The Scoop on Poop

Consider yourself warned: poop and anal sacs will be discussed below

Having a great dane, I understandably pick up more poop on average than most other dog owners. However, since switching to a mix of grain-free and raw, his poops have been smaller, firmer, and quicker to degrade. Don't mistake me, they are still big and warrant using a large dog poop bags; but, the amount has noticeably decreased, which gets me thinking about how much filler (or undigestable matter) must have been in his kibble to cause him to make so much poop. He's always been on good quality kibble, but not always grain-free. Like humans, the food that we can't digest goes right through us (think about corn kernels), well the same is true with dogs. So, try to avoid foods that have those nasty fillers and you will probably have much less crap to deal with literally.

Baggin' It:
The second topic of this post is to discuss poop bags, and to recommend my favorite: BioBags Large Dog. They are completely compostable (although I wouldn't recommend it), and biodegradable. They are made from non-GMO corn, and are very light. I have not had any problem with them breaking or tearing apart (even when the go through the washer/ dryer,) unlike some cheaper bags that have come straight off the roll. There is nothing worse than picking up poop to begin with, but then to add insult to injury, to have the bag break and to end up with a large amount of poop all over your hands is heinous. That's why I feel that it is worth it to invest a few more dollars in a box of good quality dog poop bags. Furthermore, I feel better about throwing it out when it is in a biodegradable bag. With a big dog, I undoubtedly have a much larger carbon footprint that many other people! So, I think it is best to go green where I can.

While BioBags are my favorite, we have found a cost-effective alternative that is still biodegradable. They have a slightly more narrow diameter, which sometimes proves a bit difficult for the larger piles but overall it is worth the savings. To compare, they are roughly $0.01-$0.04 vs. $0.10 for the BioBags. If we didn't go through so many (at least three a day) I might be able to stomach it, but since it's literally going in the trash, we've chosen to go the cheap route and save the loot for something that isn't thrown away.