Here's something I thought of, as I dug out the latest lot of dog mess from the cleats of my walking boots: If those owners who 'forget' to clean up (which I'm sure isn't anyone on this forum - why the very idea!) themselves tread in it, do they cuss like the rest of us, or just put it down to karma? Now who wants to start?
Responsible dog owners are different than irresponsible dog owners. Dogs mirror their owner. If the owner is lazy, doesn't clean after them, the dog will go to the bathroom wherever. A responsible dog owner makes sure the dog goes to the bathroom in a less-traveled area and cleans up after them.
My question is this: Dogs have twice as many feet on the ground as people, but somehow never step in dog ****. How's that work?
I actually watched a man with a small dog on a leash outside Petsmart, standing beside a doggie poop bag dispenser on a post, wait while his dog crapped and when done they just walked away.
You still here? Didn't you say you're being posted or something? Anyhoo, all dog owners without exception are responsible - I've never spoken to one who isn't!!
Usually, when the dog 'assumes the position' they make a big show of making ready the plastic bags whilst surreptitiously looking around to see if there were any witnesses, and if not . . . need I say more? Whenever I see it happening I hang around as if waiting for someone, or admiring the surrounding scenery, until they're eventually forced to bag it. I'll bet they're cursing me under their breath? lol I've seen it all, and they are mostly selfish, lazy and anti-social individuals.
If you read my thread, I'll be in and out of here for a couple weeks, and ship out end of this month. Any dog owner, responsible or not, is better than a cat owner.
After volunteering 3 days a week for 3 years at a shelter, I'd say I've "seen it all". EVERY dog owner I've ever seen truly believes they know "plenty" about dogs, because after all, "there isn't much to know". And I have seen the sort of abuse and neglect people are capable of. We've had people adopt dogs and 5 days later return them because the dog "growled" at someone. I saw a person told the dog they wanted was NOT good with small children (we would refuse to place such a dog in a home with small children) and the person says they don't have kids, only to have the dog returned 2 weeks later because it "threateningly" bumped, "rammed", or "pushed" their 5-year-old that "they didn't have". We even have our local animal control officer on video unnecessarily mistreating dogs he is brining in while trying to get them into a kennel. Hey folks. Dogs are much smarter than you think. They feel sadness, joy, anxiety, apprehensions, and they think about what they experienced. Show them respect and they will return the respect unless some person has damaged them.
I'm on the Board of Directors of two animal rescues - one a shelter, one an all breed rescue with dogs in foster homes (including ours). Like you, I've seen it all. Some of my more frustrating stories of recent owner turn ins: A reverend and his wife in MA who turned in a dog because their daughter was getting married and the wedding was at their home, and their dog was old and "smelled". A couple from ME who turned in the 16 year old blind beagle the wife had since puppyhood because they were having a baby. Apparently you can't have a baby AND a dog. A family that turned in their Great Dane for "nipping". I asked for details and mom whipped out her phone and showed me. They were putting their toddler on the dog's back and letting him ride the dog like a pony. A couple from MA who turned in their elderly Golden Retriever because they were getting new blue cloth furniture and he didn't match it.
The alien beings who are monitoring us are no doubt convinced that the dogs are the ones in charge here. The dogs every need is attended to by his humans, while contributing nothing obvious or tangible to the partnership, all the while, dragging their humans around the habitat by a rope attached to his arm. The humans excitedly collect the dogs excrement in little baggies, for purposes not immediately obvious.
The next time that happens, and there will be a next time, try using a wire or stiff bristled brush while running hot water over the "affected" area. My wife & I always clean up after our dogs in a public area however during the Fall season, the back yard becomes a minefield because it's impossible to tell the dog poop from the leaves. Somehow, it seems like big dogs are better about going outside than little dogs. Is that the experience of other dog owners. PS: I've never bought a dog or cat, they always seem to find me or I go to a rescue shelter for an unwanted dog. We currently have 3 cats & 2 dogs. I say "currently" because we had 5 cats that tended to wander but I suspect that coyotes got them. (we live in the country). The 3 surviving cats stay close to or in the house.
