This has been eating at me for awhile.

The "natural area" close to my house where I have walked/run Bodhi since I got him and where I previously ran my last husky, recently posted signs that say "No Pets Allowed."
In conversation with the ranger, I learned that means dogs, horses and llamas.
People have ridden horses there forever, walked llamas and even pack goats.
The ranger said that the main problem was dog poop, and how it polluted the streams.
I pointed out that the county was spraying herbicide on the blackberries, and dumping regrind asphalt on the dirt road which also drains into the creek where salmonoids spawn.
He said that wasn't as bad as dog poop which he equated to one of the most toxic of substances.
I left him with the statement, "Do you think that coyotes got the memo?"
He replied, "That's different. They're natural."

Years ago, I was running in downtown Portland with my husky when I passed a horse mounted police officer.
He said, "Make sure you clean up after your dog."
I asked the officer if I had to clean up after my dog, why he didn't have to clean up after his horse?
He said five horses' poop wasn't as bad for the environment as one dog's.

I've researched this on line and most of the info I've found seems to confirm both of their opinions that dog poop is somehow one of the worst substances, much worse than human or horse poop.
Still I have a hard time believing it.
My philosophy is- if it's visible like on someone's yard, in the city or in a place where kids play, I'll bag it and throw it in the garbage.
If it's in nature, I'll get it out of the footpath, cover it and let it decompose.
Am I nuts?
What do you think?

Michael, I'm off to do a search, but would you mind pointing me to some of the links you found.  
Where I live it's so dry that within an hour of it being deposited, it's a lump of dried dog poop and I don't see a problem with that.  My main disgust, of course, is when I go out and step in a fresh donation ....

• Dog Park Environmental Issues
  Dangers of Dog Poop
  Dog poop a threat to water
  NRDC Pets and their poop
  

Wow!! These are just a few of the links I found.  Even though I've had dogs around for years, I've always though that odor and 'stickiness' wre the main problems.

Okay, I'll consider myself quite a bit more educated, thanks for making me look Michael!

http://theilovedogssite.com/the-shocking-truth-about-not-picking-up-your-dogs-poop/

http://www.aapaw.org/education/dangers-of-dog-poop.html

The thing that I have noticed is that dog poop doesn't decompose as fast as you'd think because it's not "all natural" due to the contents in commercial dog food. Poop from dogs who are on raw are not a problem.

I dunno...but you can ask my son who stepped in a still warm, rather large pile...in his flip-flops  (And it was his dog, not Ami!)

Ami gets a beef bone a day - the poop is nice and firm, turns white within hours, dries to a dust if I don't get it within a day...

Probably the worms thing - otherwise, no clue.

Michael, I grew up with cats and dogs, my mom was a farm girl and grew up with cats, dogs, horses and cattle. I remember talking to her about fertilizer and why not use whats available, I was green even as a kid lol, she agreed if it was used away from where kids play using said fertilizer was safe. The only fertilizer that she thought was not recommended and toxic was cat feces. Makes you think, she never mentioned that dogs were toxic, but cats she did. She had to have picked up on that from somewhere.

I agree, picking up poo where people, especially kids are around is necessary, and don't leave it in the middle of a path. But big business leaves way more pollutants in our water table than any dog can. Imho, I think it's poop bag sellers who are behind this. My goodness, if all our dogs had everything they said they had, all of our dogs would be sick. Most good owners de worm their dogs on a monthly basis, i.e. Heartgard. I think it's scare tactics, out on trails move it, hide it and be on your way.

Renee

I was in a national park this past week and noticed lots of dog poop, but no other animal poop. I also noticed when switching my dogs to just grain free and organic wet food (not even raw) that the amount of poop I had to pick up went down drastically. I know it only gets less and breaks down faster on a strict raw diet. Therefore, my assumption is it has to do with their body not breaking down the processed dry food very well. That being said I also went to a island on a lake in national forest and a portion of it was littered with human poop and toilet paper. A horse may be fine, but that human poop did not look like it was breaking down either. Maybe the signs should be pick up your poop and your dog's poop.

I live, as I think I've noted, in the middle of nowhere with a small town about 15 miles away (small, year round pop is about 300)  but thanks to the parks we have plenty of pass through traffic and some seasonal snow birds (er people who come down over the winter).

A cantina in town had an open patio which she allowed people to bring their dogs on - until she started having problems with people not cleaning up after their dogs.  Our assumption was that since people consider this "very rural" they don't need to clean up.  
Dogs are allowed in the parks only in the parking areas, absolutely forbidden on the trails, my assumption was that it's for the dogs protection - a small dog is an easy snack for a mountain lion - in fact it's because of the number of people who complained because of others who weren't picking up ...

I said that at home I don't pick up since it dries and breaks down quickly; but you better believe that when I'm out I keep a roll of something handy to pick up with.

It's interesting. Sometimes I wonder with all the horrible things we are doing to the world why it is still here? Seams to me it should have died by now. As for the Government, when they are involved nothing has to make sense. I think it is all part of a great plan to create "subjects" who will blindly do as they are told without question. And Elvis is of course alive and often seen at a Dunkin' Donuts in Kalamazoo Mi.

Apparently in my town you're not allowed to throw dog poop in with the garbage that the town picks up each week. I have to ask, though, where else am I supposed to put it?! Throw it down the toilet and pollute the water supply? Leave it in my yard and invite vermin and dirty shoe soles (not to mention the ire of my husband)? There are over 2,000 dogs in my town. If everyone had to use a special service to get rid of their dog poop, the shelters would fill up instantly with surrenders because people can't afford to have their poop disposed of "legally." I don't know anyone who doesn't throw their dog's poop out in the garbage, either on their property or in a public wastebasket.

capellalayla wrote:

Apparently in my town you're not allowed to throw dog poop in with the garbage that the town picks up each week. I have to ask, though, where else am I supposed to put it?! Throw it down the toilet and pollute the water supply? Leave it in my yard and invite vermin and dirty shoe soles (not to mention the ire of my husband)? There are over 2,000 dogs in my town. If everyone had to use a special service to get rid of their dog poop, the shelters would fill up instantly with surrenders because people can't afford to have their poop disposed of "legally." I don't know anyone who doesn't throw their dog's poop out in the garbage, either on their property or in a public wastebasket.

Plastic takes so much longer to decompose than dog poop but that gets tossed all the time. Laws like that are pretty dumb, and they're all over the place too. For example, it's illegal to wear a bullet-proof vest while committing a murder in New Jersey. While cars without drivers can't exceed 60 miles per hour and sunshine is guaranteed to everyone in California. So I guess it's okay to kill people without a bullet-proof vest in NJ, and it must be totally legal for your car to drive itself at 59 mph. I'd sue the state of CA every time it rains though since I'm not getting my guaranteed sunshine.

(Oh, and you aren't allowed to walk across a street on your hands or educate your dog in Hartford CT either...   )

Unfortunately the town is using the anti-dog-poop law against us on the Dog Park Committee, because they won't allow public wastebaskets at the site because they'd have to pick up the dog poop people throw away. We have to raise and spend extra money to hire a separate waste-removal service to take care of it.    The town hasn't been very supportive of our efforts to bring a dog park to Billerica, and this is just an additional roadblock they've put in our way.