With the spring snowmelt, dog waste that has been covered in snow washes into the watershed, contaminating the water with bacteria, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Photo by Laura Pratt.
If you’re walking in the city or deep in the woods, what’s the harm in kicking a little snow over the stool and letting nature take its course? However, during the winter, when the ground is covered in snow, dog owners may find it tempting to let sleeping dogs lie – and not clean up after them when they poop.
It turns out that dog poop is not as innocent as the dogs that it comes from. They contain a lot of bacteria; according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), just 100 dogs could contribute enough feces over the course of two or three days to temporarily close a water body. This isn’t just referring to dog waste on the beach; it also includes debris from streets, sidewalks, lawns, and other land surfaces that wash into storm drains. Not to mention that dog poop is a terrible fertilizer. While you may not notice these effects in the winter, the turds don’t disappear in the snow; in fact, it has the opposite effect and burns the grass and takes over a year to break down. When the ground thaws in the spring, dog waste from the winter months becomes a significant pollutant.
However, their two primary pollutants, nutrients and pathogens, are what cause the most damage when the turds are left lying around. Beach closures, toxic cyanobacteria blooms, and an abundance of algae and weeds can all be caused by nutrients that enter local water bodies. Pathogens include disease-carrying bacteria and parasites. Those discovered in dog feces include giardia, tapeworms, roundworms, and E coli, which can all be harmful to human health and remain in the soil for years.
Dog poop is different from animal scat, which has been found to spread native seeds and fertilize the earth. There is neither a gain nor a loss of nutrients because wild animals eat the food that is present in the ecosystem where they poop. Dogs, however, are fed a high-nutrient diet straight from a bag. When excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus are introduced into the ecosystem through dog waste, this instability can cause the ecosystem to become unbalanced, which can lead to the growth of invasive species on land and the occurrence of algae growth and cyanobacteria blooms in the water.
The solution is simple. No matter the season, pick up after your dog at home and while out on walks to protect your nearby water sources. To lower the risk of disease, the EPA advises that poop be collected in individual bags and disposed of in the trash. You can purchase rolls of tiny bags specifically for this use, including biodegradable ones.
If you anticipate that this will require a lot of bags, you are entirely correct. Dogs poop. Dogs poop a lot. Even though dog owners are aware of it beforehand, it can still surprise you, especially on a chilly walk. Every responsible dog owner should always have a number of bags with them.
The best way to deal with dog poop, according to local public works officials, is to bag it and throw it away. In the landfill, the dog waste will safely decompose, and its methane gas can be burned to recover energy. You can purchase compostable doggie bags to avoid using plastic. Avoid flushing pet waste down the toilet because bags frequently flush with the feces. The wastewater treatment facility’s equipment will be harmed by even biodegradable bags, and the parasite linked to toxoplasmosis (found in cat poop) can survive the water treatment procedure.
Keep an eye out for LCC’s annual April Stools Day and Scoop the Poop volunteer events where you can join your neighbors in cleaning up the poop in neighborhood parks! If you’d like to assist LCC in organizing a clean-up event in your community, please contact LCC ECO AmeriCorps Education & Outreach Coordinator Laura Pratt.
How long does dog poop take to decompose / break down / biodegrade?
It depends on a number of variables, including your dog’s diet and the climate where you live, whether your dog’s poop biodegrades slowly or quickly.
Dog poop, for instance, can take up to a year to decompose and break down in colder areas because the cold weather preserves the waste. Although it won’t be able to freeze in warmer weather, so it will probably decompose much more quickly.
The dog’s diet can also have an impact on how quickly dog poop decomposes and biodegrades. Dogs who consume a diet rich in protein, such as meat, will unavoidably produce waste that is more harmful to the environment.
Dogs that eat mostly plants or grains will produce more environmentally friendly poop. This is due, in part, to the latter’s ability to decompose more quickly.
However, the majority of dog poop is expected to take up to 9 weeks on average to decompose and break down. It goes without saying that this is a significant amount of time, and if dog poop is consistently left for this length of time, it will severely harm any grass or plants it comes into contact with.
In fact, it can quickly ruin the lawns of the majority of people. Similar to how cat poop can harm national parks, dog poop’s acidity can harm wildlife conservation areas.
