Dog Poop, how do you handle it?

[coffeelover]

I have a large old dog (90 pounds)  who poops 3 times a day. It could be 12 times a day from the looks of my yard. Even though we pick up poop every time we go outside to play in yard and when we mow.

I find that I don't go to the regular grocery store enough to get the plastic bags to use to pick up the poop. I hate wasting a huge garbage bag each time I go to clean up the yard.
I do most of my grocery shopping at Aldi so I reuse the same bags.


So what do you use to pick up poop?

[PDM]

We only have two small dogs - who still seem to produce a large amount - but we currently are fine using plastic shopping bag method.

However, we visited the dog breeder recently and they had a pretty good system. They used a stick and broom set up (like street cleaners do) and had a bin with a liner in it they would transfer it to. Some variation on this might work? Or go directly from the broom/stick set up into the bin? Cut the plastic bag out.

It also had the benefit of not touching it or bending over.

Something like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pet-Waste-Dog-Clean-Pick-Up-Shovel-Poop-Removal-Pooper-Scooper-Bin-Rake-Handle-/201542018301

[Cassie]

That is what I do. No bending needed.

[MsPeacock]

Bucket with small trash bag, children's plastic snow shovel, stick for poking poops onto shovel if needed. No bending, able to keep face as far as possible from poop. Hose off the shovel afterwards if needed.

[snogirl]

I tried using a small covered aluminum trash can & liner with a Hound Dog scoop & rake but the can grossed me out after a few days of poop. I ended up buying a 900 count Amazon brand  basic black dog waste bag. They were super inexpensive like $10 free ship with Prime. Now I pick up & dispose of in a much timely fashion.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[Fresh Bread]

+1 to all the suggestions of long handled poop scoops.

Whatever receptacle you use to then put it in, do make sure you empty it every 2 or 3 days because it's going to get hard to stomach as snogirl says. Also, double bag it because you don't want that thing splitting as you lift it/ tie it and it's a bit more pleasant for those collecting your garbage! 

We don't put our poop in the general bin as it's too stinky. In our garden we use 1 x worm farm and 1 x bokashi bin, both inground with lids. The worms eat the poo and the bokashi ferments it into sludge. It's easy enough to empty the scoop into a hole in the ground, you just need to have space away from edible plants and water sources and then dig a hole and place a bottomless bucket with lid inside the hole. Bokashi is a bit more of a learning curve but seems to break it down quicker. With both options, when they are nearly full you just fill up to ground level with a bit more soil and dig a hole elsewhere. Put a board over or something for a little while so critters don't dig it up.

[ahoy]

I use empty bread bags. 

[eljay]

Not answering your question directly, but we have a dog that size and he only poops once a day. Are you feeding the correct amount of food? (what goes in must come out)  Are you feeding a reasonable quality food? (less cereal filler == less poop volume) And are you avoiding "filler" type treats like bread/rawhide?

I use the bulk poo bags from Amazon 500/£10 and put in the standard rubbish. I pick up once a day when I take the kitchen rubbish out.

HTH,
Eljay

[Victor]

Due to living in an apartment I don't have the option of simply letting the dog out to wander and scooping.  What I do however is buy little plastic bags from Amazon for when I take her out, at 70lbs she generally poops 1-3 times a day.

[Rural]

We fenced a couple of acres with field wire and installed (made) a dog door..Two Great Danes, and it's always a real coincidence if I see a poop, as in I've seen fewer than ten in three years. The soil's getting really good out in that area, though.

[Fishindude]

Dig a hole in back corner of yard somewhere, scoop up turds with a shovel and throw in the hole, backfill the hole after you've thrown a fair amount of poop in it.
Repeat process.

It's poop, don't over complicate it.

[FIREdancer]

I can't help myself, I have to give the asshole answer: don't have a dog.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2015/09/07/great-news-dog-ownership-is-optional/

[zombiehunter]

Don't use plastic bags, put that shit in the compost. 

[GuitarStv]

I can't help myself, I have to give the asshole answer: don't have a dog.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2015/09/07/great-news-dog-ownership-is-optional/

Given that this is not an option for the OP, what are you suggesting?  Euthanizing the animal to keep the lawn clear?

[screwit]

We changed our dog from dry/tinned food onto fresh meat (innards of various types) and he went from 3 big poops a day to 1 small one. It also stank less,  was cheaper and he was healthier. Just an idea.

[ketchup]

We changed our dog from dry/tinned food onto fresh meat (innards of various types) and he went from 3 big poops a day to 1 small one. It also stank less,  was cheaper and he was healthier. Just an idea.

Bingo!

