Dog ownership is a valuable experience. Our canine companions provide us with love, loyalty and fun. But at the same time, few dog people think about the by-products of dog ownership that negatively impact our environment - namely dog waste. In this blog post, we explain how this "forgotten" pet waste can harm our environment and how you can help reduce its impact on nature.

The impact of dog faeces on the environment is far-reaching and should be taken seriously. Dog faeces contains high levels of bacteria, including many potentially dangerous pathogens. When it accumulates in nature, streets and other public places, it can pose a significant health risk to humans, animals and the environment. Finally, the decomposition of dog faeces produces methane - a potent greenhouse gas - which contributes to climate change.

How can dog faeces damage the environment?

Dog faeces are a major environmental problem because they can have a number of negative effects on the environment. Dog faeces can contain viruses, bacteria, parasites and other pathogens that can spread in the environment and affect both animals and humans. For example, roundworm eggs in dog faeces are a common cause of human eye infections.

Hundekot kann sehr ernste Folgen für unser Grundwasser haben, wenn er nicht ordnungsgemäß entsorgt wird. Hundekot enthält große Mengen an Stickstoff, Phosphor und anderen Nährstoffen, die durch Regenwasser in nahe gelegene Bäche und Flüsse gespült werden können. Die in Hundekot enthaltenen Nährstoffe begünstigen ein übermässiges Wachstum von Algen. Diese „Algenblüte“ kann zu einer Verringerung des Sauerstoffgehalts im Wasser führen, wodurch Fische und andere Wasserbewohner ersticken. Zudem steht durch das Algenwachstum den Wasserpflanzen weniger Sonnenlicht zur Verfügung, was zu einer geringeren Vielfalt der Fischpopulationen und zu Krankheitsausbrüchen aufgrund des Vorhandenseins von pathogenen Bakterien führt. Dies ist hauptsächlich in Gegenden bedenklich, in denen es aufgrund des begrenzten natürlichen Abflusses von Flüssen, Bächen oder Flüsschen nur eine geringe Strömung oder eine geringe Verdünnung der Schadstoffe gibt.

Dog faeces also contain potential pathogens such as E. coli or salmonella, which can contaminate drinking water and cause gastrointestinal illness in humans if consumed, so responsible pet owners should always clean up after their dogs to prevent long-term damage to the natural environment from dog faeces.

Effects of dog faeces on animals

Dog faeces can have a serious negative impact on local wildlife, not only bringing with it potentially harmful bacterial and viral infections, but also having the potential to disrupt the food chain. Predators can be attracted to areas where dogs defecate, which can lead to an influx of predators in the area, which in turn can lead to over-hunting of certain animals or birds, disrupting their normal population numbers.

In addition to these direct health hazards, dog faeces prevents plant growth, which is important to sustain wildlife. Dog faeces are natural, but not fertiliser. While horses and cows are pure herbivores and their droppings can be used as plant fertiliser, dogs are carnivores. Dog faeces contains nitrogen, but does not have the balance of other nutrients necessary for plants and can even disrupt their natural growth cycle. This means that grasses and other plants that live near dog faeces become weak or die because they do not receive enough nutrients. At high levels, dog faeces can crowd out valuable plant species and lead to over-fertilisation, causing nitrogen-loving species such as nettles to grow more, while other important plants disappear.

What dog faeces has to do with calf deaths Zusätzlich zu den direkten Auswirkungen von Haustierabfällen auf die Umwelt wurde Hundekot mit dem Tod von Kälbern auf Milchviehbetrieben in Verbindung gebracht. Die Kühe nehmen die Spulwurmeier auf, die im Hundekot zurückgelassen wurden, und infizieren sich mit dem gefährlichen Parasiten Neospora caninum. Dieser Parasit verursacht schwere neurologische Schäden, die bei tragenden Kühen zu Frühgeburten, Totgeburten oder zum Tod von Kuh und Kalb führen. Ausserdem bietet getrockneter Hundekot ein ideales Zuhause für krankheitsübertragende Fliegen, die von Futterstellen angezogen werden. Diese Fliegen verbreiten Krankheiten wie Mastitis, Lahmheit und Bindehautentzündung unter den Kühen, was zu noch mehr Kälbersterben in den Betrieben führt. Und schliesslich können fäkale Bakterien und Parasiten von Hunden das Rinderhackfleisch verunreinigen.

The more dog faeces is left lying around, the more dog haters there are

Leaving dog faeces encourages dog haters, so it is important that all dog people act responsibly and dispose of their dogs' waste. This not only helps to protect our environment, but also discourages dog haters from endangering the lives of dogs and other animals. Dog haters spread their toxic bait and create an environment of hostility and fear, creating a vicious cycle of environmental degradation and health problems.

As dog people, we need to take responsibility for our dog and dispose of dog waste properly to protect our environment and the health and safety of our dogs and fellow humans. By pulling together to reduce pet waste pollution, we can ensure a cleaner and healthier world for everyone. And finally, stepping in, looking at or smelling dog waste is simply unpleasant.

Plastic bags or biodegradable bags?

Did you know that the environmental impact of plastic bags used to collect dog faeces is significantly lower than leaving dog faeces lying around? Our dogs have a large ecological footprint and to reduce this a little, you can use biodegradable poo bags. Whether plastic bags or sustainable bags - both belong in the residual waste, because that is the only place where they can be disposed of properly.

If you use poo bags, please make sure that they are biodegradable, as normal plastic takes up to 500 years to decompose in landfill.