Bagged dog poo

Posted by: Loki on 02 January 2019

Caveat: this is not a post against well-trained dog owners.

I have no axe to grind with dog owners per se, but with a certain number who are incapable of disposing of dog poo in both an environmentally friendly and socially acceptable way.

I have been privileged to enjoy an extended Xmas break and have taken the opportunity to go for a good walk every day. But wherever I roam the paths, byways, hedgerows, rivers and ditches, even railway crossings, are blighted by bags full of dog poo. 

The worst offenders were a pile of some 10 bags, multicoloured, next to the gate of a railway crossing and another single bag hanging from a twig in a difficult to access hedge. The latter was a vile intrusion on an otherwise beautfiul, tranquil and unspoilt corner of the Dark Peak District in Northern England. It brought back the horror of finding no less than seven such bags thrown into my father's Cornish hedgerow (yes Odin has a residence in SW UK) which I narrowly missed spraying everywhere whilst cutting back his hedges in the autumn.

Dog fouling is not new, but what I fail to understand is that if a dog owner has such little regard for other members of the public, why does s/he feel the need to bag up the poo before leaving it behind.? What is the point? Why not just let the dog do its business on the ground and let it be? at least that way the poo stands a chance of being washed away and being 'absorbed' into the soil (and stepped in, thus aiding distribution and organic integration).  It seems doubly insensitive when the bags clearly won't bio-degrade, simultaneously leaving an explosive time bomb of bacteria for some poor unsuspecting hiker (or hedge-cutter) to stumble upon. Who do they think is going to clear it up? Where's the sense of community responsibility, thought and care?

Today, on the SW coast path the majority of poo we came across was at least left honestly, out in the open; causing me some anxiety as to the state of my paw-tipped Nordic walking poles (how else does a Demi-god keep fit?!), but otherwise adding organic matter to the soil. 

Posted on: 02 January 2019 by winkyincanada

On out-and-back walks, dogs often poo early. Owners are understandably reluctant to schlep the bag for the entire walk so often leave it to pick up on the way back (we do this). But everyone forgets from time to time, so we pay it forward and collect other bags on the way back. The majority of bags we use now are degradable. One needs to be careful when using old bags! Testing strength is the key.

Posted on: 02 January 2019 by thebigfredc

I collect and save all of our dog's leavings in readiness for pushing through my boss'  letterbox for the next time he pisses me off.

I used to work with a guy who would regularly drag the cup of his boss through the toilet bowl before putting it back on its hook to dry.

I manage quite a few people these days and at the end of the working day I secure my cup in a locked draw.

Ray

Posted on: 02 January 2019 by Bob the Builder

The main reason I will never own a dog as picking up it's s*** and carrying it around in a plastic bag would really spoil the pleasure of taking a walk, you dog owners must be very, very careful what you feed your pets I would imagine curry is a real no no.

Posted on: 02 January 2019 by thebigfredc

Spot on Bob.

Dog shit is undoubtedly horrible and we make sure ours is given dry food only.

Ray

Posted on: 02 January 2019 by Bryce Curdy

Not an excuse, but there’s a lack of bins in this country which only acts as a further disincentive for any already selfish dog owners.

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by james n

Comes as part of the dog ownership. Carrying a small bag of poo around is no big deal if there are no bins around.

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by AndyP19

There is a Jerry Seinfeld skit that goes something like this - If an alien came down and saw someone doing that then they’d know exactly who was running that planet.

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by Richard Dane

I've posted before on here about the ever growing crop of "poop fruit" that hangs from the trees and bushes at the entrance to a neighbouring forest.  It beggars belief really.  As Loki says, why go to the trouble of bagging up the poo in the first place, carry it on your walk and then sling it away in the bushes right at the end?  All the bags are the same so I suspect it may well be the same person. Of more concern is that the particular entrance to the forest is only used by us and staff from a neighbouring girls boarding school - ergo, it's fairly safe to assume that the person doing this is a teacher or someone who works at the school.  It would be better by far for the person to just kick the dog poo off any path and into the woods.

As to the poo itself, unfortunately modern packaged dog foods are complicit in creating poo that's not just bulky and messy, but that sticks around for a long time. Most kibble is just grain or else bulked out with grain, and this adds volume to the poo for not much benefit to the dog.  Do you remember dog poo from your youth?  It was firm and compact and after a few days it would turn white and then just turn to dust.  That's because many dogs were still being fed from butchers scraps with plenty of bone in the diet. Feed your dog raw meat, bone (always raw - never cooked) and some vegetables and you'll soon find that their poos are very compact and there's very little waste. 

