her dog poo in then very centre of the path while on lead and she watched. I asked her to pick it up and see screamed at me, using swearwords that I'd never even heard of before, that she was pregnant and therefore couldn't. She was not showing yet so I don't think this was a 'I can't physically bend down'. I think she got confused and thought she had a cat Confused

GettingItOutThere · 14/01/2022 16:50

the only shit i do not pick up is in the rough, off the path, middle of no-where (and i mean way off the path)!, where i literalyl cannot pick it up as my dogs have decided to shit on a jagged rock/a million tiny stones etc.

but yes i always always pick up dog shit and put it in the bin. People who don't should not have dogs!

CounsellorTroi · 14/01/2022 16:51

I remembered another time I didn’t pick it up. Walking along a path with a chain link fence on one side and woodland on the other. Road and hospital buildings on the other side of fence, no pavement on the road on the side nearest me, just weeds. Anyway dog managed to poo through the fence and it fell on the other side. There was no way I could reach it.

SweetPetrichor · 14/01/2022 16:55

Don’t have dogs now but when I did they were walked on grassy paths, and 9 times out of 10, they deposited it in the undergrowth and if they didn’t it was easy enough to flick their with a stick. It biodegrades.