We all love our dogs to pieces. In fact, most of us refer to our dogs as our children, but having the chore of picking up dog poop is not what we look forward to every day off we have. Besides this being a chore everyone hates to do, we have a few reasons why you should be cleaning up after your dog on a regular basis.
Dog poop is an environmental pollutant
Picking up your dog’s waste isn’t just common courtesy, it’s a health imperative. Picking up after your dog helps reduce the likelihood of its fecal bacteria ending up in an increasingly contaminated water supply. Considering dog feces are common carriers of nasty things like heartworms, whipworms, hookworms, roundworms, tapeworms, parvovirus, giardia, salmonella, and E. coli, it’s pretty important to curb your dog!
Did you know?
- 72.8 million dogs currently live in the United States
- 30,000 tons of waste is collectively produced every day
- That’s 10 million tons of dog waste produced every year
That’s a lot of dog poop, but what exactly is it doing to our environment?
Dog waste is NOT fertilizer for your lawn.
In its raw form, it can actually be toxic to your soil. Dog waste needs to first be safely composted in an enclosed system before being considered a beneficial aid to the environment.
Just one gram of dog waste can contain as many as 23 million fecal coliform bacteria.
Waste can seep into groundwater and spread salmonella and giardia. This poses a hazard to your pets, your family, and your landscape.
Your lawn mower doesn’t help, in fact can make it worse.
Mowers will actually chop up the waste into smaller pieces and spread it further throughout your yard where you, your children, and your pets continue to step in it and then bring it into your home.
If you don’t pick up, it piles up…fast.
The average dog discards approximately three quarters of a pound of waste per day, which adds up to 275 pounds per year. Your yard might be more polluted than you think.
Dog poop attracts rodents.
We all remember Pizza Rat, the determined critter who dragged a slice of pizza down the stairs in a New York City subway station. Unfortunately, pizza isn’t standard rat food fare.
“Dog waste is often a leading food source for rats in urban areas,” D’Aniello says.
Although it is good that the waste is being eaten, it’s definitely not ideal that dog poop that isn’t picked up will likely attract both rats and mice, D’Aniello says.
What you can do
Look into what method your county prefers, but in most cases – bag it and trash it.
Difficult to keep up with the mess? Hire a local Dog Poop Service to clean your yard on a routine basis.
Help spread the word
The most responsible thing pet owners can do for their family, community, and environment is to make sure their pets are picked up after.
Share this information with friends, family, and neighbors. Let them know the importance of scooping their dog’s poop, and that it’s more than just a smelly eyesore.
