Fellow Dog Owners...

Yep, I bring a bag with me all the time (I keep several stashed in the stroller, the car etc) I am that lady with a toddler in the stroller, the baby in a front back carrier and the dog on a leash who still manages to bend over and pick up the poop. If I didn't have a bag, I would be grateful if you offered me one because otherwise I would have to go back to the house, get one and come back to get the poop (with the kids probably sceaming the whole way ;) )

You are doing the right thing!

There was an article the other day on-line about an apartment complex that is going to begin dna testing dog poop and fining the owners if they don't pick up after their dogs. Basically all tenants are required to submit a 'sample' for profiling, then if there is a mess left on the grounds the management will send the mess to the dna company and they will tell them whose profile it belongs to. Genius!!

I would thank you! We just adopted a rescue dog that loves to poop on walks. My other dog refuses to poop anywhere but the back yard so I have hard time getting in the habit of bringing the bag. So, don't judge-maybe he just forgot the bag and would be coming back later to clean it up (I have done this before)

I always have bags!! We don't take our dog for walks off our property but we do take her camping and to the beach. I ALWAYS pick up after her. If I had forgotten a bag or used up the ones I had I would be grateful for the offer....but I don't think someone who had no intention of cleaning up after their 4-legged friend would be grateful for the offer. :)

When I take my dog ANYWHERE poop bags are ATTACHED ALREADY to the leach...it's the RESPONSIBLE THING TO DO!!!

I too get TRULY TORQUED when a pet owner doesn't pick up after them!! EEEWWW!!! if I was in a sour mood - I would stop - pick up and follow them home and deposit on their door step!!! :) LOL!!!

There has been once when I ran out of the bags - YIKES!! but I came back and picked it up - it's just BEYOND rude to leave your dogs mess anywhere!!!

if you offered me a bag - I would be grateful!! THANK YOU!!!

That is just wrong. I have a couple of plastic bags I tie on the leash so I never forget. My dog is always on a leash too. It's common courtesy.

I live near the beach, and get the same thing - even when the beach provides free bags at the entrance to each of the boardwalks leading to the beach! I want to scream! If you can't clean up after your pet, you shouldn't have one. End of story. Makes me think that they have no business having children for sure! I always clean up after my dog. I wouldn't want someone else to step in her stuff or even have to see it! YUCK! Makes me think these peoples homes are probably pretty gross.

Owning a dog means cleaning up after it.
I have been yelled at for my dog peeing in a yard, it was a neighbor of a neighbor who yelled at me to make sure I cleaned up my dog's mess. I just walked on. When I came back he confronted me, I held out my bag of three dogs' sh*& and asked if he were talking about this or the fact that my dog peed in his neighbor's yard. We were both pretty rattled.
He was just sick of people doing exactly what you described. I get sick of it too. I understood where he was coming from.
Go ahead and say to the people without bags, "Here's your bag." It'll stick with someone.

Oh here's a funny.
We lived in a duplex complex. There was a courtyard between all of the duplexes. My dog was big, a lab, and we cleaned up after him. One of the ladies had a teeny dog, with teeny poops. She never cleaned up. So the landlord got these little flags that said BAD DOG!! on them and marked every teeny poop in the courtyard. THey were everywhere. She also put them on the ladies front porch, as in Teeny Poops lives here.
THere must have been words exhanged because a few days later mom of Teeny Poops was cleaning up our courtyard.

Lol. I just had a friend of mine tell me a story about this. When he was living in a big city, on the busiest highway in and out of the city, he was sitting on the balcony watching the traffic bumper-to-bumper on one of the busiest days of the year. The traffic was moving so slowly, that a man got his dog out of his car, let him poo on the grass right outside my friend's building, then put the dog back in the car. My friend went and got a shovel (obviously the traffic was REALLY slow), scooped up the poo, and shoved it through the man's open car window. Apparently all the people in the other cars were honking their horns and clapping! I love that story.

oh i hate that too.... i always carry bags with me. i would gladly accept a bag if i didnt have one. come to think about it i have not picked up my dogs mess once. we were at a local dog park and he went and no one had a bag and the bag despencer and the park was all out. thankfully he went in a corner where no one would have stepped in it.

I always bring poop bags, but I have had a couple of "issues" in the past 13 years of my dog's life. I've had 3 poop walks where I only brought two bags (and tossed them in PUBLIC garbage cans along the way). And, yesterday we had a terrible surprise thunderstorm--I told my husband to run ahead with the kids in the stroller and I would help the dog home...he's really old and doesn't move very quickly regardless of pouring rain. I realized that I had all the poop bags under the stroller--luckily he didn't poop--but I spent the entire walk worried about it! I would be thrilled if someone had offered me a bag in those situations--of course, I would also feel compelled to tell you my long story about how this NEVER happens...which is true...but I think there have been a couple times in 13 years where it did!

