# How strange is picking up after your dog while on a walk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 28, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605 "2017-05-28T18:10:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TheLazyJenga\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@TheLazyJenga\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLazyJenga_Master)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/21 "2017-05-29T01:32:31Z")
Picking up your dog’s crap isn’t strange at all. I used to be a janitor for a condo building and dogs used to crap all the time outside in the condo property and I would have to clean it up. It was always encouraging when people cleaned up after their dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/22 "2017-05-29T01:34:26Z")
In a rural setting I wouldn’t expect to see anyone pick up dog poo. I’d be more concerned about how the bag will break down to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/23 "2017-05-29T01:35:30Z")
> [@TheLazyJenga\_Master](#): > > Picking up your dog’s crap isn’t strange at all. I used to be a janitor for a condo building and dogs used to crap all the time outside in the condo property and I would have to clean it up. It was always encouraging when people cleaned up after their dogs. The op isn’t living in a condo, he’s living out in the country. ---
**Author:** ![TheLazyJenga\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@TheLazyJenga\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLazyJenga_Master)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/24 "2017-05-29T02:02:36Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > The op isn’t living in a condo, he’s living out in the country. Yea, I know that. I just wanted to say my experience with dog crap. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/25 "2017-05-29T02:16:41Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > If the situation is as described in the OP, that is, truly a rural setting, then I would agree with the older gentleman. Picking up after your dog in such a setting, IMHO, makes you look rather pretentious. I know some people are loose with their use of words. But ‘pretentious’, seriously? I can go along with saying it’s not really necessary and a city/suburban habit. That’s how I kind of felt when my dog crapped on a walk from the motel along a rural road in WI recently. But I always have the bags, always pick it up at home, so I did. But that meant I was “attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed.” It’s cultured to pick up dog crap, who knew? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Brodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Brodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brodi)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/26 "2017-05-29T03:09:47Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > Emphasis mine. > > To me, this is an oxymoron. Suburban is suburban. Rural is rural. You can no more have a rural suburban field than you can have an urban country market. > > If the situation is as described in the OP, that is, truly a rural setting, then I would agree with the older gentleman. Picking up after your dog in such a setting, IMHO, makes you look rather pretentious. Do you think anyone picks up after the horses, cattle, goats, chickens, etc… ? The likelihood of anyone else running across the dog’s leavings is pretty slim and, if they did, they would just view it as being as natural as a half-rotten stick of a dead bird. > > If it is actually a suburban setting, even one with an occasional horse field, then the population density is much higher and picking up after a dog would probably be viewed as being environmentally conscious. Where I lived in Texas, I was definitely outside the city and my neighbors had chickens and horses, but if I was walking my dog and he crapped, I’d pick it up. I didn’t pick it up in my own yard (nearly an acre), or if he went in a vacant lot, but in someone’s yard, you bet. > > In a city, with sidewalks and curbs, I would not have a favorable impression of someone who did not pick up after their dog. The population density is just too high. > > Funny thing, in France, picking up after your dog seems to be unheard of. I spent quite a bit of time in France a few years ago and dogs are everywhere. In restaurants, bars, tied up to poles outside grocery stores. And, they poop on the sidewalks and medians. People just walk right past it. Maybe not in Paris, but in the smaller towns in the north it was pretty common; so common that there were workers who sprayed down the sidewalks and gutters, washing the shit into the drains every day. I doubt you’d find a Frenchman picking up after a dog. Its not really all that rural. I live half a mile back from a dead end street. On that street are several mobile homes and houses, my house is a mobile home with rooms added on. There are dirt roads heading off from the paved road to other houses or mobile homes. Its rural enough to have livestock, but not enough to be miles from your neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/27 "2017-05-29T03:48:01Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Encourage your dog to crap in front of that guy’s house every time. You’ll never have to pick up dogshit again! I would like to know where that guy live b/c I am finding it hard to pick up after my dog . It’s the law in my city. My poor dog like to check out his shit and when he turns around it’s gone , he is thinking I knew I just took a shit so where did it go ! I had an older man tell he thought it was strange people picking up their dogs shits and carrying a bag of shit home. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/28 "2017-05-29T06:08:55Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > No, it’s not strange. In the year 2017, people are supposed to be conscientious about the environment as well as being a good neighbor. > > Leaving shit on the ground so that it can get washed into people’s favorite swimming holes, thereby putting them at risk of illness? Leaving shit on the ground so that someone else can step in it? These are things that bad neighbors do. > > An elderly person isn’t likely to understand this because he or she grew up with different values. Back when he/she was running the world, there’s was shit all over the place and people just put up with it. They tolerated all kind of nastiness. We’re trying to do things better, but sometimes they don’t get it. > > Where I live, it’s against the law not to clean up behind your dog. I still find turds here and there, but it’s nice not having to constantly be on the look out when I’m walking to work in the morning. Out in the country with live stock and other assorted wild animals a daily dog turd isn’t contributing much either way to the environment. ---
**Author:** ![KatTP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@KatTP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KatTP)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/29 "2017-05-29T08:26:42Z")
I read an article here in the U.K. urging people to use the stick and flick method as opposed to using and leaving the unsightly bags everywhere. I don’t know how well that would work on city streets, but seems like a good idea in the parks and forests. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/30 "2017-05-29T10:25:25Z")
