Campers who leave dog poop on their site

[Clayobx]

DW and I just stayed at Destin West in the FL panhandle. This is a very nice resort, here is what we observed. There was a designated dog walk area, bags were provided, the waste receptacle was emptied three times a day as well as the trash cans throughout the resort. When checking in a list of rules is included in your packet and you sign off on the rules. One very interesting highlighted area was, " you are responsible for your pets waste, if you fail to clean up after your pet you account will incure a $25.00 fine." BTW sites were raked after every departure, the grounds walked all debrie picked up by the employees assigned to maintain the grounds. IMHO this is a responsible property that was well managed, one can only wish other RV parks that we have stayed at would adapt this system. Yes we travel with two girl canines that is why we purchased our RV so our girls, DW and I would have a clean environment to relax and sleep in every night!

[Dr4Film]

Originally Posted by bigdog

I am in charge of an area of a local walking park and one of my jobs is to keep the mutt mitt dispensers filled at all times. We also provide several garbage cans at the trail-heads which are paid for by the county's surface and storm-water dept. It never ceases to amaze me as to how many full bags you'll find on the ground around the dispensers,up in trees and blackberry bushes or just laying along the trail. After being asked why he had picked it up in a bag and then just dropped it along the trail,he said that the bags were biodegradable weren't they? And they'd just degrade away.

We are the volunteer Park Hosts for the city of Glendale CA at a 700+ acre wilderness park where many people bring their dogs for hiking into the hills. There are Mutt Bag stations that I keep fully stocked at all times and plenty of trash containers stationed around the developed area of the park.

However, there are ALWAYS those STUPID individuals that think their dogs crap is better than others and it doesn't need to be picked up. So when I am on my trash patrol I carry a pooper scooper to easily pickup the pieces of trash and poop too. Hell, last week there was a large pile of poop directly below the Mutt Bag station. People like that are just plain LAZY and IGNORANT.

If I had the means, I would collect it all into a bag, find out where they live and dump it all onto their front door step for them to deal with when they go to use the door.

Oh, I always find a number of full bags along the trails too. At least those people are only Half-Wits and not completely STUPID!

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[Jack1234]

Originally Posted by TheArnolds

Jack:
It would appear from reading your post that due to the massive numbers of pet owners, good and bad, that it is the non-pet owners that must adjust. We must put up with the poop, barking, fleas, ticks, etc. in hotel rooms, and so on.

Yes......and No.

NO.....IMO poop, barking, flees, etc. are unacceptable and the responsibility of the owner 1st. and the CG management 2nd. If I pay for a site I should be able to expect a clean space.....Period. I think many in this thread have addressed this aspect of the issue very fairly and with examples of both responsible pet ownership and intelligent CG management. In fact, anyone who has been on this forum for any length of time has read literally dozens of threads & hundreds of posts from people complaining about some aspect of irresponsible pet owners and their experiences with the dog from hell!

YES.......My point was simply that pets (in particular dogs) are growing exponentially in our society and now represent a population larger than children and a "Political" power base that is becoming increasingly vocal & aggressive. Spend some time talking to your local municipal or county politician and see how anxious they are to get in the middle of an issue between pet & non-pet owners. Business (Hotels, CG's, Accessories, Food, etc) is also starting to recognize that pets have very large wallets and simply cannot be ignored as they are an increasingly large & important customer base.

So yes.....non-pet owners are going to need to accept that the tide is turning......BUT....I am not arguing that irresponsible, ignorant, boorish, stupid pet owners should be given a free pass to let their pet poop everywhere, bark incessantly, attack other pets, innocent women & children and/or spread disease. BTW.....I believe bed bugs, disease, germs, and so on..... spread by humans is a much bigger problem in the Hotel Industry than dog poop & flees..... Isn't this why many of us prefer to go the RV route?

[DaveTN]

Originally Posted by Jack1234

Yes......and No.

