Suburban Permaculture Question - Disposing of Dog Poo

Hi Guys,

I live in the suburbs and I have a dog. This week I am also looking after a friend's dog and together they are producing large quantities of poo which I am currently bagging and throwing away.

Is there a way to turn this polution into something productive or less harmful?

 

I bury mine in the ornamental part of the garden - I figure any manure is too valuable to waste. I wouldn't put it on the veg patch, but its OK under the fruit trees or similar.
D

 

We have four small dogs. I compost the poo in the most basic way I can and it works great. Basically, I pick up the poo and deposit it in a large white bucket then sprinkle on a bit of dirt/leaves, repeat until full. I do not put a lid on it (but we have a large property with no neighbours). However, I can't say that I notice it being smelly. Occasionally I get a spade and mix it about a bit. When that bucket is full I start on my second or third bucket. After two or three months the first bucket is usually of a nature that I feel happy about putting it around my roses or the fruit trees. My roses were magnificent this season for the first time ever after applying the dog poo! Being in an urban environment, it may be best to have a lid with a few small holes in it to keep the fly situation under control. The best lot I had was the first batch which was an accidental bucketful that had been left to age for about 2 years - the contents were indistinguishable from good loamy soil

 

Set up a compost bin and put horse manure and worms in there. Keep it nice and damp. When you do the poo patrol dig down a little in the compost bin and put in the poo and cover it up. Next day dig in another spot. After a few weeks dig the whole thing over and just keep going each day with the poo. After a few months add some more horse manure.

The worms love the manure and the poo and best of all no smell.

I have been doing this for years with 2 big dogs.

 

Dogs and humans have been companions for a very long time and it is possible to catch some zoonotic diseases off dogs. Best to not use dog poo on food crops. If you want to use it around fruit trees it should be hot composted first.

 

Hot compost by all means but I am not too worried about my fruit trees bio-assimilating bacteria or zoonotic parasites into the fruit through the roots taking up nutrients.

 

You could use it in a methane digester. A small one could power your BBQ not sure about the logistics/feasibility of having one in the suburbs