Don’t Watch a Dog When it Poops

The informant was born in Ventura, CA but her father is from Mexico City and her mother is from Guadalajara. She is bilingual in Spanish and English and partakes in many of the Mexican customs. The following is a superstition that is common within her community and family. 

“I’ve definitely heard other people say this too, but I originally heard it from my mom. She says, if you ever dare stare at a dog while it poops you will get a pimple on your eye. So, for example, when I had my dog, my mom would see it pooping and she would see me watching it and my mom would be like DON’T LOOK AT IT! But it’s one of those things where you kinda want to look, since you’re forbidden not to and it’s more exciting. So one day I just decided that I was gonna look, and you know what? I was fine! I didn’t get a pimple on my eye, even those I was nervous I was going to.”

The informant originally heard it from her mom, but says people in her community all believe the same thing. She also said it applies to any dog anywhere. It’s not just your own, and it can be when you’re out in public as well.

I personally had never heard of this ever before, and when she told me about it I was laughing so hard. I think it’s so fascinating how something can be made such a big deal just by believing it. Since I had no idea this was a thing, I obviously never thought twice about seeing a dog poop. But for her, she said it was this big thing when she was younger. She said she was so curious because it seemed like such a bad thing to do that she always tried to sneak a peak when her mom wasn’t looking so she wouldn’t yell at her.