When I was ten years old, I begged my parents for a dog. So when we got the dog—our German shepherd, Clancy—I was assigned the task of pooper scooper. That means I’ve been scooping poop for over sixteen years, and I have a lot to say about the job. It may be gross, but it’s essential to living with a happy and healthy dog. Leave dog poop out back for too long and your dog risks contracting heartworm, poop-eating behaviors, and other bacteria-borne diseases.
But we can all agree that picking up poop isn’t the most fun thing in the world. With the right equipment, though, you can turn a downright unpleasant job into a somewhat enjoyable task. Or at the very least, a task you’ll actually do.
Scented lavender poop bags? Yes, please! These make a smelly job much more pleasant. Keep reading for why.
Here’s how.
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Take Your Dog’s Size and Frequency of Elimination Into Account
Do you have a small dog with smaller poops? Or is your dog big, with enormous turds that he seems to constantly be spreading all over the yard? When you’re researching pooper scoopers to buy, don’t buy a smaller pooper scooper than you need just because it costs less. Take your dog’s size and frequency of elimination into account and look for a pooper scooper accordingly. You’ll save in time and frustration if you don’t skip this simple step.
Find Out Which Grip is Most Comfortable For You
Do you want to hold a shovel and scoop poop that way? That’s what we did for the first part of Eira’s life. While it was easy enough when we had snow on the ground, it got a lot harder after. This made us less motivated to pick up poop. Not good. That’s why we went in search of the perfect pooper scooper for our needs, and you’ll find out which one we chose at the end of this post.
Shovels are generally not comfortable to use. I found myself using both a shovel and a random stick to scoot the poop onto the shovel. Ew. I’d rather be farther away from the, um, action.
For me, a long-handled scooper with a bucket and rake or spade was ideal. For others, a claw-like handle like the one I took a video of below works better.
Personally, this type of scooper might work for someone with really strong hands, but not for me. Unless I was purposefully trying to improve my grip strength!
Determine How You Want to Transfer the Poop
Many bucket-and-spade scoopers work really well. I had a big one in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when I lived there with Bella, and it worked fine. I just threw the poop into a garbage bag after picking it up. The downfall was that sometimes, poop dropped out of the bucket and onto my shoes. Not fun!
Even though it sounds strange, figure out how you want to transfer poop to a garbage can. Would you rather transfer it from a bucket-scoop to a trash bag, risking poop falling on you, or use a claw-style scoop like the one above? The claw would make the transfer easier.
This claw-style pooper scooper comes with little bags to drop the poop into.
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To make the transferring process even easier, you could look for a pooper scooper that comes with a feature that fits bags inside the bucket. (Hint: that’s what I found for myself and I LOVE it.)
How Sturdy Is the Scooper in Question?
Some pooper scoopers are made of wood and metal, like this one.
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These tend to be nice and sturdy, but not very flexible for transferring poop into a bag. You have to decide which feature is more important to you—or whatever person in your family is responsible for keeping the dog’s poop picked up.
Does Your Dog Poop Mostly on Walks or in the Backyard?
If your dog mainly poops during your daily walks, you might not need to purchase a big, two-piece pooper scooper. This super convenient compact pooper scooper is perfect for a dog that prefers to eliminate while out and about. Your fellow citizens of the world will thank you for picking up after your dog, and your nose (and hands) will thank you for such an easy, mess-free cleanup process.
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If your dog mostly poops in the backyard, you can invest in a two-piece scooper and just have something simple on hand for the occasional poop during a walk. Eira poops both on walks and in the yard, pretty much equally, so we have our awesome new pooper scooper plus this handy poop-bag dispenser on our Flexi leash.
We love our Earth Rated Poop Bag Dispenser with Lavender Scented Biodegradable Bags.
Not only is the dispenser small and handy, it’s also filled with biodegradable poop bags that smell like lavender. I love the scented bags because I usually have to walk a ways before finding a trash can, and the lavender scent nicely masks the poop smell.
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Without Further Ado, My Favorite Pooper Scooper Is…
The Arm & Hammer Petmate Swivel Bin and Rake Pooper Scooper!
Our beloved pooper scooper.
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This pooper scooper is perfect for Eira and me because it’s portable but not tiny—it fits a lot of poop. It swivels up and down if you need it to, and the rake is curved in a way that’s much easier to pick up poop off dirt or grass, especially compared to those flimsy metal poop rakes. And don’t even get me started on the bag feature.
Arm & Hammer sells bags specially designed for poop, but you could also use grocery bags.
See how the bucket has a good amount of space, but isn’t too bulky and big?
I love this pooper scooper so much, I even made a video about it.
Another fantastic thing about this pooper scooper is that it doesn’t break your wallet. Plus, it’s plastic, which makes it easy to clean if it gets too grimy.
With a shovel, it took me a good twenty minutes to pick up Eira’s poop, even if it had only been a couple days since my last cleaning. Now, with my new Arm & Hammer poop scoop, it takes me five minutes even if there’s a lot to pick up. I can pop out there while Eira’s playing or on a walk with my husband and clean her yard before my toddler starts fussing.
It’s downright amazing.
This may not be the right pooper scooper for you, but there are lots of options on Amazon. Take your needs into consideration and browse the list to find a pooper scooper so much you’ll actually pick up your dog’s poop!
Laura Ojeda Melchor grew up with two beloved German shepherd dogs—Clancy and her daughter, Bella. From the time her family brought Clancy home, Laura took on the duty of pooper-scooper and potty trainer. As a teenager Laura helped her mother care for Clancy during her pregnancy. She still remembers fondly the exciting, frigid winter night when the seven special puppies were born. Laura kept the youngest puppy—Bella—and potty trained her, too. She taught Bella important commands, took her for long walks, and spent hours throwing tennis balls for her.
In November, Laura brought home a sweet new puppy, Eira Violet. Eira is half Alaskan malamute and half German shepherd, and Laura loves her deeply. She chose not to use a crate to potty train Eira and was pleasantly surprised at the results. She now has a sweet, energetic dog who always uses the potty outside, plays well with Laura’s toddler, and enjoys long family walks in beautiful Alaska. If you were to meet Eira, she’d bound up to you with a wagging tail and get you running around the yard with her in no time.