Who picks up the dog poop at your house?
photo: emilio labrador
I just wanted to write a post about the daily poop drama at our house. It’s not really drama, it’s just a consistent story that cracks me up.
My Boyfriend and Dog Poop
My boyfriend hates poop and whenever one of our dogs assume the position, he cringes. It’s like he’s shocked that they’re taking a poop in public. When we brought our litter mates home, I quickly realized that I would be the one who picked up the poop at our house. Just this morning, Johan was taking Blue out for a potty break and I reminded him to grab a poo bag (Blue poops every morning like clockwork). Johan promised to pick it up later – yeah yeah, I heard that before, so I went to pick up the poop.
Our My Poop Cleaning Schedule
So I clean up the dog yard 2-3 times a week. What I love about their food (Halo Pets) is that they don’t poop a lot so it’s not that big of a deal. My boyfriend thinks he picks up the yard at least once a month. He’ll do it every now and then (like 3 times a year) or he’ll help me when we’re short on time (which I appreciate), but I know he would prefer not to have to smell or see dog poop.
We have three dogs. Good luck with that one.
I remember an episode of It’s Me or the Dog where a family wouldn’t pick up their yard (two dogs, lots of poop) and I was disgusted. This is why I clean up regularly. The dogs were tracking poop into the house and the family had two young children. Yuck yuck yuck.
I cut my boyfriend a break, because I love him and because he takes on the bulk of the yard work in consideration of my hay fever. If he can manage 5 acres of yard, then I can pick up dog poop a few times a week.
So who picks up the poop at your house?
August 2, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Picking up the poop was always my job until I got pregnant and then Mike had to take care of it. Honestly, the smell didn’t bother me (being a dog groomer and dealing with much worse during the day) but we just figured that handling feces while pregnant wasn’t the most healthy thing. I seriously think that in the entire nine months he cleaned the yard twice. Thankfully we only have one dog who’s on high quality food so there isn’t that much. Now that I have the baby I can get back to my regular Doody Duty schedule so we can actually USE the back yard without being grossed out.
August 2, 2012 at 4:19 pm
I’m with you. I don’t mind it. I put on my iPod, grab a shovel and a bucket and get to work. Best of luck with your yard. Hurry! Summer’s almost over
Kimberly
Twitter: thefurmom
August 2, 2012 at 10:55 pm
LOL Reminds me of our daughter when Jasmine was little. She wanted to take her for a walk. I was giving her poo bag. She changed her mind about walking her. (Did I mention she wanted to be a vet? LOL)
It’s mostly me … with Jasmine’s IBD I got so used to playing with poo it doesn’t even fizzle on me. When I’m not around, though, hubby picks it up no problem.
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Jana Rade recently published..Veterinary Highlights: Epstein Barr-like Virus May Cause Cancer in Dogs
Twitter: DawgBlogger
August 3, 2012 at 10:33 am
We are mean neighbors. Our neighbors dogs poop in our yard all the time and my son picks it up with a shovel and tosses it back into their yard. I don’t have a great fence but have put up some obstacles and they apparently just go over them. How do you stop unwanted dogs from pooping in your yard. Don’t say tell the owners..as they are uncaring drunks.
I like dogs but dislike this behavior.
August 3, 2012 at 10:55 am
That would just drive me nuts.
I have no suggestions, but I appreciate the idea for an article. I’ll do some research.
Thanks for stopping by, Lisa
Twitter: thefurmom
August 3, 2012 at 1:11 pm
I have a wonderful husband. Whoever takes the dogs out (we have two)cleans up the poop. Nina has IBD, so I’m grateful for good, regular, high-quality poops — the more the better!! Jana, Nina has almost no IBD episodes. We give her a tsp. of Metamusil a day and probiotics. She (and Mattie) do really well the more veggies I give them, especially cooked broccoli.
August 4, 2012 at 11:40 am
You do have a wonderful husband. I think it’s funny that I’m so interested in our dogs poop. If they get sick, that’s going to be something the vet will ask about. That’s great about the IBD issues – what food do you feed your dog?
Kimberly
Twitter: thefurmom
August 3, 2012 at 1:49 pm
I’m the poop-picker-uper in our household. I usually do it once a week, but I will admit that since switching to raw they poop very little (which is awesome for 2 English Mastiffs). They poo also kind of just disenegrates in the yard after about 3 days too, so after a week I generally only have about a shovel full.
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Amanda Griffin recently published..Why should anyone spend a little more money to buy a puppy from a show dog breeder?
August 4, 2012 at 11:41 am
I love your site, Amanda – your dogs are gorgeous. I really want to learn more about the raw food diet. Everyone who is switched over says great things.
Kimberly
Twitter: thefurmom
August 3, 2012 at 4:09 pm
In our house the litter box is no better. My husband avoid it at all cost. You would think it was the end of the world! We have a new puppy living in the barn (not ours but our barn mates across the hall) and he was in shock when the pup had an accident. I guess he will learn with time but I have a feeling I will always be the poop picker upper and mess cleaner here!
Also finally liked you on Facebook & joined your RSS feed. I’m here enough! Lol! I felt bad I hadn’t checked in about a month or so with this summer being so crazy
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Susan Bewley recently published..What to Look for When Purchasing Natural Pet Food
August 3, 2012 at 4:59 pm
Welcome back, Susan!
Yes, the litter box gets lumped in too; it’s not my favorite chore, but I don’t mind
In fact, I need to pick up the yard and change the litter tonight. Fun times!
Kimberly
Twitter: thefurmom
August 6, 2012 at 10:15 am
Kimberly,
I feed Nina two foods: Prescription Diet’s ZD Ultra Allogenic (the only food she could tolerate after she was diagnosed with IBD) and Sensei Bites by Regal. Now she eats mostly the Regal with a sprinkling of the ZD Ultra on top. The Regal is made of turkey, rice, and oatmeal with vitamins added. I switched her to this when transferring Mattie to adult dog food. I like the Regal, because it has real food in it (the ZD has lots of vitamins and stuff but little real food), and Nina likes it. Half the time she wouldn’t eat the ZD. Also, the woman at the pet store said her dog had had IBD and ate the Regal her entire life. You have to get the ZD at the vets. If you can’t find the Regal (usually sold at specialty pet stores, you can order it directly from Regal. Since we moved, I get it from Webers warehouse in Chantilly, VA, 703-631-2738. Lynda
August 6, 2012 at 7:03 pm
Thanks for sharing, Lynda – I love learning about the diets people feed their dogs. You shared such great information!
Kimberly
Twitter: thefurmom
December 15, 2012 at 9:02 am
..and of course you always have to grab a good sturdy stick and pick through the poop once in a while!! Bet he’d LOVE that task…lol
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KD Mathews recently published..Why you should be playing with poop…….
Twitter: kdmathews1
December 15, 2012 at 11:21 am
I remember that episode of It’s Me or the Dog. So gross! We share backyard duty, but I always do the on-walk pickups. The trade is, I always make Rob carry the big bag from the backyard to the trash can. It’s probably our most equal division of household chores!
Twitter: KariNeumeyer