Picking up after your dog while at the dog park....?

Question

We have one near our home that's many acres. It's kind of like an open prairie (with some trees) along the river. (Not in the middle of a city, it's more of a country setting.) There are a number of paths for humans to walk along while their dogs run through the fields and swim in the river.

My question is about picking up after your dog. I pick up after my two (even if I have to trek through 3 foot weeds to do so). I've noticed that no one else picks up after their dog though. Is this a place where it's ok to leave dog cr*p? It is acres and acres of fields and I never see dog poop on the paths.

This is an official park, but the paths are not paved. It is an official dog recreation area along the river where all dogs are allowed to run loose without a leash (if the owner lets them).

It's really a great place. We walk with a retired veteran who fosters orphans. He goes every day and usually has 5-7 fosters with him. My dogs love it. That makes a pack of anywhere between 6-10 dogs running together. Talk about doggy heaven!

Answer 1

picking up dog poo is the most stupid thing to do on earth.
you take an organic bioderadeable substance and wrap it in plastic so it can sit and not break down for 100's of years.

Answer 2

It sounds as though you're describing an official park, supplemented with tax payer dollars (especially if the paths are paved). If so, yes you should be picking up the poop, even if it's in the country, and especially if the poop is where people might walk.

I wouldn't bother trekking through 3-ft weeds to do it, though. People aren't going to be walking back there. And if you are, you're taking the risk of not knowing what you're going to step in when you can't see the ground.

Edited: There's a dog park not too far from me. Unfortunately, there are a few people who bring their very large, very nasty dogs and make no effort to control their "little angels who wouldn't hurt a fly" (all the while the dog is snarling away and practically foaming at the mouth).

Still, I would pick it up if it's on the path, or where people might walk. It's a courtesy, and the place would get really nasty if NO ONE did it.

Answer 3

In a country type setting, I pick it up if it's in a place where someone might walk in it. If it's out in the middle of a field or some other place where wildlife also goes, I think that in view of all the fox/deer/rabbit/whatever poop that's already there a little dog poop isn't going to hurt.

LMAO Sandy. I remember one radio commentator wondering why we want to preserve our dog's poop for all time in plastic containers. You're right, poop is biodegradable, a natural product. The reason for picking it up is simply consideration for others in places where the poop might be stepped in or overly smelly or unsightly. In the city we pick it up for sanitary reasons, because there are just too many dogs to leave the poop lying around.

On the other hand, I hate people that fling cigarette butts everywhere. These things are toxic, hazardous to wildlife and poisoning the environment. But nobody asks smokers to "stoop and scoop".

Edit: Our city now wants people to take the poop home with them and flush it down the toilet, rather than throwing it in the garbage. What-ever........

Answer 4

Clearly it's the only responsible thing to do. However, some people cannot be bothered and these should not own a dog. You can purchase a poop scooper for a pound/dollar, so don't even have to touch the poop. I always pick up after me, EXCEPT - when my dog poops in the woods off the beaten track. I wont wade through weeds and thorns to pick up what wont be trodden on or picked up by children. I do however take cleaning up his mess very seriously.

Answer 5

I always pick up after my dog on the streets and pathways, and I was picking up in an area like the one you described (a forest park near my house). But soon I realized this was not a very good idea, because no one else does it, plus I would throw the bag with the c...p in the dustbins, but they are not emptied very often, so it was probably worse to pick up than to leave them disintegrate normally. I don't know what the legal status is there, though, I am not in the US. But I do pick up on the pathways.

Answer 6

Picking up after your dog, even if you have nine like I do, is a must. I am on the board of directors of my local dog park, and if you take your dog to the dog park, you are responsible for helping it stay there!
If no one picked up after their dogs, it would become a toxic waste dump, and quite a smell. It would have to close because no one would be taking care of it.
My local dog park provides approximately 250,000 poop bags each year at about $25,000 to keep it going.
I actually love dog parks that require membership to get in because that means you have to really love the park to continue to let your dogs play there!
And while I am at it, picking up after your dog is a requirement everywhere...even in your own backyard! No one wants to smell that, and flies are mighty attracted to the lingering scent.
It is not that hard to hold your nose, bend down with a plastic bag, and pick it up.
Oh, and leaving the full baggy at the curb is NOT okay either!!

Answer 7

I wouldn't pick it up if it were in a field where no one would be walking. But if it is an an area where other people and dogs are likely to be, it is rude not to.

I HATE it when I go to a dog show and people don't clean up after their dogs at the hotel. It doesn't happen alot, but dog show people should know better. And then they wonder why it is getting harder and harder to find hotels that allow dogs.

Answer 8

No matter what I would pick up the dog poop. It is unkind to leave it just lay there. I know when I take my dog for a walk near my house, there are other people that take their dogs for walks and they don't pick up the poop. I get very upset because I don't want to step in it, and also my dog tries to sniff it. Just pick up the poop, because you wouldn't want to be one of those people. Just picture yourself in the opposite place, stepping in another dogs poop. Hope this helps. Just be considerate of others.

Answer 9

Sadly, people not picking up after their pets, where pets are allowed is a big problem. This is part of the reason the National Parks here in the US don't allow dogs on their hiking trails. A few bad apples ruined it for those of us who do pick up after our pets.

I always pick up after my dogs when we are out. I sure don't want to end up stepping in it and I don't want to be responsible for someone else stepping in it either. Fortunately, at the dog park here, most folks are really good at picking up after their pets, and some of us will pick up something that wasn't from our dogs, just to be nice and ensure a clean environment for everyone.

Answer 10

If I am walking my dogs on a leash, I always do. But, if I'm at the horse farm unless it is close to the house or structures I dont.