Scoop Your Dog’s Poop!
With a very long history of owning dogs, often several at a time, I have cleaned up a lot of dog poop in my life! It is simply what you, as a responsible dog owner, do. So, it is frustrating to me how so many dog owners just can’t seem to be responsible enough to do the same. Do we need to institute dog poop police? Or, perhaps task the NSA with spying on non-poop-scooping-compliant dog owners? Do we need Big Brother watching us? That’s a bit scary, so I hope it doesn’t come to that. Cleaning up after your pet is part of being a responsible dog owner. Can’t we figure out a way to promote that message without creeping everyone out?
The Five Rules of Scooping Poop!
Always pick it up
This seems obvious enough, and yet we all know dog owners who choose not to exercise this common courtesy.
One important reason to pick it up is simple cleanliness. Then there is also the fact that parasites like giardia, roundworm, hookworm, and all those other intestinal worms can accumulate in areas where dog feces are not picked up. Pet waste also has a nasty effect on groundwater.
But mostly, I say pick it up because dog crap is disgusting. I don’t want to walk down a sidewalk or trail and smell an offending odor, only to realize I’ve stepped in your dog’s poop and will now have a reminder of your lousy dog poop etiquette for the rest of my walk.
Responsibly dispose of poop
Honestly, most of us will be very happy if you simply pick it up. Where it goes after that is of little concern to many people. One way to dispose of your dog’s doodoo might be to simply flush it down the toilet. But I’m afraid with the amount of poop some dogs produce, you might need to have a plumber on speed dial. However, if it is properly bagged and sealed, trash cans work fine. Also, there are poop disposal stations in may parks today.
Deal with diarrhea by preventing it
The best way to deal with loose doggy stool is to prevent it to begin with by keeping your pet on a healthy diet. However if it is already too late for that, you can certainly sprinkle a little dirt, sand or mulch on it before scooping it up.
Pick up and dispose of poop even in the great outdoors
When you’re out communing with nature, that old adage “if you pack it in, pack it out” still applies … even to pet waste. And, please don’t just hang the full poop bag on a tree branch like some people do. That’s just plain crude and disgusting.
Seek professional help if necessary
If you need to hire a professional to help with picking up your dog’s poop, then please do so!
The best thing to do when you’re tired of picking it up, or just don’t have the time to pick it up, or you’re just too damn lazy to pick it up, or you have a health issue like a bad back or gag reflex when dealing with dog poop, is to call in a professional. There are plenty of professional dog walkers out there trying to make a living for you to just leave shit laying around and piling up!
D.C. Gilbert 
When I was a volunteer at Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego, the area by the tide pools was the only place where dogs were allowed (on a leash) out of a car. We even gave away free plastic bags to place the dog poop in. We had a few slackers who would wait until we stepped away from the educational table and then let their dogs do their business in front of the sign (which included no dog pooping). Other losers would leave the poop filled plastic bag stashed under some bushes along the trail. My least favorite miscreants were the smokers (in a non-smoking) park who left their butts on the trails, in the parking lot, and in the tide pools.
Good word … miscreants!
Power of a decent vocabulary. You have other words for low class assholes.
Indeed!
2nd Image,I couldn’t help laughing out!!XD
Even in Japan, we have trouble because there is an owner who leaves the dog’s poop!!
By the way, is it forbidden in your place that the dog marks(mark a territory) at telegraph pole or Tree?
Hi Nasuko, I guess people are the same everywhere! LOL! I don’t think there is a law against you dog marking a tree or a telephone pole. I might have to check and see! 😎
D.C., thanks for the post. I am so sick of dogs crapping on my yard. I don’t know for sure but I have several ideas which dogs, and dog owners, are the miscreants. I don’t really want to put up cameras but it may come down to that eventually. What I don’t understand, as I’ve never been a dog owner, is why people need to walk down the street with their dogs and them let them crap on my lawn. Even IF they clean it up I’m mad. The dog should crap in their own yards. I don’t go down to their yard and take a dump, right? Or maybe I should?….and then leave it there….for them to step in next time they mow the grass. It’s just typical unresponsible losers that don’t clean up. Booo!!!!
Anyway, thanks so much for your article! Reid
Hi Reid,
I am not defending miscreants at all, but as a long-time dog owner, I do know that it is not always possible to control exactly when your pooch decides to do his business, and if you walk your dog at all, there will be occasional “accidents” not on your property.
All I ask is, for Pete’s sake, clean it up. It is not that hard. If I can bag it and remove it, then they can too!
However, cameras would certainly make it much easier to return any said piles of poop to their rightful owner! 😎