Pick up your dogs Poop….Or Not? What’s reasonable?!

Pick up your dog’s poop. Or should you just leave it there?

In this post, I’d like to discuss the pooper scooper, or the “biodegradable bag”.

1. Should you pick up dog poop?
2. Should you say screw it?
3. Is your garbage man responsible for disposing of your dog’s poop?

If you don’t have a position on this issue, my hopes are after we are finished you will! In fact I know most of you have a position. PICK UP THE POO!! I agree, in most cases.

Possible thoughts coming in:

1. You are a pet owner. Who else, besides you, should have to deal with your pets poop. You could be right.
2. You may think that it’s poop, leave it there! You too might be right. (some of the time)
3. You may not have a pet, but oh you’ve got an opinion!

Let’s respect all opinions…but one opinion might be more Reasonable than the others, so lets take a look!

Dog Poop Pickup Debate…Is there really a debate?

Ok no one likes to step in poop on their lawn when getting the newspaper. Does anyone still get the newspaper? (I sort of hope so.) Some pet owners might not like to pick up dog poop. But hey, you have a dog. PICK UP THEIR CRAP. On the flip side, WHO CARES, NO ONE OWNS THE OUTDOORS, that’s your puppies toilet!

I think I’ve covered everyone…which group do you reasonably fall into? No seriously, where do you stand! That’s why you are reading this blog right?

We ALWAYS try to T.R.E.A.D. lightly. That’s Reasonable…

My Position…

I do not think that dogs should be picked up after, in every event. Ok, let me clarify, before you bite my head off.

IF, there is a common area where people congregate and you have your dog at a playground, near a park pavilion, a dog park, you should pick up the poo. No questions asked!

IF, you are going on a walk down a trail and your dog drops a load, I say leave it. If it is not a massive inconvenience to people, and it’s pretty much out-of-the-way. Leave it. If there’s no way around it….Pick it up. That should be the measuring stick.

Deer, bear, fox, and many other animals leave their poop all over the world. People seem to usually NOT step in it, or hardly ever see it or care. Why is this? This is my opportunity to discuss my position on the picking up after DOGS, who seem to be the biggest targets.

The Argument for Picking up your Dogs Poop.

Jane Meggitt and eHow contributor discusses a few more points about dog poop.

She says Flush the poop. Grab some flushable poop bags and send it down the toilet with the human waste. No offense, but that’s totally unreasonable. I wonder if flushable poop bags are more or less expensive, or consume an incredible amount of resources to produce the bags? What happens when your dog poops EVERYDAY and you run out of your trusty flushable poop bags. You maybe grab a regular (non-biodegradeable) grocery bag, and make it your trash mans duty to handle the poo. That’s not environmentally friendly.

Is it reasonable to take your dog on a long walks, pick up his poop, then walk for 20 minutes back to your home to flush the poop? As you walk, you desperately avoid the contents of the bag every step of the way, as it swings and almost hits your leg. Let’s be honest, there are lots of people who will not do this.

She also says, use a poop digester. This is a device that uses enzymes to break down the poop faster than normal. More chemicals…..that just seems unreasonable. We hear about chemicals in our dogs food, on our vegetables, breaking down our dog’s poop. I think I want a world with less chemicals, or in this case, enzymes. How much does a poop digester cost anyway?

Lastly, she suggests composting your dog’s poop. C’mon that’s pretty unreasonable. I suggest you send a message to your neighbors and apologize for the smell in advance of making your compost pile…..complete with dog poop. I’m sure they will be forever grateful, to you and your dog.

The Argument against Picking up the POOP.

How about the traditional pooper scooper, where do you put it? Do you bring the poop in your home and flush it, risking dropping dog poop on the floor? I’m sure if you do that a few times, leaving the pooper scooper on the shelf at the store might become the choice for more dog owners.

There are lots of resources/websites that discuss the importance of picking up after your dog. I do understand all of those. BASICALLY, YOU COULD SAY, BY NOT PICKING UP YOUR DOG’S POOP, YOU ARE BEING LAZY!!!

AM I BEING LAZY? I’m not sure about that. I believe I’m being reasonable in my thoughts here. Tell me if I’m wrong, or if you have another perspective. I’m open to Reason!

For instance, lets say you pick up all poop in plastic bags, and drop it in the trash. Some plastic makes its way to the landfill filled with your dog’s poo. So, then we have a series of hot days….an increased level of methane, is released into the atmosphere due to your dogs increased fecal matter filling the landfill. Is that reasonable?

Jenkem : is purportedly, a hallucinogenic inhalant created from fermented human waste. in the mid-1990’s it was reported to be a popular street drug among Zambian street children. According to Wikipedia.