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by Loki
winkyincanada posted:

On out-and-back walks, dogs often poo early. Owners are understandably reluctant to schlep the bag for the entire walk so often leave it to pick up on the way back (we do this). But everyone forgets from time to time, so we pay it forward and collect other bags on the way back. The majority of bags we use now are degradable. One needs to be careful when using old bags! Testing strength is the key.

I understand your point, to a degree, but had always thought that a bag or warm poo would be a welcome hand/pocket warmer: somewhat useful in a high latitude. A properly lined pocket such as athe game pockets with detachable liners found in traditional wax cotton Barbour jackets would provide some peace of mind, or, as you say, a well constructed bag in the first place.   Perhaps there's a business opportunity there?!

As for forgetfulness, I would have thought that that was a good reason not to drop it in the first place although I admire the community-minded act of picking up others.

Schlep or no schlep, I can't help thinking that the responisbility of the owner should not be transferred. 

 

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by tonym

Indeed, good call with the useful hand-warmer aspect of a bagful of the smelly brown excrement there Loki, a welcome gift in this cold spell, with the added bonus of auto-shaping to the palm. Simply re-warmed in the microwave for continued relief.

As an owner of a couple of dogs, I really do hate those stupid, mindless prats who leave their filled poo-bags around, and the mentality of them wot hang the bags in bushes completely escapes me. I despair...

Our dogs are trained to go out into the fields hereabouts to do their business, where it harmlessly dissipates into the soil without annoying anyone; a nicer solution than putting bags in bins.

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by Bob the Builder

No, no, no using dog's s*** as a hand warmer please Loki no. Actually now I know why Barbour jacket wearing dog walkers always have that sour, dissatisfied look on their faces they have a pocket full of warm dog's s***!

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by Clive B

This is a topic which really, REALLY annoys me. I am forever hooking poo bags out of the hedgerows and trees near us and taking them home, double bagging them and putting them in our bin. I frequently ask dog walkers if they own any of the bags left at the side of the lane. If I ever spotted anyone dropping, or worse flinging, one, I am sure I'd have difficulty containing my temper.

Some friends of ours who own a couple of Labradors take a small trowel in a plastic bag whenever they walk their dogs. They pick up the poo in the trowel and fling it in the hedgerow where it can decay naturally, out of harm's way. The trowel is then returned to the bag. Problem solved. 

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by james n

I've yet to see anyone actually hang a bag up yet they just seem to appear.

Anyone I see forgetting to pick up, gets a polite 'I've got a spare poo bag if you need one' which normally does the trick

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by Rich 1

I'm no dog lover although I know several dog owners and they're all responsible ones who moan the same as me when they're confronted with dog mess. Unfortunately there's a very large minority out there that give responsible owners a bad name. Education's not the answer because, come on, you dam well know it's wrong. Rich 

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by thebigfredc

 Whenever I have seen 'dog poo trees', I always made the assumption that they must be biodegradable bags. Otherwise, it makes no sense at all.

But having just done an internet search for said items, they seem to be mostly green, which makes sense, whereas the ones I see suspended in the bushes and trees are almost invariably black.

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by Derek Wright

To help solve the problem that as part of the chipping process of dogs, a sample of the DNA shold be recorded. Then dog crap can be analysed and the dog identified. The owners can then be re educated as to their responsibilities of dog ownership and their  civic responsibilities and providing a financial contribution to the cost of decrapping the countryside.

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by rodwsmith

I hope (and am sure) that this is a UK problem. And a very weird problem it is too. In France fewer people pick up after their dogs (although it is definitely improving, and the social 'shame' of not doing so is growing), but no-one picks it up, and then hangs up or leaves the bag - which just does not make any sense whatsoever, for all the reasons given above. 

The law in France was changed nearly a decade ago to make it illegal not to pick up after your dog, but there has only ever been one conviction, because - or so I was told - the gendarmes consider it beneath them to prosecute such a 'crime'.

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by John Willmott

My wife and I came back to the UK for Xmas this year and spent some time near Derwent Water in the Lake District.  It didn't really seem to matter where we walked we spotted these little poo baggies everywhere.  Hanging on trees, on stone walls, in bushes .. it did seem odd that someone would go to the trouble of picking up their pets' discharges put it into a bag and yet leave it in the countryside.  Made no sense .. 

In our neighborhood in the US we have a small park with a baggie dispenser and strategically placed trash containers for placing the baggies after they've been used .. seems to work fine .. 

