AIBU to want to know what a 'normal' response to dog's mess is?

[Cara707]

I have severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, with a contamination obsession as part of my condition so these kind of things are a problem to me. I am just wondering what a normal reaction to seeing dog's mess on other family members/household member's shoes is? It seems like every day there is a small quantity of dog's mess on someone's shoes and as I'm not able to clean it myself and don't want to be constantly nagging people to clean their shoes I would just like to know how much this bothers 'normal people' (without OCD).

For example if you see a small amount of dried dog's mess on yours or someone else's shoe do you clean it? How do you go about that? (e.g. do you wear gloves?, do you handle the shoes or avoid touching them? etc.)

We are shoes-off household so it's not as though people are tracking it on their shoes through the house but it's a source of anxiety to me so would like to know what to do about it!

You find dog mess on your family members' shoes every day?? This seems extremely high... Where are they walking that they're always treading in it?

I put gloves on and try not to vomit while doing it, it usually makes me gag. My kids are still young so nobody but me would clean them. Luckily it doesn't happen to often where I live people have got better at cleaning up after there dogs

Are you sure it’s dog mess and not just mud? We even own a dog, yet I don’t remember the last time anyone in our house had it on their shoes

If anyone in my house treads in dog poo I throw the shoes away immediately

Horror and revulsion is a normal response to dog feces.

I have a dog, who is walked every day, and I live near a lot of dogs so do encounter dog mess out on the pavement... I think I've maybe had dog mess on my shoe about twice a year in 4 years?

Dog poo is horribly smelly so even without OCD I would want even the smallest amount gone. Depending on shoe or regardless of shoe tbh Id smother the part in bleach and leave outside for a while. Absolutely would wear gloves and use paper towels to wipe it off, outside tap to rinse and if needed use a specially dedicated old "mucky" toothbrush. A toothbrush that would be bleached and stay in the shed for that purpose only!!

I have and love dogs and would not have shitty shoes in the house.
But are you sure it is dog mess? If they are genuinely tracking shit in regularly then they need to look where they are going! And clean their own shoes.

Every day??? I sincerely doubt this.

This!
I'd put gloves on and try not to vomit.
I don't have any anxieties but dog mess is grim, just the thought of cleaning it off shoes makes me want to gag

I think everyone is bothered by this. I scrub with hot water and fairy and a brush which lives in the shed and is only for this sort of task. It wouldn't make me gag or upset me though, just a nasty job that needs to be done.

Like PP I find it odd that this happens daily. Are you sure it's dog poo and not just a bit of mud?

Dog mess shoes do not enter the house.

I can't face them. They stay outside and are walked outside until the mess is gone, usually a few weeks.
Then they are sprayed with disinfectant and walked some more.

They can come back in the house after a few weeks and a few walks in the rain plus the disinfectant and another week of walks in the rain.

I won't touch them.

I bin the shoes 🤷🏻‍♀️ but it happens so rarely I think I've only had to do it twice! And we live rurally and go walking often, normally we spot it and skirt around it.

Honestly if this is happening daily they must be hunting down the poo!

Dogs mess on shoes should be cleaned immediately, of course. But why on eart is it happening so often? It's a fairly rare occurrence.

We use a hosepipe and usually some kind of stick to get to anything that's still in there.

It seems more likely that you are seeing ordinary mud and dirt and thinking it is dog mess?
When my kids were small they seemed to step in it once or twice a year at most.
I don't have OCD and I do find it disgusting, as do most people. I may have on occasion thrown out shoes as a result - but only if they were old/nearly grown out of.

I’d honestly probably throw the shoes away rather than clean them, unless they were super expensive heels or something. But even when I had a toddler/small child she’d only very rarely step in dog mess. Every day isn’t very plausible - are you sure that it’s not just dirt or leaf litter?

It's really not a common occurrence, but I would pick up the shoes without touching the soles and then take them outside to clean. We have a shoe scrubber that I could use with water to clean, and then I'd probably wipe them down with a disposable wipe after that.

I am not squeamish or prone to finding these things upsetting, so would not find it difficult to do, although by definition it's unpleasant. I would most definitely wash my hands thoroughly afterwards.

Every day?? Why is it happening so frequently? Can't people watch where they're walking?

For me it would depend on the shoes. I have two young DC so shoes they've had for a while and nearly are nearly growing of, I'd just chuck. Shoes that still have a decent amount of life in them I'd clean unless absolutely covered (eg if it was trainers and the poo had gone into the fabric rather than just stayed on the sole, I'd throw those away)

I can’t remember the last time anyone in my house stood in dog mess, but I’d wear gloves and clean off, any rags or brushes would be bleached post cleaning.

They go outside under the hosepipe until the mess is gone, then scrubbed with a brush and detergent. But this is a once a year occurrence, not every day.

I can't remember the last time one us stood in dog mess and we own two.

You cannot be standing in it daily, even with a family of 20 I would find it hard to believe that one person a day is.

You're obsessing about mud.

Proper stinky dog shit would get washed off outside.

People throw away shoes that they’ve stepped in dog poo in!? That seems crazy to me and no I don’t have low standards.

I would scrape off the excess and clean the shoe with a cloth or brush and fairy liquid and then maybe something stronger after. I don’t tend to have gloves hanging around for jobs like that but if I did I’d wear them and if not just a good hand wash after

I have a bootscaper then a doormat with scrubby bits for mucky shoes. Rarely dog poo I’d assume you’d scape it off when stepped in and then I’d make an effort to walk through puddles. If it was imbedded in sole ( I don’t tend to buy trainers with those soles it’d be gloves and an old scrubby sponge by the outdoor tap. Bin the sponge after.

We walk our dog twice a day and my teen only once accidentally stepped in dog mess when she was 7, she had cheap shoes on so I threw them in the bin.

I don’t think your finding dog mess on shoes every day.

I'd take the shoes outside and scub with hot water and disinfectant. Then bollock the person who trod in dog mess.

I grew up on a farm though, so I have a fairly high ability to deal calmly and efficiently with many things people view as disgusting.