Despite the clearly posted sign near the trail entrance, which says "I poop. You scoop. Got it?", and simple explanation of what the dog poop can do to you and the other dogs, I counted at least 3 poops on that trail.
I like hiking and I do see it over and over again, and, when I bring it to the attention of the dog owners, they usually start to get defensive. Their typical response is -- "Me? Never! I always pick my dogs stuff up! It's not me, it's not mine."
Famous quote refresher -- "Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching."
Well, just like in Engineering, no matter how much effort you put into securing your system, it will always be as secure as its weakest component. In this case, if everyone is doing what they are supposed to do -- it takes only one irresponsible individual to ruin it for all.
May be I'm preaching to the choir here, but, I would like to propose 3 potential solutions to the problem. Which one of these options do you think may work best?
Educate irresponsible dog owners, and train them to pick their stuff. I'm a bit skeptical it will work, if it has not happened yet -- all the information is available and everyone does know by now.
Create national dog DNA database to penalize slacking owners. There are certain attempts already implemented by some property managers. But it will only be effective if it becomes a nation wide mandate. I always thought that carrot works better than the stick, but, perhaps this case is different and stick is the only things that will make a meaningful impact?
Have responsible dog owners pick somebody else's poop. My personal believe is, that "Good example is as contagious as the bad one". It's a possibility, that no single method will cover the need 100%, then, supplementing it with option 3 may be final thing to securing the weakest link.
Would love to hear your thoughts. Please reply in comments.
https://www.wisaw.com/photos/21778