When walking a dog, owners can go miles without passing a public waste bin, leaving them holding their dog's poo bag for hours on end.
But rather than carrying the smelly waste throughout their walk, some owners choose to simply leave it on the ground - without thinking about who could step in it.
A nine-year-old boy fed up of standing in dog poo has written a note to "lazy" dog walkers who fail to clean up after their four-legged friends.
The note, stapled to a wooden post, has been photographed and shared on Reddit, where users have been commenting on the boy's message.
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The note reads: "'Clean up your dog poo it's disgusting. I hate it its always on my shoes and my brothers and sisters which then gets walked into our house.
"'It's not good your very lazy. I'm very annoyed you are an idiot if you don't pick it up. Start now. If I can pick it up at age nine then you should be able to do it to.
"No matter how old you are or where your from pick it up!!!! Please it's horrible all the way down the road.
"Would you like it if it was on your shoes it's always on mine but if you pick it up then it shouldn't be.
"Poo bags are £1 for 100 so go buy some and pick up your dog's poo or find a stick and flick it into the hedge so then its not on the path its not hard at all..."
In a large bold font, it adds: "Pick up your dog's poo you filthy animal!!!!"
It was shared by Reddit user u/Semajyio, alongside the words: "Found on a walk, let that be a message to all dog owners!"
While most users agreed with the young boy's message, others spoke about how the lack of public bins has only worsened the problem in recent years.
One user said: "Where I live the amount of poo on the grass has significantly got much worse on the last year.
"Perhaps it's coincidence that it got worse during the lockdowns but it's horrid.
"I can't let my three-year-old son play on the grass by our house it is that bad."
Another user added: "What I hate even more is people picking up their dog's poo, putting it into a plastic bag and then tossing said bag into the hedgerow or hanging it on trees.
"At this point, I prefer you flick it to the side, it's less environmentally harmful. People are idiots."
A third said: "I went for a walk around a nature reserve and must have seen 20 bags of dog poo hanging from bushes and trees without looking hard.
"Why bother putting it in a bag if you’re going to leave it, I seriously don’t understand!"
Do you have a dog story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
