Plastic bags with dog droppings left at trailheads?

This isn't a dog rant but could someone explain to me the rational of placing dog droppings in a plastic bag and then leaving the plastic bags at a trailhead sign?. Is it the dog owners assumption that the dog excrement fairy is going to drive by the trailhead and pick up these bags? When hiking out west near a fairly urban area (Redmond Washington) a few years ago, the phenomena of bags of dog excrement hung from branches in the vicinity of the trailhead seemed to be quite common but I really hadn't seen it to a significant amount in the whites until this year usually on more touristy trails that lack trash receptacles. The theory I had heard out west was that the dog would normally drop a deposit early in the hike and the owner would pick up the waste with a bag and then hang it on a bush to be picked up on the way out but it sure looked like a lot of folks couldn't find the bags on the way out

Of course my reasoning may be flawed as I assume the bags are full of dog waste versus human waste

peakbagger said:

This isn't a dog rant but could someone explain to me the rational of placing dog droppings in a plastic bag and then leaving the plastic bags at a trailhead sign?. Is it the dog owners assumption that the dog excrement fairy is going to drive by the trailhead and pick up these bags? When hiking out west near a fairly urban area (Redmond Washington) a few years ago, the phenomena of bags of dog excrement hung from branches in the vicinity of the trailhead seemed to be quite common but I really hadn't seen it to a significant amount in the whites until this year usually on more touristy trails that lack trash receptacles. The theory I had heard out west was that the dog would normally drop a deposit early in the hike and the owner would pick up the waste with a bag and then hang it on a bush to be picked up on the way out but it sure looked like a lot of folks couldn't find the bags on the way out

Of course my reasoning may be flawed as I assume the bags are full of dog waste versus human waste

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Happens here all the time, drives me crazy. And I have 3 dogs, one of which rivals humans in her volume. I think people are thinking they are being responsible and they kind of are... but last time I checked, "pack it out" meant all the way out. Heck, double bag it if it makes the car stink till you find an appropriate trash can.

I've seen people leave them on their way in (dog gets out of car and poops) tie them off and leave them at the trailhead (this being at local conservation lands that don't have a public trash can), then pick them up on their way out. I don't like that either, I usually toss mine on my car bumper until I get back to my car and then dispose of it properly.

One reason you see so many at a trail head or within the first 1/4 mile of the trail head is the pooch gets out of the car all excited and, well, has gotta go!

The well-meaning owner bags it and rather than carry it for the duration decides to cache it behind a tree, rock, etc. and pick it up on the way out. But despite good intentions that often does not happen.

One day last summer I collected 14 bags of dog crap coming off Mount Major, within a 1/2 mile of the parking lot. I am used to collecting trash on Mt Major, but this was many orders of magnitude worse. Yuck!

Spoiler alert: I am no fan of dogs (especially unleashed) on trails chasing wildlife and defiling the environment. Seeing left-behind bags of their crap is yet another downside.

cb

The last 2 or so years, this has really become a thing in the Catskills too! And usually, it is NOT being picked up on the way out!

I've wondered if people sometimes leave trash (of any kind) as a protest to there not being trashcans at most trail heads. The false dichotomy of blaming someone else for one's own actions (you forced me to litter because you didn't put out a trashcan, as though those were the only options) isn't as rare as I would hope. I suppose at best the practice results from people being oblivious.

This is good! We haven't had a good dog dustup in quite some time.

I have seen them, too, and assumed it was due to someone picking it up when they arrive, and leaving it for later. At least, that's my positive view.

But, on the flipside, I see it even walking around my neighborhood. Drives me crazy as I'd rather it was left out than in a bag. Has a better chance to to break down if not wrapped in plastic I assume.

dug said:

I see it even walking around my neighborhood.

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What amazes me is the folks who drive around with a bag of dog poop slung off their rear-window wiper. Sort of "saving" it.

Who's the comedian who riffs on an alien looking down on earth and concluding dogs are the primary species because they have a human following them around picking up their waste products? Too funny!

cb

Luckily unless someone cares to detour the thread this isn't a "good dog dustup". I, and expect others, would object to folks leaving bags of human waste, or the close equivalent soiled disposable baby diapers at a trail head as strongly as dog crap. As you observe, it lasts a lot longer when its left in plastic bag than left in the woods and even then the bag remains.

I could strongly object to the human waste disposal practices that are common in the White Mountains, especially along the Appalachian Trail. If you hike with a dog, you quickly learn that most (human) poopers don't go 200' off trail nor do they bury it very well, if they bury it at all

Tim

una_dogger said:

I've seen people leave them on their way in (dog gets out of car and poops) tie them off and leave them at the trailhead (this being at local conservation lands that don't have a public trash can), then pick them up on their way out. I don't like that either, I usually toss mine on my car bumper until I get back to my car and then dispose of it properly.

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I've been doing the under-bumper, too, since I realized some people seem to see the bag-at-trailhead as a sign that they should leave their bags there (I've definitely seen piles accumulate over time on trails I use alot).

bikehikeskifish said:

I could strongly object to the human waste disposal practices that are common in the White Mountains, especially along the Appalachian Trail. If you hike with a dog, you quickly learn that most (human) poopers don't go 200' off trail nor do they bury it very well, if they bury it at all

Tim

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YUP! And when your dog eats the poop of a medicated individual, and requires a long emergency carry out due to toxicity, its EVEN LESS FUN.

