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seekingadvice

Another dog question (kind of gross)!

seekingadvice
17 years ago

I am wondering what you are supposed to do about dog poop. Do you teach the dog to go in a certain spot? At a certain time? And then what do you do with the doo-doo? My dog will poo on our morning walk to get the paper, which is good, but that only takes care of one poo out of the day. The rest of the time she poos on the grass, and then I go out and put the poo in a baggie and throw it away. It just occurred to me, though, that perhaps dog doo doesn't belong in the landfill, which leaves me with the question of what to do with it? I am not going to bring it in the house and flush it. I did try that once, but my dh did not think that was cool at all. I really dislike poo in the yard and I certainly don't want the kids stepping in it. My dh says I should train the dog to go out in the bushes, but I can't stand the idea of poo sitting around in the shrubbery, either.

I figured you guys would know what to do about this.

Comments (17)

  • housekeeping
    17 years ago

    There is something called the "Doggie Dooley" (sp?) which is a sort of composting septic pit for dog poop. Other than that I can't help you, as my dogs always make them scarce when on about their business; I live way out in the country, and nearly 3/4 mile from the nearest neighbor, so it doesn't matter. I can't train the wild coyotes to stop leaving their calling cards in my yard and garden, however, but I think that's their point.

    If all else fails, I would keep a stash of those plastic veggie bags from the market and scoop and dump right into your trash can. Or make a pit somewhere discrete, and take a small shovel and lift the poop into the pit and cover it with soil or peat moss. Eventually, though you might run out of space.

    HTH

    Molly

  • alexrander
    17 years ago

    A spade or shovel will serve as a pooper scooper at home.Just walk the yard and pick up any messes and bury them in the garden area, cover with a bit of dirt. We usually dug a hole big enough for a week or two and then moved to another spot. On walks, carry a couple plastic bags to scoop up and throw away, this is generally the manner used at dog parks, etc. When walking in the woods on hikes, I had a plastic trowel and would generally bury it there, or carry it out in plastic bags (to nearest trash).

    Of course you can train your dog somewhat by having several times during the day that you let them out. Good luck with trying to train them where to go... I had a Golden that made a point of going in the ivy or pachysandra or the 'bushes' but I had no say in the matter, she was just very 'polite'.

  • fairegold
    17 years ago

    The Doggy Dooley thing does not really work well.

    We have three large dogs. I have a covered plastic trash can, one with a foot pedal, that is lined with a plastic bag. Not a cheap plastic bag but a good quality one that I buy by the carton at Costco. I use a 2 pc. pooper scooper (rake and pan) (available at all pet supply stores.) When I change the plastic bag every few days, I DOUBLE BAG it before putting it into the trash, and tie it up carefully so that it will not open accidentally.

    Yes, it's ok in the landfill.

  • carolyn53562
    17 years ago

    I may have misread you, but it sounded like you just left your dog pooh when you went on your morning walk. If that is true, that is a big no-no and you should pick it up and bring it home with you. It varies by area whether it is ok in the landfill. In our rural township, we're not supposed to put it in the trash, so we compost it and then eventually bury it. I think flushing it is a good idea because then it will be treated in the waste treatment plant, but we have a septic system and don't want to do that.

  • seekingadvice
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Carolyn, yes, I left the dog poo on our walk, but it's on our property (7 acres with a very long gravel drive up to the mailbox). She goes in the bushes alongside the driveway.

    I doubt that they want it in our landfill, either, since you're not supposed to put solid waste from disposable diapers in there. We too are on a septic system and I wasn't sure how it affected that. These are all things I've begun to think about lately and that's why I was wondering what others do. I'll have to look into a composting system, I guess.

    At the parks here, they have little "doggie bag" stations and drop points for said bags, which is nice. I always have extra bags in my purse, too!

