Dog run question...

ecaf

This is a question to people with dog runs,
We currently have our two dogs in a run, and have no problems with disposing of the dung and bedding because it can go onto the manure heap from the horse yard, and that's that.
We will now be moving to a new area and thought we would have our own home, but now may have to rent for a while before that. Its going to be hard to find a place to rent that we can keep 2 dogs, but I have just thought of the issue of what to do with all the dung and bedding now?

What does everyone else do when cleaning their dog run out? With in-door dogs we'd put paper down and bin it afterwards, but with big dogs that are out doors that wouldn't be a solution!

kildara

Pick it up and put it in a plastic bag and bin it with your normal thrash?

ecaf

Rather messy, they are big dogs! And I was cleaning them out yesterday after a days rain thrown into the mess!
Plus I was talking about their bedding too which is straw.

Do you have dogs in a run? And is this what you do?

kildara

No they're not in a run - they have the run of the whole garden though, which means dog poo on the grass, on the path, in flower beds...

I see what you mean about the straw though - no idea's there I'm afraid.

You can get little (or large!) poop scoops in most pet shops; I use one of these (also two large dogs) and I just stick it in a bag and put that in the bin. Although, I agree, it does get a bit messy after a day out in the rain but it still goes into a bag all the same.

This is what they don't tell you about when you pick up a puppy!

Will the run be concrete? If so could you pick up what you can and hose the rest away?

ecaf

Our run right now is concrete, I'm used to sweeping it all into one pile, shovelling it up and firing it into the manure pile. I wash down the run with a bucket of water and sweep the water into the gully I've dug, which runs off into the field.
Can't imagine renting a place and them allowing us to put down concrete. So going to have to buy rubber mats or something as the base, and buy a pooper scooper, dreading that bit, at least with a long handled brush and shovel I don't have to stick my nose too close to it!
Suppose most other people just bag it and bin it, its just I've never had to, so it was sort of strange when it dawned on me the other day!

Sigma Force

What size dogs are they?

If they are pooping in their run then you are not letting them out enough for walks and poops. Adult dogs usually poop once or twice a day unless being fed more than two meals.

If the dogs have more than one poop between them, say first thing in the morning (some dogs in fairness can't hold it in at night) then they aren't being let out enough.

Feeding earlier in the day will cut out any poops over night usually as long as they are let out before they go to bed.

Straw isn't ideal for dog unless they are the kind that chew up their beds.
If they aren't big chewers then two of those large plastic beds with fleece blankets that can be washed would be an alternative to messy straw.

Like hay and shredded paper straw gets everywhere and is a pain to clean, it you have beds and blankets you can blow their hairs off them by hanging them out on the line for a day and then washing them fleece blankets are dirt cheap as well from 4 or 5 euro.

Many rented houses have a back that already has some concrete or tarmac so it might be possible to just place the run on top.

Line your wheelie bin with a plastic bag and shovel the poop up with a shovel and throw it into the bin throw some bicarb on top of it to cut down on poop smells if needed.

Rain aside if the dogs poop smells that bad then perhaps look into changing their diets to a food that doesn't produce as many poops or as much honk.

Our two are in a run, the smaller dog can't hold her wees and poops over night all the time so she poops sometimes in the run part. The collie occasionally wees in the shed but I put lino down on the floor so it's easy to mop up. The run section is patio slabs and I just hose it down and scrub it with some cleaner and water and rinse well. If there's any poop from the little dog then I use the coal shovel and fling it into the long grass lol.

Although if we didn't have a big garden then I'd just chuck it in the bin or flush it down the loo or you could actually in the rented place scoop up the poop and put it directly into the septic tank or drain.

I just have the hose near the run all the time and a galvanised bucket and a mop beside it at all times, saves a lot of trapsing up and down.

Sigma Force

Pics to give an idea of alternative bedding.

Lemlin

ecaf wrote: »

This is a question to people with dog runs,
We currently have our two dogs in a run, and have no problems with disposing of the dung and bedding because it can go onto the manure heap from the horse yard, and that's that.
We will now be moving to a new area and thought we would have our own home, but now may have to rent for a while before that. Its going to be hard to find a place to rent that we can keep 2 dogs, but I have just thought of the issue of what to do with all the dung and bedding now?

What does everyone else do when cleaning their dog run out? With in-door dogs we'd put paper down and bin it afterwards, but with big dogs that are out doors that wouldn't be a solution!

Why don't ya get rid of the straw and change them into bedding? Then ya can just wash the bedding. That'd get rid of the mess from the straw.

Also, Lidl and other places sell large compst bins. Just buy one of those (some are under 50e) and put the dog poo into that. Even a big dog would take a while to fill one.

