Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Dogs

PawTracks may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

How to get rid of dog poop in the yard without scooping

Gabrielle LaFrank
By

Ah, the glamorous life of a pet owner: cleaning up accidents, pulling out who knows what from your dog’s mouth, scooping poop…. Luckily, new technologies and life “hacks” are making it easier than ever to tackle these dirty jobs, whether you’re looking into new cleaning products or learning how to get rid of dog poop in the yard without scooping. Yep — without scooping!

While your pet’s waste needs to be picked up in some way or another, stooping (literally) to pick poop off the ground is a thing of the past. You might be convinced your dog enjoys making you pick up after her, but when it’s this easy, you won’t mind, either. Do you have any other favorite, easy ways to clean up after your pup?

Recommended Videos

Here’s how to get rid of dog poop in your yard … without scooping.

Use a pooper-scooper tool

If you’d rather not bend down or use plastic bags to pick up after your dog, a pooper-scooper tool may be exactly what you need. While each product works a little differently, the idea remains the same — sweeping the waste into the scooper to be transferred, bag-free, into a receptacle.

The simplest scoopers use a long-handled rake and bin to help you get rid of the evidence, so to speak. When you’re done, simply pour out the bin’s contents into a trash or compost bin (more on composting later) and safely store your tools until next time. Other scoopers use spring technology to pick up poop with a jawlike motion — no separate bin required!

a blonde cocker spaniel lies in their yard next to a pooper scooper and a trash bin
Ozgur Coskun/Shutterstock

Compost or bury your dog’s poop

If you’re an avid outdoorsperson, you may have heard the recommendation to bury waste, whether human or canine, when you can. Although this idea can be great in a pinch, burying your pet’s poop in your yard may not be such a great idea. Animal waste can contain bacteria and parasites, which could leach into your lawn, plants, and even any food you grow in your yard.

Instead, set up a safe compost bin to help reduce and reuse your dog’s excrement. If you’d rather not use compostable poop bags, it’s just as easy to scoop solid waste using a shovel or rake and deposit it directly into the compost bin.

Use a potty pad or indoor bathroom

Although potty pads are popular for training your pup’s bathroom habits, they can be a helpful tool for saving space (and effort!), too. Most pads won’t take up a lot of room, although they come in multiple sizes to accommodate your home.

They’re great as indoor bathroom spaces for your pet if you can’t get outside, although they make cleanup that much easier as well. A disposable pad requires bending down just once to replace it, no matter how many times your pup may have used it. (Just, you know, don’t wait that long to replace it!)

a chihuahua sits on a potty pad on a wooden floor
Tikhonova Yana/Shutterstock

Dog-poo-powered streetlamps

Although this option isn’t widely available just yet, dog-poop-powered streetlights might be the next big thing. In 2018, folks in Malvern Hills, UK, installed a special streetlight that uses the methane and carbon dioxide found in dog waste to power itself every evening. Dog owners use the lamp’s provided paper bags to clean up, then deposit the waste into a machine that does the rest of the work.

Although Brian Harper, the creator of this environmentally friendly streetlight, has noticed a reduction in dog waste near the invention, his ideas have yet to take hold worldwide. In 2010, however, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, dog park installed a poop-to-methane converter created by a local engineer-artist; hopefully, these ingenious ideas won’t be the last.

Bonus: Flushable dog poop bags

Although this option technically requires scooping, the way you dispose of your dog’s poop will never be the same. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists flushing as the most environmentally friendly way to eliminate pet waste, though not everyone is willing to try out a reusable poop bag.

Luckily, there are several trusted brands of flushable dog poop bags to choose from. They won’t sit in landfills for hundreds of years like plastic waste bags, but they won’t clog your toilet, either. Quick, easy, and odor-free!

With these pain-free alternatives to scooping poop, you can keep your yard clean and pretty with minimal effort. Your back will certainly thank you for bending over less frequently — even if your dog seems to potty every 20 minutes! There’s an ideal option for every home just waiting to be found, but don’t get discouraged if it takes a little trial and error first. Poop happens!

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Gabrielle LaFrank
Gabrielle LaFrank
Contributor
Gabrielle LaFrank has written for sites such as Psych2Go, Elite Daily, and, currently, PawTracks. When she's not writing, you…
Why do dogs get eye boogers? What you need to know about this common problem (and when you should be concerned)
Eye boogers are rarely serious but sometimes can indicate an infection
Closeup of dog eye

Eye boogers: The truth is that we all get them. At least both humans and our canine companions. Nearly everyone will experience this at some point in pet parenthood (human parenthood as well, usually), and it's certainly nothing to worry about most of the time.

Standard eye discharge doesn't mean a dog eye infection, but the two can be linked. We'll go through when this isn't an issue and what to look for to figure out if there's more going on. Here's everything you need to know about puppy eye goop.

Read more
The best ways to pet your dog to show them how much you care
There's a right way to pet your dog. Here's what you need to know
A man's hand pets the head of a shepherd dog

There are a hundred ways to make a dog happy, from delicious treats to epic playtime. Pets, scratches, and belly rubs almost always make the top of the list, too  -- but did you know there are particular ways to pet your dog to show them how much you love them?
In this article, you’ll learn how to pet your dog -- what tricks and techniques to use to relax them, what spots to avoid, and how to keep everyone comfy and happy. Of course, every dog has their own likes and dislikes, so it’s important to pay attention to your fur baby’s body language and behavior during your massage sessions.
This is what you need to know.

How to pet your dog to show them you love them
In general, most pups are just happy to get some attention from their favorite person, but there are a few specific things you can do to make your next pamper sesh a little more special.

Read more
Why do dogs eat cat poop? And how you can get them to stop
These tips will stop your pup from eating cat doo-doo
Dog wears a yellow sweater and looks at the camera

Sometimes you might think you hear your cat using their potty, but when you go into check, it's actually the dog eating cat poop. Gross! While it seems pretty revolting to us, dogs sometimes eat poop, the feline variety included. Coprophagia, which means eating poop, shows up reasonably frequently in pups, and certain diets, environments, and even breeds can make this act more likely (research says hounds and terriers are the groups most likely to chomp poop, in general).

So why do dogs eat cat poop, and what should you do about this behavior? Read on for a few things to check and a couple of tips to prevent this extra meal.
Why do dogs eat cat poop?
Theories abound, but it turns out lots of different mammals eat poop, their own and others'. One possibility is that not all nutrients fully digest when they go through our systems, which means there are plenty of vitamins to have by consuming feces. Sometimes, these cravings result from a nutrient-deficient diet that is easy to fix by changing up your dog's food.

Read more