Why You Shouldn't Let Your Dog's Poop Decompose

I’ve been there and I get it.

Whether it’s below zero or over 100 degrees F, the dog still needs to go potty outside. In these temperatures, we want to spend the least amount of time outside as possible.

And that means the dog’s poop is left for us to pick up another day … which never happens.

So it sits there, laughing at you, stinking up the yard as it slowly rots into the ground.

Or maybe you’re just tired of picking up after your dog in general. You think to yourself, wild animals poop outside all of the time and no one picks up after them. Why should I have to pick up after my dog?

Like I said, I’ve been there.

But it turns out that leaving your dog’s poop to decay into your grass is actually a really bad idea, and in this article I’ll explain exactly why. Plus, I’ll give you an idea on how to make cleaning up your dog’s poop even easier so that you don’t have to deal with any of these negative effects. (hint hint: it involves hiring Dogs Duty ;)

So what’s the scoop?

There are basically two main reasons why leaving dog poop in the yard is not a good idea: environmental concerns, and health concerns. We’ll tackle them one at a time.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL SIDE

We’re going to get just a little bit technical here, so hang with me.

Dog poop has a notably high concentration of nitrogen, which is where a major environmental issue arises¹. When you have nitrogen building up over time on your lawn, it can have a whole host of negative effects, including:

• Altering soil salinity

• Affecting soil pH

• Harming plants’ fruit yields

• Increasing plants’ susceptibility to disease².

None of these are going to encourage lush green grass to thrive in your yard.

Unfortunately, leaving dog poop in your yard doesn’t just affect your own property. All of this extra nitrogen in the ground leaches into waterways and gives the algae an extra food source to feed on³.

This might sound good - you’re helping naturally occurring organisms to grow.

But what you actually did was encourage too much algae growth which blocked the sun from getting down into the waterway and helped to suffocate the fish and other aquatic plants trying to survive. Algae blooms = not good.

So you can see, leaving dog poop to rot in your yard hurts not only the environment of your property, but also has greater and seriously harmful effects on the wildlife around you.

THE HEALTH SIDE

On the health side, dog poop can have some pretty nasty pathogens that you don’t want to mess with. These include some you probably recognize - Salmonella & E. coli - and some you may not - Campylobacter - plus hookworms and roundworms⁴. Your dog might actively be shedding these pathogens in their feces without even showing symptoms⁴.

But so what? These pathogens just live on the turds, right? As long as I avoid the poop, I’m good?

WRONG!

Those bacteria and parasites that your dog poops out can and do spread to the surrounding areas. And when they’re in the ground, any child playing outside is susceptible to picking them up.

It’s not just children that are at risk - in his PhD thesis, Jaber⁵ pointed out that slugs are capable of picking up these pathogens from your dog’s poop and transferring them to your garden vegetables. So now anyone working in the garden or picking vegetables can be exposed to infectious bacteria or parasites.

But there’s more - remember how we talked about nitrogen leaching from your dog’s poop into local waterways? Those dirty bacteria and parasites can do the same thing, causing illnesses in swimmers and fishermen³.

But wild animals poop outside and no one picks it up!

I can’t argue with you there. But I’m sure you try to help your children avoid picking up or playing with wild animal poop. After all, who knows what other sorts of infectious bacteria and diseases reside there?

On the same token, wouldn’t you also be concerned to send your child outside to play in your dog’s bathroom, a bathroom where the toilet is never flushed?

We can’t avoid nature and wild animals - they’re going to do what they’re going to do. But wouldn’t you rather feel like you can cut loose, play, and relax in your own yard without worrying about picking up some infection or disease?

Dogs Duty is here to help!

If you want to enjoy time spent in your own backyard without being afraid of worms and bacteria from the dog, and if you don’t want the emotional burden of being a strain on the environment, Dogs Duty can help.

With a subscription to our poop scooping services, your yard will feel clean and pristine. You won’t have to waste time and energy cleaning up after your dog, and yet you’ll still have all of the benefits of a poop-free yard. No worries about bacteria, no stressing about the environment. We’ve got you covered!

Sign up today!

References:

1. Wuthisuthimethavee, S., Prempramote, J., Boonhoh, W., Promwee, A., Hayakijkosol, O., & Wongtawan, T. (2024). Do not throw pet faeces away: Composted manures obtained from dog and cat faeces contain high nutrients and effectively cultivate plants. Recycling, 9(6), 123. https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling9060123

2. University of California Agriculture & Natural Resources. (2021). Nitrogen excess. https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/PLANTS/DISORDERS/nitrogenexcess.html

3. RI Stormwater Solutions. (n.d.). Do you scoop the poop? https://cfpub.epa.gov/npstbx/files/Pet%20Care%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

4. Bryson, E., Anastasi, A, Bricknell, L., & Kift, R. (2024). Househohld dog fecal composting: Current issues and future directions. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, 20(6), 1876-1891. https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.4970

5. Jaber, S. (2012). Canine faeces: The microbiology of an environmental health problem [PhD thesis, University of Sheffield]. White Rose eTheses Online. https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/4092/