To scoop or not to scoop?

I have spent the last few days with the Junior Squad of the Ninja Cats. My sister, brother-in-law and niece are off on an adventure in the Wilds of New York, and in order to prevent Hurricane Jasper (Jasper tends to make it well-known how much he misses the family), it was deemed that a chaperone was required for the canine family members. Since my niece showed no lasting psychological effects from my stint as Uncle Mom, I was deemed a worthy soul to leave in charge.

Though I question who is actually in charge.

I am pretty sure Lizzie is part Jedi. She will do anything to get you to give her more food. Frequently, when she is sitting there with that well-practiced "You are starving me!" look, I swear I hear Obi Wan Kenobi in my head saying "You WILL feed me more!"

But other than the frequent battle of wills (which I have a strong suspicion I am losing too often), it has been basically an event free couple of days, with a couple of minor difficulties. The first was figuring out how to open the new anti-Jasper lock on the trash bin since he used his own Ninja skills to open the last one. The second is more a matter of etiquette, and I am hoping the master’s of dogdom out there will have some insight for me.

Now I know walking the dog is written in the Doggie Instruction Manual, and the daily walks are quite pleasant (though I again question who is walking whom). The question is, when does one have to actually scoop, and when is it acceptable to leave it lying … or simply brush some leaves over it? It is almost as tough a dilemma as what to do with that last bit of dust when sweeping near a rug. I would imagine location plays a key role. If you are walking anywhere where it will be a potential land mine (such as  a city street), no doubt scooping is necessary. Yet this is a semi rural road, and despite the mountainous size of their gift, the pups seemed pretty skilled at choosing off the beaten path deposit locations … if just barely. Worried about injuring my back carrying the rather daunting loads back to a more suitable dumping ground, I find myself seriously wrestling with this dilemma.

So I put the question out there to more experienced dog-ineers. Maybe someone can recommend a book on Pooper-Scooper Etiquette.