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My #1 Pet Peeve – Not Picking Up Dog Poop

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I was going through my google reader when I came across this article from Pawcurious titled 3 Dumb Things that Dog Owners Do (That Make Us All Look Bad).  I immediately clicked on the link to see if I agreed with Dr. V’s short list (I did).

I’m not going to tell you everything on the list, but I will tell you my personal #1 Dumb Thing That Dog Owners Do and that’s not picking up dog poop!  My #1 pet peeve was number 2 on Dr. V’s list.

For some reason I’ve been talking about dog poop a lot lately.  I spoke about the biodegradable dogs just a few days ago and before that I wrote an article about the many different kinds of green dog poop bags you can buy to make your pets more eco-friendly.

However, today it’s more about venting then the dog poop.

Why Do Dog Owners Not Pick Up Their Dog Poop?

Dog Poop With Dublin
Dublin Being A Good Boy And "Getting Busy" Outside

It’s sad, but I ask myself this question daily as I walk my dog through my neighborhood.  I live in a nice affluent area and you would think that people would have the consideration to pick up after their dogs especially when they are pooping right outside my front door!

Here are a few other reasons why dog owners should pick up their dog’s poop:

  • Not picking up dog poop contributes to the source water contamination.
  • If you’re caught not picking up your dog poop you could get fined anywhere from $10 – $2,000.  Is it really worth it?
  • Pick up your dog poop!  It’s not fertilizer!  It contains bacteria and viruses that can be harmful to people and pets alike.

Those are just a few reasons, but most of all just be considerate to your fellow neighbors.

Don’t forget to read about the other dumb things that dog owners do at Pawcurious.

I often times think about what I would do if I caught someone not picking up after their dogs right in front of my house.  Mostly just fantasies from chewing out the owners all the way to repackaging the dog poop, putting it in a paper bag, lighting it on fire and ringing the neighbors door bell (I know I’ve been watching too much Billy Madison).

Anyhow I’m curious, have any of you caught a neighbor not picking up his dog’s poop on your own lawn or anywhere in the neighborhood?  What did you do?  I’m interested to see how far people have gone when someone leaves dog poop on their lawn.  Tell us about it in the comment section below.

Have You Used Green Dog Poop Bags?

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Sorry if you don’t like talking dog poop then this article may not be for you…for the adventurous readers only!

I’m not talking about literally green dog poop bags, but dog poop bags that are eco-friendly and not as much of a burden on the environment.  A while back I purchased some biodegradable dog poop bags from Amazon.com and found that they were not all that different the bags I get from my local PetSmart.

The one thing I did notice is that they feel much thinner (they are thinner) then the blue bags I was used to at PetSmart.  In fact, if you weren’t careful you could penetrate the bag with your finger.  Actually penetrating the bag was never a problem until I one day I thought now that I have these biodegradable poop bags how can I be even more green and eco-friendly.  After all we want to be the top green dogs in the neighborhood (shouldn’t be to hard considering I see dog poop in front of my place about every other day).

In my attempt to be the ultra-green dog parent in the neighborhood I found out that the biodegradable bag while eco-friendly was not ultra durable.

Green Dog Poop Bags

As I mentioned you really won’t have a problem with penetrating the bag if you are a normal dog poop bag user.  However, if you want to go ultra green like me then you may have some issues (yep, I said it…I have some issues).  Here was my ultra green dog smart idea:

  1. I’ve always picked up my dogs poop, but picking up after your dog is definitely step 1 to becoming a green dog
  2. Purchase Biodegradable Dog Poop Bags was my second step to making my dogs be more green.
  3. Get all my dogs poop into 1 biodegradable dog poop bag.

Step 3 is where I ran into trouble.  Now you might think that 3 poops 1 bag shouldn’t be a problem if you have Chihuahuas, Maltese, or a Bichon Frise.  However, that’s not the case with me.  I have 3 large dogs:

  1. Linus – He’s a 60 lb Australian Shepherd mix
  2. Stetson – He’s a 70 lb Labrador Retriever
  3. Apache – He’s an 85 lb Golden Retriever
Green Dogs! - Stetson, Apache, and Linus
Green Dogs! – Stetson, Apache, and Linus

And I thought it would be a good idea to take my boys out on a walk and fit all 3 dog poops into 1 bag.  You’d be surprised, but my plan worked.  It was a little more difficult to get all the poops in 1 bag, but with a little bit of planning, some dexterity, and of course a lot of courage I did it.  3 poops 1 little biodegradable bag!

