What’s In My Dog’s Poop?
When you attend your dog’s poop, take a look at what seems to be happening with it. Mucus in dog poop could indicate an inflamed colon, whereas tons of grass could mean that they’ve been grazing on an excessive amount of grass and have a gallbladder issue. Look into this if you notice anything abnormal about your dog’s poop.
Dog Poop Consistency
When you bend down to scoop your dog’s poop, and feel its consistency through the bag, take note! Dog poop should be compact, moist and straightforward to pick up – feeling a a little like Play-doh when squished. Dog diarrhea or watery faces, as an indicator of intestinal upset, are often a symbol that something is amiss with your dog’s tummy. And if your dog’s poop is tough or dry, it might be a symbol of dog constipation. If you notice that the consistency of your dog’s poop seems ‘off’, confirm this with your vet.
Dog Poop Removal
Removing pet waste from yards and communal spaces is about quite just getting obviate unsightly piles of poop. Pet waste are often hazardous to the health of animals and humans if left unaddressed for too long. Over time, it can draw rodents and make additional headaches for homeowners and community residents.
The Reason Why Dog Poop Cleanup is vital
Cleaning up after your dog isn’t the foremost glamorous duty, but have you ever considered what happens once you don’t clean it up? about 38% of individuals don’t devour their dog’s waste. If you’re lax when it involves cleaning up after your pup, these reasons should change your mind:
Reason #1: Cow Dung is a Fertilizer, Dog Poop is Not a Fertilizer
We put manure on our crops to assist them grow, so shouldn’t dog poop do an equivalent for grass and flowers?
Unfortunately, this is often a standard misconception about dog waste, and therefore the reason lies within the animals’ diets: cows primarily eat grass and grain while dogs typically eat meat.
Because dogs eat more protein, their waste is very acidic, contains pathogens and microbes, and leaves excess nutrients in places like our lakes and rivers, consistent with Erie.gov.
Dog waste also contains nitrogen, which explains why your grass can turn brown or yellow in spots. the simplest thanks to keep your lawn green is to promptly pack up after your dog, or a minimum of on a weekly basis.
Reason #2: Dog Poop Can Affect Our Water
All animal waste affects our water, and dogs are not an exception. However, with some mindfulness and diligence, the entire problem can be avoided.
Consider this chain reaction: first we don’t pick up dog poop from grass and sidewalks. Then it rains, or snow melts, and then the waste is washed away into storm drains. Out of sight, out of mind—right? almost. From there, fecal matter winds up in lakes, streams, ponds, and other local water sources.
When this happens, poop decomposes and releases nutrients that cause excessive growth of algae and weeds. This makes the water murky, green, and smelly. In fact, the algae and weeds can get so overgrown that the water is not any longer suitable for our favorite activities like swimming, boating, and fishing… findings which are consistent with material from the University of Rhode Island.
In addition to nutrients, dog poop also contains pathogens, which are illness-causing bacteria like E. coli and salmonella. If they’re contracted through drinking, swimming, and fishing water, most are affected, including humans, pets, and wildlife.
Reason #3: In Many Places, Cleaning Up Dog Poop is a Legal Matter
It’s the law to pick up after your dog – and simply a part of being an honest neighbor! Many cities have enacted what’s nicknamed “pooper scooper” laws and can fine dog owners who don’t clean up after their dog in a public place. If you’re in Madrid, one park will even box up and mail your dog’s poop back to you, according to The Washington Post! Not all areas have gone to those extremes, but you’ll face fines into the thousands in many cities.
Reason #4: Cleaning Up Poop Makes Life Easier in the Long Run!
It is often a pain to pick up poop, but between its impact on nature and hefty fines, avoiding it can cause even bigger problems. Cleaning up immediately after your dog makes life easier for you, your neighbors, and your dog! Once you keep your is yard clean, you’ve got less of an opportunity of tracking unwanted rodents and messes into your home and onto your carpet. Not to mention, your home will stay odor-free!
Backyard barbecues, running around barefoot within the park, outdoor picnics, and easily walking down the sidewalk are all easier and fewer messy once we devour after our furry pals.
Tips for Cleaning Up Dog Poop
Now that you simply know why dog poop cleanup is so important, here are some quick and clean recommendations on how you’ll help lessen the potential long-term environmental and health effects of dog poo.
Tip #1: Always Carry a Dog Waste Bag When Walking Your Dog
This ensures you’re always able to remove your dog’s poo and can avoid any surprises.Also, don’t be afraid to clean up another dog’s poop while you’re down there already 🙂 We always leave a place cleaner than we find it.
Tip #2: Flush Waste When Possible
When you flush your pet’s poop down the toilet, it goes into an equivalent wastewater treatment plant as body waste. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends this because the treatment plants have been built to handle these kinds of contaminants. Toilet water and storm runoff water actually go to different places. They don’t all make it to treatment plants. Storm drains and emergency storm runoff often empty directly into existing nearby water sources.
Also, if you’ve got a cat, make certain to not flush any waste with cat litter debris because it can cause plumbing issues.
Tip #3: Use a Pooper Scooper
Using a pooper scooper isn’t only convenient, but will help reduce animal waste’s side effects on the environment. Four Paws has a whole line of easy-to-use pooper-scoopers that make cleaning up after your dog quick and simple—without bending and stooping!
Tip #4: Avoid Letting Your Dog Poop Near Water
When you are out together with your dog, attempt to ensure they relieve themselves a minimum of 200 feet faraway from water, especially if you forgot your cleanup bag. When your dog’s poop is that this on the brink of a body of water, it’s a way higher chance of entering the water system and negatively impacting our ecosystem. Also, never eliminate waste into storm drains.
Tip #5: Choose Higher Quality pet food
If you invest in higher quality food that contains fewer fillers and by-products, your dog will poop less, consistent with the Chicago Tribune. This is often because the food is more nutrient rich, leading them to eat less and stay fuller for extended. Ultimately, you’ll have less poop to wash up!
Dog Waste Stations 
What exactly is a dog waste station, where are they best placed and do they work?
A dog waste station may be a free-standing unit which will be placed anywhere to permit dog owners to wash up after their dogs. Dog waste stations are typically composed of a symbol that directs owners to wash up after their dogs, a bag dispenser that holds the dog waste bags, a waste can for the disposal of dog waste bags and a typical sign post that every piece is mounted on.
Dog Waste Station Mounting
All dog waste stations should be mounted using chrome steel hardware just in case the station ever must be moved. Fastening the individual pieces of the station to sign posts without chrome steel hardware will make removing the sign, bag dispenser and waste receptacle especially difficult if the mounting nuts and bolts are rusted
A dog waste stations contains a bag dispenser, waste bin, and a symbol, helping to encourage pet owners to wash up after their pups by making it easier to try to so. They provide fresh bags to gather the feces and a waste bin to simply eliminate it. These stations are quite simple and straightforward to put in, yet provide a valuable service that permits both pet-owners and non-pet-owning residents to completely enjoy community spaces.