dirt road dog poop (dangerous, rail, eat)

[CrazyDave]

Originally Posted by bigbear99

where did the trail business come from? Who asked about trails? Does this forum frequently confound two separate issues?

No but this forum does often address two similar issues , as I stated in my post Trail or public roads. Since your subject matter affects people in both situations it is only natural to combine them

[CrazyDave]

Originally Posted by Soup Nazi

And that's about the only way you can clean up after a horse. People who are not familiar with horses think a rider should dismount and clean up after their horse immediately! Aside from the challenges presented by holding onto the horse and attempting to "clean up" the manure (how??) there is the added challenge of trying to mount up again. Horse manure doesn't bother me on dirt roads or trails; it's part of rural living. Dog poop I pick up wherever my dog goes, as it's easy to carry bags and dispose of the poop and it's simple courtesy to do so.

Bun-Bag - Horse manure catcher or diaper. Sagle, Idaho

[Soup Nazi]

Originally Posted by CrazyDave

Bun-Bag - Horse manure catcher or diaper. Sagle, Idaho

LOL maybe for a draft horse but the thoroughbreds I ride would not stand for that!!

[Valerie C]

Very simple: if your dog poops on your property, you can pick it up if you like, or leave it there. If it's not your land, you pick it up, every time. Doesn't matter if it's on a lawn or in the woods--common courtesy says you pick it up. People have this notion that 'it's just a little dog poop, it's biodegradable' and leave it there---it's right up there with smokers tossing their cigarette butts out the window.

Keep in mind that dog poop can have parasite eggs, and those eggs/worms can actually infest the soil. Whipworm is one of the most difficult worms to eradicate from the soil, once it is introduced. And it's one of the easiest for your dog to pick up. You leave your dog's crap where it lands, and so does someone else, whether it's 3 or 7 or 13 other people and their dogs. Even if it's 3+ feet off the trail, it will still attract flies and other bugs. It's nothing like deer scat, which decomposes readily. I can't imagine you'd be very happy if your dog steps in (or eats) some other dog's feces that it finds just off the trail...

Originally Posted by chris410

I agree with most other saying you should pick it up, especially if its at risk of being stepped on. (dirt road, paved road, lawn or trail) As far as my dog pooping OFF trail (3+ feet) I do not pick it up, and if he does poop while hiking on-trial, its getting tossed into the woods.

Which leads me to my next question.

A dog poops in the woods (not lawn) along a paved road in a residential area (private property) 99.9% chance no one will see it or step on it. Should it be picked up?

[Valerie C]

Originally Posted by bigbear99

where did the trail business come from? Who asked about trails? Does this forum frequently confound two separate issues?

Absolutely! By the time a thread comes to it's natural end, it's usually much different from what the original poster intended...

[chris410]

Originally Posted by Valerie C

Very simple: if your dog poops on your property, you can pick it up if you like, or leave it there. If it's not your land, you pick it up, every time. Doesn't matter if it's on a lawn or in the woods--common courtesy says you pick it up. People have this notion that 'it's just a little dog poop, it's biodegradable' and leave it there---it's right up there with smokers tossing their cigarette butts out the window.

Keep in mind that dog poop can have parasite eggs, and those eggs/worms can actually infest the soil. Whipworm is one of the most difficult worms to eradicate from the soil, once it is introduced. And it's one of the easiest for your dog to pick up. You leave your dog's crap where it lands, and so does someone else, whether it's 3 or 7 or 13 other people and their dogs. Even if it's 3+ feet off the trail, it will still attract flies and other bugs. It's nothing like deer scat, which decomposes readily. I can't imagine you'd be very happy if your dog steps in (or eats) some other dog's feces that it finds just off the trail...

Just curious. do you have a dog? and have you ever been hiking with a dog? In theory I very much agree with what you are saying. In practice its a little different.

[simplepeace]

Originally Posted by DebNashua

When I ride my horse on a public road, should manure happen, I go back later with a pitch fork and pitch it from the road into the woods. Dog poop always gets scooped up from any road, trail or walkway. If the dog does it off trail in the woods, I don't pick it up.

This. I carry extra poo bags for companions walking dogs with me, and I insist they pick it up if it is anywhere near a trail, or road. Sometimes they balk, and try to give me the wild animals poop out here story, but I stand firm. If they refused I would pick it up and carry it myself, and I would never walk with them again.

Dog poo NOT the same as deer, coyote, rabbit, etc... Dogs end up being banned from places due to people not picking up after them.

I never thought of horse poo, that has never bothered me, but now I will notice it! I still don't think it will bother me, maybe because I am not likely to step in it and drag it around.

[bigbear99]

Funny how some people think dog poop is so different from wild animal poop, especially with regard to parasite load. Guess they don't know much about the underlying science, and how badly infested most wild animals are. Take coyotes, which are closely related to dogs...and who no doubt eat lots of worm infested meat...

And to suggest dog poop degrades more slowly? LOL.

For the record, I do pick up on roads and trails. Also others yards and such. Agree that stepping in dog do is not a pleasant experience

But to argue that we should follow our dogs off trail to find that last trace of poop is rather unrealistic, anti-dog, and just plain silly.

[sb2017]

Originally Posted by bigbear99

But to argue that we should follow our dogs off trail to find that last trace of poop is rather unrealistic, anti-dog, and just plain silly.

Aren't dogs supposed to be on leashes?

[Valerie C]

There's never been a time in my life that we haven't had at least one dog . I used to own, train and show German Shepherd Dogs, and they were my hiking companions. At one time, I had a kennel on our property, but never had 'kennel-dogs' (they were always inside with us at night, and leash walked daily). So yeah, I get that it doesn't always seem necessary, but I truly believe that responsible dog ownership requires that we HAVE to pick up what our dogs leave behind. There is an awful lot of anti-dog sentiment out there, and witnessing somebody either picking it up or leaving it behind will make a difference in that sentiment. I carry multiple bags when taking the dogs out (whether just a walk around the neighborhood, or out on a hike) and have handed bags out to other people who didn't happen to have one with them (they have a full daypack, but no bags...)

Even now, I choose not to have a fenced yard because it would be too easy to just open the door and let them out to do their thing. It sounds gross, but if owners paid attention to what comes out of their dogs rear ends, they'd get them to the vet faster (for simple things like tape or round worms, or more serious signs, like mucus or blood in the stool). I can't believe I'm discussing poop on a public forum LOL but dog stuff is near & dear to my heart. Yes, I'm the crazy dog lady that family & friends turn to with questions, even though my vet tech years are far behind me...

(true story: my husband once came along to a meeting of the breed-specific club that I was a member of, and he said 'Never again! The only subject these people have is dogs: dog food, dog poop, dog litters, results of dog shows, dog training. It just goes on and on and on...')

.

Originally Posted by chris410

Just curious. do you have a dog? and have you ever been hiking with a dog? In theory I very much agree with what you are saying. In practice its a little different.