NO.....IMO poop, barking, flees, etc. are unacceptable and the responsibility of the owner 1st. and the CG management 2nd. If I pay for a site I should be able to expect a clean space.....Period. I think many in this thread have addressed this aspect of the issue very fairly and with examples of both responsible pet ownership and intelligent CG management. In fact, anyone who has been on this forum for any length of time has read literally dozens of threads & hundreds of posts from people complaining about some aspect of irresponsible pet owners and their experiences with the dog from hell!

YES.......My point was simply that pets (in particular dogs) are growing exponentially in our society and now represent a population larger than children and a "Political" power base that is becoming increasingly vocal & aggressive. Spend some time talking to your local municipal or county politician and see how anxious they are to get in the middle of an issue between pet & non-pet owners. Business (Hotels, CG's, Accessories, Food, etc) is also starting to recognize that pets have very large wallets and simply cannot be ignored as they are an increasingly large & important customer base.

So yes.....non-pet owners are going to need to accept that the tide is turning......BUT....I am not arguing that irresponsible, ignorant, boorish, stupid pet owners should be given a free pass to let their pet poop everywhere, bark incessantly, attack other pets, innocent women & children and/or spread disease. BTW.....I believe bed bugs, disease, germs, and so on..... spread by humans is a much bigger problem in the Hotel Industry than dog poop & flees..... Isn't this why many of us prefer to go the RV route?

Responsible pet owners are the real issue. Those who RV with their dogs are likely to treat them like family so it is not a good cross section of the population. But I agree a lot of people who RV travel with dogs and campgrounds are very aware of helping us feel welcome. Our dogs are worth more to us than our rig (much more). There are also regional differences in pet care; here in the good old rural south I would bet a third of dogs have never seen a veterinarian. When they get old they are shot. I would guess in California that it may be different.

[laj]

Originally Posted by DaveTN

Responsible pet owners are the real issue. Those who RV with their dogs are likely to treat them like family so it is not a good cross section of the population. But I agree a lot of people who RV travel with dogs and campgrounds are very aware of helping us feel welcome. Our dogs are worth more to us than our rig (much more). There are also regional differences in pet care; here in the good old rural south I would bet a third of dogs have never seen a veterinarian. When they get old they are shot. I would guess in California that it may be different.

this is not a reason for cg owners to not enforce their own rules with either severe fines or expulsion for not cleaning up after ones mutts.
every camper who pays the fee deserves a clean spot, and cg according to the rules provided. when they reserve a spot they have the expectation and right that all posted rules will be followed and enforced.

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by Jack1234

It is going to happening in any CG........just as some people are going to allow their children to run wild, yell, scream and argue with each other, play their outdoor entertainment centre & music too loud, drink too much, leave cigarette butts & litter everywhere, drive unmuffled motorbikes, ATV's, golf carts around, etc, etc. ......it's not that it happens, but "how" the CG deals with these problem(s) that really matters IMO.

While your story is a good example of irresponsible pet ownership, it is probably a better example of poor CG management. "Where".... was the CG when all of this was taking place...."Why".....has the site not been properly cleaned prior to your arrival...."What".... did the CG offer to do or " how" did they compensate you for the unacceptable condition of your site.....or did they simply shrug their shoulders and blame it someone else?

I totally disagree with your viewpoint. Uncaring dog owners are the problem in this case. Some pet owners are just too lazy to walk to the pet-walk area so their pets can relieve themselves-which includes peeing.
The number of RV parks opting to declare themselves pet-free is increasing every year, due to the topic of this thread.

[Jack1234]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

The number of RV parks opting to declare themselves pet-free is increasing every year, due to the topic of this thread.

Good one !

I did a search on RV Parks Reviews for the entire USA and used the "no pets allowed" filter. The results were 1 Resort (Dingerville USA RV Park) .... which specifically refused pets. This is 1 Resort out of 180,000 reviewed.....or 0.0005%! On the bright side....if 1 more Resort joins this ever growing "no pet" trend you'll be able to say with authority that in 2013 the trend to exclude pets from RV Resorts increased by +100%. ..... On the down side, should Dingerville throw in the towel on excluding pets....well there goes your "increasing every year" argument.

