Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1080/23251042.2014.965402
Title (Primary) Natural waste: canine companions and the lure of inattentively pooping in public
Author Gross, M.
Source Titel Environmental Sociology
Year 2015
Department SUSOZ
Volume 1
Issue 1
Page From 38
Page To 47
Language englisch
Keywords Actor-network theory; animals in society; excrement; fouling; health; human-animal studies; sociology of ignorance
UFZ wide themes RU6;
Abstract The most organized and regulated societies in Europe have a comparatively high density of pet dogs per inhabitant. Contrary to the general trend in Western societies towards raising standards of hygiene in everyday life, pedestrian areas and urban parks tend to be dog fouling hotspots. Unlike other nonhuman animals, pet dogs are often walked to public places for the sole reason to defecate. This article aims to explore a variety of dog owners’ strategies when dealing with excrement while walking their dogs. This is done to highlight the relational ties between dogs and humans that are manifested in strategies for dealing with a highly important ‘actant’ in the collective: poop. By so doing, the observed varieties of inattentively pooping in public are categorized into three main types in order to highlight different forms of knowing or not knowing about excrement in emerging associations between dog and dog owner through the medium of poop.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=15969
Gross, M. (2015):
Natural waste: canine companions and the lure of inattentively pooping in public
Environmental Sociology 1 (1), 38 - 47 10.1080/23251042.2014.965402