How do you use a pooper scooper?
I know this sounds really stupid, but I'm serious. When I lived with my parents we always just waited until there was enough to rake it up, bag it, and dispose of it. Our dog went in one area behind the house. They owned their own house, so it really didn't matter.
Now I live in a city apartment with my husband and it needs to be picked up at least twice a week. I don't know how to use a pooper scooper, so I've always just used gloves and a plastic bag. The gloves are getting really expensive though, so I want to switch to a cheaper method. I've never actually seen a pooper scooper though.
Where can you buy them? How much do they cost? Can you clean them? Where should you store them? Are they safe around children? How big are they? Are they sanitary? Should you wear gloves while using it? Can you use them before the poop is dry? (yes I know, that's gross but our neighbors always complain if they step in it...) Do you still need to bag it up? Can you just use a regular grocery bag if you do, or do they have special bags you need to buy?
Comments
Hi. I get to do this alot as we foster dogs. Pet places like Petco sell rolls of blue plastic poop bags. Take a bag. Slip it on like a glove, go pick up poop. Pull the bag off your hand with the other hand, turning it inside out as you do so. Whallah! you did it. No mess and its all in the bag.
Works on all viscosity of poop. If stools are loose, feed 50% rice and things will firm up. Give the bag a quick knot and put in the garbage ...No mess, no smell. Bags are cheap for how many you get in a roll. bob
So long as you don't get some outrageous looking pooper scooper, it can range from $5 to $25. They are usually quite self explanatory if you look at them, just google it and it can show you pictures of them. You hold the "pan" or place where you use the other tool to scoop the poop into it, you can use any bag, I personally just use grocery bags from after we're done going to the store. I just use one bag for the whole yard, you don't need one for every poop you pick up. I don't actually clean mine, as I use it twice a week, but I just keep it outside the back door to the yard. If you are cleaning them and want it inside, I would suggest in a closet or something so your not embarrassed by a pooper scooper in your living room, but really you can put them anywhere. If you are not cleaning them, then keep it away from young children, because you don't want them touching the poop, they might also have thin metal edges that might hurt if you step on them. they are smaller than a broom. You can buy them from almost any dog store, especially Petsmart or something like that. Yes, you can clean them if you want to, just hose it off, or scrub it if you really want it clean. One end holds where you put the poop, and there is a handle on the other side, so long as you don't drop it in some poop on the ground, it should be fine. I personally don't where gloves, a lot of people don't, but if you want to, there is no harm in wearing gloves. Yes, you can use them before the poop is dry, though it is a little difficult to scoop it up. Though when I say it's more difficult, it's really not hard, dry or wet.
Hope that answers your questions. ^^
Go to the nearest large pet shop and ask the sales person to show you their stock; they will have several kinds.
None work very well; you are best sticking with a glove and a plastic bag.
Try using gardening gloves: they are rubberized on the palm side, cotton on the other, and you can throw them in the washing machine if it becomes necessary. I assume you put the bag over the glove and then take the bag off like a sock, inside out, to enclose the mess. The glove should only get dirty if the bag leaks.
Use an open topped food storage bag like a quart-size Baggie; they don't leak, and can be closed with a twist-tie. Don't use the zipper-topped ones; the smelly stuff always gets in the zipper!
When you take him out to potty, walk him at the curb so he uses the gutter, or walk him along hedgerows, so he won't be leaving his "gifts" where people walk. The neighbors will appreciate that.
Also, if you shift your dog to a raw/prey model diet, his bowel movements will be smaller, will dry out more quickly, and will smell much less awful. My dog's been on raw for 3+ years, and I 've never had to clean the back yard: I usually can't find the "piles" since they dry up and blow away. My dog is a 50 lb chow mix.
Most pooper scoopers I've seen come in two parts. One part looks like a dustpan and the other is a little shovel like thing. Set the dustpan looking one in front of the poop, and then "sweep" the poop into it with the shovel looking one. It's basically like sweeping. The others I've seen are like a claw. You press the button to open it and then clamp it around the poop and pick it up like that. You can buy them at pet stores. Places like Walmart and Target might have them. You can then dump into a trash can or into it's own bag (grocery or the special little bags) and then throw that in the trash. You can wear gloves if you want. You can clean them and in fact, I'd recommend it because little pieces and streaks of poop will stick to them, especially when fresh. I wouldn't let children around it. You should always pick up the poop immediately, never let it sit out to dry. Or if you want to go extremely cheap, just use grocery bags to bag the poop. That's what I do for my dog. You can do that without gloves. Just make sure to throughly wash your hands after disposing of it though.
Really? Depends on the size, No they're not safe with children because they can kill themselves...
Yes wear gloves because you will get poop on the handle. Yes poop wet or dry. No you don't need bags. The pooper scooper eats it. No poop is acid a regular bag won't do.
Well actually, A pooper scooper is made out of plastic and is much better. There like 4 feet long. Depending on the size you want.