Calling all homeowners..

[Amy & Albee]

Well, in exactly two weeks, our little family of three will be moving into our first home! We keep telling Albee what this means for him, and clearly he has no idea that apartment life is about to end.

I've done a little bit of research, but there are only so many poop discussions one can read until needing to ask the question to all of you poop-picker-upper-pros..

I'm the type that likes a plan, and I often over think things.. But I am wanting to know how you all handle the yard cleanup of dog poo?

Here's my potential dilemma- I would prefer to keep a clean yard. I like to walk around barefoot and would really like to avoid the small brown mines in the backyard. But I imagine that if you're picking up poop daily, your garage/trash cans would begin to stink, right?

I also am environmental conscience and would like a practical, low budget way to handle this chore.

So share your routines with me! I would like to have something put in place from the start!

Thanks!

[BG and Gavin]

Gavin goes in the same spot every time.  I do not think I really trained this, this is just his habit and always has been.  It was a pain for the first couple of years, because he would only go in that one spot (so would hold it if we were not at home). 

[Marty, Kenobi, & Vader]

It's not too late.  I know people who have done it with older dogs, and I've re-trained my dog when we moved.  At first, I take him to the same spot every time, and praise him for going there and leave the poop there.  (If I remember correctly, dogs have an instinct to go where they have gone before.)  Then eventually, you give him a little more freedom, but watch him, and correct him if he goes in the wrong place.  If he goes in the wrong place, pick it up immediately.  Eventually, he will reliably go in the same place every time.  It took time, and there were occasional back slides, but it is definitely worth it.

[Amy & Albee]

Thanks for this- little Albs seems pretty smart, I have no doubt we can get this down!

These are things I just didn't even think about!

[Adina P]

I use the Doggie Doo Drain and love it:  http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum2/topics/the-doggie-doo-drain -- however whether or not you can use it depends on if your sewer cleanout line is available in a handy place in your backyard. 

[Adina P]

I'm also really bad about picking up poo.  So it usually takes a lot of shovel fulls each time. 

[Amy & Albee]

Wow, this video is great! Seems simple enough. As you mentioned, we'll have to look into this since we live in the frigid midwest. Was it easy to setup?

[Adina P]

My husband set it up, but I believe it is easy.  When things are frozen over, if you don't have access to water outside, then it's kind of a moot point.  But if you pick up daily, then you can just take a bucket of water out with you when you go for pooper scooping?

[BG and Gavin]

We have a bucket lined with a plastic bag in the far corner of the yard with a lid over it.  We scoop each day with a shovel and at the end of the week take the bag of poo and put it out with the garbage.  At the cottage we pick up with a shovel and toss it in the bush across the road.

[Amy & Albee]

I like this bush idea ;)

[Linda and Bailey]

I take Bailey to the side of my garage and try to pick up right after, and if I don't do it then I do it first thing in the morning. I put it in double grocery bags and next to the garbage until pick up day. When we get snow I make sure I do it immediately because if the new snow covers it you can go months before the snow melts and you end up with a giant mess.

[Amy & Albee]

Yeah, I could see the snow doing that. Darn snow.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

They have biodegradable poop bags and I just saw some at the place where I buy the dog's their food and those bags were flushable. I don't know anything about them, but thought is was interesting. I would like to say I pick up poop every day, but I don't, but when I do, I have a metal garbage can specifically for their poop. I line it with a garbage bag.