When you have a dog you have the responsibility of cleaning up dog poop, not a fun job, but still an important job. Whether you have a fenced yard that your dog can go out in & eliminate or you walk your dog there still will be poop to clean up & dispose of.
Cleaning up after our pets is important for a number of reasons:
- Can prevent the spread of disease.
- Prevents the spread of intestinal worms.
- Prevents dogs from eating it (yes, some dogs will eat their own or other dogs poop).
- Prevents humans from stepping in it, with or without shoes on it is gross.
- It is the right thing to do, no one wants to be on a walk & see or smell a pile of dog poop.
- Keeps properties cleaner & gets rid of poop odors.
You have options of things you can do to clean up your dogs poop.
- There are poop scooping companies you can hire that will come to your home & clean up your dogs poop from your yard.
- You can buy a pooper scooper & there are a variety to choose from, so do some research before you buy. I will show you a couple here. The first one can be folded & used with one hand.
I use one like the next one, but mine has hooks to attach a plastic bag handles to, these hold the bag in place. Some come with a rake or a solid shovel piece.
3. There are compost bins you can buy that break down your pets waste. I have also seen types that you can bury in your yard & it composts into the soil. Here is one example of a bucket style you don’t bury.
4. This next one I honestly didn’t know existed. It is handle that you put a bag on & you put it under your dog while they are going poop & catch the poop. Now if you have a poop shy dog this might not work. I know it wouldn’t work with my dogs without some training & getting them used to me being that close by as they poop. On a walk they are fine, but not so sure in the fenced yard. I saw a few of these on line but just picked one to show you. In the bottom right corner you can see a photo of a dog’s behind & someone collecting poop as the dog poops. This might also be helpful for your dogs yearly stool check with your Vet.
5. If you walk your dog I like to attach a container that holds poop bags to my dogs leash handles. I have a roll in each in case one gets low I always have extra. On walks my dogs are excited, so they may poop 2-3 times each on a 2-3 mile walk. Some of the hooks that come with some poop bag holders are not real strong & sometimes can easily fall off. I have lost a couple, so I have replaced the hooks with zip ties to be sure the holder is more secure to the leash
6.When I walk my dog & I don’t always know if there will be any trash cans, so then I will carry a dodo tube. These are nice because they hold the full poop bags, but also you don’t smell it & a poop bag isn’t falling or hitting up against your hand. I recommend when you look at buying one that you read the full description as they don’t all hold the same amount & can vary on the dogs size. I have one like the one I am going to picture below. If you follow the instructions & do not tie the poop bags mine has held 2-3 bags. I will say 3 is pushing it for my dogs who are 45 & 50 lbs. When I am hiking I attach it to my backpack & empty it when I find a trash can.
7. I also have tied a couple of empty poop bags to the handles of my dogs leashes if I am using a different leash than the ones with the bag container attached. If I have pockets I will put a few in there. I recommend you always have a couple extra so you are prepared to clean up after your dog.
I will be honest I have been out & ran out of bags, so I will mark the spot with a stick or something close by & go get a bag & go back & clean it up. Yes, that is not fun, but I am more careful now to be sure & carry extra bags & check before I take them out for a walk. Minimally if you are going to return please cover your dogs poop with leaves so no one steps in it. I see enough piles left along the curb area when I walk my dogs to know some people are not doing the right thing & cleaning up after their dogs.
Please be a responsible dog owner & clean up after your dog whether it is in your yard or while you’re out & about with your dogs.
Environments like Parks & Forest Preserves have an ego system that was not designed for domestic dog waste. Dogs have a different diet than wild animals such as Coyotes, Wolf, Raccoons, Deer etc that live in the woods. So please don’t think well this animal or that animal poops out here so no big deal, because it could affect that environment in a negative way & we don’t want that. I actually believe it is why some places like National Parks & Conservation places do not allow dogs. We need to clean up after our dog where they are allowed, so they will continue to allow dogs well into the future. My dogs travel on most of my vacations with me & I find places they are allowed & I respect the rules for those places.
I hope you are enjoying my blog posts & are learning something. My goal is to reach as many pet owners as possible & use my 20+ years experience fostering pets & a lifetime of living with pets to help pets lives be better. I fostered a variety of pets for a number of different rescues & now I share my knowledge & experience in this blog. If you have an idea for a post please email me at echoinggreatpetcare@gmail.com
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Echoing Great Pet Care 