picking-up-your-dog etiquette to what extent?

orinoco

Old school tPFer
O.G.
Jan 31, 2006
3,114
5
Hello all~! :biggrin:

i was just out for a poo & pee walk (doggie, not me:P), and while reaching under a bush to pick up his poo, i got stung by a bug! and this is the second time, the other day i even got chased away by an angry skunk returning home! i've got a lil 5 pound pom, and he needs his 'space' when he's doing his business, so he tends to hide underneath bushes to poop.

Anyhoo, i always thought its really irresponsible (not to mention disgusting) to not to pick up after your dog, but in my case the lil guy keeps picking really hard to get to places, and i get really antsy reaching into those places especially when its dark at night and i can't see well.

Would i annoy or offend anybody if i don't pick up when its in hard to reach places? please enlighten me.
 
I have 3 dogs that DH and I walk in the city on leashes as well as in the park/woods (sometimes off leash). If I can see it/reach it I pick it up. That means pretty much all the time when we are walking on city streets. In the park/woods I will pick up anything on or near a path or in an open area. If it is in a heavily wooded area when no one is likely to walk I will just let it go.
 
omg..im sorry about the skunk and bug!! yikes..

Mia is pee pee pad trained so I always pick up and flush down the toilet..lol..but I think if your baby goes where no one would step into (heavily wooded or bushes) then I think its OK..it probably will disintegrate into the soil? Guess its obvious science was never my strong subject..hehe
 
I have a back yard but most of the time my dog can not go unless we take her for a walk. I for the most part pick up her poo but like others unless it is in a really hard place to reach. Even when she goes in our yard I pick it up b/c I do not like seeing flies accumlate around the poo.
 
I think picking up after your dog is a must...not only for sanitary reasons, but health reasons as well, as several parasites can be transmitted via dogs' feces.
 
i don't think it's a big deal to leave it if it isn't in an area where there's a lot of foot traffic. especially for such a small dog's poo, it'll break down in no time. i hate searching in the dark for poo too! we have a pom and even during the day if you look away to get your baggie, you'll lose where the poo is :P
 
There have been a couple times when I've been walking my dog out in the dark and I literally cannot see where she has made a deposit. So I have left it a few times but not because it was deliberate.
 
slightly off topic, but my bf's father told me the other day he watched a blind man clean up after his seeing-eye dog! i was honestly impressed. after hearing that, i cant think of any excuse not to.
 
On one hand, I can see why some people don't pick up their dog's poop - like deep in the bushes and stuff.

But on the other hand, that poop can smell - even if nobody walks there, they can smell it.

I feel that cleaning up after your dog is part of the responsibility of owning a dog, and it should be done.