Saturday, January 9, 2010

Facts About the Dangers of Dog Poop

Dog poop is a problem we deal with on a daily basis. But is it dangerous? How much do you know? Is pet waste a health hazard?

Here are the dangerous facts:

1. Dog poop is NOT good fertilizer. It's toxic to your lawn! The high nutrient concentration in dog poop will burn and discolor the grass, creating "hot spots".

2. Nearly two decades ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified pet waste as a dangerous pollutant in the same category as toxic chemicals and oil.

3. You may not live near water, but unscooped poop from your yard is carried by overland water flow or is washed into storm drains, ending up in far away streams, rivers and ground water.

4. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirms pet waste can spread parasites including hookworms, ringworms, tapeworms and Salmonella. When infected dog poop comes into contact with your lawn, the poop will eventually "disappear", but the parasite eggs can linger for years! When a human or animal comes into contact with that soil through everyday activities like walking barefoot, gardening or playing, they risk infection from those eggs ... even years after the poop is gone.

5. Pet waste is teaming with E. Coli and other harmful bacteria including fecal coliform bacteria, which causes serious kidney disorders, intestinal illness, cramps and diarrhea in humans. (There are 23 million fecal coliform bacteria in a single gram of pet waste!)

6. Dog poop often contains roundworm larvae, which cause blindness. If a human ingests a roundworm larva, it can migrate through the body causing disease to the brain, lungs, kidneys, liver, heart or eyes. So when people (especially children) touch soil, dog toys or anything that has been in contact with dog feces and then touch their mouths, they can become infected.

Dog poop doesn't just "wash away" or disappear. So if you're not disposing of your dog's waste, you're putting yourself, your family, your dog and your water supply at risk.

19 comments:

  1. Thanks for the great information. We have a serious dog poo problem in our neighborhood, and I'm going to use this information to make some flyers. Thanks!

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    1. I want to do the same! We live on the beach by beautiful Hawaii and everybody lets their dogs poop by the ocean! It is so nasty!

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  2. Hi Beverly,

    Thanks for visiting and posting your comment. Glad it was helpful information.

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  3. We're starting an unusual approach to the problem of dog poop on our trails and paths. I'm using your dog poop facts on my blog - hope that's ok

    anypileonyourpath.blogspot.com/

    Caitlin

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  4. Hi Caitlin and Nancy,

    Yes, please spread the word!

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  5. Where did these numbers come from? You don't provide any references! Not good! Number 2 - EPA statement that dog feces are as toxic as toxic chemicals - where did that come from? Who made the finding and on what basis? And about worms - dog poop only contains worm larvae if the dog is infected. Dogs don't just "have" worm larvae - most dogs are completely parasite free. You are spreading hysterical nonsense and making things very hard for dog owners, who already have a lot of crazies to contend with.

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    1. Well,heaven forbid that one of the big issues with dog poop is the stench to neighbors, stepping on it when hiking, having to pick up after someone else's dog. Common courtesy Kate, regardless of worms etc. It's bad enough picking up after our own dogs, let alone someone else's.

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    2. Actually, Dogs don't necessarily need to GET infected to spread worms. They can ingest eggs (eating garbage contaminated by wildlife or a variety of other ways) and pass those eggs through their stool. The worms may not infect dogs, but they will infect humans. Pin worms are a prime example. These are worms children often get that live in the bowel. Children with dogs who don't routinely wash their hands can ingest contaminated dog feces, contract the disease, all while the dog remains unfazed. Oh, and my source? My pediatrician.

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  6. Hi Kate,

    Thanks for posting your concerns.

    The information which I shared came from a veterinarian and research that I did on the internet. Yes, there are other view points and I appreciate your input for our readers.

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  7. Hi Kate,

    I am a veterinarian technician for about 5 years now and have some insight about worms in dogs. ALL puppies are born with worms and if it goes untreated the problem will persist and get worst. Puppies are treated with a medication called panacur which is a dewormer at a very young age.

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  8. Hi,

    Appreciate your information and posting for our readers. Thanks

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  9. It's not that hard to find the source of information and it really does make people more inclined to believe you if you provide a reference rather than repeating someone else's interpretation. The EPA source is http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/dosdont.cfm

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  10. Thanks this gives me abase from which to build in order to get fenced areas in our community for off leash runs. A place where children cannot run.

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  11. Hi James,

    Thanks for the information!

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  12. hi,,im just adding to the post i agree with you in a big way JOANNE,,dog poop is not good if left and not picked up and even washed away with bleach ora antibacteria how can anyone say that dog poo is ok to be left in the invoirement,,digrace

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  13. Hi Joanne, Great post & plenty of info. I have taken the liberty of adding your information to my Oscar the Bullmastiff blog where I did a post today in relation to owners allowing their dogs to poo in our local and very beautiful park. Really annoying not to mention dangerous!

    Our dog is only 6 months old but is fully trained to do his business in our dog yard prior to his walks. It wasn't difficult, in fact it was very easy, to train him and it is such a joy to walk him without the constant stopping for pee pee or worse, wanting to poo and have us clean up after him.

    Here's a link to my post and hope you don't mind my using your information. http://oscarthebullmastiff.blogspot.ie/2013/11/no-public-poo-please.html

    Catherine

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