# Does bagging dog poo really stop disease spread ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 27, 2016, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016 "2016-07-27T10:58:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Brodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Brodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brodi)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/21 "2016-07-27T13:27:30Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Maybe, But does bird and squirrel poo compare to dog poo in degree of risk ? Dogs have a \*lot \*of diseases to offer. Here are the most common diseases you can get from Fido. > [@](#): > > ``` > Ringworm > Salmonellosis > Leptospirosis > Lyme disease > Campylobacter infection > Giardia infection > Cryptosporidium infection > Roundworms > Hookworms > Scabies > Harvest mites > Rabies > > ``` Note: I think all but Ringworm, Scabies, Rabies and Lyme can be spread by feces. Versus all the other cute woodland creatures who have sauntered through and dropped a present or two in the park. > [@](#): > > Anisakiasis > Anthrax > Babesiosis > Brucellosis > Campylobacteriosis > Ciguatera Fish Poisoning > Colorado Tick Fever > Cryptosporidiosis > Cysticercosis > Dengue > Dermatophytosis (Ringworm) > Domoic Acid Poisoning (Amnesic Shellfish > Poisoning) > Echinococcosis (Hydatid Disease) > Ehrlichiosis > Encephalitis (specify etiology) > Escherichia coli 0157:H7 Infection > Food borne disease > Giardiasis > Hantavirus Infections > Leptospirosis > Listeriosis > Lyme Disease Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis > Malaria > Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning > Plague, Human or Animal > Psittacosis > Q Fever > Rabies, Human or Animal > Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever > Salmonellosis (Other than Typhoid Fever) > Scombroid Fish Poisoning > Swimmer’s Itch (Schistosomal Dermatitis) > Toxoplasmosis > Trichinosis > Tuberculosis > Tularemia > Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (e.g., Crimean-Congo, Ebola, Lassa and Marburg viruses) > Water-associated Disease > Yellow Fever > Yersiniosis The lists come from [here](http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/zoonotic-diseases-in-dogs/898) and again, not ALL are spread by feces. ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/22 "2016-07-27T13:35:32Z")
I would imagine that if a dog has something like [parvo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_parvovirus), it would be very prudent to remove the fecal pile. Of course, some of the virii probably would’ve rubbed off onto the grass/soil, but leaving it there would allow for a much larger amount of virii to be present for reinfecting other animals. I can see how, at places like dog parks or even anywhere in general, that removing the bulk would reduce spread and chance of infecting other animals significantly. Of course, vaccinating all animals that spread such a pathogen would prevent infection, but plenty of folks don’t bother with such. So a policy/habit of removal of the bulk, particularly in public areas, surely helps keep size of parvo-laden area down much more than the parvo-laced feces drying and spreading through weather, erosion, human/animal traffic, etc. Removal likely won’t _stop_ spread, but reduce it (afaik) with a long-lived parvo-like pathogen. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/23 "2016-07-27T13:39:54Z")
> [@](#): > > I, along with the local public health department, have certain expectations regarding the conditions to be found in a restaurant - one of which is that fecal matter isn’t allowed anywhere near food. Of course bar snacks are a different matter entirely: ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/24 "2016-07-27T13:42:56Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > OK but would you lay on the area, maybe prop yourself up on your hands and warm yourself in the sun, and munch a sandwich ? Maybe a dog had plopped there an hour earlier, and it was bagged, and there is no obvious sign, but you put your hands right on it. I recommend that you do not eat your sandwich out of the same bag that you use to collect your dog’s stools, and I note that siting on a stool in a restaurant is quite different from sitting on a stool in a park, so there are different health codes in place. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/25 "2016-07-27T13:45:35Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > I’ve taken the same attitude, and I think most people hanging out in a park have too. Bu-u-ut, now I think about it, would I be so easy going about feces in any other context ? How about a waiter leaving shitty fingerprints on my plate, or even just my sleeve ? There would be a fight, and I wouldn’t be listening to the waiter explain that it was just a smear, and it will dry and I won’t hardly notice it in a few minutes especially as he’s pouring gravy on it now… > > And yet people have a totally different disgust reaction to rolling around in the grass. I have a completely different expectation of cleanliness when I’m paying good money to a place that’s serving me food than I do of a free public outdoor space that’s intended for walking and running on. