To not pick up dog poo...

[Moonfishstar]

... when in a quiet forest, but to flick it with a stick into dense undergrowth instead?

I don't see any issue with this, but I've got a feeling lots will disagree with me, so I wanted to get some other opinions.

I have a dog owner and am not a city dweller although how that has turned into an insult is beyond me

Just pick it up. How can you possibly think if you are walking there that no one else will ever be? Ramblers/kids/other dog walkers/ppl doing orienteering/DofE/campers etc

And your view of "off the beaten track" may be different to others

Dogs aren't wild animals. They are domesticated pets. They eat domesticated diets so that argument is pointless.

Just pick it up!!

You do realise that people out walking sometimes dive behind a bush to have a wee?

Or even walk off the paths?

The last thing they want is to stand in your dog's poo.

Pick it up.

Then why start the thread? Just want an argument? (I'm guessing by the thread title...)

YANBU and saves a plastic bag

Can we not have anywhere that’s not full of dog shit?

I will... If I'm on tracks that are only used very sparsely a long way from civilisation, and there's next to no chance anyone would ever go into the dense undergrowth, I'll continue to use my judgment - as most people do.

Why do you think that you are the only person walking 'a long way from civilisation'?

Not everyone walks on the trails.

Are you in the UK by the way?

Because nowhere that people take their dog for a walk (from their home) is THAT far from civilisation.

You aren't using your judgement.
You're finding a narrative/excuse to suit your behaviour.

What's so hard about carrying your dog poo home or to a bin?
That's the question you should be answering!

The bags are degradable.

@Moonfishstar

I went on a forest walk while pregnant and camping with another family. The other family’s dog found some poo in the bushes and rolled over and over in it. I remember feeling queasy anyway, but throwing up from the smell. It was so difficult to get the dog clean.

I think it also sets a precedent that not cleaning up is ok. You might make sure it’s well hidden, but others won’t.

It’s a shame that I can’t let my children explore woods/forests because of what they might walk in.

I already find myself on constant alert for dog poo with a toddler. I heard another Mum tell me her toddler fall in dog diarrhoea once. Some places I just avoid completely because I know there is too much dog poo.

I don’t think it’s good for ecosystems, especially if more people do it. Naturally occurring poo = ok, but greater volumes of not naturally occurring dog poo = not ok, leaching into rivers etc…

I'm a dog owner and live and walk in lots of woodland. Always pick up.
Come on, OP, it takes seconds.

Just wondering how many on Team 'Always Pick Up However Inaccessible because you must Think Of Others' are also on Team 'I Always Bag A Table Before I Order Food because I Might Not Get One Otherwise'. Seems strange to me that both these seem to be the majority Mumsnet opinions.

The only reason you're stepping in dog poo is because you're deliberately going in to those "deepest, unreachable" places. The fact you encounter poo in such places is that most people don't. If you just left it you would be fine!

Oh hey, you're really surpassing yourself with these comments @Moonfishstar

So the fact this poster steps in dog poo is not the dog owners fault - it's HERS for going deep into the woods.

So you think other people should stay on the paths so they don't walk in dog poo?

You're having a laugh.

Seriously?

The Forest rangers here advise to flick it if it's on a path. It's to try and cut down on the amount of people that do pick up the poo in bags but then discard the bags by tying them to trees etc.

I may start going out at night and pooping in selfish dog owners' gardens. Cats do it, so why shouldn't I? 🤷‍♀️

Ideally it should be picked up, but it’s better to flick into the undergrowth than leave it on the path or in a bag left on the path.

Personally I would far rather it naturally decompose in the depths of a forest somewhere than being wrapped in a plastic bag which will be put in land fill and not go anywhere for hundreds of years.

Do you fully understand the damage it does while decomposing? It's hugely polluting and harmful.

I was roundly attacked last time I made this point. Apparently children shouldn’t be allowed to leave the path, or run anywhere when in forests because it upsets the birds. Same on moorland- only walk quietly in single file.

I’d rather you didn’t but another consideration is how May do Waller’s go through there. If it’s petty remote I’m less bothered than but something near the city where you could still get lots of dos doing this each day.

My dog did a large poo in the snow a week or so ago on an extremely rural walk we do every day.We cover about ten acres of woodland and moorland and noone else accesses it.
I usually pick the poo up but in this case the poo was melting through the snow and I left it. He has now rolled in his own poo in that exact place and had to be washed twice. This involves a huge retriever being manhandled into a shower, wet shitty dog smell all through the house, wet dog marks on the hall paintwork.
I've learnt my lesson.

🤔

Unless your dog is tied to you with a rope , it might be a bit ahead of you ...or a way behind you - and you won't always see when it shits ,,, so won't get 99% of it's excrement

So what happens if your dog craps far away from dense undergrowth do play a game of hockey to get to some dense undergrowth?

What happens if your dog does a very soft poo that you can't just stick and flick?

If something doesn't belong take it home with you. What happens if everyone starts flicking all sorts into the said dense undergrowth?

YABU!

One dog has been trained to only poo in our garden, the other is a 7 month old puppy
If you miss a poo in the garden,it can stay there for ages, they certainly don't biodegrade in a couple of days, especially in the summer. Biodegradable poo bags. Our LA does actually incinerate waste. In winter,if we've had a lot of rain, I walk my 2 (,. longhaired) on the beach. Dogs are meant to be on lead on the proms,so theoretically you can't miss your dog pooing. Took same DGD on the beach this week, reminded her when she was little, she used to count the dog poos.

I think pet ownership has gone bonkers and is on the increase. Pet food production causes a huge environmental impact in itself, and I don’t think additional and unnatural dog poo in the forest can be good for the ecosystem either.