Given the sad story of Bookah (eating poisoned bait) and Una_doggers caution, this does remind me of long dead relative who had constant canine companions in a very rural area. Every dog was trained that they only would eat out of a specific bowl or out of his hand. If someone threw food at the dog it wouldn't touch it unless the owner gave the okay. I expect its probably a difficult task to teach but probably a life saving one.

Of course I don't know how one would train a dog not to decide to roll around in it. My friends Golden seemed to have a particular talent at finding fresh poop off the trail and rolling in it.

TJsName said:

I've wondered if people sometimes leave trash (of any kind) as a protest to there not being trashcans at most trail heads. The false dichotomy of blaming someone else for one's own actions (you forced me to litter because you didn't put out a trashcan, as though those were the only options) isn't as rare as I would hope. I suppose at best the practice results from people being oblivious.

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Dug said:

This is good! We haven't had a good dog dustup in quite some time.

I have seen them, too, and assumed it was due to someone picking it up when they arrive, and leaving it for later. At least, that's my positive view.

But, on the flipside, I see it even walking around my neighborhood. Drives me crazy as I'd rather it was left out than in a bag. Has a better chance to to break down if not wrapped in plastic I assume.

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Last night, I was at a public comment meeting on a parcel of state land in the Catskills, and one person said they needed more garbage cans. NY policy is basically "Carry in - carry out". So that person did not 'get it'.

We have a person in our neighborhood that tosses their little blue bag in our trash can. I'd love to catch them in the act!

I don't see this thread as anti-dog, it's anti-bad-dog-owner. Every creature expels waste, and it's up to the humans to make sure it's disposed of properly...

Tom Rankin said:

Last night, I was at a public comment meeting on a parcel of state land in the Catskills, and one person said they needed more garbage cans. NY policy is basically "Carry in - carry out". So that person did not 'get it'.

We have a person in our neighborhood that tosses their little blue bag in our trash can. I'd love to catch them in the act!

I don't see this thread as anti-dog, it's anti-bad-dog-owner. Every creature expels waste, and it's up to the humans to make sure it's disposed of properly...

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Year, carry-in/carry-out is more work. The problem is, while people shouldn't leave trash, if they are how do we as a society mitigate it? I won't attempt to answer that.

As for trashcans - if I'm walking my dogs and they poop, I'll toss the bag in a trashcan on the curb if I walk by one. I suppose adding your own trash to a bin could be considered theft of services, depending on the arrangement for disposal. In my town, the city issues bins to an address and the city's taxes cover the expense of waste removal for residents (with some exceptions multi-units buildings). In that sense, putting the bag in a bin is cost neutral, and if I don't trespass to do it, it should be fine. Of course, the occasional small poop bag in a random bin is different than someone placing all their household trash in another bin, and illegal dumping is certainly a problem. If someone 'caught' me doing it and asked me not to I wouldn't argue, though I might wonder about the person's rationale.

I agree this isn't really an anti-dog thread - more of an anti-litter thread, which we have had recently.

We have two bins: one for recycling and one for trash. They go out together weekly. The recycle bin is marked as such. The trash bin is easy to smell from a distance; we use it frequently. About once a month someone puts a plastic bag with a little present in our just-emptied RECYCLE bin. WTF??

From an environmental perspective, people are taking a biodegradable substance and placing it in a nonbiodegradable bag thinking they are somehow helping. If you arent going to take the bag, there's no point in bagging it. The plastic will still be in the woods and waterways for years to come. A bit ironic, eh?

This is one of my best/worst pet peeves. You all are being too kind when you say that people are "well meaning" in this regard...instead it shows how a substantial portion of the population just "doesn't get it" (no matter what "it" is.) They think that the goal is to bag the poop, not to bag and then dispose of it. Apparently, they think that bagged poop thrown in the woods (or dropped along the trail) is the goal. They can't think through that they are increasing the "half-life" of the poop many-fold by bagging it. It would be much preferable if they just took a stick and moved the poop off the trail with no bag.

Go to state parks/forests in suburban areas and you can count dozens of these bags on any trail.

Someone in my neighborhood was throwing these bags in the woods and shrubs bordering my property (some were hanging in trees). I would collect them all and put them back on the sidewalk. Eventually they figured it out and it stopped.

Here's where I up the grossness factor. You may be aware that some rock-climbing groups are putting out larger bags for the climbers to use at certain areas. You guessed it...people are bagging their own poop and leaving it along trails or in woods. I've seen several.

Seriously folks..A thread about DOG SHIT..u got to be shitting me...

I'm a rail trail steward for the section near our home. We deal with poop left by owners right on the trail, and filled poop bags left along the rail trail and at road crossings.
I suspect the poop bags seen along hiking trails are dog owners intending to grab the bags on their way out, forgetting where they laid them (it's happened to me and I go back and get it), or thinking their Mom will pick up as when they were kids. I sometimes leave the bag when I know I'm coming back, but hide it or hang in on a branch off the trail so I'm sure to pick it up.
As disgusting as all of this is, it's still a fraction of the disgusting behavior of people leaving their unburied human waste, toilet paper, and sanitary napkins on the trail, at viewpoints, or just off.