How To Pick Up Dog Poop Without Touching It: At Home, In The Yard, & On Walks

How To Pick Up Dog Poop Without Touching It

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Is there a worse feeling and smell? 

You’re half way through a walk, picking up your dog’s poop with the poop bag, when you feel a wet, warm feeling on the end of your fingers. 

The bag has a hole in it, the bag has split, it’s too small, or it’s not long enough.

These are all common problems that lead to your hand touching the poop, and you awkwardly holding your hand at a safe enough distance away from your body so the smell and slime doesn’t get any closer to your nose or your clothes.

The good news is there are a few ways you can learn how to pick up dog poop without touching it. One of them involves a creative and unique option involving a dog waste mitt.

Let’s take a look at this option, and other options!

(It’s worth noting that this guide might be a good complimentary guide to this guide that we previously wrote on the best ways to pick up and dispose of dog poop.)

 

(NOTE: this is a general information guide only, and is not professional advice, or a substitute for professional advice. A qualified vet or animal expert is the only person qualified to give you expert advice in regards to your pet/s)

(*Friendly Disclosure – links to retailers or brands on this page may include affiliate links, and we may receive a commission when you purchase through these links)

 

How To Pick Up Dog Poop Without Touching It: At Home, In The Yard, & On Walks

A few of the main products we list in this guide for not touching dog poop whilst still picking it up are:

 

At Home & Around The Yard

 

Walks

 

In What Instances Will You Need To Pick Up Your Dog’s Poop?

Some of the main instances you might need to pick up your dog’s poop might be:

House (for puppies)

In your yard

On Walks (Editor’s Note: has this ever happened to anyone else in public and you’re wondering what the heck to do with your dog’s leash on the other hand while trying to find the nearest tap?)

And less commonly in a dog crate or in the car while travelling – but this is very rare

 

Criteria For Dog Poop Pick Up Tools & Bags

You probably just read that and thought ‘what the heck are we talking about criteria of dog poop tools and pick up bags for?’.

Well …

 

Walking

Well, if you are out walking with your dog, you’ll need something to pick up your dog’s poop that is light, portable and can be put in your pocket or tied to the leash.

This is where dog poop and waste bags and mitts are handy.

When looking at a poop bag, you’ll want to make sure it meets some of the following criteria so that the dog poop doesn’t come into contact with your hand:

The material is strong or thick to prevent breaking, punctures or leaking – 2 ply materials work well

Plenty of capacity inside the bag to pick up larger capacities of waste/poop

The bag has seams (where the bag is stitched) that aren’t where the poop will coming in contact with the bag (in case the seams split)

The bag can easily be sealed off and tied off

The bag is easy and safe to dispose – biodegradable is usually safer for the environment than plastic – but check the manufacturer website for a full description of their bags (NOTE: biodegradable bags by law in the US generally means they have to meet ASTM D6400 guidelines and break down within 1 year.

However, in practice very few bags meet this requirement as it’s still generally expensive to produce fully biodegradable bags, and there is also some question about whether a bag should break down faster than the dog poop itself which can contain harmful bacteria.

In short, the terms biodegradable and compostable in the pet industry can be complicated and subjective). 

 

With dog poop bags – they are as simple as putting your hand in the bag (like a glove), picking up the poop with the bag touching the poop, turning the bag inside out so the poop is now on the inside of the bag, and tying the bag off and disposing of it.

Make sure the bags don’t have holes in them and that they don’t easily split.

 

Around The House, & In The Front & Back Yard

Around the house or in the front or back yard, you have more options because you can simply store your poop pick up tool outside somewhere (you don’t have to carry it around).

This is where you might go for a long handle pooper scooper, or a shorter handle pan and rake.

You don’t have to get your hand anywhere near the poop, and in the case of a long handle scooper, you may not even smell it.

Pooper scoopers and pans/rakes will generally last a long time and are very cost effective.

Some examples of popular products might be:

 

Around the front and back yard, you can wait to do a poop pick up once a week – most of the poop will be dry – which means easier to pick up and much less wet mess!

You can then put it in your main trash bin, or get a little pet waste bin like the Behrens Locking Lid Pet Waste Can (on Amazon)  if you want to keep all the pet waste by itself and away from the main trash

If your dog spends a lot of time actually inside the house (more common for small dogs in a city apartment), a litter/waste tray may be a good option.

Something like the Puppy Go Here Indoor Litter Tray (on Amazon) might be a good option

For accidents, stains and dog odors inside the house, you might like to check out these guides for cleaning:

How To Clean Up Dog Pee/Urine, Poop & Vomit On The Carpet and Other Surfaces

How To Get Rid Of Dog Odors And Smells

 

How To Pick Up Dog Poop Without Touching It – On Walks

Going on our criteria above, here are two popular and good options:

The Mutt Mitt Dog Waste Pick Up Bag is designed specifically for picking up dog poop.

You can buy them in either the 100 or 200 unit sizes. To give you an idea of the capacity of the bags, they measure 13″ long x 9” wide – which is roughly a 1 quart pouch capacity.

The good thing about the bags is they have a gusseted bottom, they are side seamed (if there is a split – it’s not in the location where the poop is), and they are 2 ply for thickness and strength (whereas other bags might only be 1 ply).

They are also puncture resistant.

The box that contains the bags has a dispenser and optional hang tabs so you can hang it up in a cupboard for example.

 

The Earth Rated Poop Bags come in 120 or 270 counts. The 270 count comes with 18 refill rolls and 15 bags per roll.

The bags measure 9 x 13 inches – the same size as the mitts.

They are Lavender-scented to assist in covering up dog poop smells, and the rolls fit into standard leash dispensers.

As a side note- note that these bags contain an EPI additive which help the bags break down in landfill. 

 

NOTE: if you want a biodegradable option, you might like to check the Bio Bag Premium Pet Waste Bags (on Amazon) , which is made with resins derived from plants and vegetable among other things. 

In 2017, they are BPI certified to meet the ASTM D6400 specification.

Another option are the Flush Puppies Doodie Bags (on Amazon)  which meet the ASTM d6400 standard and California law for “composability” claims, and are certified compostable by the biodegradable products institute (BPI).

 

How To Pick Up Dog Poop Without Touching It – At Home, In The Front Yard, and Back Yard

Most pooper scoopers are the cheaper plastic type these days, but that’s ok because you should still get years of use from them.

One of the better options is:

 

This long handle scooper and rake is very easy to use – you attach a plastic bag to the scoop, rake the poop in and dispose of the bag. Although you could also use the scooper without the bag.

It’s 32 inches in length – so you don’t have to touch the poop at all yourself (or smell it).

It’s made of firm plastic that does have some bend, and the rake fingers are short so you can apply some pressure without fear of them snapping.

It can also be hung for easy storage in a garden shed for example.

 

Another good option for a pooper scooper is the:

 

 

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