Poop Patrol

At Happy Dog Land, we believe it's always a good idea to keep tabs on what non-dog owners are thinking. Some of these people are evil dog haters, some are merely neutral and some like dogs, but can't share their lives with one for a variety of reasons, such as financial, residential, work or time constraints. (We should applaud these dog-loving, non-dog owners for doing the right thing -- realizing that they cannot responsibly bring a dog into their home and waiting until their situation changes.)

The folks at The Athletic Minded Traveler, who we know as a fact are animal people, but not dog-owners, recently aired their views on dog poop. Their complaints, which cover abandoned poop, urination and exercising dogs in inappropriate places, are worth a listen.

All dog people must do their part to keep non-dog owners and neutral people from turning to the dark side. Darth Dog Hater can be a powerful influence when someone has stepped in dog poop or finds burn marks on their lawn.

Being a canine ambassador is easy:

1. Pick up your dog's poop EVERY TIME and clean up anything someone else was too lazy to deal with. Keep extra bags with you at all times and hand it to a dog owner who forgot to bring one. If the owner clearly was going to skip the pick up, hand over the bag with a smug smile and say, "Oh here, I have some extras."
2. Be mindful of where your dog urinates.
3. Keep your pooch on leash and out of areas where he's not welcome. In fact, never remove Fido's leash unless he's in a 100% secure area. No dog can control his squirrel-chase instinct all of the time.

Pick up after your pooch to avoid Bad Poop Karma. If you leave it, you will be the one steping in poop some other time-- it always comes back to you.