Hang on, if there are approximately 330,000,000 (million) people the United States, and 83,000,000 (million) own dogs according to the Humane Society, that means 39% of Americans SHOULD be picking up after their dogs. IF EVERYONE dropped their dogs crap into the trash and sent it to landfills, our sanitation workers would be inhaling a significant amount of animal waste fumes.

We may individually only put our trash out 1 or 2 times a week for collection. This isn’t really a lot, is it?! Our sanitation workers do this for a living every day of the week. That is a significant amount of risk these men and women are asked to take on. All in the name of having a cleaner, more healthy wooded area. That doesn’t seem Reasonable to me.

Should a community of 500 homes have 195 dogs, by this estimate, dogs typically eat about twice a day. Dog’s usually eliminate within 30 minutes of eating. That would be 2,730 small bags of dog poop that drop into the back of the trash truck, and head for the landfill PER WEEK. WOW. That’s a lotto POOP, and a lotta RISK to the workers.

Lot’s of flies and butterflies are coprophagiac – they eat poop! Nature already has determined a way for fecal matter to be naturally managed, and disposed of, without major human intervention. It seems to me that we are only doing this because we……well DON’T WANT THE POOP NEAR US, OUR KIDS, OR OUR HOMES.

That’s fair! You don’t like the idea of a dog pooping, and an owner not cleaning it up. This notion doesn’t seem to be based with the dog’s owners, sanitation workers, natures processes, or any reasonable thinking in mind.

As I’ve said before, I do think that dogs should be cleaned up after, that’s Reasonable,   but please do it within reason. If you’ve got a farm, don’t pick up after your dog….it’s not that bad. You don’t pickup after a horse, or a cow, so why a dog? Oh, because it’s where someone could walk…..well that is understandable. But, once you get your dog to poop on the outskirts of an elementary school, where the woods meet the school property. LEAVE THE POOP THERE! Sounds reasonable, since people HARDLY EVER WALK THERE.

These are all of the reasons why I DO NOT, in most cases, think it’s reasonable to pick up your dog’s poop. Too much of a hassle and NOT enough of an impact.

Let’s Finish Up

Ok, so now we have the professional prospective. Have you moved from your initial position on poop? Or have you put down permanent roots where you were before, and have a deeper conviction on where you stand…I’m very curious.

I think I’ve remained the same? I’m open to seeing a more Reasonable side I didn’t before.

What is appropriate, and who makes that decision? What’s Reasonable?

Every topic we discuss here will not have right and wrong answers. Especially this one. There may only be more Reasonable or less Reasonable answers. We together will always seek what’s most Reasonable.

Let me know where you stand, if you changed let me know in the comments below. I’d love to chat with you guys about this. Don’t forget to be Reasonable in your comments!

It’s Action Time!

Ok this is the section where I give you 3 ways to experiment with how you might try to become more Reasonable. This can be through passive action, assertive action, or aggressive action.

Passive Action – Small step that won’t usually affect anyone else. This step could be something no one ever knows you take, but taking this action could lead you to taking more assertive action in the future.

Assertive Action – People may find out about this action and what you’ve done to become more Reasonable. Change of a habit or even a mindset change. Could be temporary or more permanent.

Aggressive Action – This is an action that unmistakably identifies the Reasonable action you’ve taken to change your habits. The attempt to become directly more Reasonable in your mindset and how you approach  EVERY situation in your life.

Passive Action

If you have a pup, or go on frequent walks, make a note of a pile of dog poo you might have walked by recently. How many days, or weeks, went by before the poop disappeared naturally? How do you feel knowing that, it took 1 day, 3 days or a week for the poop to vanish?

Assertive Action

If you have a dog. Allow your pup to poop in an infrequently traveled area, away from most travelers. Come back daily to see how long it takes the poop to go away. Remember that some kids playing in the woods might step in it, so be mindful where you allow your dog to eliminate. Let us know what you think about your chosen poop spot.

If you don’t have a dog, ask someone who does. “Why they pick up after their dog?” I’m betting that they will say because it’s somehow right or socially acceptable. What did they say? How do you feel about their response?

Aggressive Action

Help everyone out by adding a biodegradable dog poop dispenser complete with trashcan, near where there are plenty of poop offenders in your neighborhood.

OR

Install a poop digester in your lawn near the curb, encouraging dog owners to allow their dog to pop on your lawn and insert the poop into your in-ground digester.

I’m sure the neighborhood will love you for it. Let us know how that goes. Remember we want REASONABLE solutions, there are no right answers.

Until the next post Team Reason…..help me see the light I think I’m off base here!