To want to burn our puppy poo garden

[alwaysalwayssomething]

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!

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.

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.

@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?

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

Doesn't your puppy get wormed though?

@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!

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.

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.

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

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 😊

@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!

@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

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.

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

There’s bound to be smears and bits left on the grass, I wouldn’t like that either op. Definitely train DDog to just go in one area then the kids will know to avoid the toilet!

No and generally no. I say "generally", as I am childless, but I have no idea if any random children use my garden when I'm out. If they do, that's their tough luck, as both my gardens are fenced & gated.

🙄

Start immediately with a toilet area for the puppy, it makes life SO much easier.

if you have the money you can buy a proper little fence thing. If not an old playpen or just some cheap garden centre fencing/edging. If MUCH easier to train them if there's something to go into rather than just taking them to one spot.

try not to worry about what's already there, it's highly unlikely ti make any of you unwell xx

try to enjoy your puppy!!

Children with dogs usually more healthy than those without.

Can train for them to go in a certain area but worming dog is best thing to do.

Dogs can have disgusting behaviours, you are going to have to steel yourself!

thanks all for the replies - am so worried now, will take the puppy to the vet tomorrow and see if they can test for worms … in the meanwhile will have to keep the kids out of the garden which will break their hearts. Such an idiot that I hadn’t read up on this already.

Op, think about the absolute millions of families with dogs. How many of them do you realistically think have had some sort of life changing event happen because the dog shat in the garden?

@user1473878824 thanks, I can understand your point but I guess the number of people who let their kids play where puppies are toileting is much, much smaller

If you can prevent, do so. It’s not easy even when you’re vigilant. I had two dogs and somehow someone always stepped in it and they were walked daily. So having a dog means you’ll always dog poo in your life. The good side of it is the love you get from your dog and you back. Having a dog is wonderful for people with children to have in their lives. Dogs are great