Everything was going well until one day I was careless and while trying to pick up poop #3 I had some issues…can you say poop on the hands.  Another few days passed and I had another miscue.  Finally a day or two after that while trying to work poop #2 into the bag…BAM…my finger penetrated through the bag exterior and disaster struck.  Poop on the hands, poop on the ground, it wasn’t a pretty sight.

Am I Still Trying To Be Ultra-Green?

From time to time I will try to fit 2 poops in a bag, but I no longer try to squeeze 3 giant dog poops into 1 dog poop bag.  While it’s not usually a problem things can often times go terribly wrong and I’m not a real big fan of walking around my neighborhood with dog poop on my hands.

If your looking for hints on how to raise a green dog then check out Johann’s green dog blog for some green news, tips, and product reviews.

How about you?  Is your dog a green dog?  Tell us about it in the comment section below.

Dog Poop Bags

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What kind of Dog Poop Bags do you use?

I bet when you woke up this morning and checked your email or feed reader you weren’t expecting an in depth blog post about your dogs poop.  If you continue reading then unfortunately for you dog poop bags is the topic of the day!

First of all, I hope everyone out there is picking up their dog poop because we don’t want to step in or slip in that pile of stinky poop.  Stepping in dog poop is not the only reason not to pick up your dog poop.  We recently purchased Nature’s Miracle Dog Poop Bags (aff. link) and found that each bag had a little slogan thanking you and telling why you should be picking your dog’s poo.  Rather than keep you in suspense here’s the list:

Thank You…

  • …For protecting the environment.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pet droppings significantly contribute to source water contamination.  There are an estimated 74 million dogs depositing 20,000 tons of waste every single day in the United States alone. – WOW!  That’s a lot of dog poo!  I encourage you to please pick up after your dog as we don’t need to contaminate the source water anymore then we have to.
  • …You’re doing the right thing!  Virtually every major city and county in the United States has some sort of “Pooper Scooper” law to regulate pet waste clean up.  Fines can range from $10 to $2,000 per occurrence! – That’s a lot of dough for not picking up your dog’s poop.
  • …For picking up.  A common misconception is that dog poop is fertilizer.  A meat eater, like dogs and people, have solid waste that contains bacteria and viruses which are harmful to both people and pets if not disposed of properly. – I wonder if vegetarians produce usable fertilizer.  My guess is no, but something to think about.
  • …Every bag counts.  The average Beagle will deposit 5,737 pounds of poop and use 4,413 dog poop bags during it’s lifetime – Based on life expectancy, metabolism, and weight of a typical Beagle. – I don’t even want to think about how much dog poop my three Labrador Retrievers produce.
So now that you’ve read those facts, you know the importance of picking up dog poop.

Now back to my original question: What kind of dog poop bags do you use?

Dog Poop Bags

We started out just like many of you by using the plastic grocery bags we received from the store.  However, in an attempt to be more green and eco-friendly we’ve been working on bringing reusable bags rather than going with paper or plastic.  So what’s the alternative to grocery dog poop bags?  Well, there are many starting with buying some from your local pet store.

You might be surprised, but for me I like to break my dog poop bags down into several categories.  So let’s get started

Petco and Petsmart Dog Poop Bags

  • These are the standard dog poo bags you see at your local Petsmart, Petco, or pet store.  They are very similar to the dog bags you can buy in massive bulk directly from Amazon.com and are usually black, silver or blue with no writing and non-scented.  I’ve found the blue and silver bags to usually be fairly sturdy while the black are usually a little bit thinner.  Here’s an affiliate link to the dog bags I’m talking about:

Blue Durable Dog Waste Bags

Biodegradable Dog Poop Bags

  • I recently bought some biodegradable dog waste bags from amazon to see how they stood up against the rest of the poop bag competition.  We ordered a 120 pack from Amazon and this is what we found…they were packed very tightly onto the little plastic spindle.  Each bag was very thin and felt like half the thickness of your average blue Petco/Petsmart bag mentioned above.  After picking up Stetson’s poop with the biodegradable dog bags I smelled my hand to make sure I didn’t actually touch poop.  Fortunately all was good.  While the thin biodegradable dog waste bags didn’t really bother me they may bother you so you might want to buy only a handful before you decide to buy in bulk.  Also, the biodegradable bags I purchased were scented, but I’m sure you can buy them unscented as well.  Here’s an affiliate link to the biodegradable dog waste bags I purchased from Amazon.com:

