10 Reasons to Scoop Your Dog's Poop

Scoop that Poop

Everyone knows it’s neighborly courtesy to pick up your dog’s poop when walking around the neighborhood. Yet, sometimes people find themselves without a bag and decide to leave the pet’s business where it lays. This may seem like a minor inconvenience but dog poop can actually cause some serious problems. Below are 10 reasons why you should be scooping up your dog’s poop.

1. Disease Control

There are many common diseases that can be transmitted to other dogs and even people through contaminated dog poop. Some of these diseases include giardia, E. coli, salmonella, and roundworms which can all be contracted by humans. In addition your dog can catch coronavirus or parvovirus by coming into contact with disease riddled poop. These contaminated poops have a chance of being carried into waterways which helps spread disease. So, be sure to grab a poop bag and scoop up your dog’s poop!

2. Contaminating Waterways

You may not think that dog poop can make it’s way to prominent waterways but it can especially with the help of rain. Stormwater can carry pet waste and other pollutants directly into waterways. On top of carrying diseases into waterways dog poop has a negative effect on the water itself. This is a problem for aquatic animals in particular as animal waste adds more nitrogen to the water. When there is excess nitrogen in the water it depletes the oxygen that is necessary for underwater grasses, wildlife, and fish to thrive.

3. Dirty Shoes

Stepping in dog poop always puts a damper on someone’s day. It makes people believe they have bad luck when it’s really the fault of the pet owner that left the poop in a public place. When it comes down to it, not picking up your dog’s poop in a public place is just rude. You wouldn’t want to step in dog poop yourself so why not just scoop your dog’s poop so nobody else has the chance of stepping in it.

4. Odor

Aside from increasing the likelihood of stepping in poop by neglecting to scoop poop in public places you’re leaving behind an awful stench. As time goes by, especially during the day in the heat, the odor of the poop left behind grows stronger. By leaving behind a foul odor it limits the ability for other people to enjoy public places. It also decreases the cleanliness of public places and can turn a lovely park into something foul. Keep your local parks and public places clean and odor-free by grabbing a poop bag and scoop up your dog’s poop.

5. Bugs and Parasites

When pet owners leave behind poop in public places it attracts flies and other parasites to the area. This aids in the spread of parasites to other pets and sometimes even humans. Parasites like roundworms and and hookworms are transmitted through poop and can live in soil for long periods of time. Due to this other animals are likely to have parasites transmitted to them through the soil they frequently walk on. Prevent the spread of parasites by grabbing a poop bag and disposing of your dog’s poop.

6. Preventing Stool Eating

While a dog eating another’s stool sounds disgusting it does happen from time to time. Obviously if you see it happening you should stop your dog from doing it but sometimes you’re not around or they eat the poop before you can stop them. This is an even more direct way for dogs to contract parasites and other diseases. It’s really unsafe for your dog to consume other animal’s stool. A good way to prevent this, aside from keeping a watchful eye, is to pick up after your dog because it will help protect your dog and others.

7. Increase in Rat Population

On top of attracting various bugs and parasites, dog poop also attracts rats. This is an especially big problem in urban areas where rats thrive. Rats and other rodents love to chow down on dog poop. So, if there happens to be a rat problem in your neighborhood it could be due to an excess of dog poop in the area. The problem won’t get better until pet owners start picking up after their pets. Getting rid of rats is simple as long as you take a poop bag on your walks and pick up after your pet.

8. Pet Travel

Traveling is a fun experience but it can be a hassle when you have a pet. It’s not easy to find someone to pet sit, especially for more lengthy travels, and it may even be hard for you to leave your pet behind. While some hotels allow you to bring your pet with you on your travels there currently aren’t enough. Even if you find a hotel that accepts pets they may have really expensive pet fees. All this can change by pet owners becoming more responsible and the biggest way to do this is to always pick up after your pet. Scooping your dog’s poop can help increase the amount of hotels that accept pets because hotel managers will start viewing pet owners as more responsible.

9. Common Courtesy

One of the biggest reasons you should be picking up after your pet is because it’s the right thing to do. Leaving your dog’s poop behind in a neighbor’s yard is extremely rude and when you pick up the poop your neighbors will really appreciate your good manners. This is true in public places too because you’re not leaving behind a disease, parasite, rodent attracting poop. Be a courteous person and make sure you keep a poop bag on you at all times when walking your dog.

10. It’s The Law!

Finally, one of the most important reasons you should be scooping your dog’s poop is because it’s the law. While there is no overall federal law a lot of suburban and urban areas have local laws for picking up poop. Some areas even have signs reminding pet owners to pick up their dog’s poop and provide a phone number to report infractions. A lot of parks and communities have pet waste stations now with disposable poop bags to encourage owners to pick up after their dog.

These are the many reasons you should be scooping your dog’s poop. It’s not only the courteous and neighborly thing to do but the way to keep our world more sanitary. You’ll be keeping dogs and human alike healthy by picking up after your pet.