Reasons to Pick Up
Dog waste contaminates the ground and becomes a means of passing intestinal parasites and infections to dogs and people. Your own dog can be repeatedly reinfested by parasites in this way. Picking up the feces prevents a great deal of the contamination, especially if diarrhea is not involved. Cleanup can reduce veterinary expenses and might even save on human doctor bills.
Because of contamination as well as smell and mess, dog waste is highly offensive to many people in the community. It often becomes a reason to ban dogs from areas. Of course the dogs can't clean up after themselves, so this is a people problem rather than a dog problem. It's easy to enact "no dogs allowed" rules, and then the people who clean up suffer right along with the ones who don't.
If happiness for you is being able to have your dog live with you in your association, be conscientious about cleaning up. Dog waste damages landscaping, offends other owners, and costs money to your association. It pays to not only clean up after your own dog, but others, too, whenever the poop is especially conspicuous.
Neighborhood disputes over dog poop can escalate into real misery. In some localities it is illegal to allow your dog to relieve on someone else's property unless you have that person's permission. The very existence of such laws is an indication of how seriously people take the cleanup issue!
If you've ever tried to have a pleasant outdoor meal next door to a yard contaminated with foul-smelling dog feces, you have some idea of how quality of life can be affected by cleanup neglect. If you've found your lawn mower stinking up the tool shed because of dog feces on the mower blades after mowing your own yard where someone else's dog deposited poop, you surely weren't pleased.
Keeping the yard clean keeps the dog cleaner, since the dog won't be stepping or playing in the mess on relief trips outside. A clean yard also gives both people and dogs a lot more exercise space.
Ways and Means
Various tools are available for picking up dog waste. Some people use a shovel, and may bury the waste in the yard. If you want to dispose of the waste outdoors, a septic or other sewage disposal system may do a better job of handling potentially infectious material.
Scooper tools can make the job easier. These are usually lighter in weight than a shovel and more customized for the pickup task. You can tote along a bucket or bag to save steps.
A simple plastic bag slipped over your hand like a glove makes an efficient and completely clean pickup tool. A latex glove is also useful. A wide variety of bags will work, making this one way to recycle. Simply pick up the poop, turn the bag inside out to enclose it, tie the top, and deposit it in a legal container. This system works well on outings as well as at home.
If bending is difficult for you, a long-handled scooper tool may be your better choice. Some of these are designed to work with disposable bags. There are quite a few different tools designed for picking up poop.
The association has doggie stations located throughout the community. Take advantage of these!
Good Habits
You can make pickup easier with how you manage your dog. Though you need to always be ready to pick up on outings and walks, many dogs will learn to relieve themselves at home before and after walks if consistently given the chance. That saves you having to carry it home.
Keeping the elimination to certain areas can help the dog be more social on outings, too. Some dogs will defend territory they have marked by urinating and defecating. Getting your dog to do this at home instead of on your walk can have a positive effect on the dog's attitude toward other dogs and people on walks.
If your outings are long and the dog needs to eliminate before you get back home, you may be able to teach your dog to eliminate on cue. Dogs vary in how their bodies work for elimination. Some will be so stimulated by exercise that they simply must move their bowels on every walk. This is just the way they are made, not a training issue.
Be Proud
There's no place so isolated that you can be sure dog poop would not put some animal at risk of catching something from your dog, or some person or animal at risk of stepping in the mess. Picking up is just part of having a dog. If everyone would do it, there would be far fewer objections to dogs living and traveling in human communities.
Be proud to be seen picking up dog poop. It may seem silly at first, but people who see you do this will know any mess left behind is NOT from your dog. Picking up shows pride in your community, in yourself, and in your dog. You set a great example for others, and you help create a brighter future for dogs and their people.
CLEANING UP DOG POOP
IF YOU WALK YOUR DOG, REMEMBER YOU MAY BE ON CANDID CAMERA!
This is lovely dog walking weather. Everyone is grateful for the good neighbors who carry a disposal bag or container and pick up the poop their pet puts out. For those who may have forgotten, it is against the law NOT to pick up your pet’s poop. If someone identifies you and sends a picture to Animal Control of you watching your pet pooping on someone else’s property, you could be cited and not picking up the poop could affect your pocket or pocketbook (this could be quite expensive). With the growing number of surveillance cameras and phones with cameras, it is increasingly likely your picture could be taken in such embarrassing circumstances. Be a good neighbor, tuck a bag in your pocket for poop pick-up, don’t get yourself cited and help keep our city clean.
THE LAST BAG
If you have just used your last bag and your dear dog decides to poop again, try knocking on the neighbor’s door and asking if they have a poop bag you could use, because you just used your last one. Some neighbors would prefer to help you instead of finding poop on their lawn.
