Everything You Always Wanted To Know But Were Afraid To Ask About ... Dog Poop!

That's wobbly Allie in the foreground, but what are those things behind her?  You're looking at our new compost bins!  While we have always composted the horse manure and then spread it on our pastures as a soil amendment, we never thought it was 'okay' to compost dog poop and apply it the same way.

So every week we've scooped the poop, bagged it, and hauled it to the dump.  In winter this is particularly unpleasant, because we end up scooping snow and ice along with the poop, and if the temperature rises above freezing the bags get full of melted poop water, the bags spring a leak, and ... you can figure out the rest.   

About a month ago Kathryn asked, "WHY can't we compost dog waste?"  We talked about all the things we remembered reading and hearing about it, but concluded we should do some research.  Lo and behold, Kathryn found a new guide to composting dog waste published by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  This report was published in December 2005 by the NRCS office in Fairbanks, Alaska.  Because of all the sled dogs in Alaska, dog waste is a big problem there -- 20 million pounds of dog poop produced each year in Fairbanks and Anchorage alone!

The NRCS report was based on a study that involved several mushers and dog kennels in Alaska.  The research showed that composting dog poop was not only safe and effective, but resulted in a product that you could indeed use to improve the soil, just as we do with the composted horse manure.  (But you still wouldn't want to use the composted dog poop on food crops for human consumption.)  The NRCS how-to guide says that "Composting dog waste is a simple and inexpensive method for disposing of dog waste that can enhance the environment and reduce the amount of waste deposited in landfills."

The caveat here is that the report says "It takes at least 10 dogs, preferably 20, to generate enough waste to maintain a bin."  Well, that isn't a problem for us!

Next it was my turn to research compost bins on the market.  I found the ones we needed at a place called Green Culture and ordered them.  That's what you see in the photo.  Interestingly, the literature that came with the bins said we shouldn't compost dog waste!

(In case you're wondering, those backyard in-ground stool digesters you may have seen in pet catalogs work like mini-septic systems and don't compost the waste.)

Finally, one bit of trivia to leave you with, just in case you ever really wanted to know:  The average dog generates 274 pounds of poop per year.  There you have it.

(Click on photo for larger image.)

Comments

[whats-all-that-barking?]

hi! We use large compost bins for our doggie poo too! We have a small dog boarding kennel that uses finely shredded pine mulch in the runs and we just scoop it up with the poo and put it all in the bin. Our bins look very similar to yours, but I can't remember their brand off the top of my head. It stays warm here nearly year round, which heats up the pile and processes it very quickly. New 'deposits' already have an earthy smell the next day. I rarely need to add water, but I think this is because the mulch is so porous and it is so humid here to begin with. If I add too much water, the bin gets stinky. Pine bark mulch has an acidic pH and I often wonder if that helps the process in some way too. I also throw in leaves for good measure if I have them. Thanks for providing great info!

[Leilani]

Now this is interesting information! I'm going to pass it along to my pal who has a dog sitting business. She has 8 dogs of her own and anywhere from 12-20 dogs in her yard a day.
Happy composting to all! ;-)

[Jean/Nevada]

Even worms like variety ;)

[ginger & Tobias (the greythound)]

That's marvelous! My backyard is always much more lush & green than my front (because the dog poops in the back). I've always said that buying quality dog food serves several purposes, one being that I don't need to fertilize the backyard.
Great job on the research & the implementation! You never cease to amaze (and please) me!
Big hugs with kudos,