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Original poster

To want to burn our puppy poo garden

91 replies

alwaysalwayssomething · 20/06/2025 23:28

We got a tiny puppy a month ago - first dog, two smitten children, both under ten. We have a decent garden - the puppy wees at the side but has been pooing randomly in the garden and we just pick it up immediately.

Which I now realise was totally stupid as this is where the children play every day and now there are probably all sorts of nasties in the grass now just from the poo being there. I made a mistake of googling this and almost vomited reading things like worms lasting years in the soil that can cause blindness etc.

Full disclosure that I have severe OCD - ironically my therapist recommended the dog as helping from an exposure perspective. Instead, I now just want the kids to stay out of the garden for the next two years!

Can anyone please talk me down and / or give me some advice on whether this is a relative normal concern or just pure OCD? Even a handhold would be great. Thanks very much!

OP posts:
Rages · 21/06/2025 00:46

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Karenrizzlington1967 · 21/06/2025 00:44

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Original poster
alwaysalwayssomething · 21/06/2025 00:43

@goingroundthebendatthisrate do you worry about your in-garden poo-er? Do you have kids playing there?

OP posts:
goingroundthebendatthisrate · 21/06/2025 00:30

Youtoldmeonce · 20/06/2025 23:44

You usually find as puppies get older they start to poo as far away from the house as possible so hopefully will go at bottom of garden.

I have one dog who will go anywhere in the front garden or back yard. I have have another who will practically never poo unless he's been walked quite a distance from the house. For him to use the garden is a last resort, indeed he always, always climbs the steps up to the back gate and then bangs on the gate with his front paws to check it's not open (it opens inwards anyway, daft dog 😂) before committing to pooing in the yard.

The dog we had before him (same breed) was just the same - garden poos were something he avoided and would like to be walked first. He once did a poo in the house as an adult dog when he got caught-short, and I have never seen such a look of distress or horror on any dog's face either before or since. Even then he did it as far away into a corner as he could get, poor thing.

Original poster
alwaysalwayssomething · 20/06/2025 23:49

@Moveoverdarlin @Scissor thank you for the reassuring posts, we’re new to it all so pick up immediately. Am hoping a wormed puppy is probably the same risk as any other cat / fox / bird

OP posts:
Original poster
alwaysalwayssomething · 20/06/2025 23:45

@EllasNonny yes puppy has been wormed every 2-3 weeks but reading up on it says that all worms mightn’t be killed. I was wondering about asking the vet to test her but would be afraid of them finding some!

OP posts:
Scissor · 20/06/2025 23:45

Every animal and bird that passes over and through all your outdoor spaces, including your garden, will be doing biological stuff.
Unless you wish to live in a hermetically sealed shed this is planet Earth.
You're being super responsible. Enjoy your puppy 😊

ItDoesntHaveToBeASnowman · 20/06/2025 23:45

Maybe you could let it shit all over the pavements like everybody else does 🙄

Youtoldmeonce · 20/06/2025 23:44

You usually find as puppies get older they start to poo as far away from the house as possible so hopefully will go at bottom of garden.

Moveoverdarlin · 20/06/2025 23:44

If the puppy has worming treatment it won’t get worms. My dog poos in the garden and I pick it up. Kids play in the garden perfectly fine. Should there be particles of poo left on said grass it gets mown once a week and we often have buckets of rain to wash any poo particles away. Between the rain and mowing, I think you’ll all be fine. Just keep picking it up regularly.

Original poster
alwaysalwayssomething · 20/06/2025 23:41

@Devianinc will definitely be doing this in future. It’s just such a worry now though that the garden has been more contaminated, even if we’ve picked it up!

OP posts:
EllasNonny · 20/06/2025 23:40

Doesn't your puppy get wormed though?

Original poster
alwaysalwayssomething · 20/06/2025 23:40

@fruitpastille youre right about the foxes and birds I guess, both have likely poo’d there at some stage

OP posts:
Original poster
alwaysalwayssomething · 20/06/2025 23:39

@fruitpastille thanks for replying! I thought that too but thinking more about it, isn’t there a risk that some worm eggs etc stay in the grass?

OP posts:
fruitpastille · 20/06/2025 23:37

If you are picking it up each time what's the problem? We've done this for years with no ill effect. Also, cats, foxes, birds, other animals all poo outside too and no one picks it up.

Devianinc · 20/06/2025 23:31

I think you can train your dog to use only one spot in your garden. You’d still have to pick it up but it’s better than all over the lawn.