Dealing with Dog Poop

Make no mistake, pet waste is an issue in the out-of-doors. Particularly when it's not dealt with properly. As more and more people and their pets enjoy the outdoors, the problem just keeps growing. For example, City of Boulder (CO) Open Space and Mountain Parks estimates that 40 TONS (80,000 lbs) of pet wastes are left on open space lands (40,000+ acres) each year. This represents a 10 ton increase in just the past 5 years. While most dog owners simply use either a poop bag or a plastic grocery bag to pick up their pets waste, some enterprising people overseas have come up with a solution:

Whatever method you use for dealing with your pet waste, please do the right thing.

Fun in the snow!

This picture makes me laugh...meet Charlie. He LOVES the snow, short legs and all. I've taken him snowshoeing a couple of times, bootless, and he always comes home happy and tired. I recently purchased these dog boots (out of sincerely good intentions) and the first time I took him to the mountains with them it was quite an adventure.

Needless to say, he was not happy with them, as you can tell by his expression. In fact, he sat down in the middle of the trail and refused to move. We had a lovely 1/2 mile walk in the snow that took us two hours.

I'm not convinced either way about these pet boots but I did a miniature case study while I was one the trail and asked the opinion and experience of every person that came by with dogs. The best response I received was from a gentleman who walked by with two dogs (bootless) but said that he always brought a pair along in his pack, just in case. What do you think?

This does breach the subject of Planning Ahead and Preparing. Winter conditions can change pretty quickly and can be extreme, so it's important to make sure that you are prepared for the conditions, as well as everybody with you, be it friends, your children, or your family pet.

Anyway, here's to a holiday season filled with snow. Be safe, stay warm, and enjoy!

The Scoop on Dog Poop

As I was dog walking with my brother-in-law in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park recently, I had the conversation with him about a couple a couple of dog poop misconceptions. He said two things common to this discussion: 1. Dog poop is biodegradable; 2. No one is cleaning up after bears and deer.

My answer to #1: Dog poop ain’t pretty and it is also a breeder of disease and germs. Particularly in cities, it plays a role in water bacterial pollution of relevant streams and lakes. Dog poop creates high levels of nitrogen in the soil, killing off native plants that often yield to tougher invasive weeds.

My answer to #2: True, though animals in the wild are not eating the processed food that dogs are. They are eating native plants and animals, unless you leave your Burger King on a bench.

How could I make a stronger argument? What did I miss?

Susy Alkaitis