Surely my dog can poo on the pavement if I pick up immediately?

[sergeantmajor]

Well it seems I am "in the doghouse".
Taking my dog for a walk, on the lead, with DH and DD at the weekend. The dog squatted down to poo on the pavement, outside a neighbour's house (NOT on their property). The owners were sitting in their front garden and started complaining, saying I shouldn't let him poo there, it was disgusting. I said that I was going to pick it up. Then they said I should move him so he finished his poo in a woody bit down the street. I said I didn't want to pick him up mid-poo, and that I would pick it up immediately. They kept calling out, saying how disgusting it was.
After I had picked it up, they said that I ought it to hose the ground down and they were going to get their hose. Actually (if you'll excuse the description), the poo was so firm that no trace had been left. I had a water bottle with me, so I washed away the (non-existent) traces. They continued to call out abuse and f-words, even with my dd present, and the exchange turned extremely unpleasant.
As I walked away, another neighbour called out the window "well done", meaning the unpleasant owner, not me!! I think they thought I was someone who hadn't picked up.
I am fuming.
As far as I am aware, city or countryside, the dog poos, you pick up: that's it. You don't try and catch it, or move it, or shield the process from view. I can't even imagine what the alternative is.
What do you think?

Obviously it's socially acceptable, in the main, for you to allow your pet to shit where it pleases as long as you pick it up. So in that sense they are being unreasonable as that's considered ok in the UK.

However, it is pretty disgusting watching a dog burp its hoop out while you're enjoying a bit of lockdown sun in your garden as the owner looks fondly on.

In my ideal world pet owners would do far more to minimise the impact that their very human choice to own an animal has on others and for all this wittering about "ooh but they're animals" to be regarded as the irrelevance that it is, so: cats confined to the owner's garden, dogs trained to shit in the owner's garden only, dogs on leads whenever other people are around.

I do know I'm out of step in terms of most of the UK though so I just say this stuff on here. But I do have sympathy with the shouty garden people.

The thing is, dog owners are hypocritical. I bet if I had a 200kg gorilla as a pet and it dropped a turd outside the OP's living room window she'd up in arms. 500 years ago bear baiting was family entertainment. I predict in another 500 years the squalid sight of canine defecation is equally socially unacceptable.

[quote LST]@smallsteps88 Fuck Off And Die? She sounds terribly pleasant doesn't she.. [/quote]
Yes that what I thought it meant! That is such a disproportionate response to a dog having a poo!

@Cleopatra I literally couldn't give a shit (no pun intended) if you owned an elephant that shit on my drive - if you cleaned it up.

You really need to get a grip

To be fair @cleopatrascorset I'd be upset if you were anywhere near my house or me. You sound like a nasty piece of work.

I know some owners are able to train their dogs to only go on certain pieces of grass. This is responsible in my opinion. I think allowing your dog to shit on a public pavement is pretty gross. Nobody knows what mess it will or won't leave and it's just unpleasant. I know many dog owners see it differently but that doesn't mean my opinion isn't valid. I feel the same way about them weeing on main pavements. With larger dogs having to step over a mini river is frankly gross. But I'm of the view that if you don't have a garden and aren't willing to let your dog do its business in there why is it ok on public streets.

@cleopatrascorset

The thing is, dog owners are hypocritical. I bet if I had a 200kg gorilla as a pet and it dropped a turd outside the OP's living room window she'd up in arms. 500 years ago bear baiting was family entertainment. I predict in another 500 years the squalid sight of canine defecation is equally socially unacceptable.

If you’re going there, can you kindly talk to the police and ask them to stop their horses from doing their business on the road. They should be able to keep it in until they are back in their boxes. They don’t even pick up their mess...

@Babymamamama

I know some owners are able to train their dogs to only go on certain pieces of grass. This is responsible in my opinion. I think allowing your dog to shit on a public pavement is pretty gross. Nobody knows what mess it will or won't leave and it's just unpleasant. I know many dog owners see it differently but that doesn't mean my opinion isn't valid. I feel the same way about them weeing on main pavements. With larger dogs having to step over a mini river is frankly gross. But I'm of the view that if you don't have a garden and aren't willing to let your dog do its business in there why is it ok on public streets.