And I'll bet every one of those people would say they "know dogs" and are "dog-savvy". Pets are FAMILY MEMBERS, damn it!!! They have awareness and feelings. We had an adopted dog returned because it "nipped". Truth is the dog would mouth a hand as part of play in a display of affection. He had a "soft mouth" and it was completely appropriate but they didn't "get it". My wife and I have adopted about 8 dogs and I can say from experience that if you show a dog respect, patience, and love, along with a good dose of real understanding, the dog will return it all and be a well-adjusted dog in the vast majority of cases. We had one that we fostered that was unpredictable, however. He would come to you seeking affection and occasionally when you touched him he would snarl and bite. It turned out he had a brain tumor. But that is the very rare case.
I always use a screwdriver to dig it out holding the boot within the loo bowl; then when the cleats are cleaned out I flush the loo, making sure the fresh water flows over the underside of the boots en route to flushing away 'the unspeakable'. But whatever the method it's a disgusting, sickening job, and I'm afraid my contempt for dog owners embraces, by default, the responsible ones as well as the irresponsible. I feel a bit curmudgeonly when a dog owner attempts to make conversation, but that isn't my fault - and they only ever want the conversation to focus on their dogs anyway. So even if I'd planned to rest for a bit longer, I just make my excuses and leave (and the excuse I mainly use is that 'I've got to see a man about a dog'? lol ).
It sounds like you live in a city / suburban area since I have to take my dogs to my sister-in-laws to play with their "cousins" so I don't meet many other dog owners in parks etc. I've had large dogs and small dogs, whatever comes along. We currently have 2 "smallish" dogs who are not as fastidious, it seems, about their toilet training as Lucy was. I ended up with Lucy, a black lab / Gordon Setter mix whose owner (a friend of mine) committed suicide & Lucy "held it" for 2 days rather than foul the house. I had Lucy for the remainder of her life (10 years) and she never had a single soiling of the house. Our current 2 dogs are both young, energetic and rescued/ adopted. The owner of 1 of them made Leo (poodle-Pomeranian mix) live in a cage The owner was kind of a flakey porn - star-stripper who was easy on the eyes but unfit for dog ownership. Both dogs have the run of the house & sleep in the bed with me & my 6' tall wife so bed space is scarce Different dogs, different personalities
Do you live in a PC blue state or city ? Dog crap is completely out of control in California when liberals outlawed those plastic bags that they use to put your groceries in. Those politically incorrect plastic bags were excellent for picking up dog crap and disposing the dog crap and plastic bag into the dumpster.
First of all, don't dig it out of your cleats, because it leaves residue that may get on your carpet. Second, squirt the cleat with a garden hose, and don't forget to take the shoe off before squirting. Third, leave the cleat outside to dry. Forth, curse the bastard one more time and realize that there is always going to be someone who doesn't care.
I've tried that method too & you have to be careful not to get a face full of dog poop-water spray. I sometimes get the bulk of the poop off with a putty knife over the toilet & then use the toilet brush to scrub off the remainder, again, over the toilet
I don't believe that law is the problem at all. We have been picking up after our dogs for years and we use bags sold for the purpose. They're cheap but they don't split or have holes in them. And I've never seen anyone use grocery bags. You can actually pick up a bag or two or three for free from dispensers at parks, dog parks, outside pet stores on posts, and other places where people walk their dogs. But whatever you do, DON'T miss an opportunity to dis liberals or democrats!
I live on the south coast of England - literally a quarter of a mile downhill walk to the Channel, and most of the 20-plus miles return distance is along the seafront promenades of adjoining towns. I take a 15-minute rest about half-way, watching the ships as they pass to and fro on the horizon. It reminds me of when I was taking a rest there once, and was within earshot of two elderly ladies with a dog, I overheard one of them say (about her little doggy) 'Well we can go now - he's gets a bit frisky after his rest.', and as they passed me I said 'I know the feeling . . . I get a bit frisky after mine.' They went into peals of laughter, and I thought 'I didn't think it was that funny!'
Which is why I said I hold the boot in the loo - it goes into the water? I did forget to check my boots once, and had to spend half the bloody night cleaning it from the stair treads up to my apartment. Thankfully I smelled it at the top of the stairs, so none of if got onto my carpets. I don't have a garden therefore have no hose. There was the time I'd planned to have a curry meal on the way back from a walk to save cooking when i got home, and upon checking the boots prior to entering the restaurant (lucky I did?) found I'd stepped in some; all I could do then was to walk down to the water's edge and keep walking on the wetted shingle until they were clean. And all this effing hassle just because some lazy selfish anti-social bastard couldn't be bothered to pick up?
