My back yard feels like a dog toilet. we pick up the doodie piles but I worry about my kids running barefoot in dog pee? Should i just not think about it.??? I've tried to have them wear shoes but they never keep them on and yes they are old enough to keep their shoes on.
Just a note in response to Riley's post. We can't blame obesity on worms. I've known several people with worms including myself. I'm from the era in which they were common. Having worms makes one skinny because the worms eat all the good food.
I"m not serious but I do sometimes wonder why someone hasn't come up with a worm diet for weight loss. lol
wondering how big your yard is. no, i definitely don't think dog urine is a huge concern. they can avoid a "fresh" spot if it exists. otherwise, no worries at all. if you're a poop scooper you have zero issues....
I don't stress over it. I just make sure they wash their feet off with the hose before they come inside.
I'm with KD - the fertilizer and the pesticides are probably worse than dog pee!!! Don't forget the squirrels, chipmunks, deer, etc. all those animals that get in your back yard!!
we had a dog run on the side of the house filled with pea gravel and trained the dog to go there. Other than that just spray their feet off and enjoy the summer The pesticides and fertilizers on the lawn are probably worse than something organic like dog pee.
We have 2 big dogs, a golden retriever and a doberman/lab mix, and I let my kids play barefoot all the time outside. I just pick up the poop when they go outside but I've never had a puddle of pee on the grass before. The pee just goes down into the dirt. I guess you can always hose off the grass before your kids go out.
Make sure your dogs are vaccinated for leptospirosis. It is zoonotic and can be picked up by urine of any wildlife also. Just wash their feet before going back in and it should be fine.
I personally, do not like my kids going out anywhere, barefoot.
And this is Hawaii, where so many people, go barefoot.
Reasons?:
Worms
sharp objects
Worms
Vomit on the ground. (I actually saw a kid throw up at a park. No one else saw it. The parent sort of rubbed it dry. But I saw other kids step, barefoot on that same area, later). Ick.
Pathogens
Or keep the dog poo area, separate. ONLY have the dog, poop in one area of the yard. Then tell the kids, that is the dog's toilet, DO NOT go there.
We've had dogs as a kid. Our dogs, only pooped/peed in one area of the yard. We, did not go there, much less barefoot. It was gross.
We have 2 dogs. In our yard, we have a section just for them to use the bathroom. its fenced off and they have their own doggie door entrance to it. We do let them in our regular yard as well, which they do go pee/poop in, but its only a little here or there- and mostly out of the way from where my son plays. So maybe you could section off an area just for them.
As for the barefoot thing. My son NEVER goes outside barefoot. He doesn't even want to because he is so used to wearing shoes that its not something he's even interested in. Just stay consistent with them putting their shoes on before they go out. I'm sure it'll be 2nd nature to them before you know it.
Hmmm, tough one - Maybe you could fence off their play area? cos even if you are picking up the doo doo there are still traces of it left. Maybe fence your garden, half for the dog half for the kids
Maybe walk your dog a few times a day, so they doo doo somewhere else lol.
I have 3 dogs and the dogs generally go in one area, but it's hard to keep the kids out of that area. My kids are barefoot all the time. We have never had a problem. I have had my dogs for 10 years and never once got sick from them and we are really close. Also the kids are quite close as well to the dogs and they have never had an issue. From what I have heard urine is sterile, not the same for poop, but we just pick that up.
If the poop is picked up then that should be the main thing to be concerned about. when they come inside,make them wash their feet. It is almost summertime and they do not want to wear shoes when they are outside.
Our dogs tend to go in certain areas, and our son has this magical way of running over every inch but never stepping in anything! (I probably just jinxed us.) We just wipe his feet down before coming in (since he's 90% barefoot in this weather), especially because the backyard door is thru the kitchen. Otherwise, he removes his shoes before entering. Then its usually to the sink for handwashing because he's covered in mud/sand/grass also :)
I worried about this problem as well once we had kids. We trained our dog to only go in one place where the kids don't play, the dog never goes in the backyard play area anymore.
