Gransnet forums

AIBU

Dog poo hanging in trees.

(125 Posts)
pollyperkins Sun 15-Apr-18 16:12:03

We've just been for a lively walk in the local woods. The wood anemones and wild daffodils are flowerig and a few blubells are coming out. The sun was shining, the birds were singing ...BUT it was spoilt for me by the sight of several plastic bags of dog poo hanging in the trees. Why do people do it? It won't rot in the bag (would be better left where it was on the ground from that point of view)

toppers Mon 16-Apr-18 12:00:14

I am not a dog owner, but I do have grandchildren and need a pushchair for the youngest. I have lost count of the times I have to scrub dog poo from the wheels of the pushchair, I don't notice it whilst walking and talking to the other grandchild walking holding on to the pushchair. If I have taken the car to the park or shops I have learnt from experience to carry black sacks in the boot to put the wheels of the pushchair in so as not to get the mess in the boot. It is so selfish not to pick it up. If dog owners had to clean it off shoes, pushchairs etc. Maybe they would think twice (or not). Who knows ......... here's hoping.

Mabelsmummy Mon 16-Apr-18 11:57:51

I agree this is the most disgusting habit, it gives responsible dog owners a bad name. I always pick up after my dog whether there is anyone insight or not. I have a special bag with a compartment in it that you place the poo bag in until you can find a bin. There are many dog walking bags on the market that allow this to be done. In my local woods someone doesn’t even collect the poo up when it’s right next to the bin!! Notes have been left and the person has ignored them. I’m often so ashamed to live in the UK at the shear volume of litter and dog poo in our gorgeous countryside.

Grampie Mon 16-Apr-18 11:55:11

Many bins are now labeled and used as dual purpose to combine dog waste with our everyday waste.

Some of us may be copying a famous comedy sketch which made some of us laugh by slinging bags of dog poo into the tree branches.

Dog poo is dangerous to children so most of us pick it up and deposit the bags in a bin.

Where no bins exist we are advised to flick the poo with a stick to get it away from where people walk and children play.

Having rid many of our bushes and trees of their decorations with costly wind blown carrier bags, obs we should also keep them clear of our doggie poo bags.

juneski Mon 16-Apr-18 11:50:29

Didn't you know there is a poo bag fairy who comes along and magically disposes of them all? ? At least I am sure that is what some people think! I can't understand the mentality of those who take the trouble to pick up after their dog and then just leave them on the ground or in trees and bushes. I am sure there are a few people who do intend to pick them up on the way home and forget. But I don't for one minute believe that accounts for all the ones I see when I am out litter picking. Most dogs owners are really responsible, it's a shame there are a few who give the rest a bad name. Either dispose of them in a bin, or if there isn't a bin nearby, carry it till you get home.... they can't be that heavy surely?

Halsgran2 Mon 16-Apr-18 11:49:28

Its nice to be able to record a good dog owner; my husband was coming out of the Vets last week when a young man crossed the road and asked him if he had a doggy pooh bag as his girlfriends dog had had an accident and they had left theirs in the car.. My husband always carries a few in his pocket so gave him a couple. He was so grateful.

AmMaz Mon 16-Apr-18 11:47:56

I'm not a dog owner and didn't realise this was going on. What an eye opener and how absolutely AWFUL.

Sounds like the local authorities seriously need to supply more bins as a matter of urgency and local residents need to demand them. In fact, how come they haven't? Or not enough pressure out on?

CazB Mon 16-Apr-18 11:40:39

We often see this on our daily dog walks, and find it disgusting. Also frequently see full poo bags lying by the side of the path. Some people just don't want the bother of carrying it with them until they find a bin, as most dog owners do.

Diggingdoris Mon 16-Apr-18 11:33:16

I'm a responsible owner and carry a full bag miles sometimes until I find a bin or take it home. But I was amused to see this sign last week.

WANT TO START YOGA?

Start by bending over and picking up your dog poo!

Known as the "downward dog" position!
THEN PUT IT IN THE BIN!

GrannyParker Mon 16-Apr-18 11:32:06

These lazy people give dog walkers a bad name, there aren’t enough bins in my local park, but most of us still pick up, I take a peddle bin liner in case I have more than 1 bag, others take a carrier bag and put it in the nearest bin or take in home and put in the wheelie.

Synonymous Mon 16-Apr-18 11:23:30

I understand exactly where you are coming from Saggi and if I were able to do so would discreetly keep watch and follow to find out just where they live. The pooh could then arrive 'home' some time later at your leisure but just making sure to wear gloves! As DS says "the fun is in the plotting" grin Try to pity the perpetrators for their lack of social awareness and not to be angry as it is so corrosive.

hulahoop Mon 16-Apr-18 11:22:54

We go for regular walks in different areas where we live on most of our walks there are no dog poo bins but even if there were a lot wouldn't use them like people who drop litter near litter bins !!

Overthehills Mon 16-Apr-18 11:19:56

Off topic a bit - during the winter I put on a duvet coat I used to keep for walking the dog and found poo bags in each pocket (unused!). She died last year. sad

Horatia Mon 16-Apr-18 11:18:46

It's a little worrying when I see someone approaching jauntily swinging their doggy bag with huge contents back and forward. Always a little nervous it might fly out of their hands by accident.

hopeful1 Mon 16-Apr-18 11:18:42

I had a Samoyed... big dog... and a Spitz years ago and took a 'bum bag' (aptly named) on all my walks. Yes I carried poo all the way home, large and small. I used to think if ever I was mugged they would get what they deserved.... luckily it didn't happen! It is disgusting that some fellow dog owners have no respect for anyone/thing. If they can't keep it with them they shouldn't have a dog, I even frown at the 'I will collect it later brigade... I just don't believe them.

