I was wondering if anyone here composts dog poo. The post on bat guano got me thinking. We only have one dog at home but he sure poops a lot. We usualy pick it up and throw it away. Is there any way to compost it without too much smell or danger from bacteria. I have heard of composting toilets and so I'd assume that there is some way. I also know that waste from people (after composting) shouldn't be used on food crops--would this be the same for dog poo? Just wonderin'--just seems like such a waste to throw away any poo.

-- Erika (misserika129@hotmail.com), May 08, 2002

Answers

I have heard of using worms to compost cat poo--the bins and worms were sold by Real Goods, and what you did was feed the worms a steady diet of poo only (no other compost-type stuff). I do not know if they still sell it.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), May 08, 2002.

Could worms fed dog poo be fed to chickens? Would you need to wory about germs making the chickens sick, or you sick from eating the chickens?

-- Erika (misserika129@hotmail.com), May 08, 2002.

There are several old post that deal with this, in the archives (Old Messages) at the bottom of the main page.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), May 08, 2002.

Try this site for the Doggie Dooly. Very safe, keep it away from your edible plant sites (garden, fruit trees, etc. Please do not add dog or cat compost to your food supply. Very dangerous organisms, can live and infect for a very long time.

Oh, dang, didn't work.

Okay, just go to www.petsmart.com Look for the pet waste disposal system

-- Ilovedogs (doglovers@kennel.com), May 08, 2002.

I don't know about feeding the worms to anything else--the people I know who own the regular worm composters don't feed them to anything, they just harvest the "worm tea" and the castings.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), May 08, 2002.

I've always gone by the rule that if the animal eats insects or vegetation, you can use it for gardening compost, (ie: chickens, horse, cow, bats, goats, llamas, etc) , if it eats meat (ie: dog, cat, human), don't use it. Then you'll always get a smart aleck who says, "well, what if the human is a vegetarian?". That whole thought makes me sick, lol.

I wish I knew what to do with dog poop. We have 6 dogs and the poop factor is getting old.

-- Cindy in IL (Ilovecajun@aol.com), May 08, 2002.

Here's an article on composting dog poo. http://www.greyhoundmanor.com/pat/compost/pooppat.html Everything I've read said not to use it for veggies or anything else that you may eat.

-- Cindy in IL (Ilovecajun@aol.com), May 08, 2002.

Here's another article on composting dog doo, http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF12/1219.html Hope it helps. LQ

-- Little Quacker in OR (carouselxing@juno.com), May 08, 2002.

Dog and cat feces are more toxic than human wastes. Can transmit staph, e-coli and toxiplasmosis. Is not suitable for vermicomposting due to intestinal and heartworm medications , which take a longer cycle to lose effectivity , that are generally administered to pets and is toxic to the worms. Due to heavy metal toxins , the compost is not suitable for food crops and a concentrated compost pile of these types of feces should be located at least 100 feet from food crops and used only for ornamental plants.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), May 08, 2002.

I use a dry well (pit) next to the septic, treat it with lime once and awhile, no odor.

-- Kathy (catfish201@hotmail.com), May 08, 2002.

I've had dogs AND chickens for 15 years - No chicken has evergotten sick: no body has not ever loved our eggs.

-- Elizabeth Quintana (rockshelter@webtv.com), May 08, 2002.

See The Humanure Handbook

I've heard the author speak about this, but will most likely never try it.

;)

-- heather (h.m.metheny@att.net), May 08, 2002.

I've read the greyhound manor site, it is very basic, if you want to be sure of the safety of the final composted material, it can be double composted, the first time can be a cool working pile or bin, the same as for human waste, then this material can be "hot" worked in a temperature monitored pile, that gets the the temperature up to kill the pathogenic organisms, some people can work it hot the first time around, I'm not that good at it, for me to get a pile hot enough long enough I have to work a special pile and check the temp. every day.

-- Thumper/inOKC (slrldr@yahoo.com), May 08, 2002.

My mom would bury the dog droppings each day in her flower garden. She had the most gorgeous flowers. I loved the roses. All she did was bury the poop and water. Nothing else.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2222@hotmail.com), May 09, 2002.

We pick up whatever the dogs leave behind and carry it (Not with our hands!) to the farthest corner of our property (and it is not near anyone elses well ect..) and drop it into the groundhog holes. Same with the cat litter.

I've considered digging a hole and putting the doggy doo into that with some lime.

Then again, there are some lovely green spots around the yard where jobs were forgotten about.

Along other lines in the same direction.....I've noticed that where we have fed the chickens in their field, the areas around the feed dish are dark green. Something in their mash is fertilizing the ground...makes me wonder.

-- Lavender, Central Maryland (lavenderbluedilly@hotmail.com), May 09, 2002.

Erika, I've got a hunch, that, like Thumper, I would assume that if you REALLY compost it, you can use the fecal matter of any beast, a good composting does not require worms, just bacteria. What you feed your dog is the most important thing in what comes out the other end. Keep your dog fed on healthy food will go a long way to assuring that you have few worries. But compost any feces well before entering it into your food chain, be it cow, horse, goat, pig, or chicken, these are all high on the food chain, and have similar pathogens to human. There is a proven correlation between animal feces, and human disease patterns. Many of our most prevelent diseases would disappear if the domestication of animals was obliterated as a concept. I don't have a dog at this point, as I don't live on my new land yet, but I will get one soon, and I want the pup to learn right off the whole of the property as his/her territory. I have intentions of attempting to train the dog to shit in designated areas (eg the corners of the property) where I will add my urine on occasion. I am hoping that this stategic marking of the territory will help with large predators, such as bears, wolves, and coyotes. I know people that use both human, and dog fecal compost in their vegetable gardens with no ill effect. Most of their neighbours that are in the know, do not except farm produce from them for this reason. It might be difficult to market produce from your property for the same reason. Now jay if you composted the heck out of it, then fed it to worms, then fed the worms to small fish, then fed the small fish to bigger fish, then composted the fish, and fed it to corn, and fed the corn to chickens, would that nullify the ill effects??????just joking.

-- roberto pokachinni (pokachinni@yahoo.com), May 12, 2002.

Erika, A quick and easy way is to use a clamshell posthole digger to make a deep, small diameter hole in a out of way place but near the dog's accustomed place. Cover it with a rock or chunk of wood when not in use. It will last a few weeks, then dig another. You will notice a difference in your fly population.

As to "throwing it away"; if such a place as AWAY exists and you have found it, you have saved the human race :) .

-- Griff in OR (griff@hangnail.com), May 12, 2002.