What to Do with Doggy Doo

A dummies guide for cleaning up after your dog

Bagging it

The quickest, easiest way to get rid of a dog’s poop is to put it in a plastic bag and either drop the bag in a bin or flush the bag's contents down a toilet.

You might think that this method would have a high gross-out factor. And it does — if you use the wrong size bag. There's nothing more disgusting than using a teeny-tiny bag to pick up a great big piece of dog poop and having some of that poop end up on your hand instead of in the bag. But that doesn't have to happen. There are two keys to effective bagging: using the right size bag and developing the proper bagging technique.

For all but the tiniest dogs, a sandwich-sized bag or smaller just isn't big enough to pick up poop. It's far better to choose a larger size, such as an empty bread bag or a proper dog poo bag which can be bought from the super market. Both these types of bags also carry a second advantage: They're oblong, which greatly eases your ability to get the poop into the bag instead of on yourself.
Before you use your bag, though, check to make sure that it doesn't have any holes. Picking up a bunch of dog doo only to have it hit the ground again is a surefire recipe for frustration.

After you have a large enough bag, it's easy to gather up the poop. Here's how:

1. Pull the plastic bag over one hand like a glove. If you're cleaning up while walking your dog, loop the leash around your wrist and pull the bag over the leashed hand.
2. Pick up the poop with your bagged hand.
3. With your other hand, grasp the open end of the bag and pull the bag inside out.
4. The poop will now be inside the bag.
5. Knot the bag and drop it into the nearest poo bin.
6. Alternatively, take the bag inside and flush the contents down the toilet. Throw the plastic bag in the bag.

Of course, if there's no bin nearby, you'll need to carry the bagged poop until you find a suitable receptacle. But take heart. Soon, not even the thought of having to tote your dog's poop around town will gross you out. It'll just be a fact of life.