Rocknroll5me Mon 16-Apr-18 11:14:05

I think it is because of two contradictory rules.
1. that dog poo must be picked up and put in bags
2. there are no receptacles available so I imagine that people then hang them on trees- because they think it is illegal to leave it on ground. That is what I have worked out. people are wierdly law abiding without using common sense. In my local 57 acre park-cum wood there are only 2 dog bins usually stuffed. My dogs usually go deep in the woods well away from footpaths (they do like some privacy) then I easily bury it there. I dont think people mean badly they are just sometimes not very bright. And the crows do eat (unwrapped) dog poo as it is rich in nutrients in a well fed dog. Good old crows. I now pay a lot for non plastic biodegradeable bags but bury it unwrapped when I can.

Mamgu27 Mon 16-Apr-18 11:13:44

Very frustrating total disregard..i took bags from trees the other day home to dispose of...they wait for the poo fairies to come !!!!

Rosina Mon 16-Apr-18 11:10:54

This is such a horrible habit. We have always had dogs and we train ours to perform in one spot in the garden. As we all know dogs only want to please - they will learn quickly to go in the same spot. Pick up, quick hose of grass, done. I always take bags out just in case, as when our dogs have got older they can't always manage a longish walk without some 'relief'! and we just take it home and put it in the dustbin. I can't understand the mentality of taking your dog out for a poo - you take it out for a walk, surely, not a poo; if that happens it should be incidental, not part of the walk. There. I've started ranting now; it makes me so cross because people get niggly with dogs instead of the lazy owners. When we lived in London the local park was a nightmare - the entrance to the park was a wide expanse of grass and it was so festooned with poo that in the end I didn't take the children there - the lazy dog owners just let the dogs go at the gate, watched them perform, and then called them back. I did speak politely to one man and said my daughter's shoes had got covered in mess and didn't he think it was better to pick it up? It took me about a week to get over the verbal assault - I was a 'snob', a 'dog hater' - it was horrible; I am really quite timid!

Saggi Mon 16-Apr-18 11:08:50

We live in a corner plot with a small tree in front garden...every week we have a bag of dog-poo left hanging on it!! My husband( the laziest man I’ve ever known) is always up for leaving it hanging there ....but it’s been going on a year now and we never see them do it. I just need one sighting and I’d follow them home and post it through their letter box.... with a note saying if it’s happens again this is what they can expect. Filthy sods!

DaisyL Mon 16-Apr-18 11:08:39

I can see I may be attacked for this but I walk my dogs in the New Forest and I don't pick up after them. They never go on the path but in the undergrowth and the whole Forest is full of other animals' poo - fox, badger, deer, rabbit, horses, donkeys - it is biodegradeable and will disappear pretty quickly - which the plastic bags won't.

Witzend Mon 16-Apr-18 11:07:09

You don't even need dog poo bins, at least I never did.
When we had a dog I used to use an Asda sandwich bag like a glove with a piece of kitchen roll, take it home and flush poo and kitchen roll down the loo. Bag then went in bin.

My hyper-squeamish mother did once tell me she thought this was horrible. I asked what on earth was wrong with flushing poo down the loo?

If anyone is too squeamish to carry safely bagged dog poo home in their pocket before disposing of it, then IMO they shouldn't have a dog in the first place.

Phoebes Mon 16-Apr-18 11:02:26

If you have a problem with cats performing in your garden, the solution is to save up your old tea bags and put a couple of drops of Olbas oil on each one then leave them in your borders. Cats can't stand the smell and will avoid your garden. Tea bags don't show against the earth.

GadaboutGran Mon 16-Apr-18 10:57:01

I cannot believe some of the apologists for this habit. Those who lob it high on trees are not going to collect it later. Leave it out of view if you have to leave it to collect later or take a special rucksack if you need your hands free. I was on a course with a Managers of a Nature Reserve in Sheffield who was exasperated by this problem which is a drain on valuable resources & unpleasant to handle. On our local Common the Rangers go to incredible efforts to make large special dog walking areas, especially when ground nesting birds need protection, but it’s amazing how often these are ignored. There are plenty of dog poo bins but there are industrial amounts of poo left on the ground and in trees near car parks. I notice because I record fungi.
Nobody is criticising responsible dog walkers and you have no need to justify your position. If only the disgusting behaviour of the lobbers could be understood.

DotMH1901 Mon 16-Apr-18 10:54:50

When we lived in Dover I used to walk along a public footpath to take my grandkiddies to school and back. Despite having poo bins either end of the footpath the hedges were festooned with plastic bags full of dog poo - why do people do that? Since moving to Madeley I have to say that people here seem to clean up after their dogs and dispose of it in the bins!

Marieeliz Mon 16-Apr-18 10:53:48

Yes GrannyRowe, large dogs, at night, someone has been marking it with yellow chalk by me with a message to take your mess home. They don't of course. I have a dog and pick up but sometimes, due to cutbacks, bins are overflowing. I am a walker and sometimes have seen dozens of the same coloured bags on the same tree, so obviously no plans to return and take it home.

ajanela Mon 16-Apr-18 10:53:19

I would aways pick up pooh if I had a dog. When in UK I take my daughters dog for a walk and do so. There is a dog warden who comes and watches us all in the park and there are bins in the forest.

One problem Mike, the dog, usually turns around in circles when he is about to pooh, but sometimes when I get there I can't find anything, could be "wind"?