Picking up dog poop is the second most annoying task when dealing with dogs. The first is cleaning up vomit. But unlike vomit. Healthy dogs should not vomit all the time. But they do poop. Almost daily. Sometimes up to three times in a day.
Not all responsible dog owners find this task close to being pleasant. But not picking up after your pet is against the law in most states.
I know a dog owner who is really squirmish about picking up dog poop. He carries a small shovel whenever he walks his dog.
I understand how he feels. But an actual shovel is too big and heavy to lug around any distance. A pooper scooper just might be the right answer. But I have had my doubts regarding the effectiveness.
Time to put one to the test.
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DogBuddy
I am testing the DogBuddy Pooper Scooper. We chose this particular gadget because the features closely match our criteria for the perfect scooper. Portable, easy to use and carry, and actually works as advertised.
Testing Method
The testing method is simple. Walk a dog, three in this case. A whippet, a beagle and a chihuahua. The test was whether which size of poop (which you would assume depends somewhat on the dog size and breed) would be the most difficult to pickup. Would the height of grass, mulch or plant life make a difference, and most important, could I fit all of their poops into a single bag?
Results
After a few weeks of testing, this is what I have found.
What I like:
- Convenience. The DogBuddy is small and lightweight. This makes it easy to carry around without being in the way.
- It has a poop bag container.
- The opening is wide enough to accommodate larger size poop. An expandable container facilitates this.
- The expandable container can also help you save on poop bags by letting you use one bag to pickup more. If you own or walk more than one dog, you know how that can become a concern.
What I dislike:
- You need to get close and personal. This does not have an extender to keep you a distance from the package. So you need to get down close.
- The poop does not always disappear into the container. Depending on size and consistency, the poop may end up sticking around the opening.
- Finally, if the lawn is not maintained, this fingerless scooper will have trouble picking up poop that fall between the blacde of grass.
Conclusion
I am wrong in my earlier assessment. I was concerned that the poop might get stuck on grass and make collecting difficult. And it happens, sometimes small amounts get left behind.
Pooping on mulch definitely affected the volume of poop that can be collected. This is because poop acts like a glue and mulch sticks to it. And I worry the mulch may tear a hole in the poop bag.
Still, nothing beats using the hand, with its 5 dexterous fingers, and a large poop bag. And there are other scoopers that may work better at picking up poop between tall blades of grass.
There is really no excuse not to pickup your pets poop. If you are looking for convenience in a small, easy to carry pooper scooper, , the DogBuddy is hard to beat.