A dog is man’s (and woman’s!) best friend, as the old saying goes, and plenty of Calgary residents have canine buddies at home. Dogs represent many things to city dwellers, from an automatic intruder alarm and security system, a companion for the long Alberta winters and even just a reason to get out and get some exercise once the snow has melted. However, taking care of a dog also comes with plenty of responsibilities, from getting their annual vaccinations to feeding them the right food to avoid unnecessary weight gain. Then there’s also the problem of teaching them where to go to the bathroom, and how to deal with that pet waste. .
The Yard Damage Pet Waste Causes
For many Calgary dog owners, organizing some sort of in-home dog litter tray just isn’t feasible. For some, this is due to the size of the dog (and therefore their droppings), while for many it’s that they don’t have the same burying instincts as cats and small rodents. This means that teaching them to go outside is the only sanitary option. However just leaving dog waste outside on your yard hoping it will decompose is incredibly damaging to your yard for these reasons:
- High acidic content – nearly all modern dog food, whether in wet or dry form, has a high protein content from either beef, chicken or fish. While this is excellent for your dog’s overall health, it makes their poop extremely acidic, and this high acid content is poisonous to just about every species of grass that Calgary homeowners use for their lawn. Left out for too long, the dog poop will start to decompose, releasing these high levels of acid into your soil and destroying the grass at the roots. This will leave you with a patchy lawn that will require a major overhaul to fix.
- Bad bacteria – the way that your dog’s digestive system works means that in just one gram of dog waste there are over 20 million fecal coliform bacteria which, when left untreated, will seep into the city’s water system. These bad bacteria are extremely hazardous for human consumption. If you have small children, dog poop can also cause a problem as they will want to pick it up with their hands, bringing the bacteria straight into your home (and possibly their mouths!).
- Pest attraction – finally, while humans refer to dog poop as pet waste, rodents (as well as coyotes and raccoons) call it dinner. It’s easy to think that this is the circle of life, in that these pests are doing your clean up work for you, but once they’ve figured out that your yard is a food source (no matter how unhygienic it seems to us!) they will continue to come back, often bringing their friends and family with them. You then have to deal with the associated damage and disease from a rodent infestation as well as finding a new way to deal with your dog’s waste.
Pet Waste Removal Options
It’s clear to see, therefore, that leaving dog waste out on your yard is a bad idea all round. When it comes to poop cleanup Calgary pet owners have a few options:
- Do it yourself – the obvious pet waste removal Calgary dog owners can choose is to get out and do it yourself. Whether it’s following your dog around when you know they need to go to the bathroom outside, or investing in a pooper scooper system and doing a weekly clean up, you can save money (but not time, or effort) to do it yourself.
- Train your dog – if you have a super obedient dog, or one that can be easily trained, you can create an outdoor area where they specifically go to poop. You can either lay down plastic sheeting for quick poop removal, or simply add “emptying out the dog bathroom area” to your list of weekend chores.
- Pay for help – if you have children, or young neighbours in need of extra cash, you could always turn it into a paid chore. However, you run the risk of rebellion during the summer when they’ll want to go play, and also that they might not do the job right.
Getting Professional Help With Scoop
It is possible to look after your own dog poop problem with these solutions, but when Scoop provides excellent professional dog waste removal services, you’ll wonder why you wasted your time and effort when someone else can do the dirty work for you. Choosing Scoop Cut N Shovel for your dog waste solution gives you the following benefits:
- Regular scooping – our local team of property management experts will come to your yard once a week (though we recommend twice a week if you have four or more dogs!) and completely deal with your dog poop problem. We’ll even take the poop with us if you don’t want the waste in your green bin for days on end!.
- Multi-dog benefits – we have multiple subscription packages to meet your needs. Whether its a one time scooping project at the end of winter to clear the ground for spring growing, or a year’s subscription for your at home doggy daycare project, you’ll be able to find a Scoop pet waste removal package that meets your needs.
- Multi-package discounts – we’re more than just dog poop experts! If you sign up for our Year Round Property Maintenance package (this includes mowing, trimming, hedges and garden cleanups) you can score 50% off any of our dog waste subscription packages. Add in our discounts for veterans and you could be saving big with Scoop all year long.
A typical place to start is to call out our team for an initial scooping project. This is a one time fee and you can talk to our team about their process and what you need. They’ll be able to advise on the best dog waste removal package for your needs, and soon your yard will be poop free and you’ll be stress free!