What Dog Poop Actually Does to Your Yard

It is not fertilizer

Cow manure comes from an animal eating grass. Dogs eat a high-protein diet, and their waste does not break down into a balanced lawn feed. As Whole Dog Journal reports, its high nitrogen can scorch grass and leave dead spots.

It can carry germs

The CDC is direct: "Dog poop can carry germs that make people and animals sick." It recommends picking up after your dog in your own yard, especially where children play, and washing your hands afterward, even if you used a bag. An archived EPA fact sheet puts the average at 23 million fecal coliform bacteria per gram of pet waste.

Burying and composting are not simple fixes

Backyard compost piles rarely get hot enough to reliably kill the parasites and eggs that dog waste can contain, according to Whole Dog Journal. Do not put it anywhere near your vegetable beds.

Rain moves it

East Cobb is hilly, with a lot of clay soil, and rain travels quickly over it. Rain falling on much of this area drains toward creeks such as Sope Creek and on to the Chattahoochee. The National Park Service says dog waste left along trails is bad for the environment, that the biggest impact is on the water quality of the river, and that the river provides over 70% of the metro Atlanta water supply. Waste in a fenced backyard is not the same as waste on a riverbank, but it is the same water system.

What actually helps

• Pick up often. Weekly at a minimum if you have a dog using the yard every day.
• Bag it and send it out with the trash. Do not hose it down a storm drain.
• Pay attention to it. Blood, worms or several loose stools in a row are worth a call to your vet.
• Wash your hands every time, and keep kids out of the yard until it has been picked up.

We are a dog poop removal company, so of course we think this matters. That is why the sources are linked, and you can read them yourself. Doing it yourself works just as well, as long as it gets done. If it does not, we are around.