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by Jonners
Clive B posted:

This is a topic which really, REALLY annoys me. I am forever hooking poo bags out of the hedgerows and trees near us and taking them home, double bagging them and putting them in our bin. I frequently ask dog walkers if they own any of the bags left at the side of the lane. If I ever spotted anyone dropping, or worse flinging, one, I am sure I'd have difficulty containing my temper.

Some friends of ours who own a couple of Labradors take a small trowel in a plastic bag whenever they walk their dogs. They pick up the poo in the trowel and fling it in the hedgerow where it can decay naturally, out of harm's way. The trowel is then returned to the bag. Problem solved. 

I'm with you there Clive B. The "trowel solution" is a really good one but I also think that whoever is responsible for public areas where dogs are allowed have a duty of care to provide the bins that most councils have in parks for owners to use.  This is probably The National Trust and English Heritage. 

My own "pet hate" (pardon the pun) is dogs on beaches and nearby areas where families are generally barefoot or lightly shod. I don't even like it when owners let their dogs run off the leash free to poo and urinate at will. 

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by TOBYJUG

Could be an interesting alternative for said fruit poopers come next time decorating the Christmas tree.

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by Kevin-W
Derek Wright posted:

To help solve the problem that as part of the chipping process of dogs, a sample of the DNA shold be recorded. Then dog crap can be analysed and the dog identified. The owners can then be re educated as to their responsibilities of dog ownership and their  civic responsibilities and providing a financial contribution to the cost of decrapping the countryside.

Maybe rub the owners' noses in it? Then they wouldn't do it again...

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by Alley Cat
thebigfredc posted:

 Whenever I have seen 'dog poo trees', I always made the assumption that they must be biodegradable bags. Otherwise, it makes no sense at all.

But having just done an internet search for said items, they seem to be mostly green, which makes sense, whereas the ones I see suspended in the bushes and trees are almost invariably black.

Even if they are biodegradable I don't really want biodegradable plastic polluting the countryside anymore than non-biodegradable stuff.

It may biodegrade but to what exactly as it spews out the fermented shit?

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by Alley Cat
Loki posted:

Caveat: this is not a post against well-trained dog owners.

I have no axe to grind with dog owners per se, but with a certain number who are incapable of disposing of dog poo in both an environmentally friendly and socially acceptable way.

......
I'm sure I've posted last another site something about my intense anger when I see bagged dog shit anywhere it shouldn't be.
 
I've been to sand dunes where I played as a kid with my own children and the sheer number of bags of dog shit at every turn made me never return - there were literally mounds of bags in some places.
 
Another area I used to go mountain biking had literally hundreds of bags of dog shit at the entrance gate.
 
What is it with these selfish ignorant people?
 
There is a significant minority of utterly selfish dog owners I'd love to see buried in a pit full of their pooches mess.
 
Yesterday at the local park some twit was letting his dog crap in the middle of a football field where kids/adults will play, and as I moaned about this I stepped in squidgy dog crap at the edge of the field, at which the moan turned into a rant about dog owners in general, much to the annoyance of the woman and her fur ball in front of me.
 
...and whoever put a bag of dog shit in my wheelie bin a few months ago is lucky I didn't see them do it!

 

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by Alley Cat
Clive B posted:

...Some friends of ours who own a couple of Labradors take a small trowel in a plastic bag whenever they walk their dogs. They pick up the poo in the trowel and fling it in the hedgerow where it can decay naturally, out of harm's way. The trowel is then returned to the bag. Problem solved. 

When I looked at this in the past there were some arguments the seemingly logical flicking of dog poo into bushes - perhaps something to do with coprophagy in other animals who then might become other vectors for canine parasites.

I guess another option with a trowel would be to dig a little hole and bury the dog poo out of harm's way.

 

Posted on: 03 January 2019 by Ravenswood10
Clive B posted:

This is a topic which really, REALLY annoys me. I am forever hooking poo bags out of the hedgerows and trees near us and taking them home, double bagging them and putting them in our bin. I frequently ask dog walkers if they own any of the bags left at the side of the lane. If I ever spotted anyone dropping, or worse flinging, one, I am sure I'd have difficulty containing my temper.

Some friends of ours who own a couple of Labradors take a small trowel in a plastic bag whenever they walk their dogs. They pick up the poo in the trowel and fling it in the hedgerow where it can decay naturally, out of harm's way. The trowel is then returned to the bag. Problem solved. 

Unless you’re a hedgehog of course. All those nasty parasites in doggy doodah - orrible