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Original poster

Picking up your dog's poo.

103 replies

PhilomenaPringle · 26/12/2022 03:18

Xmas day family walk this morning. Enforced, as far as I'm concerned, I'd rather stay home tending the dinner as I am the person most responsible. A brisk hour's walk along the seafront. Not on the beach, just the concrete prom. Naturally, the dog walkers are out in force.
I'm not a dog owner, or even a dog liker, but, you know, if they're on a lead and under control, live and let live. (Not that they always are, but that's not the purpose of my question)

I do this walk pretty regularly because it's exhilarating in wild weather, and pleasant in spring and autumn. Summer there's not much shade so I keep it short. The dogwalkers around have many shortcomings. The users of long leads can trip you up or get wound round you. People who don't believe their dog needs a lead at all can be irritating when their dog just wants to say hello.
Up in your face and leaving doggy prints on your coat. Nope.

Hello? I don't want to say hello to your dog. Thank you very much.
However, the vast majority cause no problem to me at all. Most dogs I encounter are on leads, under control, and perfectly amiable in their ignoring of me. I do not love dogs, and if I'm out and about and they leave me alone,
I have no problem with them.

But I have noticed something quite important. Especially today. This morning.
I HAVE noticed it before but not really thought about it in depth.
Out of about 20 dogs, who did a poo, 4 of them did a really liquid poo. Which was impossible for the owners to pick up.

The ones who did a solid poo, most of the owners (not all by any means!!} picked up and put it in a bag. But the ones whose dogs had dodgy guts just left it in a big pool of brown shite.
I get it. How can you pick that up!?

So, my business venture is, for dog owners to carry around a supply of crystallising stuff, (DH is a chemist) so that if your dog has diarrhea all over the prom or a kids playground, would you fork out and carry it around with you? Just pour it over immediately, and the warmth would make it into a big lump that you could take away and get rid of, and not leave for kids to slip in.

We are seriously on the brink of putting money into this idea. I have concrete personal experience that this happens regularly enough (several times a day on even my own local beach!) that if every single dog owner who knows that their dogs will produce loose and unpickupable shits. . . .I'd make a mint.

Will those people fork out money for a bagful of salts, to make their pets loose motions easier to just take home with them and dispose of.

I really very much doubt it. I won't make any millions out of this.
They simply do not care. If it's all liquid shite they will just leave it there for kids to skid in.

Have a little think, dog owners.

OP posts:
GuyFawkesDay · 26/12/2022 08:27

I've learned about freeze spray and will buy it!

My dog can get "adrenaline poo" after long exciting walks which is soft. I carry tissues to try and remove everything but something to help is ideal.

Bloody loathe irresponsible dog owners!

LimitIsUp · 26/12/2022 08:29

Good idea. I'd carry that in my dog walking bag

DarkForces · 26/12/2022 08:30

I think if you want to sell to dog owners it helps if you actually like dogs. You clearly hate them

rose69 · 26/12/2022 08:32

It sounds a gods idea but do you want to set up a company that could possibly mean that you have to deal with dog lovers ie sales pitches, trade fairs etc?

Sagcbots · 26/12/2022 08:33

As someone with two dogs, I think this is a good idea. When one was a puppy, he would do sloppy poos and until we were able to find a food that suited his stomach, it would be a pain in the arse to pick up. Especially if he did it in the garden. It meant DS couldn’t run around in the garden for fear of stepping in poo I couldn’t pick up. I took to stealing sand from
his sandpit to stick to it to make it easier to pick up but this was far from perfect. Go for it OP, I’d buy it.

girlmom21 · 26/12/2022 08:38

You wouldn't post it publicly and send it privately @NinjaWarriorCooker Wink

SomethingOriginal2 · 26/12/2022 08:45

As a dog owner who's been in that situation I'd buy it and keep it in my little bag I use on SOME dog walks, but the chance of people always having it with them just in case is slim i think you'd have to also make some kind of carrier/dispenser that you can clip onto a lead.

It would also need to be completely non toxic, no micro plastics which I think will be the hardest part with something you want to interact with water and create a solid mass, that would he super dangerous ingested and it obviously won't have any warning once its been poured on the floor.

Stifledlife · 26/12/2022 08:47

I'd definitely get some. I have a dog with a sensitive stomach and it doesn't take much to set him off.