I’m sure most people do allow their dogs to do their business in their gardens but when they go out for a walk how do you expect them to hold it until they get back for an unspecified amount of time?

Same as with all dog training, gradually and consistently. A friend of mine trains assistance dogs and of course when they start off with her they can't do it but by the end of their time with her they can.

So yes, OP your neighbours sound unreasonable (and possibly drunk?).
However, we get so much dog mess left on the pavement outside our house. I mean every other day there is a new pile of it.
Our area is awful for people not picking up. So I’ll admit that if someone lets their dog poo on the pavement by our house I will linger or curtain twitch to make sure they pick it up. And perhaps yell at them/after them if they don’t.

Ridiculous. I have had a dog for 13 years in London and have never had someone behave like this, it's just chavvy. She poos next to a tree etc 95% of the time and I pick up 100% of the time.

Before covid 19 we spent a few months going to work on the train and the pleasure she gives people is enormous. From the elderly who stop to say they had one like her arent they lovely dogs to the tough young guys sitting next to her who can't resist reaching down to pat her. People actually talk to me on the tube/overground. People smile when they see her. She is more of a contributor to society than most people.

Meanwhile these nasty chavs are screaming abuse in the street, breeding more nasty people, no doubt dropping rubbish/not recycling/costing the nhs a fortune because they don't get any exercise and more. I'm only sorry you have such revolting neighbours OP.

As for the commentators on here - I suggest you take a good look at yourselves because the chances that you are a kind, decent person who acts unselfishly are pretty slim.

@CoronaMoaner I totally agree. Not picking up is just as bad as being like her neighbours. It pisses me off so much because then it causes problems for those of us who do pick up. I have poo bags on me literally the whole time. Biodegradable of course 😉

Incidentally this same training also prevents dogs from jumping up at people "just being friendly", means they don't react with hostility to unexpected approaches etc. It is perfectly possible to have a dog that has minimal impact on others: dogs aren't stupid, and will learn. But mostly people cba unless they have to.

I don’t blame them; it is vile. You saw them sat there you could at least have moved the dog down a bit so they didn’t have to witness it.

@cleopatrascorset are you really telling people to fuck off and die? What’s wrong with you?

@hearts and have a trail of dog shit up the street instead 🤣 How would that have helped? My dog normally shits when hes off lead on grass but if he does shit when he is on a lead he doesn't stop if you drag him..

"If you’re going there, can you kindly talk to the police and ask them to stop their horses from doing their business on the road."

Police horses provide a public service. In fact, police dogs are welcome to take a 💩 if they're sniffing me out of an earthquake. Pet dogs, OTOH, serve no useful purpose.

If you’re going there, can you kindly talk to the police and ask them to stop their horses from doing their business on the road. They should be able to keep it in until they are back in their boxes. They don’t even pick up their mess...

That's a point. Near where I live horses are ridden on NL country lanes, which since lockdown have been frequented by lots of walkers (nightmare for drivers when pedestrians don't know the highway code). I regularly see the horses take a huge dump while walking along and it's just left!

As an aside, back when I had a dog, once he squatted that was it, there was NO moving him.

@Cleopatra shows how little you know about dog ownership. My dog serves a massive purpose in my life. He supports me more than some humans ever could. So I will continue to let him shit where he likes and clean up after him.

@Sparklfairy presumably that didn't happen on your sofa though? Once past a certain age anyway. Same principle applies, it just takes more work, and then he wouldn't be starting to squat elsewhere. But, like I say, there's no motivation to do this for most dog owners because it's seen as ok in this country.

Cleopatra you total nutter

Who the hell says FOAD now...this isnt the 90s

@ivfgottostaypositive

You shouldn't have a dog if you can't take it for a walk in a grassy area

Why is a grassy area better?

I’m so glad that the intransigent dog haters aren’t the majority on mumsnet or in real life - yanbu, op. I fail to see how grass is better, much harder to pick up cleanly. Your neighbour is probably one of the mumsnetters you always find on dog threads frothing.

Your neighbours are strange.