Hello;
I really don't know how to phrase this question, but I'll give it a shot anyway...I mean, a lot of us are dog owners after all so we know to accept the good with the bad, right? I kind of characterize this as one of those "scruples" poll-like questions.
I have an english cocker spaniel who's pedigree includes a champion hunter...so you can kind of imagine. He loves to swim and, even though I don't hunt, when I take him out in nature he acts as though he's hot on the trail of something important.
Typically when we are out, he'll make a normal sized poop fairly early on. Rarely, he might poop again of a similar size. However, more often then not, especially if he's been for a swim, he'll go through the motions of pooping, but does little more then make a watery drop. His actions though look very vigorous- complete with a very demonstrative shoveling over punctuating the achievement. If I were to attempt to pickup this residue, if I'm lucky enough to even see it, I'd mostly be picking up stones, grass, or sand. I mean, a splash of water and it'd wash away.
Now, today, when we went to the beach, he did his usual sized poop as we made our way down to the beach and I bagged it. I left the bag in a non-descript place at the exit of the beach to pick up later because I was carrying some camera gear and it was awkward to hold the leash, the bag, and the gear. After spending a fun time at the beach, we walked up the beach to leave. Several feet away from the exit, maybe a couple of yards away, was a couple with a child in a carrier. Unfortunately, Atos went through one of his demonstrative, but unyielding poops. For what little there was, he covered with sand and I kind of dispersed it out of sight. The couple nearby, watching that I didn't pick up anything, diligently asked me if I allowed my dog to poop without picking it up. I explained that he didn't poop, even though he acts like he does. I further explained that I agree with them about dog owner's who don't pickup and that I'm a conscientious dog owner and that I had indeed cleaned up after him. As I left the beach, I located the poop bag and we left and I discarded it.
The dilemma this leaves me with is "was I appropriate?" I mean, I don't want to feel like I'm a hypocrit, but short of showing them the supposed evidence, I don't see what else I could have done. Secondly, from either a health or behavior perspective, is this typical behavior of a sporting/hunting dog? I regularly take him to the vet and he's quite healthy. His diet and appetite are both good, too. I've somewhat determined that this is in his nature to do and may have to do with expelling what is in his anus glands. As the vet explained to me, he kind of shares that aspect of his anatomy with certain other animals that leave scents (ie, skunks).
Thanks,
Greg
