Damn dog owners and their inability to pick up poo

[DogPooPoo]

Yes, it’s another dog thread.
No, Mumsnet aren’t rabid dog haters.

Yet again I’m cleaning dog shit off my or my kids’ trainers (or bike wheels, scooter wheels, roller boots etc). This time, not only is it on the sole, but before I’d noticed, I’d bashed the offending shoe against the side fabric of my other shoe, and it’s ingrained in. It was smushy and stank.
I’ve scraped it off as best I can before I get home, but I expect they’ll need to go in the washing machine, which will probably ruin them. Or I’ll just bin them, as I don’t really like the idea of dog poo in my washing machine.

On to my AIBU.

AIBU that it is high time we had a high-fee dog licence, which paid for dog wardens, dog poo dna testing, extra cctv, a database of dogs to detect which owners aren’t picking up, massive fines for the offending owners, and taking the dog away for repeat offenders with a lifetime ban on owning dogs.

YANBU - we need to re-introduce dog licences, and come down hard on owners who leave poo in public spaces

YABU, it’s just poo

Yes to a high-fee dog licence - or at least an extra dog fee added to council tax for dog owners.

I'm a dog owner, very good dog owner, and I'd fully support expensive licences, insurance, whatever, particularly as off-putting as possible for the lazy idiots who've acquired dogs these days.

I appreciate that of you.

I don't disagree and have similar fantasies about getting the useless owners in trouble despite liking dogs. I would get great satisfaction from seeing the person who let their dog onto my front lawn to poo every afternoon while I was on the school run getting a fine.

However, i suspect it's actually a small minority of owners having a large effect. Where I live I must see upwards of 40 or 50 different dogs being walked a day so there's no way they are all leaving a poo a day on the path/grass or we'd be wading through it! It must only be one of two but unfortunately just a couple really spoils things for everyone. A database and dna sampling of poos would be great . Probably prohibitively expensive though. Actually the worst of all is people who abandon bags of poo which are then still sitting in the same bush a year later, unable to wash away into the soil with the rain.

Snap! Pisses me off that other dog owners give us responsible dog owners a bad name.

Oh yes, the hanging bags of poo. Whyyyyyyy!!!

A database will have to be costed and then the licence fee costed accordingly. If it is prohibitively expensive, so be it. A dog is not a right.

Another dog owner who agrees, here!

I don’t very much like picking up dog poo (who does?!) but it’s very much part and parcel of owning one. I got a small dog so I’d only have to pick up small poo 😂

I have a particular hatred for people who let their dogs poo in leaves during autumn. Children (mine included) then run through them as children do, and get covered in dog poo on the way to school 😡

The hanging of dog poo, you ask? Well I did curiously "confront" a lady when I first saw this happening in front of my eyes. She hadn't actually spotted me, but her story was that she intended coming back the same route and binning it then. Highly implausible on this route as it's generally a wooded area where we enter from one path and come out the other end, a good 45 mins for me and my Lab at lunchtime, a huge walk for her tiny dog if she was doubling back.

I'm a dog owner and I agree. We should have to pay a license fee, I would be happy to.

But those who cause these issues are not the responsible dog owners, so would likely not pay a fee anyway.

Annoys me too and I'm a dog owner.

I actually picked up someone else's dogs poo the other day as it was right in the middle of the path. I had poo bags so I bagged it and binned it!

Also I do sometimes pop my poo bag down on a circular walk and collect it on the way back. The one time we forgot my husband went back out to collect it later.

Some sort of euthanasia or permanent removal for the dogs of people who let their dogs do this is the only solution. Generally those dog owners who are willing to buy a license etc are not those who create the problem.

I don't hate dogs but I am sure that there are too many in this country as a moment. My little urban park is full of them and their waste.

I haven’t got a dog but my daughter has and she always picks it up. If you’ve got a dog that’s what you should do. If you can’t pick up then don’t have a dog.

I don’t understand the poo bags hanging on bushes either. Just why?!

Dog wardens would be equipped to Identify which owners didn't have licences, and act accordingly, including involving the police (fees would contribute to the extra burden on police). Anyone not complying will have their dog forcibly removed.
Breeders need to be licenced too, and anyone without a licence is not allowed to breed dogs.

