Dog owners - picking up the "unpick-upable" on walks?

[nadine_mn]

Ok sorry for the gross out factor but just a question:

I try to be a responsible pet owner and when I walk my dogs of course I always clean up after them. Every now and then my dog has ummmm loose stool and its almost impossible to pick-up - I make an attempt, but usually end up just smear stuff in the grass.

I feel terrible about the waste on someone's yard, but not sure what else to do?

Also in winter, sometimes the poo just melts through the snow to the bottom of the snowbank and no way can I pick it up.

How do you handle these situations?

[hlthe2b]

1. I carry a bottle of water and pour over to dilute it--same as with urine, since it burns the grass

(or at least I did--lost my beloved furry girl a few months ago... )

[nadine_mn]

2. Oh I am so sorry for your loss

Water is a good idea - never thought of that! Thanks

[hlthe2b]

3. thank you....

and yes, homeowners will appreciate your diluting, even if you can't always remove it all.

[Stinky The Clown]

4. We always carry bags, but when it is less than solid we do the best we can

I think we get a lot of slack from the homeowners along our routes because we pick up not only from our dogs but often that from the dogs of less considerate neighbors.

In the case of runnies, we pick up the poop and a little grass or dirt along with it. The grass will grow back. There has been a time or two when it just wasn't possible to pick it up so we left it, but picked it up on our next walk, after it had hardened a little.

We're kind of lucky with our three. The two big dogs generally don't poop on walks (but when the GSD _does_ poop, it is often because it is runny and that's _not_ funny!). The little one is not an issue except she poops as many as three times, with each one successively smaller, but wetter.

Anyway . . . . after that overshare . . . . we just do the best we can and try to be good neighbors. Sometimes, however, we just have to move on.

[nadine_mn]

5. Heh..no over sharing when it comes to pets IMO

Most pet owners have seen it all....and then had to pick it up.

Our lab mix is a shy pooper...will only poo at home when no one is looking and our GSD is an exhibitionist...he will always try to squirt something out on a walk.

Fall is the best...you can usually grab some leaves and that helps, but its been so dry here the grass is pretty sparse. We walk at night...there are no sidewalks in our area so we have to walk in the street and we live near a very busy road, so I wait until the wee hours to walk them. Plus there are a lot of other dogs in the area that come charging out at us when we have walked at normal hours and my GSD does not handle that well.

I have thought about coming back the next day to retrieve it, but I feel like I should leave a little flag with a note...saying I will be back tomorrow when this firms up. Then that seems silly, so the water bottle is the best yet when there is a leaf shortage.

[Stinky The Clown]

6. Ya know . . . . that's not a bad idea: Poop Flags

[nadine_mn]

7. My grandpa used to put out poop flags in his yard

We lived across the street we would come over with our dog to visit. He (another GSD exhibitionist pooper) would leave a gift and my grandpa would mark the spot with one of those flags you see that mark gas lines and stuff. It was a reminder that we had to come back and pick it up.

One day my mom and I went to the hardware store and bought a ton of those little flags and spend the morning putting them all in his backyard (just to be clear, my grandparents were like parents to me and we played jokes on each other often). We called him and my grandma to come outside to see the sea of waving little pink flags. Then we yelled "one is real!" and ran off.

It was awesome and that day is an epic tale in a long history of family jokes!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. My neighborhood has an annual dog festival, and one time I witnessed

a dog having a really nasty spell of diarrhea on the sidewalk. The owner of the nearby business came out with a garden hose and hosed down the sidewalk, washing the mess into the gutter in diluted form. Problem solved.

[TorchTheWitch]

9. all you can do is the best you can do

We've probably all been there with this problem before. I always feel badly about it, too, especially with a big dog (big dog = big poopy). I do my best to pick up what I can with the bag, but of course that doesn't work so well. I just do the best I can and then feel bad about it later, but what else can you do? If I know that he's likely going to have a drippy one then I try to walk him somewhere where he's not going to do it on someone's lawn, but it always seems that these things come as a surprise. I think as long as you make some kind of effort that's good enough. I still feel badly about it, but shit happens (no pun intended).

[Kablooie]

10. I always have two doggy bags in my back pockets.

So I don't accidentally forget if I take my dog out on a spur of the moment walk.

I try to lead her into ivy or some other brushy area so if I can't get it all at least it won't be visible.

[roody]

11. I pick up other dog's poop

to make up for the times I miss my own dogs' poop.

[Walk away]

12. My friend trained her Beagle to poop on a paper plate!

I know, it sounds crazy but they would go on their walk and when Murphy started to do the "Mystery Dance" Nancy would slide a paper plate under her her butt when she stopped spinning. Then she just popped it in a baggie. Totally clean!

[nadine_mn]

13. that is amazing - my dogs have the smarts to learn

but I don't have the patience. That is awesome!

[Walk away]

14. People stop their cars....

She buys them at the Dollar Store by the hundreds. I tried to teach my dogs but they generally just scoot away!

[jgbcgirl]

15. Just venting

I live in an RV/trailer park. Someone new moved in next door. Today, while I was out with my dog (on a leash), she approached me & asked if I would mind to not walk my dog on the driver's side of my RV. She said her dog--who wasn't on a leash-had gotten into the liquid mess my dog had left. So my dog has had the squirts for a couple days. No other symptoms, just liquid poo. Can't pick it up so I covered each spot with a big handful of grass clippings. Three spots in two days. Within 5 feet of my RV. I was dumbfounded at this exchange. She insisted we take it to the manager which we did. She said her dog was sick now and probably got it from my dog. I told her my dog had likely eaten something she shouldn't have (she got some bbq I think) and that I didn't think she was sick as in contagious. So it basically came down to I have to 'rinse' all the places now (all 3 on that side--which basically is reanimating & spreading it). I couldn't find any places on the passenger side of my pad/yard though I know she went there. I was being courteous by piling up the grass clippings as a warning. The lawn care folks are always on riding mowers so I wasn't concerned about them getting into it. I am at a loss. I *always* pick up after my dog and if I find other poop I pick it up too. This lady wants me to change my routine to accommodate her lack of control of her five pound dog. I am so mad.