I haven't a run but I have one of those compost units where I put cut grass into and I just put my dog's poo from the garden in that.

ecaf

The cocker is a chewer, I had a lovely rubber mat cut out to the size of the kennel, she pulled it up, chewed it and spat it out everywhere until I removed it and went back to straw.
I exercise them as much as possible. The pointer is the main offender and is fed on red mills kibbles. It isn't smelly but I just meant that I didn't want to bend down to it, because I'm used to cleaning them out the same way you would muck out a horse stable. So going around with a tiny shovel didn't really appeal to me, but in the short term until we buy our own home I will put up with this.

Some houses for rent in the country area where we want it won't have any concrete anywhere, so it won't be like living in a housing estate.


What would you do with the compost bin when you come to leave the place? I'm sure the landlord wouldn't be that pleased?

looserock

I use a horse poop scoop with a garden hoe with a fork on one side and blade the other, this works extremely well and once you get handy with the scoop you can tip it into a wheelie bin with no mess.

The link below has a picture of the scoop but you can buy them in any equestrian or farming shop for around €25.

http://www.saddleworldmaddington.com.au/detprod-186/stable-items/pooper-scoopers-manure-forks/stable-poo-scoop-with-long-handle.html



http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/238238967/garden_hoe_and_fork.html

Lemlin

ecaf wrote: »

The cocker is a chewer, I had a lovely rubber mat cut out to the size of the kennel, she pulled it up, chewed it and spat it out everywhere until I removed it and went back to straw.
I exercise them as much as possible. The pointer is the main offender and is fed on red mills kibbles. It isn't smelly but I just meant that I didn't want to bend down to it, because I'm used to cleaning them out the same way you would muck out a horse stable. So going around with a tiny shovel didn't really appeal to me, but in the short term until we buy our own home I will put up with this.

Some houses for rent in the country area where we want it won't have any concrete anywhere, so it won't be like living in a housing estate.


What would you do with the compost bin when you come to leave the place? I'm sure the landlord wouldn't be that pleased?

Have you tried buying one of the plastic style tubs? They're like a large washing basin and are quite cheap. She could chew on one of those all day and she'd do feck all damage.

I take my dog's bed off her during the day anyway. I take it out at night then and she knows its bedtime. Straw is a great resting bed for fleas which is why I don't use it.

The compost bins aren't that large so I'm sure you could bring it with you or the landlord wouldn't mind it being left there. They are only about the size of a wheelie bin some of them.

I let my cocker have free roam of the whole back garden which is grass with just a bit of cobble at the side. 2 to 3 times a week I go round and lift any poo with a shovel. There is never much as she usually goes when I have her out for a walk. There wouldn't be much anyway as she doesn't tend to poo much.

The food you are feeding could also be a problem here. Some Red Mills food is very low quality from what I hear. Have you tried them on a different food? Low quality food could cause them to poo more. I didn't believe it made a difference before but then I had my friend's dogs round and they pooed about three times as much as my dog. My friend feeds them stuff that costs €12 a bag.

ecaf

I don't feed them stuff for €12 a bag. It is actually good quality food having taken veterinary advise for an under weight dog. And no the vet didn't recommend red mills, I had her on burns dog food for a while until her weight improved, then priced and compared similar products, next time I was in the vets I asked if it would be suitable for her to change to a similar red mills product that I had researched.

I didn't come on here to get nutritional advise, I was just curious as to how you dispose of their waste product. The bedding suits our needs for the moment.
I'm going to take Kildara's advise and just put it in the bin everyday. When you are used to having a manure heap you tend not to think of that.

Thanks for everyone's concern that I don't exercise my dogs enough or feed them properly. I'm sorry to say but I avoid this forum for that reason. You come on here for a bit of friendly information sharing and next thing you know is that people are telling you how to look after your animals properly, because you obviously don't know how to when you have posted a totally unrelated question.
Are all of you vets / nutritional experts / pet psychologists here, or just normal Joe Soap pet owners???

Elevelyn

ecaf wrote: »

Thanks for everyone's concern that I don't exercise my dogs enough or feed them properly. I'm sorry to say but I avoid this forum for that reason. You come on here for a bit of friendly information sharing and next thing you know is that people are telling you how to look after your animals properly, because you obviously don't know how to when you have posted a totally unrelated question.
Are all of you vets / nutritional experts / pet psychologists here, or just normal Joe Soap pet owners???

Know exactly what you mean, happened to me the other day when i asked about my dog not eating and was told i have to feed her this and that even though i didnt ask about what i should/should not be feeding her. From what ive seen it happens in loads of other posts

looserock

Elevelyn wrote: »

Know exactly what you mean, happened to me the other day when i asked about my dog not eating and was told i have to feed her this and that even though i didnt ask about what i should/should not be feeding her. From what ive seen it happens in loads of other posts

There is a lot of that on here alright, but if you wade through the bull.... this is a very useful helpful site.