It's pretty easy to take a bag with all those little attachments for the leash. If I were out of bags I would welcome someone offering me a bag! I have offered bags to people walking by my house - I live on a corner and the garden seems to be everyone's favorite spot to stop, as if I don't see them! I want to put up a sign that says "If your dog is in my garden, he'd better be weeding it!"

Now, the off-leash thing might depend on your town's laws. Dogs who are off-leash but under voice command are okay in our town. I report people who don't clean up after their dogs - the Animal Control Office sends them a letter and a fine, and never divulges the name of the person reporting. I've also told people that I'm offering them a bag so that they don't get fined, I'm sure you want to be responsible, aren't I helpful, we dog owners have to help each other, blah blah. Obviously it's more difficult when you don't know who the person is, but if you are walking and can stop to pet the friendly dog, check its tags as if you are looking for a name tag to get acquainted - sometimes you can memorize the dog license number and then call it in.

I don't think yelling at the person is productive - tends to make them defiant. You could make your point by saying "Excuse me, your dog just pooped there and I'm sure you'll want to clean it up before someone steps in it or you are fined." You could suggest that your town post signs at the parks and indicate a fine. Some parks actually provide dispensers for bags or charge a small membership fee for dog owners for a "permit" to have their dogs there.

I once saw a town official walking a massive dog who pooped and then they just walked off - well, after the official spent 2 minutes kicking the poop off the strip of grass and into the street into 5 new piles. I scurried down the street and said "Oh, hi there, aren't you our newly-elected official?" "Why, yes I am," said he with a big smile. I said, "Oh well, can you tell me why you don't feel you need to follow the town's by-laws?" He said he usually has a bag and just forgot. I reminded him that his dog had been pooping on our sidewalks for years. He went home and drove back with (I kid you not) a few paper towels. I walked back over with a bag and a pooper scooper, and told him everything in the street was going to wind up on car tires and now in the garages of the voters. When I was done, I called Animal Control to report the entire incident.

He never did it again.

I always slow down and blow the horn obnoxiously when I see this. Of course, then everyone else turns to look at what I am blowing at- the dog pooping on the sidewalk, of course.
You wouldn't have to offer me a bag. I would never let my dog just go without picking it up.

You are doing the right thing. I once yelled at someone who just let his dog go on the church lawn next to my office, it really EXTRA ticked my off and I let him know. He followed me and left a nasty note on my car windshield. (creepy). In hind site I wish I had just nicely offered him a bag...I always carry extras in my car. If I had done that, we both would have been better off.

It was a learning experience.

Blessings...

Luckily we live in a big "big foresty" area so its not necessary. Where my dogs do business won't impact anyone....and BTW my dogs do the business in our septic area on the grass..they're trained. Yep that's gross to have to see that.

I used to work at a vet's office and poop is gross but walking without a leash is just dangerous. People are always like my dog is well behaved and nice. The problem is that other dogs are not nice. I've seen a dog straining on a leash (not in a nice way) and someone else letting their off leash dog walk up to it saying my dog is nice. Hello the dog on a leash will still attack your dog even if it's nice. People like this obviously don't think about the danger to their own dog getting attacked, hit by a car, running off after a squirrel etc. I don't care if you have the best behaved dog in the world it's still a dog and needs a leash in public. And like another poster said tie some bags to the leash and you've got everything you need.

I would be grateful! I always carry a bag or three with me when I walk my mutts. I hate when I find dog poop in my yard that doesnt belong. It amazes me that there are dog owners that dont mind at all if their dog poops somewhere that doesnt belong to them and than just leaves it..gross & rude!

I don't get that either. When I walk my dog outside of my yard, I take bags with me and I clean up after him. Apparently, this makes me something of an oddity in my neighborhood.
Shortly after we moved in, I was walkng him, he stopped and dropped, and I bent down with a plastic bag over my hand like a glove to pick it up. About that time, a woman came out of the house, and asked what I was doing. I told her I was cleaning up after my dog so that she wouldn't get any nasty surprises when she walked across her lawn, and she was stunned.

I don't usually take bags with me when I walk our dog. But then, I don't take my dog on walks to get her bowels moving. I take her on walks for exercise and working on her being subservient in the pack. She is told/made to do her "business" before we start out on the walk--at home. In our own yard. (The kids poop scoop later).

I HAVE been embarrassed that she did her business elsewhere when I thought she had already done it at home, but was wrong (hubby said she had been "out" ---well, yeah, but he didn't make sure she pooped. :( )
I would have been grateful if someone was there to offer me a bag.

If that were to happen on a neighborhood walk, then I would come back with a bag after the fact, or send one of the kids with a bag/poop scooper after the fact.

