Can picking up dog poop make you sick? A Step-by-Step Guide

#3: Bacteria can be found in your dog’s stool

Salmonella — Often linked to raw cookie dough and turtles, Salmonella can also be found in your dog’s waste, causing diarrhea, stomach cramps, and fever.

E. coli — This bacteria can cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhea that is often bloody, and vomiting. Some people infected with E. coli can also develop a potentially life-threatening condition known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, which causes a decrease in urination frequency, extreme lethargy, and a pale appearance because of anemia.

Giardia — Giardia can cause foul, greasy diarrhea, dehydration, abdominal cramping, nausea, and vomiting. Severe infections in children can lead to slow development, delayed mental and physical growth, and malnutrition.

Many signs seen in people will appear similar to illness signs in your dog. Diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting are the most common indicators your pet is suffering from a fecal-borne bacterial condition.

How Diseases Transmit Between Animals and Humans

These tiny organisms are easily transmitted between animals and people causing signs of illness common to most parasitic infections: vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, anorexia, poor fur coat, anemia and lethargy.

In some cases, healthy adult animals and people exhibit no symptoms at all, but can be actively shedding pathogens. Because humans are not the typical “host” for parasites such as roundworms, sometimes larval and adult worms take up residence outside of the gut.

Migration in tissues has caused disease in the lung, eye (which can lead to blindness), and skin. Besides direct hand to mouth transmission and direct skin contact with larvae, bacteria and parasites can be disseminated from a pile of fecal matter on lawn mower blades, the bottoms of shoes, after rainfall to areas of water run-off and nearby streams, and even on the bottoms of tiny fly feet.

What are other diseases form dog poop? Salmonella, E. Coli, and Campylobacter are bacteria that are excreted in the feces of even healthy dogs.

The Georgia-based Clean Water Campaign estimated that a single gram of dog waste can contain 23 million fecal coliform bacteria, which are known to cause cramps, diarrhea, intestinal illness, dehydration, and kidney disorders in humans. You can do the math or trust mine; more than 70 million dogs in the United States alone produce over 10 million tons of poop each year.

Find food that fits your pet’s needs

Picking up after your dog isnt exactly the most enjoyable chore. Lets face it — its gross! It can be tempting to skip this task, but doing so is not only bad for the environment and public health — in many places, its also illegal. Keep reading for all of the reasons you really do need to pick up your dogs poop, and read on to learn how to clean dog poop from grass.

5 Lies You’ve Been Told About Dog Poop