We feed raw too, so our dogs' poop 100% disintegrates within 12-24 hours in warm weather.  It's also smaller and less frequent.  Multiple 45lb dogs in our sub-quarter-acre suburban lot with absolutely no issues. I'll find maybe one turd while mowing the back yard.

If we're walking them our front or around the neighborhood/traveling, we'll use either grocery bags or those typical rolls of single-use dog crap bags.  Bonus points if lavender-scented.  Negative points if you forgot to bring one and end up using a Chipotle napkin to pick it up...

[radram]

So what do you use to pick up poop?

Have a child.... wait 4 years.... make them do it.  :)

In all seriousness though, we rarely pick it up.  We mow it in.

[FIREdancer]

I can't help myself, I have to give the asshole answer: don't have a dog.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2015/09/07/great-news-dog-ownership-is-optional/

Given that this is not an option for the OP, what are you suggesting?  Euthanizing the animal to keep the lawn clear?

No I'm not suggesting euthanasia.  I'm suggesting just what the MMM article suggests right in the title, dog ownership is optional.  You don't have to kill the dog, just give it to someone else.  And as I said in my original post, I'm just being an asshole.

[bobechs]

I feed my dog popsicle sticks mixed in with the regular dogfood.  That way each turd comes out with a handle already in it for easy disposal.

[cj25]

We changed our dog from dry/tinned food onto fresh meat (innards of various types) and he went from 3 big poops a day to 1 small one. It also stank less,  was cheaper and he was healthier. Just an idea.

Bingo!

We feed raw too, so our dogs' poop 100% disintegrates within 12-24 hours in warm weather.  It's also smaller and less frequent.  Multiple 45lb dogs in our sub-quarter-acre suburban lot with absolutely no issues. I'll find maybe one turd while mowing the back yard.

If we're walking them our front or around the neighborhood/traveling, we'll use either grocery bags or those typical rolls of single-use dog crap bags.  Bonus points if lavender-scented.  Negative points if you forgot to bring one and end up using a Chipotle napkin to pick it up...

Just curious - do you use homemade raw or one of the premade bags, like Primal or Stellas?

[screwit]

We changed our dog from dry/tinned food onto fresh meat (innards of various types) and he went from 3 big poops a day to 1 small one. It also stank less,  was cheaper and he was healthier. Just an idea.

Bingo!

We feed raw too, so our dogs' poop 100% disintegrates within 12-24 hours in warm weather.  It's also smaller and less frequent.  Multiple 45lb dogs in our sub-quarter-acre suburban lot with absolutely no issues. I'll find maybe one turd while mowing the back yard.

If we're walking them our front or around the neighborhood/traveling, we'll use either grocery bags or those typical rolls of single-use dog crap bags.  Bonus points if lavender-scented.  Negative points if you forgot to bring one and end up using a Chipotle napkin to pick it up...

Just curious - do you use homemade raw or one of the premade bags, like Primal or Stellas?

Im not in the US so I can't say what is like there.  Here I only used pre packed in a supply emergency.  Originally I was in a group of dog owners who got 6-weekly deliveries of entire organs and we chopped it up ourselves.  After moving cities we got it straight from a local butchers.  They hiked the prices after a few years,  but a local shop specialising in raw food had opened instead - amusingly enough called B.A.R.F.

[PencilThinStash]

We fenced a couple of acres with field wire and installed (made) a dog door..Two Great Danes, and it's always a real coincidence if I see a poop, as in I've seen fewer than ten in three years. The soil's getting really good out in that area, though.

May have to file that idea in the back of my brain for when I get Great Danes in the future. I've always been a little hesitant about the fact that they probably poop bigger than I do...

[ketchup]

We changed our dog from dry/tinned food onto fresh meat (innards of various types) and he went from 3 big poops a day to 1 small one. It also stank less,  was cheaper and he was healthier. Just an idea.

Bingo!

We feed raw too, so our dogs' poop 100% disintegrates within 12-24 hours in warm weather.  It's also smaller and less frequent.  Multiple 45lb dogs in our sub-quarter-acre suburban lot with absolutely no issues. I'll find maybe one turd while mowing the back yard.

If we're walking them our front or around the neighborhood/traveling, we'll use either grocery bags or those typical rolls of single-use dog crap bags.  Bonus points if lavender-scented.  Negative points if you forgot to bring one and end up using a Chipotle napkin to pick it up...

Just curious - do you use homemade raw or one of the premade bags, like Primal or Stellas?

