No matter how much you love your puppy, dealing with their bathroom messes isn’t the most pleasant task in the world. Unfortunately it is a dirty job that has to be done because there are quite a few diseases that are spread through contact with dog feces.
Dog excrement contains lots of bacteria including salmonella and escherichia coli, as well as parasites such as roundworms and hookworms.
Fortunately, the job of dealing with puppy feces is becoming much easier. In many areas, there are now businesses that can be contracted to remove pet waste from your yard.
It would be nice if disposing of dog feces was as easy as sending it off to the landfill in your trash bin. Unfortunately, bagging poop in non-degradable bags only serves to create a hazardous breeding ground for bacteria and disease. Eventually, the bad stuff leaches into the ground water and can be hazardous to humans.
There are biodegradable bags available in pet stores that serve as an alternative means of collecting feces, but they may not help much in a landfill situation.
In areas that have community water and sewer, pet waste can be flushed down toilet where it will end up being treated before being released into our waterways.
There are dog feces digestion units that you can buy and bury in the yard. The poop is placed in an enzyme solution in the unit. The idea behind this is that the waste breaks down into an odorless and harmless residue that soaks into the soil.
Some experts recommend using worm farms to compost dog waste. The worms are kept in a box. Add grass clippings, kitchen scraps and dog waste to box where the worms will turn it into a fertilizer rich in nutrients.
However, if your dog has recently been administered worm medicine, do not put the waste into the worm box.
Dog urine can also have a devastating effect on your house so proper removal is important.
Dealing with a puddle of urine on the linoleum or tiled floor is a simple matter of wiping it up and disposing of the paper towels in the trash. Unfortunately, carpet is a much bigger ordeal, especially if there is padding underneath.
Have patience. You’ll need them to remove the urine from both the carpet and padding.
Start by placing a folded old towel that is bigger than the urine sport on top of the wet spot. Weight the towel with something heavy like a board, brick or flower pot filled with dirt. Leave the towel on the spot without lifting it for at least 10 minutes. Remove the towel and have another folded one waiting. Gently wet the spot with water, working from the outside of the spot inwards. Apply the second towel and weight it. Leave this one sit undisturbed for half an hour. Remove it.
The next step is to apply a mixture of equal parts water and white vinegar to the spot. Apply another folded towel and keep it there overnight. The smell should be gone when you remove the towel.
In the event of dried urine, mix a half-teaspoon of bleach with a quart of water and apply to the spot. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes and then begin the towel process described above. (Note: you might want to try the bleach solution on a hidden spot to make sure it does not discolor the carpet). This may take several applications before removing the dried urine completely.
If your dog has urinated at many different places throughout the house, you may have to resort to calling a professional cleaning service.
Related posts:
- Dealing with a Frightened or Shy Puppy
- Dealing with Separation Anxiety
- Dealing With (and Preventing) Puppy Destruction of Objects
- What To Do When The Weather Is Bad And Puppy Has to Potty
- How to Remove Urine Stains from Grass (and Prevent them!)
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Thanks for the good advice! One word about worm farms and dog poo. The worms won’t eat the poo if you also give them food scaps Poo and paper only will ensure that they’re hungry/desperate enough to eat the poo.