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/26 "2016-07-27T13:45:40Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > I want to know how much contamination there is by swiftly removed turds. > > And pee too, there’s no doggy pee bag that I know of, and they don’t wear nappies. > > There should be a comparison study out there - contamination before and after scooping laws. Well, there’s your opportunity. Since you seem to be the only one who gives a shit about it (pun intended – I slay me!), you should by all means devise and implement said study. You could probably get a grant from Duky University. ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/27 "2016-07-27T14:13:07Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > I recommend that you do not eat your sandwich out of the same bag that you use to collect your dog’s stools, and I note that siting on a stool in a restaurant is quite different from sitting on a stool in a park, so there are different health codes in place. Yes, but would you recommend against me using a new, clean poo-bag to pack my sandwich and then -after consuming said sandwich- using the same bag to pick-up my hound’s poo? ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/28 "2016-07-27T14:43:35Z")
> [@Brodi](#): > > Versus all the other cute woodland creatures who have sauntered through and dropped a present or two in the park. Bu-u-t, people don’t take their deer and squirrels to the park specifically to dump in public rather than on their carpet or back yard. You basically are concentrating the poo activity from thousands of animals in one place - and that place is where your frisbee lands. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/29 "2016-07-27T14:47:14Z")
> [@](#): > > **Review** > > Soil-transmitted helminthoses affects more than 2 billion people worldwide [[1](https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1756-3305-7-67#CR1)]. Other than human-specific parasites, intestinal nematodes affecting dogs have a relevant health-risk impact for both animals and human beings. The importance of these pathogens is often minimized by veterinarians and the general public… > > Studies from various countries have demonstrated a high rate of soil and grass contamination with infective parasitic elements in leisure, recreational, public and urban areas, i.e. parks, green areas, bicycle paths, city squares, playgrounds, sandpits, beaches… and that’s just for worms… > **[Environmental contamination by canine geohelminths - Parasites & Vectors](https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1756-3305-7-67)** > > Intestinal nematodes affecting dogs, i.e. roundworms, hookworms and whipworms, have a relevant health-risk impact for animals and, for most of them, for human beings. Both dogs and humans are typically infected by ingesting infective stages, (i.e.... ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/30 "2016-07-27T15:43:59Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Bu-u-t, people don’t take their deer and squirrels to the park specifically to dump in public rather than on their carpet or back yard. You basically are concentrating the poo activity from thousands of animals in one place - and that place is where your frisbee lands. There’s this wonderful invention called soap… ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/31 "2016-07-27T15:59:00Z")
Let’s look at it this way. Scenario a) There’s a big, steamy pile of poop. You don’t notice it and step in it. Now you’ve squished it into a larger, flatter pile plus you have it on your shoe. Then you take another step (or drag your foot trying to clean your shoe) and you spread the poop into another area of the grass. Then someone else steps in the first pile and repeats the process into another formerly poopless space. This continues until multiple people have poop on their shoes and the original pile has been stamped into the ground. Scenario b) The dog owner cleans up the original pile of poop. There’s a trace left on the ground. You step in it but pretty much get it all off your shoe with the next step. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/32 "2016-07-27T16:00:03Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > When a poo hits the ground does it instantly spread pathogens, worm eggs etc., or leave a disease laden smear, even if it is quickly bagged ? Permit me to address your central concern, using the inestimable scientific resource _[How to Sh\*t in the Woods](https://www.amazon.com/How-Shit-Woods-3rd-Environmentally/dp/1580083633)_, by Kathleen Meyer. Meyer, an environmentalist, recommends a technique for dealing with human excrement when one cannot, for whatever reasons, bag or honeypot one’s leavings, called “frosting a rock.” The idea behind “frosting” is that UV radiation from sunlight is a powerful killer of pathogens – especially fecal pathogens, which literally thrive “where the sun don’t shine.” An environmentally-conscious pooper, using a stick or flat rock, spreads the waste across an exposed rock, rather like frosting a cake. The thinner the better! Sunlight quickly penetrates the thin layer, killing the bad things with ultraviolet, and also heat and drying action. Armed with this knowledge, I am confident that a thin smear of poop left behind after bagging gets similar sun exposure, quickly rendering its dangerous content nugatory. Enjoy your public spaces without fear. And give those dogs you see a pat on the head! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/33 "2016-07-27T16:05:43Z")
People sit on benches in the park. Between their skanky ass and the bench there is one or two layers of porous cloth. It may be preferable not to thing too hard about these things. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/34 "2016-07-27T16:06:23Z")