I roll my own for the most part.  From what I can tell, that's really the only way to do it that isn't crazy expensive.  I know a few local distributors (oddly Yahoo Groups is the best way to find them I've found).  I feed a wide variety and average about $1.50/lb, feeding our Australian Shepherds each about 1-1.5lbs a day.

I have used dehydrated pre-made patties in a pinch for travel on occasion (usually we'll just bring containers of raw in a cooler).  I'm not familiar with either of those brands.

[Inaya]

We changed our dog from dry/tinned food onto fresh meat (innards of various types) and he went from 3 big poops a day to 1 small one. It also stank less,  was cheaper and he was healthier. Just an idea.

Bingo!

We feed raw too, so our dogs' poop 100% disintegrates within 12-24 hours in warm weather.  It's also smaller and less frequent.  Multiple 45lb dogs in our sub-quarter-acre suburban lot with absolutely no issues. I'll find maybe one turd while mowing the back yard.

If we're walking them our front or around the neighborhood/traveling, we'll use either grocery bags or those typical rolls of single-use dog crap bags.  Bonus points if lavender-scented.  Negative points if you forgot to bring one and end up using a Chipotle napkin to pick it up...

Feed my cat raw, and no stinky poop anymore here either (her kibble poops were the WORST). And the stakes are higher because it's indoor poop.

If I had a dog (and I fervently wish I did), I would feed raw as well.

[Northwestie]

Dig a hole in back corner of yard somewhere, scoop up turds with a shovel and throw in the hole, backfill the hole after you've thrown a fair amount of poop in it.
Repeat process.

It's poop, don't over complicate it.

This is not a good idea unless you have A LOT of land and don't live in the suburbs or the city.  There have been some good water quality studies to show that riverine and coastal waterways can be severely affected by leachate from pet waste.  The best thing to do is bag it and throw it away.  Landfills, because of their construction and the amount of waste there, get warm enough to compost dog shite and kill pathogens.  Typically soil temperatures, except maybe in the deep south, do not get warm enough to kill pathogens. 

Some sites suggest putting a digester in your back yard, but again, where you live makes a difference and soil temperatures need to be high enough to allow composting to get high enough temperature to kill the bacteria and pathogens.

[Blonde Lawyer]

I just leave it in my backyard.  My dog usually poops off to the side corners along the edge.  That's poop city.  It just disintegrates over time.  The only time I scoop is if she goes outside of our property, in the main areas of the lawn, and one giant cleanup during the spring thaw.  That poop city is spectacular and I will fill up one or two giant trash bags and send it off.  Summer time, it just runs it's course in the corner of the lawn.

[Glenstache]

These make it more enjoyable:
https://donaldtrumpdogpoopbags.com/

[coffeelover]

Not answering your question directly, but we have a dog that size and he only poops once a day. Are you feeding the correct amount of food? (what goes in must come out)  Are you feeding a reasonable quality food? (less cereal filler == less poop volume) And are you avoiding "filler" type treats like bread/rawhide?

I use the bulk poo bags from Amazon 500/£10 and put in the standard rubbish. I pick up once a day when I take the kitchen rubbish out.

HTH,
Eljay

I feed him Purina one, although he does get table scraps here and there. Usually not much because I like to save food for leftovers. So essentially he is just licking plates.
He may be pooping like twice a day. He doesn't get bones or anything and treats are few and far between.

[TheInsuranceMan]

I have a large old dog (90 pounds)  who poops 3 times a day. It could be 12 times a day from the looks of my yard. Even though we pick up poop every time we go outside to play in yard and when we mow.

I find that I don't go to the regular grocery store enough to get the plastic bags to use to pick up the poop. I hate wasting a huge garbage bag each time I go to clean up the yard.
I do most of my grocery shopping at Aldi so I reuse the same bags.


So what do you use to pick up poop?

3 times a day?  Change the dogs food.  3 times a day is awfully excessive.

**Made post before finishing reading the thread.  Purina One is supposed to be relatively decent dog food.  We feed Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice, once a day.  And, she never is even in a hurry to eat it when we feed her, even though once a day sounds like starvation.

[Rural]

We fenced a couple of acres with field wire and installed (made) a dog door..Two Great Danes, and it's always a real coincidence if I see a poop, as in I've seen fewer than ten in three years. The soil's getting really good out in that area, though.

May have to file that idea in the back of my brain for when I get Great Danes in the future. I've always been a little hesitant about the fact that they probably poop bigger than I do...

I can virtually guarantee they do.

[Slinky]

Our dog mostly goes in the brush along the sides of the yard. But also, mulching lawn mower.

