Owning a Dog During Winter Stinks

Owning a dog during winter stinks...literally! I hate cleaning up dog poop during the winter. It is such a pain to clean it up and to have to search for it through the snow. Do you clean up the poop right after your dog does his duty, or do you wait until a few accumulate first? When I lived at home we used to wait until spring and it was a pain! We had a big yard and it was literally covered with poop in the spring! Ugh!

 

I agree, having a dog in the winter time is not the ideal situation. I try to keep on top of cleaning up the poop in the yard because otherwise, like you said, come spring you have a huge mess on your hands. My boyfriend on the other hand will allow it to pile up and go out once a week to clean up after his dog. It drives me nuts. I guess because I have kids that like to play in the yard I prefer to have it clean and poop free. I would rather clean dog poop off the ground than off my children.. LOL

 

I don't mind. For a start off, dog mess steams in the cold, so it's easier to find. Any left dog mess freezes which means it's easier to deal with. I also find it amusing when it's getting dark and all I have to do is look for the steaming pile in the air, it means it's easier to spot! I realise this will all have sounded hideous, but one cannot be squeamish when owning dogs.

 

I guess this can be a huge problem, I live in Arizona where we seldom if ever get snow. But ask me how hard the summer's can be with dogs. We have to bring them in doors for awhile each day during this time of year, because the heat can be unbearable. They fair up better in winter months, but its still important to make sure they are not too cold.

 

It was never really a problem for us, and we had 3 dogs. There was one specific spot in our backyard that we had designated for the dogs to poop. We would chain them to a hook near the back door of our house, so they would only go within a radius of how far they could get with the chain. The only problem we used to have was when it snowed really deep, as our Beagle would jump out into the snow and get "stuck" (it was over her head, lol).

 

I can't imagine how it felt like to have to literally clean poop during spring time. But I am laughing at the thought. Even when we go on walks, I always bring a plastic bag to pick up my dog's poop because I don't want the neighbors to look at me and say, "Look, there's the girl who doesn't pick up her dog's poop".

But I suppose it would be best for you to pick up the poop once a day just so you don't end up with thawed poopsicles on spring... The good news is, they wouldn't be too soft or too warm to touch, right?

 

We have a big garden but for my Homer it's the same as the house - he never poops there so I don't have this problem. And when we are in the park, I clean after him instantly.

 

I can often be seen and heard ranting about other people not picking up after their dog, usually when I'm picking up THEIR mess, for them. I even have poo bags when I'm out without the dogs, and I'll pick up dog mess and dispose of it when I see it. It's not difficult to pick up after a dog, if you have a dog, pick up the mess!

I might have shouted out my window a couple of times at people who let their dog poo, and just walk away. I did it at 1am once, forgetting the time. I have really big windows and I can often see exactly who's doing what outside.