I've had a sitiation where I've come downstairs in the morning to a lake of brown (one of those "I don't know where to begin" messes) and something that could turn it solid would be a godsend.

I walk mainly on grass and always carry water so the situation it pretty easy to sort if it happens while out and about, but people that do streetwalks should absolutely carry it.

Maybe package it in single use packs so that people can carry it with them easily.

KendrickLamaze · 26/12/2022 08:49

As the owner of a dog that regularly has the shits, I love the idea. Depending on how much. My dog does about ten poos on a walk. The first two or three are solid but less so each time. By the end it is brown water and I am always so mortified.

NewMoonPhase · 26/12/2022 08:53

Mentalpiece · 26/12/2022 07:38

I buy a freeze spray that instantly freezes and solidifies dog pooh, so it's already available op.

What's the name of this?

PoseyFlump · 26/12/2022 09:01

I think you'd be wasting your money. It's too niche. In over ten years I think we've only had this problem once which was rectified with tissues and water (which we always carry with us) We wouldn't want to carry another product.

Any dog owner who has a dog with constant loose bowels needs to change their diet (the dogs, not their own)

Wishiwasonholiday1 · 26/12/2022 09:05

I would definitely get this. My dog has a strong stomach but there have been a couple of occasions when I've struggled to pick up his poo. I hate it when owners don't clear up after their dogs and I'm really conscientious about it, so this would be a good idea.

Mnbvcxz123 · 26/12/2022 09:13

I can’t believe the number of dog walkers here making very sympathetic noises but nevertheless still saying they would take their dog for a walk in public land when they’re at risk of doing sloppy pops that can’t be properly picked up! Your dog’s need/desire for a walk shouldn’t trump my
children’s need/desire for a walk without coming across sloppy dog poo. If your dog is going to drink salt water and have a sloppy poo that can’t be properly cleaned up, then it should stay in your house and garden!

I’m a generally libertarian type but the number of dog poos I come across (and not always obvious until after you’ve stepped in them!) makes me genuinely want to ban dogs sometime (I mean obvs not really - but my strength of feeling is such that unfortunately I sometimes feel there some be larger blanket bans on dogs in some areas).

SpacePotato · 26/12/2022 09:14

Don't spend your money investing in something too niche.

Responsible dog owners will already deal with it.
Those that don't give a shit will never give, or pick up, a shit.

lifeinthehills · 26/12/2022 09:18

Mnbvcxz123 · 26/12/2022 09:13

I can’t believe the number of dog walkers here making very sympathetic noises but nevertheless still saying they would take their dog for a walk in public land when they’re at risk of doing sloppy pops that can’t be properly picked up! Your dog’s need/desire for a walk shouldn’t trump my
children’s need/desire for a walk without coming across sloppy dog poo. If your dog is going to drink salt water and have a sloppy poo that can’t be properly cleaned up, then it should stay in your house and garden!

I’m a generally libertarian type but the number of dog poos I come across (and not always obvious until after you’ve stepped in them!) makes me genuinely want to ban dogs sometime (I mean obvs not really - but my strength of feeling is such that unfortunately I sometimes feel there some be larger blanket bans on dogs in some areas).

So because some dog owners don't pick up their dog poo properly, we should ban dogs?
What about all the parents whose kids poo behind bushes that the don't pick up, or the number of nappies rolled up in the gutter on the side of the road? That's grosser. Maybe we should ban kids? (kidding)

Jifmicroliquid · 26/12/2022 09:18

I’d buy this! We have several dogs and yesterday one had the runs on a walk. It took 3 bags, a spare covid mask and a load of tissues to try and clean it up from the pavement, but even then it wasn’t completely clear. I’d totally take a product like this out and about on dog walks.

CatherineNotSoMuch · 26/12/2022 09:20

I'd like to know where this seafront walk is, that you actually saw 20 dogs shitting in the space of 60 minutes. Sounds hideous.

schnauzerbeard · 26/12/2022 09:32

I feel bad for all the dogs with runny poo. They must have allergies or something. My raw fed dog has really compact solid poo that's easy to pick up. If your dog has consistently runny poo please get them tested as they may have a wheat/chicken intolerance.