Biodegradable Doggy Bags

Scented Dog Poop Bags

  •  We’ve purchased both scented and unscented dog poop bags.  I think the debate of scented versus unscented is based on your personal preference.  Most scented bags do cover up the dog poo odor.  However, I’ve talked to several friends who now associate that scented powder smell with doggy poop and anytime they whiff that scent they instinctively think: DOG POOP!!!  Anyhow, my preference at this time is the scented version as I prefer the way it covers up the smell of poop.  We are currently using the Nature’s Miracle version of the scented poop bags as mentioned earlier in the post.  Here’s an image along with an Amazon affiliate link:

Nature’s Miracle Antimicrobial Dog Pick-Up Bags

Flushable Dog Poop Bags

  • The flushable dog poop bags are the only bag I have yet to use on this list.  They are pretty pricey compared to the other bags, but if you order them on Amazon.com you get a bit of a discount.  I plan on trying these Flush Doggy Poop Bags in the near future and will post a short review after Dublin, Stetson, Linus, and I run them through a thorough test.  From the amazon description: Use 100% biodegradable flushable dog waste bags ! Whether flush or toss, our earth wins. EPA states “Flushing pet waste is the best disposal method.”  Here’s an image and affiliate link to the Flushable Dog Waste Bags.

Flush Doggy – Biodegradable & Flushable Dog Poop Bags (aff link)

Free Dog Poop Bags

  • Plastic Grocery Store Bags.  When you buy groceries they ask you “paper or plastic”.  If you opt for plastic then you’ve got yourself an extra dog poop bag.  They’re sometimes a little large for dog poop so you might do what I try to do with all my doggy bags and pack two poops in one bag (I currently walk 3 dogs and in an attempt to save on the number of bags I use I try to pack to poops in one bag).
  • Free Dog Poop Bags at the Park – The dog poop bags I’ve seen at the park are usually blue scented bags.  They work just fine and they are very convenient when you’re out for a walk in the park.  Often times your home owners association is paying for these dog bags so since you’re already paying you should definitely use them.

Did I miss anything?  I don’t thinks so, but if there’s a type of dog poop bag that you use that I haven’t heard off leave us a comment below.

That’s the scoop on the dog poop bags.  Please be considerate of your neighbors and pick up after your dog.  They’ll appreciate it, the environment will be better for it, and you won’t have to worry about incurring a large fine.

Now the question once again goes back to you.  What kind of dog poop bags do you use?

German Shepherd Puppy Poop

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It’s been a while since I posted a funny picture here at the Puppy In Training Blog. Today, while looking through Flickr for a Creative Commons-licensed content for commercial use, adaptation, modification or building upon. In particular I was searching for images of German Shepherds. While flicking through the images I came across this one that I thought you might enjoy.

German Shepherd Puppy Poop

image by *Jame*

Do you think someone good with Photoshop and just cropped their puppy into the picture?

That image kind of reminds me of the old Peanuts cartoons with Snoopy and Woodstock.  “KEEP OFF THE GRASS, NO DOGS ALLOWED!”  If you’re feeling nostalgic (like I kind of am) then I think the Peanuts DVD you’re looking for is Snoopy, Come Home (yep, that’s an affiliate link).  Even better yet after doing a little research I came across Snoopy, Come Home on YouTube.  The only problem is it’s broken up into 12 episodes.  Here’s episode number 1:

I’m pretty sure you can watch the entire thing on YouTube.  At the end of each video the next one is listed as SCH2, SCH3, etc.  Also, I’m not sure how long the video will stay on YouTube.  It looks like it was posted a couple years ago, but you never know when YouTube or the actual person who posted the video will pull it off the site.

Well, happy Friday everyone and have a good weekend.  We’ll see you next month.

Do you have any funny images you’d like to share with us?  Leave me a comment below or just send me a message through our contact form.

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