I am a dog owner and I agree! At the moment dog poo in tall grass is my pet hate, but I can see how maybe you could possibly miss that. The one that was right in the middle of a busy path yesterday not so much!

I'm really heartened by all the dog owners saying they'd get a licence.

I would support many things which worked to stop irresponsible dog owners giving us all a bad name and made our environment cleaner. I hate dog ( and cat ) poo. I often clear it up when walking my own dog.
Using CCTV and technology to trace DNA is fine, but there is no reason why only responsible dog owners should pay for this.
In my village petty vandalism is mostly attributed to teenagers. Should all parents of teenagers pay more Council Tax? We also have a problem with cars speeding, but don’t expect law abiding drivers to pay a levy for the criminals.
I would be happy to pay for a dog registration scheme at reasonable cost, but I couldn’t support a scheme which made dog owning unaffordable. Many single and elderly people rely on their pets for company. Owning a faithful and loving pet should not just be the prerogative of rich people.

🤔 Is today the fantastic monthly Dog Haters Unite Gathering on MN?

Of course!

We all pick up our dog's poo and still have the displeasure of stepping in someone else's too. Possibly more likely to, as they walk in similar places. It's vile.

This drives me mad. It gives us all a bad name. I wrote to the local paper in the 1980s when I was about 12 to rant about dog poo. I can't believe it's still an issue 40 years later. I would never not pick up after my dog, and I pick up other dogs' poo as well if it's right in the middle of the path/pavement.

I have a dog and think we need licences and an absolutely massively increased number of dog wardens. I restricted where we walked when my kids were little due solely to dog shit. i drove short distances as I wasn’t willing to have dog shit on my buggy/toddler shoes. I didn’t have a dog at that point.

only a few months ago, I stepped in a big load of dog poo whilst walking my own dog (it was dark, I was crossing road, first step onto pavement = into the poo). My shoe was so covered in shit that I threw the pair away. It’s so filthy and horrible.

Yep - children get covered in dog filth on the way to school - walk it into their classes and then the children are instructed to sit on it. I hate to think how far it's gets spread around the class to every other single item when the children have had their hands on the floor whilst dutifully sat listening to teacher. Children also have a propensity for playing with their shoes when sat on the floor in school - register, lesson prep, assemblies etc. Schools then cite noro virus as the cause of every single D&V bug which goes round twice every half term 🤔

It's because of the parents who insist on taking their little 'fur babies' on the school run. The last 100 yds up to school is widely known as skid row around here because of the sheer amount spread about the pavements.

The village green outside our local primary school where children, parents, dogs congregate before and after school is covered in fly-blown dog turds. Parents tie their dogs to the school railings to take their children into school. Then other parents and children, who maybe don't care so much for animals, have to get past a long line of 'just being friendly' dogs who wipe their noses on your legs and claw your clothes.

A mother had to put her baby down on the green, who was crawling/just taking first steps, to attend to her son who had fallen in dog dirt and was wiping it off his hands/trousers when her younger son decided he would put a big handful of parasitic shite in his mouth.

It hasn't changed since I was taking my own children to school 25 years ago and it's still happening now I take my grandchildren to school. My son's shoes were particularly magnetically attracted to dog dirt. My husband would come home from work to find newspaper parcels of shoes outside, waiting for him to clean. I couldn't face it myself - it would make my stomach painful from retching. I would've rather have thrown them in the bin - but we certainly could not afford to replace shoes so often.

OP - torch/burn the trainers and treat yourself to new.

set up a petition? I'd sign it

Agreed. I often pick up dog poo that selfish dog owners have leftbwhen I see it if I know there's a dog bin nearby. However, I draw the line at carrying 5 or 6 bags of the stuff on top of my own dogs mess.

We have a safe, enclosed dog field near us, only one entrance which is through a gate with a dog bin right next to it. There is always loads of dog poo in the field, it's disgusting.

There are so many really poor dog owners out there, we really need a better system of control.

Another dog owner here who is also totally fed up with dog shit everywhere. There was even some just under the bloody dog waste bin this morning! Lazy bastards.

I’d happily pay for a dog license and think that anyone who doesn’t pick up after their dog should have to keep a container of dog shit in their house for all eternity. On display with a big sign on it saying what an inconsiderate arsehole they are.