Dog poop stinks. If I step in it, it tracks into my house/car/workplace where I and everyone else can smell it all day. That’s sufficient. And before anybody gets onto cats and sandboxes, I keep my cats in so that only I get to enjoy their leavings, which I assume is similar to changing your own child’s diapers on your own kitchen table if you wish, but not on the restaurant table, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/35 "2016-07-27T16:07:05Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Enjoy your public spaces without fear. And give those dogs you see a pat on the head! What!? That’s crazy talk, do know how many germs live on a dogs head? ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/36 "2016-07-27T16:07:20Z")
Think and see what the OP is getting at. There must be some places where the dog park is really small and the number of dog owners is really large. They all bring their dog to the same park and there does end up being a lot of poop and poop residue. I think that’s why they have specialty dog parks, so people can take the kids somewhere that isn’t infested with dog poop. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/37 "2016-07-27T16:27:34Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > Think and see what the OP is getting at. There must be some places where the dog park is really small and the number of dog owners is really large. They all bring their dog to the same park and there does end up being a lot of poop and poop residue. I think that’s why they have specialty dog parks, so people can take the kids somewhere that isn’t infested with dog poop. [This paper discusses the topic.](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260194336_Environmental_contamination_by_canine_geohelminths) > [@](#): > > Intestinal nematodes affecting dogs, i.e. roundworms, hookworms and whipworms, have a relevant health-risk impact for animals and, for most of them, for human beings. Both dogs and humans are typically infected by ingesting infective stages, (i.e. larvated eggs or larvae) present in the environment. The existence of a high rate of soil and grass contamination with infective parasitic elements has been demonstrated worldwide in leisure, recreational, public and urban areas, i.e. parks, green areas, bicycle paths, city squares, playgrounds, sandpits, beaches. This review discusses the epidemiological and sanitary importance of faecal pollution with canine intestinal parasites in urban environments and the integrated approaches useful to minimize the risk of infection in different settings. It is worth a read. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/38 "2016-07-27T17:29:03Z")
Our local scoop the poop info page: > **[Scoop the Poop | AustinTexas.gov](https://www.austintexas.gov/department/scoop-poop)** > > Dog and cat waste left on the ground is more than smelly and unsightly….it pollutes our water and poses a health risk for pets and people, especially children!  Please remember to always Scoop the Poop and to dispose of pet waste properly! [http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Articles/clean\_up\_waste.cfm](http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Articles/clean_up_waste.cfm) [http://www.cpha.ca/en/programs/history/achievements/05-he/diseases.aspx](http://www.cpha.ca/en/programs/history/achievements/05-he/diseases.aspx) > **[Can Dog Poop Spread Disease? In Short, Yes](https://www.petmd.com/blogs/fullyvetted/2013/dec/zoonotic-diseases-and-why-picking-up-poop-is-essential-31183)** > > The best way to protect people from hookworms and roundworms is for all of us to pick up pet feces immediately when in a public environment and on a daily basis in our own yards, and to follow a veterinarian’s recommendation regarding fecal... > **[The Shocking Truth About Not Picking Up Your Dog's Poop](https://iheartdogs.com/the-shocking-truth-about-not-picking-up-your-dogs-poop/)** > > Sure, we all know that it’s rude and disgusting to not clean up after your dog, but some of these facts really surprised me. Especially the very last one. How do you react when you see someone who doesn’t pick up their dog’s poop? Leave a comment... ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/39 "2016-07-27T19:01:05Z")
> [@MrQwertyasd](#): > > Bu-u-t, people don’t take their deer and squirrels to the park specifically to dump in public rather than on their carpet or back yard. You basically are concentrating the poo activity from thousands of animals in one place - and that place is where your frisbee lands. Don’t the deer and squirrels usually take themselves to the park? ---
**Author:** ![Khendrask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@Khendrask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khendrask)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016/40 "2016-07-28T12:10:48Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Don’t the deer and squirrels usually take themselves to the park? Squirrels especially do. They will eat just about any crumb left behind by people, and will congregate in the areas where people are. Deer on the other hand have two purposes… to commit suicide by car, costing a great deal of money to fix, and to eat (and of course shit) all over the plants around your house. Especially vegetable gardens. They love to eat them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-bagging-dog-poo-really-stop-disease-spread/761016.md?page=3)