So, maybe, just maybe, the folks you saw this morning were like me. And planned to come back for it after the "oopsie" surprise.

Added: After reading some of the other posts, I must have one strange dog-- or maybe it is what she eats? She poops AT THE MOST 2 times PER DAY (usually once in the morning and once at bedtime). And NEVER more than once within a couple of hours of each other. Doesn't matter if I take her on a 6 mile walk or not. But then, she is not food motivated at all, and only eats at night before bed, not throughout the day.

I would gladly accept them but then again I always have them attached to the leash so they always go with me. One day though we had run otu and I didn't know I was mortified "what if he poops?" thankfully he didn't!

My dog uses our backyard, which we then pick up every other day (well, the kids took it upon themselves to do it, YAY!!)... we rarely walk our dog in public, because we don't have to. I've handed out bags to people who don't pick up their dogs poo in our yard... yeah, that's right, I run out there in my jammies waving a bag around, big smile on my face, playing dumb, screaming 'OH NO! YOU FORGOT YOUR BAGGIE!! LOOK, I HAVE ONE YOU CAN USE!!'... There's one dude in particular who hasn't gotten the hint, and I've notified my landlord, who in turn called the cops. HAHA!

Sometimes I forget to bring bags, so I try not to be too hard on others. If I do forget or run out (sometimes dogs will surprise you and go more than 1 or 2 times!), I either go back later and clean up, or I "pay it forward" and clean up an extra the next time I'm out. Yes, it's gross.

I always bring my own bags (except when I completely and totally space). When I reach into my purse and realize I've just pulled a 'doh!' moment, I just mark the spot in my mind, grab a plastic bag from the connivence store (yes, I know it's not technically spelled that way, personal quirk) or fetch one from my car, and head back. 99% of the time, I've got the little roll of them in my purse. But 4 or 5 times in the past 4 years I've spaced it. If someone offered me one when I spaced it, I'd be THRILLED! Save me the walk. :)

I bring bags, but sometimes, my dog poops more than I have bags. I always feel awful for leaving it there & have even gone back to pick it up. If someone offered me a bag, I'd be thankful.

Not every dog owner is as gross as the one you mentioned.

I ALWAYS take bags and pick up because no matter if my dogs just pooped, as soon as they get on someone else's turf or the park, they go again. i am a picker upper of poop for my dogs.

However, I have a few neighbors who walk past my house a lot and don't pick up. Yes, I have walked outside and offered bags to them. They seemed a bit embarrassed but they used it.

I believe there is also a city ordinance here which states you pick it up or get sited.

I usually bring bags, but holy hell I'm human and sometimes forget! But, if my dog poops when I don't have a bag, it's usually on a crappy piece of land where no one goes walking or playing anyways.

Oh yeah, and I've had people glare at me when she pees too (as they flick a lit cigarette into the grass). Hello idiot, I can't stop my dog from peeing and I can't scoop it up either.

*to answer your question... if you kindly offered me a bag, I would accept it. But maybe I already have one and you jumped the gun judging that I didn't. I'd think you a little presumptuous.

I always pick up, and around here most do the same. I would welcome your extra bag if I needed it :) At the dog parks most owners call #2 to the attention of the appropriate owner, and stand watch (they are easy to lose track of while you locate a bag). Peer pressure is a powerful thing! My FIl was one to never pick-up, and seemed disgusted with me that I would carry "it" around to bring back to his garbage...until I pointed out how much he would enjoy it if someone left a "present" on HIS perfectly manicured lawn.

Oh I am so with you. I have done exactly the same thing. I also have run out of poop bags with my dog (I always carry one but sometimes he'll go twice or something). I have gone back and collected the poop later. I do "penalty poops" - ie if I am walking my dog and he poops and there's a pile nearby that someone didn't tend to, I'll pick it up too. There's a nice wooded path near where I live where lots of people walk their dogs. In the winter, people just leave poop laying all over the path!!! Like for some reason it isn't gross because there's snow on the ground. I guess it's not clear to me if they do that more in the winter or if the snow just accentuates it in that you can actually see the poop better. either way it really pi**es me off. I do lots of penalty poops in the winter.

And don't get me started about people who "cover" the poop up with a pile of leaves or dirt!! Seriously - so it makes it even MORE likely that someone will innocently step in it since they can't see it ! How annoying!

I actually don't mind that my dog poops on walks instead of our lovely yard - I clean it up, like I said, and I never have to worry about my daughter stepping in poop while playing out back. To each his own I guess!

ANyway, in answer to your question, if ever I forgot my bag I'd LOVE it if someone offered me one so I didn't have to mark the spot and come back later to clean up.

I too have been yelled at when my dog peed on a lawn, which I wasn't exactly thrilled about but I do understand the person's perspective.