Having a dog is fun. They are the perfect company you need when you want to relax or enjoy a morning exercise. However, the poop picking up process that comes along with it is not a fun chore. Picking up dog poop is messy, smelly, and gross. Also, covering your hands with plastic to pick up dog waste doesn’t erase this fact at all. However, this is not an excuse not to clean-up after your dog.
It is a dog owner’s responsibility to keep the environment clean. It doesn’t matter if your dog poops in your lawn or somebody else’s; you need to pick it up.
Why? Organizations now consider dog poop as harmful to the environment. And if you don’t pick it up, the following can happen:
- It will kill grass and lawns.
- If the reason you’re not picking up dog waste is that you think it’s an excellent fertilizer, then you’re wrong. The grass will not thrive if you continue letting dog waste sit on lawns; instead, they will die. This is because of the high nitrogen content found in dog poop that can burn spots on the grass.
- The grass will start turning yellow, and eventually, if nitrogen content present continues to increase, it will die.
- You, other people, and other animals can get sick.
- Dog poop is not only an environmental hazard, but it’s also a human health hazard. It carries large particles of bacteria and parasites that will harm you and other people and animals if it spreads.
- It was found that one gram of dog poop contains 23 million fecal bacteria. And these bacteria, if not taken care of, will spread in your neighborhood from one dog to another. Imagine that! And imagine it spreading throughout your neighborhood, making everyone sick.
- There’s also a possibility that your dog will eat his poop (yes, some dogs do this). So, if you don’t pick up the waste, these parasites will go back to your dog’s body. He will start losing weight, throwing up, and will have diarrhea because of the infection. And I know you don’t want that to happen to your pets or anybody else’s pets.
- It can contaminate the water supply.
- Lastly, dog poop can contaminate the water supply. Just like how it can quickly spread bacteria and parasites, those same bacteria can also get to our water supply. This is because rain can wash dog waste into sewers, lakes, and other streams of water.
- There is a possibility that this will affect the quality of streams, rivers, and bays. Some of these sources are connected to local waters for people to consume. Imagine how many people can get infected just because you forgot or disregarded to pick-up poop.
- Other than the bacteria, dog poop also contains nitrogen. When this comes in contact with water, harmful algae blooms and fish kills can occur.
What Should I Do?
Probably by now, you already understand the significant consequences that may occur by simply not picking up poop. So, what should you do to prevent it? There is only one thing that you should do, and that is to pick up the dog poop.
That’s it – all you need to do is to always clean up after your dog. Not picking up poop even while knowing the enormous consequences above is just irresponsible, inconsiderate, and rude.
Remember, cleaning up dog food is already a law due to the harmful effects it has on the environment and to other people.
How to Pick-Up Dog Poop?
Picking up dog poop is not complicated. All you need is a poop bag. Place a poop bag over your hands, pick up the poop, grab the poop bag by the handle, turn it upside down, tie the handles, and dispose of it. Simple, right?
However, if you’re grossed out from picking up dog poop using this method, you can use a pooper scooper. This way, you can clean up after your dog without getting in close contact with the waste.
Pet manufacturers designed pooper scoopers for people, like you and me, who don’t find poop cleaning fun. It is specially designed with an extended reach so you would no longer have to bend over and strain your back. Your hands won’t also be able to get in contact with the poop as the best pooper-scooper equipment comes with a scoop that will do the pick-up for you.
How do I pick-up dog poop with a pooper scooper?
Let’s start with the claw-type pooper scooper. For the claw-type, you can use this with or without a poop bag. If you opt for the latter, then you can cover the jaw or the claw part with a poop bag. Then, use the easy-pull handle to spring open the jaw.
Grip the handle to open it and pick up the poop. Just make sure that the size of the jaw is as large as the size of your dog’s poop. So, if you have a large dog, then buy a large-sized scooper as well. After you’ve picked up the dog waste, grab the poop bag by the handle, turn it upside down, tie it, and throw it to the waste can.
If you didn’t place the poop bag on the poop scooper, pick up the dog waste as is and then put it on the poop bag you’re holding. Tie the handle, and dispose of it. After that, clean up the pooper scooper for the next use. You must find one that comes with a non-stick material, so it’s easy to clean.
Bin-and-Rake Type Pooper Scooper
If you have bought a bin-and-rake type pooper scooper, then the process is just the same. Place the poop bag inside the bin, rake up the poop like you’re sweeping dirt, remove the poop bag, tie up the handle, and dispose of it. After that, wash the rake for the next use.
Now, remember, properly disposing of the waste is also very important. Don’t throw dog waste directly into the trash bin without using a poop bag. Doing this will cause your trash can to smell, and this is not pleasant.
What To Do With All The Dog Poop?
Turn your dog poop into an asset by creating a dog poop compost. Check out this video for how to build one at home:
Conclusion
Always put in your mind how dangerous one dog poop is not only to the environment but also to other people.
If you think that it’s only one poop and won’t do harm, imagine if there are a hundred of you who are thinking the same. That would be a hundred dog poop scattered in your neighborhood, and there’s a big possibility that you can get a lot of people infected.
So be a responsible citizen and pick up the dog poop. Yes, it’s gross and messy, but it will only require a few seconds of your time. Plus, you get to help keep the environment healthy, clean, and safe for everyone.