  • carolyn53562
    17 years ago

    Seekingadvice--I thought I had misread you! If you have 7 acres, I wouldn't even bother with a complicated composting system. I would just find an out of the way spot that is not in a low spot or in a drainage swale and pile it there and let it compost on its own there. You're not supposed to use dog waste as compost in a garden because it might have parasites, so you're supposed to bury it instead but if you have room to just leave it, I would do that instead of burying it. But make sure the composting spot is a reasonable distance from your well (or else down hill from your well) as you don't want runoff from the pooh pile contaminating your well. The dog we had two dogs before our current dog, would go in the wild part of our big country lot so we didn't pick it up at all. But our current dog doesn't like long grass and he likes to spread it around, so we are always out there with a shovel cleaning up.

  • pecanpie
    17 years ago

    If you wanted to be totally ridiculous about this, you could hire someone to pick up the poop! There is actually a PooPatrol or some such service (We pick up the poo---so you don't have to!) that will come around once/twice a week. Can you believe what some people will pay for?

  • msrevise
    17 years ago

    Try this, seekingadvice...and make sure to read the 'user reviews'...

    Here is a link that might be useful: This is for real...

  • pecanpie
    17 years ago

    I am laughing so hard I am crying.

    Thanks, msrevise. DH has always been hard to buy for but this year he'll have a surprise under the tree!

  • uxorial
    17 years ago

    I just about squirted wine out my nose!! That is so so funny. Thanks, msrevise.

    I wonder if it would work on barf? What do you guys think? I almost stepped in barf this morning in my bare feet. Poop-Freeze would have made it easier to clean up, no?

  • seekingadvice
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    OMG!!!! That is the funniest thing I've read in ages!!! Loved the reviews ;) and I also thought it was interesting to read that "Others who bought this product also bought Desperate Housewives Season 2 DVD." Ah, we desperate housewives. Thank goodness someone is catering to our needs.

    uxorial, that's a clever idea. Just out of curiosity, was it dog barf or was there a bit too much holiday preparty at the uxorial residence last night? :) And hey, if you really did squirt wine out your nose and you sprayed it with poop-freeze, would it make a horizontal icicle thing? That could be pretty cool at parties.

    Thanks for all of the input on the poop thing. I didn't know if it presented some sort of environmental hazard. I know lots of feral animals do their business out there, but wasn't sure if domestic dogs might be a different story.

  • talley_sue_nyc
    17 years ago

    could you shake it out of the baggie into the toilet, and flush it?

  • seekingadvice
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Yes, but I'm not sure if it's considered ok with a septic system. I don't know why it would be different from...er, other waste that goes in there, but ???

  • uxorial
    17 years ago

    seeking--I flush cat "droppings" all the time. I don't see why dog poo would be different.

    and, no, festivities haven't started early here. Not sure what the dog got into. Dogs love to barf for some reason. It's a daily thing with our dog, altho it usually happens outdoors.

    Seriously tho, I wouldn't train your dog to go in the bushes. Dogs don't know "good" bushes from ordinary bushes, and she may end up doing her business in your "pootunias."

    As far as I know, it's OK to put it out with your trash that's headed for a landfill. It's biodegradable! And far less toxic or resilient than most things we put in landfills.

  • fairegold
    17 years ago

    With a septic system, you're just putting a greater load on the system, adding another person to the household, so to say. So therefore you will need more frequent service/pumping on your septic tank.

  • demicent
    17 years ago

    Ah yes, the eternal question. What to do with the Feces Piecees?

    My 30 lb dog doesn't really produce very much. She's raw fed and doesn't get a lot of grain products, so there isn't a lot of waste product or bulk in her...waste product. It mostly comes out chalky white and non-offensive. Barely smells or anything.

    For a while there I was picking it up and tossing it into a covered pail hidden in the bushes. Then I realized it wasn't worth the effort because her stools mysteriously sink into the earth in just a matter of days. Poof!

  • Gina_W
    17 years ago

    demicent - I raw-feed also. Yup, that's a big benefit to BARFing - the smaller, more bio-degradable poops.

    (BARF = Bones and Raw Food diet, or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food diet).