[CanuckExpat]

If your sewer clean-out is in a convenient place relative to where the dog poops, you could get something like Dog Waste Sewer Line Attachment and send it down the sewer to be treated and disposed of like human waste. It's essentially just a funnel that screws into your clean-out, so could make your own.
You can double check with your utility company to make sure it's all good (probably shouldn't do this with cat waste).

Also, pretty relatively simple to make (or buy) your own dog waste septic/composter .. it's a plastic tube buried into the ground.

I looked into the options, in the end we just use poop bags, but our dogs are small and I was lazy. (and they tend to poop on walks for the most part, so I need the bags anyways)

[coffeelover]

If your sewer clean-out is in a convenient place relative to where the dog poops, you could get something like Dog Waste Sewer Line Attachment and send it down the sewer to be treated and disposed of like human waste. It's essentially just a funnel that screws into your clean-out, so could make your own.
You can double check with your utility company to make sure it's all good (probably shouldn't do this with cat waste).

Also, pretty relatively simple to make (or buy) your own dog waste septic/composter .. it's a plastic tube buried into the ground.

I looked into the options, in the end we just use poop bags, but our dogs are small and I was lazy. (and they tend to poop on walks for the most part, so I need the bags anyways)

This made me think of something.. We have a drain in our yard, one of those ones that sticks up out of the grass and has a grate on top. Can I just throw the poop down there?
Or is this technically supposed to be for water run off only? I don't want to pollute our waters or anything if I were to do this. (we have lots of lakes around us.)

[PtboEliz]

Biodegradable dog poop bags from the dollar store (compostable ones are better, but more expensive).

[CanuckExpat]

If your sewer clean-out is in a convenient place relative to where the dog poops, you could get something like Dog Waste Sewer Line Attachment and send it down the sewer to be treated and disposed of like human waste. It's essentially just a funnel that screws into your clean-out, so could make your own.
You can double check with your utility company to make sure it's all good (probably shouldn't do this with cat waste).

Also, pretty relatively simple to make (or buy) your own dog waste septic/composter .. it's a plastic tube buried into the ground.

I looked into the options, in the end we just use poop bags, but our dogs are small and I was lazy. (and they tend to poop on walks for the most part, so I need the bags anyways)

This made me think of something.. We have a drain in our yard, one of those ones that sticks up out of the grass and has a grate on top. Can I just throw the poop down there?
Or is this technically supposed to be for water run off only? I don't want to pollute our waters or anything if I were to do this. (we have lots of lakes around us.)

Probably not.. it sounds like that is just draining water run off, it wouldn't be treated or anything, and if you aren't flushing it, you might end up with a big pile of dog poop water wherever it drains out..

Not an expert

[msanne]

We have and area of our yard behind the garage the we refer to as "the dirt"  We have trained every dog we have ever had to use this area for the sole purpose of going to the bathroom.  We also have a covered garbage can back there with a regular bag in it, a rake and a shovel.  We use the rake to get the poop on the shovel and then drop it in the garbage can.  On garbage day we tie up the bag and put it in our big bin.  We have trained both puppies and older rescue dogs to do this.  Some catch on quickly and others have taken a few weeks. 

[kite]

There are commercially available dog waste septic systems to create a small leach field.  But DIY is straight forward.  It's a hole in the ground with a lid.
It won't hurt nearby waterways provided you aren't hording animals.  Places with problems of polluted water from animal waste aren't because of household pets, but because of concentrations of livestock where manure wasn't spread across fields and where the herd size outstrips the local environment's ability to deal with it. Pathogens are in the waste, so you don't site it adjacent to edible gardens.  It is far better for the ecosystem than permanently encasing your dog's business in little goodie bags to last till the end of time. 

Three quarters of the world's dog poop isn't dealt with by people because most dogs aren't pets.  This isn't about their waste but is food for thought:     http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/04/19/science/the-world-is-full-of-dogswithout-collars.html

[Fishindude]

A good friend of mine used to have kennels where he always had 2-3 hunting dogs.   Kennels had a concrete slab that was sloped to the back, and he routinely hosed them out simply blasting the poop off the edge of the slab in the back, the water and hose pretty well breaks it down to nothing.   Every year he planted pumpkins at the back of the kennel which would climb up the chain link walls and roof.   It was funny because there would be full size pumpkins on the roof of the kennel.   The pumpkin plants provided great shade for the dogs, and they grew like mad from all of that clean up water mixed with dog poop.

[MandyM]

If your sewer clean-out is in a convenient place relative to where the dog poops, you could get something like Dog Waste Sewer Line Attachment and send it down the sewer to be treated and disposed of like human waste. It's essentially just a funnel that screws into your clean-out, so could make your own.
You can double check with your utility company to make sure it's all good (probably shouldn't do this with cat waste).