[Scarab0088]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

Cut for brevity.......The number of RV parks opting to declare themselves pet-free is increasing every year, due to the topic of this thread.

While I cannot argue broad based statements like the one above, I can ask for the source...please?

I just did a google search and found that except for the park mentioned above, only CA and CT state parks disallow pets, but those sites are environmental, hike-in only areas that also disallow alcohol use (no surprise). In our travels I have found no RV parks that dis-allow pets. Any source would be useful...for those that want to find those parks and those who wish to avoid those parks like us

[NC Rob]

Realizing some folks are "pigs" and we can't change that, I have decided to take a pro-active approach. We have a Golden Retriever and always clean up after her. But, since some folks are pigs, this is what I do. Upon arrival, I inspect the site. Take photos, if necessary, and then clean up what ever may be there. We keep a pressure washer, leaf blower and plenty of trash bags on hand if needed. I also have "Y" adapter on the hose in case we need a hose spray. What ever trash or poop is collected, is taken to the office for their review. Not sure what happens after that but we know at least for that moment, our grounds are clearn. Good Luck and don't let it POOP you out.......

[RickO]

Originally Posted by NC Rob

Realizing some folks are "pigs" and we can't change that, I have decided to take a pro-active approach. We have a Golden Retriever and always clean up after her. But, since some folks are pigs, this is what I do. Upon arrival, I inspect the site. Take photos, if necessary, and then clean up what ever may be there. We keep a pressure washer, leaf blower and plenty of trash bags on hand if needed. I also have "Y" adapter on the hose in case we need a hose spray. What ever trash or poop is collected, is taken to the office for their review. Not sure what happens after that but we know at least for that moment, our grounds are clearn. Good Luck and don't let it POOP you out.......

It's a shame to have to add all of that time and effort to your set up procedure at every stop. I wonder what the CG mgt does with the "information". While I fully agree with the "pigs" sentiment... I still feel it is the CG's responsibility to ensure I have a clean site when I check in.

Rick

[NC Rob]

You are right.....However, in the last two years we have not had to clean up a single lot. However, we stand ready if we need to......

[mcbrian]

While we don't usually have a problem with pet owners there are a few ignorant owners out there. This February we stayed at Miami Everglades CG and had several pet owners who would let there dog go on other sites and let loose on the picnic tables, lawn chairs and RV's. I got a large jar of cayenne pepper and sprinkled around my site to help keep the pets of ignorant owners away from my stuff. I once had an owner who would walk his dog around my home. He allowed waste on my walkway. The next morning he found it on his top step properly rubbed in. Never had a problem after that. All that being written, I love dogs but cannot own one due to allergies.

[Dr4Film]

Your post reminds me what a friend of mine did at his home in Rochester NY to get rid of a specific neighborhood dog that would constantly knock over his trash can to dig through for scraps of food.

He bought a pound of raw hamburg and mixed a bottle of cayenne pepper with it and placed it inside and on top of the trash can.

From that day forward, when the same dog came strolling down the sidewalk, he would cross over to the other side prior to reaching my friends house.

It left a lasting impression on that dogs digestive track.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

[Jack1234]

Originally Posted by Dr4Film

Your post reminds me what a friend of mine did at his home in Rochester NY to get rid of a specific neighborhood dog that would constantly knock over his trash can to dig through for scraps of food.

He bought a pound of raw hamburg and mixed a bottle of cayenne pepper with it and placed it inside and on top of the trash can.

From that day forward, when the same dog came strolling down the sidewalk, he would cross over to the other side prior to reaching my friends house.

It left a lasting impression on that dogs digestive track.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

If the purpose of these last two posts is prove just how stupid people can be then it appears to building momentum. Thankfully this is why we have animal cruelty laws.....regrettably they are seldom enforced in all but the most egregious cases.

" the infliction of suffering or harm upon animals for purposes other than self defence or survival"

I sincerely hope your friend and others like him go to that special place in hell reserved for people prepared to inflict harm upon the innocent.