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Comment by paimapi | Hacker News Reader

I live in a city and I cannot tell you how often I see dogshit on the sidewalk, like just in the middle of the sidewalk

the only neighborhoods where I don't see this are the ones where there's some nice retired older person who diligently cleans the shit up. but it's not like they bleach the spot, they just pick up most of the poop. so yeah, there's feces everywhere

it also doesn't help that we have bottom tier public restrooms available on a per-capita basis, at least here in the US: https://thronelabs.co/blog/where-have-all-the-public-restroo...

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I live in a city too but don’t share the same problem as you in my yard! Sorry about that!

Honestly that sounds horrible. In most of the civilized modern world that problem is solved tho and people pick up after their dogs

Anecdotally not in Berlin, Rome, or Dublin.

Sadly most dog owners only pick up after their dog if someone else is around/watching. Most people on rural neighborhoods won't pick it up at all.

https://archive.is/lcEzs

Sad to here. I lively in a quiet remote place in the mountains and I usually only find fox shit, or occasional cat shit if anything. People here in Switzerland do usually care. And I got the same impression from _most_ our neighbour countries.

I walk my dog twice a day every day rain or shine. I've picked up his poop 100% of the time - as do most other members of my suburban community. Our parks and sidewalks are mostly dog poop free.

Having said that, I've observed four cases where dog poop is more likely left behind.

1. Small dogs - owners of small dogs seem far more likely to leave dog poop behind. Perhaps because they think the poop is itself small?

2. Older owners (often owners of small dogs, but not always) - seem to care less.

3. Off leash dogs in parks - will often poop at the far edges of parks while their owners chat. Edges of parks and near bushes are minefields.

4. Rainy days - people just want to get home, clean off their dog and be done. So they seem more likely leave poop behind.

it's not a person issue, it's a systems problem in the same way that desire paths reflect bad design. regular garbage receptacles maintained by the city with poop bags would solve this issue but there's not one for miles in my neighborhood. similarly, human waste would be similarly reduced if there were more public restrooms that are maintained as part of the public good

problem is that it requires municipalities and counties to take ownership and they don't give a shit and thus we get the shit we deserve

>but there's not one for miles in my neighborhood.

Pet owners should know to bring bags with them, as they are taking the pet out for it to shit somewhere other than their yard.

It's 100% an asshole pet owner problem. Owning a pet that is shitting somewhere other than your own yard means bringing bags on walks and being prepared to hold that shit filled bag in your hand for the rest of the walk until you can throw it away at home.

It can be partially mitigated by having trashcans and poop bag dispensers, but I've stepped in dog shit next to a poop bag dispenser. Because having trashcans and bags be available doesn't change asshole pet owner habits.

Even if the pet owner picks up the defecation, they're usually not bleaching where it was laid, so bacteria still exists on that surface.

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