Most Calgary homeowners celebrate the melting of the snowpack in the yard, but a certain subset of them inwardly groan. These are the people with dogs who spent all winter going to the bathroom outside, and the melting snow means only one thing: dog poop clean up season. Unless you get out there in a good time while all the poop is still frozen, this cleanup project can become smelly and messy very quickly. This is why you need to find some easy ways to take care of your pet waste in a timely fashion.
The Dangers Of Pet Waste
Left untreated, pet waste can become a major problem in your yard for a variety of reasons. Firstly, dog poop is highly poisonous to the majority of plants, shrubs and trees in your yard, including your lawn. It’s an organic product which means that it is biodegradable. In turn, this means that if you leave it out as the weather warms up, the waste will break down and leach into your soil, bringing the harmful toxins into everything it touches. Rain and wind can compound this issue, so it pays to get your dog waste up quickly.
Secondly, there are a whole number of creatures who feed on feces (gross but true!) and these critters are not generally the ones you want hanging around your yard. In a big city like Calgary, dog waste is likely to attract rats and mice, and while they’ll do a nice job of cleaning up after your dog, you’ll spend more time getting rid of them and the mess and diseases that they bring to your yard. Smaller rodents can also attract larger predators who are less scared of humans. Other dogs will also see your garden as a dumping ground (quite literally!) if they smell old feces, so pick up your poop in a timely fashion to avoid turning your yard into the neighbor dog hangout.
Finally, dog poop has an awful way of getting everywhere, especially when it’s had some time to warm up in the spring sunshine. If you have young children, or a busy backyard in summer, dog waste can be a hidden menace for you and your family. It can easily get tracked throughout your house, and it’s almost impossible to get the stains out of kids clothes. On top of this, the smell of old, stale dog waste can spoil your summer plans and make your yard uninviting to your friends and family.
Easy Ways To Clean Up After Your Dog
It’s obvious that it’s important to keep dog poop off your property, and fortunately it’s relatively simple to clean up after your dog. Here are 3 simple ways to clear your yard of pet waste:
- Get a pooper scooper – for most people, the easiest way to deal with dog poop is to follow their dog around with a plastic baggie and dispose of the waste as soon as they’ve done their business. However, this can feel gross (especially when you accidentally get some on yourself!), so a pooper scooper is a great idea. You can go for a simple design that looks like an outside dustpan and brush, or a more fancy claw model which means you don’t have to bend down to pick up after your dog.
- Create a boundaried bathroom – if you’re one of the many Calgary dog owners who let their pet roam free around the yard when it’s time for them to go to the bathroom, you’re automatically making more work for yourself when it comes to picking up after them. Save yourself time and effort by creating a designated space of your yard that your dog can go poop on, and train them to use it with treats and praise. This way, you’re only looking in one place for any uncollected waste.
- Regular pickups – most dogs don’t generate a huge amount of poop, so if you’ve only got one dog or several small dogs, you can leave their messes for a day or two to save yourself time. It’s important to get out there frequently however to avoid any leaching into the soil, and you’ll find you need to up the collection speed when the weather gets warm or after one of Calgary’s spring showers.
Let The Professionals Deal With The Mess
It’s no secret that cleaning up after your dog is a time intensive, smelly and boring chore, but one that is absolutely essential for a variety of reasons. Fortunately, help is available in the form of Scoop Cut N Shovel’s dog waste removal services. There’s nothing quite like the peace of mind that comes with being able to go to work, knowing that someone else is going to entirely clear your yard of dog poop and dispose of it for you, either in your green bin or taken with us.
We offer a variety of one time and subscription packages to meet your budget, and you’re able to set the price depending on how many dogs you have and how frequently you want the best poop cleanup Calgary has to offer to visit your house. You can save money by signing up for an automatically renewed subscription service, meaning that you don’t even need to worry about schedules or payments, and we’ll happily take care of the rest. We can also handle a one time clean up if you’ve just moved in to a neglected property, or if you’ve just allowed this chore to get away from you for a period of time.
If you’re looking to save even more money, then you should consider bundling our dog waste removal work with the rest of our property maintenance services. These include spring and fall garden clean ups, lawn mowing and maintenance all summer long, and snow and ice removal from your driveway and sidewalks even in the middle of the biggest snow storm. Individually, these services can add up, but if you book the entire year-long property maintenance package, you’ll be amazed at how much money and time you can save.