Dogs are the best in just about every way. They’re always happy, they give the best snuggles, and they make every day just a little bit brighter. For all the love that they give to us, it’s only fair that we take ownership of their safety and ensure that they’re cared for. However, there is one duty that is often avoided or overlooked, picking your dog’s poop. By neglecting this job, you can cause havoc on the environment around you. Not to mention, the impact on your dog’s health and vulnerability to disease.

Should I Pick Up My Dog Poop?

When owners don’t pick up after their dogs, neighborhoods face several adverse consequences. The most direct and obvious of those consequences’ manifests in the environment. These are the reasons why you should pick up after your dog.

• The area that the dog poop sits makes the grass dead and decayed. This is because dog poop is acidic due to the high protein content in dogs’ diets.
• Dog poop can also be swept into waterways like our sewage and plumbing systems. This runoff is a problem because it can carry disease and spawn underground algae.
• The Environmental Protection Agency labels dog excrement as both a nutrient and a pathogen. When waste does pollute in these ways, the results are serious problems.

What Happens to My Dog If I Don’t Pick Up Dog Poop?

The next, and arguably more impactful reason people need to deal with their dog’s poop, is because it can lead to disease. When a dog sniffs, licks, or eats the feces of another animal, there is a chance that parasites, harmful bacteria, or viruses are involved. Some problematic issues include:

• Parasites like roundworms and coccidia, viruses such as parvovirus are infections that spread entirely through the digestive system.
• The pooch will suffer from a variety of symptoms including diarrhea, vomiting, and fever as it becomes a host.
• Even when your pet seems to be feeling fine, they can still be carriers for disease – so if their waste is not handled properly, it could affect other dogs.
• Other contaminants like hookworms, giardia, salmonella, E. coli, and campylobacter serve as great examples of disease-causing organisms.
• Humans can become infected by some of the same bacteria, viruses, and parasites that affect dogs.

According to research by iHeartDogs, most natural ecosystems are built to sustain about 2 dogs worth of waste per square mile. In urban areas, not to mention cities, the number of dogs per square mile can be upwards of even 125. Imagine if even 10% of those dogs had waste that wasn’t removed from the environment… you’d be seeing a lot of that on a daily walk. Don’t contribute to the destruction of the ecosystem.

How Often Should I Pick Up Dog Poop?

Being a dog owner can be difficult and time consuming. If you have one dog, you should pick up your dog’s waste at least once a week. If you have more than one dog it can be challenging to pick up all that waste in a timely manner. Don’t worry, if you’re struggling with finding time to pick up the dog waste you can hire a professional like Pet Butler.

Pet Butler has been taking care of yards, so you don’t have to. With many great services, Pet Butler understands the importance of picking up dog waste for the safety of you, your pet, and the environment. At Pet Butler, we know that life gets busy. So, call 1-800-PET-BUTLER to learn how we can make your life cleaner, healthier, and easier.