We have a 3-acre mostly fenced yard and a pug who will go into the wooded areas of the yard to deposit her business. On the rare occasions when I harness her up for a walk around the neighborhood, she always seems to have to poop at some point, but there are enough untended wooded areas close to the road that I don’t have to worry about cleaning up after her. Now, when we take her to visit my husband’s family in their retirement community, you can sure bet I’m going to be carrying bags with me… ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/31 "2017-05-29T13:08:45Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Out in the country with live stock and other assorted wild animals a daily dog turd isn’t contributing much either way to the environment. “Daily dog turds” can make a huge difference if all pet owners in an area are being sloppy. Dog turds also confer a higher pathogen risk to humans than wildlife poop. Environmental protection agencies will often use something called “microbial source tracking” to pinpoint where fecal contamination is coming from in a particular watershed. If they detect signatures associated with human waste, domesticated livestock or pets, they are obligated to develop a clean-up plan. Doesn’t matter if wildlife contributes the bulk of the contamination. Developing and implementing that plan can cost a state millions of dollars. From the sound of **Brodi’s** neighborhood, I’m guessing that there is probably elevated bacteria in his local swimming hole. Livestock and leaking septics are probably the biggest sources, but dog feces would certainly be on the list if picking up behind his dog is considered strange behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/32 "2017-05-29T16:43:39Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > You could always just put it in a bag and then put it back on the ground. This is one of my least favourite things that local dog owners do. Leaving your dog’s shit beside the sidewalk to decompose where everyone can enjoy it is one (asshole) thing; putting it in a plastic bag and leaving it there so it will never decompose, but we can all continue looking at it day after day is even worse. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/33 "2017-05-29T16:46:37Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > This is one of my least favourite things that local dog owners do. Leaving your dog’s shit beside the sidewalk to decompose where everyone can enjoy it is one (asshole) thing; putting it in a plastic bag and leaving it there so it will never decompose, but we can all continue looking at it day after day is even worse. I think what happens is, they don’t want to carry the poop on the whole walk, so they place it conspicuously at the side of the road, or whatever, and then forget it on the return trip. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/34 "2017-05-29T20:51:12Z")
Rural or not, here in the Chesapeake Bay watershed we are strongly encouraged, and in most jurisdictions legally required, to pick it up dog poop even in our own back yards. Everything flows into the bay, the largest freshwater estuary on Earth. The bay is severely impacted by human activity and the neighboring states have a multi-party agreement to help it recover. I’ve posted about this before and immediately been challenged. Usually someone trots out the old “don’t _wild_ animals poop outside?” argument. Take it up with the scientists, folks. I feel no need to spend a lot of time citing sources for “don’t leave shit lying around” just to appease people who argue they should be able to leave shit lying around. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/35 "2017-05-29T21:19:05Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > I’ve posted about this before and immediately been challenged. Usually someone trots out the old “don’t _wild_ animals poop outside?” argument. Take it up with the scientists, folks. I feel no need to spend a lot of time citing sources for “don’t leave shit lying around” just to appease people who argue they should be able to leave shit lying around. If someone asks for cites, don’t worry. I’ve got reams of them to hand out. I can literally talk about this shit (haha) all day, since it’s my bread and butter. Even if a person doesn’t believe that dog turds cause water quality problems, excessive fecal bacteria manifests in high costs and inconvenience on the taxpayer. Most of the funding for restoring water quality in my state (besides Chesapeake Bay stuff, holla!) is devoted to bacteria load reduction. It turns out that people really like swimming and eating oysters without getting sick, and people actually get mad when the state doesn’t do anything about these problems. And even if people don’t believe the science and are willing to incur the risks, few people want to drive all the way to the beach to find out that it’s closed due to high bacteria counts. We’re all in this shit together. Even the people who live out in the boonies. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/36 "2017-05-30T13:25:09Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > If someone asks for cites, don’t worry. I’ve got reams of them to hand out. I can literally talk about this shit (haha) all day, since it’s my bread and butter. I’d like a little more information about why dog poop is more problematic than wildlife poop – not because I’m skeptical, mind you, but I just don’t follow how that happens and want to learn. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/37 "2017-05-30T14:25:05Z")
It’s the law where I live. If I catch someone leaving a gift on my front lawn I’ll give them a minute to pick it up otherwise they’re going to wear it. The worst invention ever was the creation of those extendable leashes. I’ve seen people sneakily act as if they are curbing their pet but every so often they unlatch the leash and the dog goes gallivanting on someone’s lawn. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/38 "2017-05-30T14:26:55Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Rural or not, here in the Chesapeake Bay watershed we are strongly encouraged, and in most jurisdictions legally required, to pick it up dog poop even in our own back yards. Everything flows into the bay, the largest freshwater estuary on Earth. The bay is severely impacted by human activity and the neighboring states have a multi-party agreement to help it recover. > > I’ve posted about this before and immediately been challenged. Usually someone trots out the old “don’t _wild_ animals poop outside?” argument. Take it up with the scientists, folks. I feel no need to spend a lot of time citing sources for “don’t leave shit lying around” just to appease people who argue they should be able to leave shit lying around. And the funny thing is I’ve never walked into my house saying “I smell something, oh man, I stepped in wild animal shit”. Dog shit? Too many times. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/39 "2017-05-30T14:35:32Z")
I expect that the population density of pet dogs is a lot higher than the wildlife density would be. And it’s certainly higher than the wildlife density is in places where humans have already settled. Maybe wilderness areas with a lot of wildlife also have bacteria problems, and maybe 10% of the deer die of resulting bacterial diseases, and we just don’t care because we’re not deer. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605/40 "2017-05-30T17:29:00Z")
Not at all wierd, IMO - And there’s a large industry of fecal cleanup supplies to back me on that. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-strange-is-picking-up-after-your-dog-while-on-a-walk/787605.md?page=3)