Mnbvcxz123 · 26/12/2022 09:33

Haha - no, like I say, I’m being grumpy and it’s not really a serious suggestion but on the other hand sometimes I go out on a walk and we step in some much dog muck I genuinely return feeling that dogs should be banned in some areas and confined for their walks to particular areas where I would know not to walk with my children.

I’m just being grumpy on a Boxing Day morning really! But it is disgusting.

Kids pooing behind bushes?! OMG I haven’t heard of this and wouldn’t dream of letting my children do this. If my children had diarrhoea and couldn’t hold, I wouldn’t be taking them out. Surely that’s normal…?! Obviously I’m not suggesting banning kids, but if people don’t understand basic civil behaviour like not dumping nappies then I worry about their ability to parent properly in other areas of life.

PoseyFlump · 26/12/2022 09:36

I could see a product like this on Dragon's Den... and no one investing.

There are similar products for campers. Could you compete on price? Have you studied the market?

Responsible owners already know how to deal with this issue. Irresponsible owners wouldn't care to buy a product. I think if you take a handful of 'I'd buy this' comments on a MN thread as a green light for a business idea you'll run into problems.

SamphirethePogoingStickerist · 26/12/2022 09:39

As the keeper if a hedge snuffling hound who seems to delight in upsetting his stomach I'd buy this.

Careful consideration would need to be given to it's 'pocketability' or it wouldn't be taken out.

But, in principle, yes please.

thelobsterquadrille · 26/12/2022 09:40

schnauzerbeard · 26/12/2022 09:32

I feel bad for all the dogs with runny poo. They must have allergies or something. My raw fed dog has really compact solid poo that's easy to pick up. If your dog has consistently runny poo please get them tested as they may have a wheat/chicken intolerance.

Runny poo isn't necessarily allergies, though.

"Adrenaline poo" is a thing, and if OP was at the beach, many dogs get the shits if they've accidentally drank lots of salt water.

SinnerBoy · 26/12/2022 09:45

I'd probably buy it and am interested to learn of the freeze spray. Mine's usually OK, but she's adept at grabbing discarded food on the run and sometimes ends up with diarrhoea. It's awful trying to scrape it off the ground.

SamphirethePogoingStickerist · 26/12/2022 09:50

Mnbvcxz123 · 26/12/2022 09:13

I can’t believe the number of dog walkers here making very sympathetic noises but nevertheless still saying they would take their dog for a walk in public land when they’re at risk of doing sloppy pops that can’t be properly picked up! Your dog’s need/desire for a walk shouldn’t trump my
children’s need/desire for a walk without coming across sloppy dog poo. If your dog is going to drink salt water and have a sloppy poo that can’t be properly cleaned up, then it should stay in your house and garden!

I’m a generally libertarian type but the number of dog poos I come across (and not always obvious until after you’ve stepped in them!) makes me genuinely want to ban dogs sometime (I mean obvs not really - but my strength of feeling is such that unfortunately I sometimes feel there some be larger blanket bans on dogs in some areas).

And people, kids, who throw down all sorts of shit my dog them tries to eat? Shitty or sugary wet wipes, cellophane packaging, chocolate, boiled sweets, half a kebab, chewing gum. The list is fucking endless. My thanks to the dickhead who left 2 hotdogs, buns, sauces, mustards etc at the bottom of a fence. Cost the dog a night at the vets, constantly puking, us fearing a deliberate poisoning. Turns out bloke was pissed and thought the hedgehogs might like them!!!

My dog isn't even all that food focussed but he does find 'street food' irresistible. As a terrier he sniffs everything and the difference between smelling peemails and snaffling the kind of crap many people drop because it's apparently biodegradable or food for wildlife is about a millisecond.

Step off the high horse for a moment. Your ire should be directed at 'some people' rather than dog owners.

SamphirethePogoingStickerist · 26/12/2022 09:52

schnauzerbeard · 26/12/2022 09:32

I feel bad for all the dogs with runny poo. They must have allergies or something. My raw fed dog has really compact solid poo that's easy to pick up. If your dog has consistently runny poo please get them tested as they may have a wheat/chicken intolerance.

Mine too. Raw food does make a huge difference to stomach issues and the smell and texture of dog shit. But, as I have said, it's 'street food' the ignorance of others that cause some issues for us.

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