Also, pretty relatively simple to make (or buy) your own dog waste septic/composter .. it's a plastic tube buried into the ground.

I looked into the options, in the end we just use poop bags, but our dogs are small and I was lazy. (and they tend to poop on walks for the most part, so I need the bags anyways)

This made me think of something.. We have a drain in our yard, one of those ones that sticks up out of the grass and has a grate on top. Can I just throw the poop down there?
Or is this technically supposed to be for water run off only? I don't want to pollute our waters or anything if I were to do this. (we have lots of lakes around us.)

Probably not.. it sounds like that is just draining water run off, it wouldn't be treated or anything, and if you aren't flushing it, you might end up with a big pile of dog poop water wherever it drains out..

Not an expert

The grate in your yard is to the storm sewer, which (in most places) is different than your sanitary sewer. Do not put dog poop in there. For one, it will absolutely end up in a lake or stream. Plus, in dry weather it may just sit there for long periods and would likely create an odor issue for you.

I am an expert.

[2buttons]

I put them in a paper bag, place on the porch of my arch nemesis or anyone who has wronged me that week, light on fire, ring door bell, and run. 

Its not very stoic, but somewhat mustachian as its very entertaining and the only cost is a lighter and some paper bags.   

[Clever Name]

If I'm out for a walk I pick it up with a disposable bag, because I think it's rude to leave dog poop in a public place. At home, with a 45lb dog in a 1/2 acre yard I just let it decompose where it falls. Where I live it breaks down very quickly, to the point that I basically never actually encounter it.

[Marvel2017]

So I've recently researched this issue and this is what I've found:

Dog poop is pretty nasty and you don't want to compost it. Putting down a "drain" unless it's to a septic tank or sewer to be treated will probably mean it goes through the stormwater management system and into a river or a holding pool somewhere-not a good idea.
Putting it in the ground can contaminate ground water unless it you use a doggy septic tank (which requires use of bacteria additives to process/neutralize the poop)
I live in the city and plan on adding a product that allows you to dispose of poop into the city sewer system (mentioned in a post above)...you could also run a separate rain barrel and plumb in a valve of some sort to "flush" the waste with water if you think there might be issues with it not getting moved through the pipe by water from the regular house plumbing.

[GuitarStv]

Toronto composts dog poop (http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=67ffd187c3b02410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=03ec433112b02410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD) so we stick it in the green bin.  I'm surprised US cities don't commonly offer this service.

[Chris22]

Poop in other people's yards gets grabbed with a ziploc and thrown away.  Poop in my yard decomposes where it sits unless it gets hit with a lawnmower and then who knows what happens.  My dog is 10lbs and his shits are like a small breakfast sausage, so really, it could just decompose where it sits everywhere and not bother anyone, but social convention says I take it off my neighbors' lawns.

[kite]

Toronto composts dog poop (http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=67ffd187c3b02410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=03ec433112b02410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD) so we stick it in the green bin.  I'm surprised US cities don't commonly offer this service.

My town does, but it's expensive ($17/month) and voluntary.  We have our own hot composter, so all of our greenbin waste stays onsite. 

[mindaugas]

I buy a large box of blue medical gloves from amazon, and I just use my hands. You can put the poop into any container you want at that point.

[Fishindude]

Seems pretty environmentally unfriendly to pick up poop with petroleum based products such as rubber gloves and zip lock bags, then throw them away adding landfill waste.  Don't people own shovels?
It's also pretty gross to think about picking up poo with your hand, glove / bag or not.   I see my sister in law do this and it cracks me up, she thinks a rare steak is gross, yet picks up poo with her hands?

[Northwestie]

It's easy to find organic material bags that break down easy. Just pick it up with the back turned inside out over your hand.  No bigge.   And unless you have a nice big piece of property in the country -- tossing it in the landfill IS the most environmentally friendly thing you can do. 

For reference see the previous links I posted.  Burying dog poop in the city or 'burbs is not a good idea.

[Typhoid Mary]

I feed my dog popsicle sticks mixed in with the regular dogfood.  That way each turd comes out with a handle already in it for easy disposal.

I have to.... I can't stop myself.
POOPSICLES!!

[Inaya]

I feed my dog popsicle sticks mixed in with the regular dogfood.  That way each turd comes out with a handle already in it for easy disposal.

I have to.... I can't stop myself.
POOPSICLES!!

I believe it was George Carlin who had a joke wherein the dog owner fed his dog rubber bands. That way, all the poops had convenient loops, which could be then used to easily fling the poo into the neighbor's yard.