Backyard Hygiene

Backyard Hygiene

If you are a dog owner you are undoubtedly familiar with the art and science of backyard hygiene. I am frequently asked for my advice on the best techniques to use for this task. Depending upon how many dogs you own and the size of your dogs you may have to clean up your yard of dog excrement on a daily basis. The way you tackle this job depends upon the season of the year. The great thing about cleaning up dog turds during the summer is you don't have to dislodge them from frozen snow and ice. The downside during this that the summer is that the dog extra excrement stinks. During the summer it may require someone with a strong stomach. During the winter the upside is the dog excrement no longer gives off an odor as it is frozen. The downside during the winter is that you have to put much more elbow grease into the job. Depending upon the amount of spoils in the backyard chopping out the dog excrement can take a good 15 min. Make sure that when you embark upon this task you are suitably dressed for the occasion. If it is very windy you are going to require a toque or a scarf. If it is so windy that you require a balaclava save the job for another day. You should also wear a heavy sweatshirt and a good winter parka. To keep your hands warm you have the choice of finger gloves or Garbo gloves. Theoretically, the Garbo gloves should keep your hands warmer. The downside of garbled gloves is that you lose finger dexterity. If the weather is not too cold you may prefer finger gloves for this job. The good news is that you do not have to touch the excrement with your gloves. You will need the proper equipment for this task. During the winter my advice is to purchase an ice pick and a metal poop scooper that comes in two parts. One part is very shovel like and the other part can be used as a pick. If the dog turds are deeply buried in the ice I would why advise using a separate, durable ice pick to dislodge them. You can usually find a good sturdy ice pick at Walmart or Canadian Tire. Home Depot might have them too. Otherwise, your poop scooper tools may get bent out of shape. If they are not bent too badly out of shape you can always repair them by using pliers to straighten them out again.

After you are finished this chore you should go in the house and immediately make yourself a hot chocolate. While drinking hot chocolate you can read the rest of my blogs.