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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.
Why Picking Up After Your Dog Matters
Many communities and municipalities require cleaning up after your dog. While this might be obvious in parks and public spaces with posted signs telling you to clean up after your pup, its not uncommon for neighborhood homeowners associations and neighborhood covenants to require picking up poo even in your own yard. Even if you live in an area without posted signs or a homeowners association enforcing the rules, your city or county might have laws and regulations in place requiring you to clean up after your pet in public spaces.
People often believe that leaving dog waste to decompose in the yard is good for the lawn, but the truth is that dog poop is toxic for your grass, said PetHelpful. Unlike cow manure, which is basically composted grass, a typical dogs poop, which is made acidic through natural digestive processes and their microbiome, is enough to destroy the grass underneath it. For this reason, dog poop also shouldnt be placed in your compost or used to fertilize your garden. In either case, it contains bacteria that could contaminate your vegetables.
In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency describes dog waste as containing two types of pollutants: nutrients and pathogens. Dog waste that gets washed into waterways may carry pathogens that affect living things in the water and can make people sick that are in contact. Also, nutrients released from dog poop can stimulate the growth of algae and other plant life, making the water unsuitable for recreational uses.
Even if your dog doesnt show any symptoms of illness, their waste could still carry bacteria and parasites that are harmful to other pets and humans. And you dont need to come into direct contact with dog poop in order to contract an illness from it — diseases in poop can be transmitted by flies or other pets that come into contact with it, said iHeartDogs. Here, according to PetHelpful, are some of the illnesses and infectious organisms carried in dog poo:
While you may think your own dogs poop cant do that much harm, keep in mind that your dog is likely one of hundreds in your area. iHeartDogs pointed out that while the ecosystem can generally handle up to two dogs per square mile, in urban areas, there are on average 125 dogs per square mile — far more than enough to overwhelm the local ecosystem with their waste. By picking up after your dog, youll help protect the ecosystem.
Dog feces left lying in parks, on public walkways and even on neighborhood lawns can quickly pile up to a point that the smell becomes overwhelming. Even if you live in a rural area with no close neighbors, you no doubt know that a relaxing afternoon in the hammock can be ruined by the smell of too many dog deposits in the yard.
If youve ever had to clean dog poop from the bottom of your shoe, you dont need to be told stepping in the stuff can ruin an unsuspecting persons day. Add to that the impact dog waste can have on the environment and public health, and its not hard to see that picking up after your dog not only makes you a responsible dog owner, but also a considerate neighbor. Its simply the right thing to do.
Cold Weather Poop Scooping Advice from the Experts
Cleaning up dog poop in the winter is no fun – and in the spring when the snow melts – picking up what’s been “preserved,” for months on end is even less enjoyable!
I grew up in Buffalo, NY and we had an Australian Shepard mix named Daisy. Daisy was pretty much the best dog you could ever imagine. Aside from occasionally trying to herd the neighborhood kids she was super sweet and smart. Like most dogs, Daisy pooped in our yard.
Buffalo winters are cold and snowy and we didn’t do as much poop pick up during the colder months as we should have. When the snow melted, we had a big job waiting for us. My parents and I would grab shovels and paper bags and head out to the yard to clean up months worth of dog poop! I bet we picked up about 50 pounds of poop. Spring clean up was a time consuming and extremely unpleasant task!