ISDW

You don't need to get that close to the poo, there are long handled pooper scoopers available in pet shops. We have a lot of dogs, and we use these long handled ones to pick it up and put it in a bucket. You could then put it in the septic tank, or if you have enough land, dig a big hole for it. Even my teenage son uses it, because you don't have to get too close to it:D

Sigma Force

ecaf sometimes when an owner says a dog or cats poop is smelly it can be diet related and people are just suggestion another type of food because if you find the smell over powering it can be one of two things, the food or some people just find the smell of dog poop worse than others which is fair enough. Not fond of it myself.

Nothing wrong with Redmills, I have found with Redmills their poop is a lot less smell than with something like ped chum and just as solid as if they were fed with one of the 'higher quality' brands. I feed one of ours Red mills and she's doing well on it.

As I mentioned if your dog is a chewer sticking to straw or hay (hay is less pokey for the eyes aparently) could be your only option.

Chewing does come from boredom though and a cocker can become bored even if given plenty of excercise they like to keep going and going.
So, if you don't already, providing Kongs and those white bones filled with stuff and perhaps a bit more excercise will cut down on the chewing esp. if you might be concerened that they might chew through something in the rented place. Although another option could be patio slabs if the garden area of the rented place has level ground you could just pop the slabs down and place the run on top and when you leave bring the slabs with you.

They work out ok even if they aren't set into the ground properly as a temp. measure anyway so will be easy for you do hose down etc.

ecaf

ISDW wrote: »

You don't need to get that close to the poo, there are long handled pooper scoopers available in pet shops. We have a lot of dogs, and we use these long handled ones to pick it up and put it in a bucket. You could then put it in the septic tank, or if you have enough land, dig a big hole for it. Even my teenage son uses it, because you don't have to get too close to it:D

Sorry ISDW, but did you even read the post? I'm going to be renting a house, so how will I go around digging big holes for it. Most landlords don't tolerate that sort of thing!
Anyway I can stick with my own shovel and just put it in a bag, like the 1st reply said.


Thanks Guineapigrescue I know you do a lot of good work for animals. I think if my cocker was walked 12 hours a day she'd still be a bit mad, that's the nature of their breed. I haven't tried the kong because of a difference of opinion on how the other 'working' dog should be looked after. My hubby is old school when it comes to his gun dog, he wouldn't be the ribbons in their hair type, and some things are not allowed in case it interferes with her working ability (don't ask!). To be honest, she eats EVERYTHING, so if its a bit of raw hide its a competition with her to see if she can swallow the thing whole. I'd be a bit scared that she'd try and swallow the kong, or eat lumps of it.
They love being together, the cocker & pointer, I watch them playing and snoozing there the whole time. They are well able to amuse themselves, and then get their exercise and play time in the evenings.
She is very good in the house, the other one won't come in because she is nervous, something happened to her before we got her. But the cocker behaves indoors, although I can't turn my back on her or she'd be sprawled across the sofa in seconds! So I don't have any worries that way in her chewing up the rented house, its just if you leave something destructible with her unsupervised, well then its fair game!

Lemlin

ecaf wrote: »

I don't feed them stuff for €12 a bag. It is actually good quality food having taken veterinary advise for an under weight dog. And no the vet didn't recommend red mills, I had her on burns dog food for a while until her weight improved, then priced and compared similar products, next time I was in the vets I asked if it would be suitable for her to change to a similar red mills product that I had researched.

I didn't come on here to get nutritional advise, I was just curious as to how you dispose of their waste product. The bedding suits our needs for the moment.
I'm going to take Kildara's advise and just put it in the bin everyday. When you are used to having a manure heap you tend not to think of that.

Thanks for everyone's concern that I don't exercise my dogs enough or feed them properly. I'm sorry to say but I avoid this forum for that reason. You come on here for a bit of friendly information sharing and next thing you know is that people are telling you how to look after your animals properly, because you obviously don't know how to when you have posted a totally unrelated question.
Are all of you vets / nutritional experts / pet psychologists here, or just normal Joe Soap pet owners???

I've seen what you are talking about on here but I was just making a point from my own experience.

If you look, I said some Red Mills food is low quality. I didn't say you were feeding your dogs low quality food and the €12 a bag story was about my friend, not about you.

I was sharing my own experience. You asked for information and I gave some based on my own experiences. At no point, did I try to force any of it on you. Whether you want to follow it is up to yourself.

ISDW

ecaf wrote: »

Sorry ISDW, but did you even read the post? I'm going to be renting a house, so how will I go around digging big holes for it. Most landlords don't tolerate that sort of thing!
Anyway I can stick with my own shovel and just put it in a bag, like the 1st reply said.

I don't really think theres any need to be rude to me, you were annoyed that people had gone off topic, I posted about long handled pooper scoopers and suggested either putting it in the septic tank - could you do that? Or digging a hole. You obviously don't have to leave the hole open, you dig a hole, stick poo in it, fill it in. I don't know how much land you're going to rent with this house. You were the one that was going on about not wanting to be near the poo, this way you don't have to be.

Hmmm, remind me not to be helpful to you again.