It’s crucial to be aware that, as previously mentioned, leaving dog poop in protected areas is not only dangerous but also a serious offense that could result in a steep fine or worse.
Dog poop will look pretty much the same for the first week after being abandoned.
But it’s very likely to have pathogens in it that could be harmful to both people and wildlife. When your dog excretes their bowels, these pathogens are drawn out of their digestive tract and may also contain dangerous bacteria like coliforms.
As a result, you should always pick up your dog’s waste right away to prevent environmental harm.
The poop will start to decompose and biodegrade slightly during the second and third week, frequently taking on a darker shade of brown. This is the time when wildlife is more at risk from dangerous bacteria in the poop becoming a real risk.
Any animal that consumes these bacteria can become seriously ill, and any dogs or other pets that do the same are also at risk.
As the third week goes on, mold may also start to develop on the exterior of feces.
Any eggs that may have been present in the dog poop will start to hatch as the waste continues to decompose. These eggs will hatch into parasitic larvae that can infect both humans and dogs.
Before it reaches this 4-week stage, it is imperative that you pick up any dog poop that has been left in your yard.
Although not fatal, worms can make your pets ill and produce symptoms resembling the flu.
We don’t want our kids or other family members to unintentionally consume worms. Although this sounds unlikely, it happens more than people think.
For instance, worms are easily spread through unintentional contact with objects that have feces on them, like your shoes, tennis balls, or your dog’s toys. This could then result in the spread of worms to household surfaces and objects.
You should therefore constantly exercise caution and vigilance to prevent this from happening. If you do pick up any dog poop that is lying around, make sure to immediately wash your hands and disinfect any surfaces you may have touched.
Mold will typically have spread throughout the poop by the sixth and seventh week stage. Typically, this mold poses little risk to both people and animals.
However, some mold species are more dangerous than others.
For instance, while some molds can harm the respiratory system, others can trigger allergic reactions in people.
As a result, it is wise to pick up any poop that may be lying around in your yard before it reaches this point.
The dog poop will start to decompose properly between weeks seven and eight. Its size would have decreased, and any grass it was laying on would have likely stopped growing. This is because poop’s density prevents light from passing through it, which prevents plants from receiving the light they require to survive.
Finally, the majority of the poop remnants will have completely decomposed by the ninth week.
But despite this, there might still be dangerous bacteria present on the ground. Sadly, there is still a chance that these bacteria will harm wildlife.
Cold Weather Poop Scooping Advice from the Experts
It’s not fun to clean up dog waste in the winter, and it’s even less fun to clean up waste that has been “preserved” for months when the snow melts in the spring.
Daisy, an Australian Shepard mix that we had when I was a child in Buffalo, New York Daisy was pretty much the most wonderful dog ever. She was incredibly sweet and intelligent, with the exception of when she tried to herd the neighborhood kids. Like most dogs, Daisy pooped in our yard.
We didn’t do as much poop pick-up during the colder months as we should have because Buffalo winters are cold and snowy. After the snow melted, we had a sizable task in front of us. I bet we picked up about 50 pounds of dog poop in the yard when my parents and I would go out with shovels and paper bags to clean up months’ worth of dog poop. It took a lot of time and was very unpleasant to spring clean!
What enzyme breaks down dog poop?
The major enzymes important to breaking down dog poop are:
Dog poop is a major cause of water pollution. 1 gram of dog poop contains 23 million fecal bacteria. Dog poop doesn’t just decompose. When it’s not disposed of properly, it introduces noxious bacteria and nutrients to the waters nearby.
The EPA claims that dog waste is just as harmful to the environment as chemical and oil spills. How to Recycle your Pet Poo.
FAQ
Should you pick up dog poop in the winter?
Just keep in mind that cleaning dog poop is still necessary even in the cold. In fact, it’s even more crucial to collect the waste before it causes a significant mess during the thaw. Put on your buttons, grab a second bag, and start cleaning up after your pet!
What do you do with dog poop in the winter?
In conclusion, allowing the microbes to do their job is simple. They process material even in the winter when the ground is frozen. Just leave your fermented material out in the open until the ground is soft and convenient for working with.
Can you compost dog poop in the winter?
Dog Poo Can Be Dangerous in the Snow Because It Doesn’t Dissolve