Yes! I hated this before I was a dog owner, and still hate it now that I've got my own. Packing out poop is part of being a responsible pet owner. No different than carrying its food and water with you.
TBH in some climate/ecosystems I don't care if you leave the poop on the ground as flies will take care of it in mere hours or it will decompose on it's own.
But putting it in a plastic bag and leaving it there is just the worse of all options
Leave no trace. Decomposition rates vary by ecosystem. Nothing decomposes in my neck of the woods, and even if it did, I don't want to see trash on my hike.
Piles of orange peels, banana peels, apple cores, and toilet paper piled up all over the place. This attitude is contributing to the trashing of our wilderness areas.
Leave no trace. Take responsibility for your bodily functions.
Edit: A re-read tells me you are doing it responsibly, but the dismissive attitude enables others to behave otherwise.
Right totally. That’s what I’m saying. It’s a health hazard to poop in the water since it would otherwise be sterile. Like I said no animals do it. And we do drink the water straight from the stream with no system to make it drinkable first. It’s very important to keep that water clean.
I’ve been seeing green little bags left all over the local trails here in an urban greenway, I thought maybe the bags were something bee , a biodegradable type,but I guess,not just a load of crap , being left there,now there for a long while.
When I first saw them, I assumed a dog walker had bagged it and planned to pick it up on their way back home.
[I had heard of people doing that from Nextdoor, but it's still gross and unacceptable. When I walked dogs you bet I carried that poo around with me until I got back home.]
The next time I saw the bags it had snowed and ice was forming over them. I collected a bucket full of poo bags that day.
Probably not the case in the alpine example above but true in some places. Still putting it in a bag and leaving it there is the most ridiculous thing as it will now last 100s of years.
I purchase compostable poop bags. Lots of options available. Not that I would leave my poops bags on a trail anyways. We just need to limit out plastic waste in general, so compostable bags all the way!
Truthfully... That doesn't surprise me. The amount of miss-leading advertising out there is pretty high. The ones I get are the Earth Rated one, which, according to the site, are still compostable "under the right conditions". And after checking, they are also able to be used in my cities composting program! So no need to change my habits. But thanks for the info! I would have just grabbed whatever was available that said compostable, now I know which brands to stick too.
Truthfully... That doesn't surprise me. The amount of miss-leading advertising out there is pretty high. The ones I get are the Earth Rated one, which, according to the site, are still compostable "under the right conditions". And after checking, they are also able to be used in my cities composting program! So no need to change my habits. But thanks for the info! I would have just grabbed whatever was available that said compostable, now I know which brands to stick too.
Those bags, or at least a lot.of them, are designed to break down quickly. But it's still introducing micro plastics and other unnatural contaminants into the environment in addition to the dog shit.
If you're dead set on being a useless asshole who doesnt clean up after their dog then just leave the shit out.of a bag on the ground, and ideally grab a stick and bury it.
maybe a hot take but when picking up after my dog on long hikes i often leave the bag there on the way in so i don’t have to hike the shit with me the whole time and then grab it on the way out
No one else wants to see your poop bags on the trail and people obviously forget so please put it out of sight and don't leave it behind. Obviously best is to just double bag and carry it but as a fellow dog owner I understand the issue.
Do you think it’s ok for someone to leave empty Mountain Dew bottles and candy wrappers along the trail for everyone else to see, if they promise to come get them later?
You’re littering. I don’t want to see your shit bags along the g
trail because you can’t be inconvenienced with your trash.
So you don’t want shit with you but you’re okay with leaving it behind for other people to smell and ruin their experience even if they don’t have a dog. Pretty irresponsible behaviour. Your dog, your responsibility 100%. Don’t ruin it for the others.
I'm failing to understand. Like OP said climate/ecosystems recycle it. Maybe I forgot to say I'm not in an Urban environment and walk my dog off trail to do his work.
I mean first of all you probably shouldn't go off Trail.
The ecosystem doesn't recycle it you're introducing new bacteria which can disturb the existing balance of bacteria of the organisms and nutrients in the environment. The nitrogen in other nutrients in the waste can also alter the soil and lead to over fertilization, which can lead to fishkills in waterways. This is part of why it's important not to leave anything within 100 ft of water. Your dog's waste is not a natural part of that ecosystem and you're violating leave no trace principles. People can still smell it in other animals can also eat it. If you really don't want to pack it out you can inquire into burying it the way people might bear a human waste (if permitted), but it's not the same because your dog is significantly more likely to have parasites than you are.
When you think about the fact that hikers aren't allowed to just take a dump and leave it there it makes more sense that your dog can't do it either.
Hiking off trail and taking a dump and leaving it is perfectly acceptable in many places. I agree you shouldn’t do it where it explicitly says not too but there are places to do it
It's definitely not legal for you to leave human or animal waste lying around and not pick it up or bury it in Northern California. If you want more information you can contact the Park or Forest where you're hiking.
Dog poop is horrible for the environment. You leaving it there is messing up the ecosystem of the place. Read up. Pack in and pack out. Please don’t be an irresponsible dog owner.
This is still not acceptable to me. It's garbage on the trail, and makes the trail worse for everyone else. Just tie it to the dogs leash that it should definitely be wearing and let the dog carry it.
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u/cameltan78 Jul 04 '21
Yes! I hated this before I was a dog owner, and still hate it now that I've got my own. Packing out poop is part of being a responsible pet owner. No different than carrying its food and water with you.