All dogs poop. That’s just a fact of life. Some poop more than others, but we all have to deal with it as fur parents. But how we deal with it is perhaps where more differences come between us. So, what’s the best way of dealing with this very universal problem?
If you’re interested in learning more techniques for disposing of dog poop or if you just want to confirm that you are, in fact, doing it in the best way possible, keep on reading!
We give you the scoop (see what we did there?) on every method we could find and rank them, starting with the best and ending with the “just okay” ones that you should probably avoid. And while you’re thinking about the best ways to clean up after your dog, check out our in-depth pet vacuum cleaner reviews to keep your home clean, too!
Flush it down the toilet!
I’m not going to lie, this one is my personal favorite for disposing of dog poop. But that’s not the only reason why this ranks #1 on the list – it’s also because there are so many great benefits to flushing.
The first is pretty obvious: it’s really eco-friendly to flush dog poop down the toilet. Because you won’t need to use a bag (which we will address later in this list), you aren’t creating any additional waste. Not having to use a bag also means that you save a little bit of the money you would have spent replenishing your stock of doggie bags every couple of weeks.
So how do you flush dog poop? Luckily, the Environmental Protection Agency deems flushing dog poop down the toilet perfectly safe (unlike cat poop, which could contain a toxic parasite that can kill plants). That means that flushing dog poop is as simple as simply picking up the dog poop with a scooper or a similar tool that can be washed and disinfected, and then dumping it into the toilet and flushing it. Neat and safe for the environment!
Here’s a nice dog poop scooper you can grab on Amazon for cheap (click picture to buy):
Throw it into the trash bin (without a baggie)
An easier and simpler way to dispose of dog poop without needing to flush it down your toilet is to simply scoop up your dog’s waste and throw it into the bin. If you feel a bit icky about handling your dog’s poop and putting it into your own toilet, then this alternative should work wonderfully for you.
Simply pick up your dog’s poop with a scooper when it does its business outside and put it in a trash bin. To make things easier and more sanitary for you, use a (biodegradable) liner for the trash bin or even have a separate designated trash bin for just your dog’s poop.
However, experts do have one caveat that you’ll need to pay attention to if you choose to do this technique: because you will be leaving the dog poop out, you should dispose of the contents of the trash bin every few days.
Bacteria can start to gather in dog poop and if rain happens to wash some of that away into local water streams, it could be dangerous for people’s health. So, if you choose to do it this way, make sure you have the time to empty the contents of the trash bin regularly and throw it away completely.
Throw it into the trash bin (but this time, in a baggie)
Though we probably all know about the harmful effects of overusing plastic bags to throw our dog’s poop away, there are times where we have no choice but to use them.
For example, if you take your dog out for some fresh air, it is extremely important that you don’t let your dog freely poop wherever it wants. Instead, keep a couple of baggies on you so that you can scoop up and clean away your dog’s poop. We all do that to keep our parks and sidewalks clean, and bags are an important part of that.
So you might be wondering, “why can’t I also use plastic baggies when disposing of dog poop inside, too?” Well, the answer is that the plastic used to make those baggies are really bad for the environment and people have been trying to find a solution to them for ages.
One of those solutions is using biodegradable bags which, while not perfect, is still far better than purely plastic doggie bags. But the simple fact is that dog poop is organic material. And when you put all your dog’s poop in small individual bag (biodegradable or not), you’re still adding to the time it would take dog poop to normally decompose. So, while it can be a great solution for people who live in small apartments with their dogs, it loses points for how inefficient it still is.
Bury dog poop in a backyard
If you’re lucky enough to have been blessed with a big backyard, congratulations are first in order. But secondly, you’ve probably considered or even are actively already burying your dog poop. Burying dog poop probably seems like a common-sense solution. After all, it’s basically what dogs do in the wild anyway, right? And by burying the dog poop, you don’t have to go through the hassle of scooping it every single time to flush, throw away, or put in a baggie.
While all those things are true, experts do warn people about using this method because of the potential harm it poses to watersheds that we may not know we are close to. Harmful bacteria in your dog’s poop could be washed away in the rain into a watershed. That could end up being harmful to people.
It’s different from flushing poop down the toilet because sewage water is treated first before it is released, thus giving a layer of protection to the water.
If you’re near a watershed, this probably isn’t a good disposal method for you. But if you’ve checked with your local government that it is safe to bury poop in your backyard, then it is indeed a really affordable and convenient option.