Regarding the dog poo debacle

Food for plants!?

I can never understand the mentality of people who bother to bag up their dog's poo but then leave it hanging on a branch, can't they just carry it till they come across a bin?

As a responsible dog owner, I would say the common sense solution is to bag the poo and take it with you either until you find a suitable bin or you get home.

If everyone flicked their dog poo into a hedge on the lane going down to the beach there would be piles of it by the end of the summer. Also cattle graze there during the winter. And if you flick it into bushes where sheep graze it can make them ill. I agree about leaving poo bags lying around though. Senseless.

We have problems with people leaving poo not in bags and people leaving poo in bags. I am a dog owner and it infuriates me. If you have a dog clean up after it.
I am fed up with the majority getting grumbled at for the minority. I often pick up other people’s dogs poo if it’s in our local park. We have a responsibility to our young people to keep them safe.. I say if you do not want to clean up properly after your dog do not get one. You have a responsibility if you do not want responsibility do not consider owning a pet.. sorry for ranting but I am sick to death of selfish ignorant people..

If we go for a long walk from the car & the dog bins are in the car park, I have sometimes bagged poo & put it somewhere I will remember & picked it up on the way back. It's just nice to have one free hand when the dog needs to be on the lead all the time this time of year, ( might need to blow your nose or take a layer off) & safer if you stumble.
I've only done this half a dozen times & I haven't ever forgotten to collect & bin. I'm not saying all the bagged poo hanging around is awaiting collection, but some will be.

Dog poo can cause spontaneous abortion in cattle so you need to be careful where you chuck it. Better to bag it up and put it in a bin.

I walk a very considerate dog who knows where the ooo bins are and often does a poo near a bin!

You might like to read these if you think flicking it to the side is a good idea.

www.superscoopers.com/all-the-different-diseases-in-dog-poop/?hl=en-GB

www.cdc.gov/toxocariasis/about/index.html?hl=en-GB

greenpoopbag.co.uk/blogs/eco-lifestyle/to-stick-and-flick-or-not-to-stick-and-flick-that-is-the-question-apparently?hl=en-GB

I accept that if you sell poop bags you do want to sell them.- but please take a look.

Basically too many dogs these days to just flick... and maybe it wasn't a hood idea years ago either!

Here are the problems with leaving dog poo in (say) the bushes

Health Risks:
* Toxocariasis (roundworm): potential blindness, organ damage (especially in children).
* Other parasites: hookworms, Giardia.
* Harmful bacteria: E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter.
* Risk to other dogs and wildlife.

Environmental Impacts:
* Nutrient imbalance in soil: harms existing plants, encourages invasive species.
* Water pollution: bacteria, viruses, parasites entering water sources.
* Algal blooms in water: depletes oxygen, harms aquatic life.
* Persistence of medications in feces: potential harm to insects and aquatic life.

This is apart from the nuisance and unpleasant smell/sight of it

archaeophile

Dog poo is bio-degradable. If your dog defaecates in the countryside, putting it in a plastic bag and leaving it there is not only inconsiderate to the people who've now got to put it in the bin for you -- it's also stopping it being food for plants! Use a stick, and flick it into a bush so it doesn't smell. The common sense solution.
If you do put it in a bag, put it in the bin! Don't just leave it there.

Very irresponsible and dangerous. Dog poo carries diseases, ever seen a dog chew on so thing it's not supposed to. It is against the law not to pick up after your dog. The countryside is vandalised enough by morons.

Still lots of dog poo here on the pavements in France.

"Use a stick, and flick it into a bush so it doesn't smell".............Ridiculous suggestion!! It would STILL smell and would still be a risk to other dogs and wildlife.
If dog owners are so bothered about carrying a bag of poo in their hand for the duration of the walk then why not use an old crossbody bag/backpack and shove the bagged poo in that until you find a bin.

I watched a news article a few years ago and a farmer was talking about dog poo causing spontaneous abortions in sheep. I have to be honest and admit I did not know this at the time but have always remembered the article.
I think people need to be aware of this and of the other diseases that can affect both animals and children.

The most annoying thing for me is that the dog poo situation at beauty spots, is markedly worse nearest the car park where there are bins provided.

Get out into the wilds, even just five minutes walk from a car park, there are no bins, and there's barely any poo or discarded poo bags. The 'proper' dog walkers must generally pick up.

The people who pull into the car park, open the car door and scroll through their phone whilst they let Fido have a run and a poo are the ones who are too lazy to pick up poo and bin it.

Agree it is so annoying when the lazy owners let the rest of dog owners down. I dont “flick” either but use poo bags which I carry ALL the walk until I find a bin or I transport said poo home.

Dog poo is bio-degradable. So is human poo.

Truffle, I have owned dogs for thirty years, During that period the problem of dog poo has become a serious problem, as you rightly say.

While other posters who describe the socially aware way to clean up after one's dog are right, the problem remains of dealing with refuse in general and excrement in particular. The country's rivers are not coping.

The popularity of dog ownership means that dog poo makes the disposal problem a lot worse, and this has increased during the past thirty years.

Dog ownership must be viewed as a luxury not as a right. Dog ownership adds a great deal to any individual's ecological footprint.

Biodegradable dog poo bags only biodegrade in certain conditions, mostly these conditions are not met and it takes decades/centuries for them to break down.

Astitchintime, that suggestion should be on Dragon's Den sometime soon.

I googled 'other animals eating dog poo'. Foxes eat it, so do rats and mice.

I agree that flicking it into a hedge on a very popular walk just creates too much for other animals to scavenge. But flicking it into a hedge in an arable field won't affect any stock, nor is it ;likely to pose any danger to humans. It's a question of being discriminating about what you do with it.

Just as a matter of interest, what happens to the contents of the dog poo bins once they have been emptied? Does anyone know?

SueDonim

^Dog poo is bio-degradable^. So is human poo.

Human 'night soil' was once a saleable product. It was collected from outdoor privies (a source of employment for some) and farmers used it to fertilize their fields.

Even now it is possible to get treated 'sewage' to spray on fields.

MaizieD

I googled 'other animals eating dog poo'. Foxes eat it, so do rats and mice.

I agree that flicking it into a hedge on a very popular walk just creates too much for other animals to scavenge. But flicking it into a hedge in an arable field won't affect any stock, nor is it ;likely to pose any danger to humans. It's a question of being discriminating about what you do with it.

Just as a matter of interest, what happens to the contents of the dog poo bins once they have been emptied? Does anyone know?

The vast majority of dog poo bin contents (if not all) go into landfill, which doesn't support bags biodegrading

Exactly, Maisie. Human waste was dealt with as best it could be, not simply flicked into hedges. Hedges, by the way, where my grandchildren may be playing because their daddy is a farmer.

It’s beyond me how anyone can defend not picking up and disposing of dog poo. So what if people have to carry a bag of poo on their walk? That’s what you signed up to do when you got a dog.

Irresponsible leaving a bag of dog poo to collect on your way back from walking the dog. Unsightly for those who follow. The decent thing is to carry it with you regardless of not managing leads\walking sticks\bags\dogs etc. Not everyone wants to see poo bags on a walk.