# How Do Blind People Clean Up After Their Dogs?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 30, 2008, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105 "2008-05-30T04:40:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/1 "2008-05-30T04:40:57Z")
This is something I have wondered for some time now. Blind people. They deal with a hardship I don’t think I would ever be able to deal with. So I salute them for that. But they often have seeing-eye dogs. And dogs do defecate. How are blind people able to find the poops when the dogs defecate, presumably in their backyard usually?
Our dogs have always defecated inside, in our partially-finished basement. But I can imagine even for a sighted person, finding dog manure in a grassy backyard would be difficult. How on earth do blind people do it then?
BTW, the answer to this question will probably answer alot of other questions I have had about blind people. And if you are a blind doper, feel free to chime in please 🙂 .
Thank you in advance to all who reply 🙂🙂🙂
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### Author:  [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/2 "2008-05-30T04:53:01Z")
[QUOTE=Jim B.]
Our dogs have always defecated inside, in our partially-finished basement.
[/QUOTE]
Really? Poop, you mean? But, and pee?
This surprises me. I don’t think I would let my dog do that, even if it was a cellar with dirt floors. And she’s a very small dog. Did you pick up the doody after and store it then put it in the garbage? How does indoor dog defecation work? Wouldn’t it be smelly?
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### Author:  [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/3 "2008-05-30T04:58:07Z")
[QUOTE=Savannah]
Really? Poop, you mean? But, and pee?
This surprises me. I don’t think I would let my dog do that, even if it was a cellar with dirt floors. And she’s a very small dog. Did you pick up the doody after and store it then put it in the garbage? How does indoor dog defecation work? Wouldn’t it be smelly?
[/QUOTE]
I don’t know, but sometimes I do suspect our house smells a little. So far though, no one has had the courage to tell us, even if it were true. Yes, our dogs to poop and pee inside the house, in the unfinished part of our basement on papers, of course. They have been doing this since before I was born.
I think the key to avoiding smell, though, is to pick it up as soon as possible. That is what my aunt used to do. Her dogs pooped and peed on papers inside too.
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### Author:  [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/4 "2008-05-30T05:28:35Z")
[QUOTE=Jim B.]
How Do Blind People Clean Up After Their Dogs?
[/QUOTE]
Messily.
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### Author:  [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/5 "2008-05-30T05:38:15Z")
[QUOTE=Jim B.]
I don’t know, but sometimes I do suspect our house smells a little. So far though, no one has had the courage to tell us, even if it were true. Yes, our dogs to poop and pee inside the house, in the unfinished part of our basement on papers, of course. They have been doing this since before I was born.
I think the key to avoiding smell, though, is to pick it up as soon as possible. That is what my aunt used to do. Her dogs pooped and peed on papers inside too.
[/QUOTE]
I’m sorry, but this just horrifies me for some reason. Why is this preferable to them going outside?
This is a WAG, but probably the blind people’s dogs just go outside, possibly in a large, fenced yard, and it biodegrades naturally. As long as the droppings aren’t too concentrated, this happens without human intervention.
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### Author:  [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/6 "2008-05-30T05:42:32Z")
[QUOTE=Renee]
I’m sorry, but this just horrifies me for some reason. Why is this preferable to them going outside?
[/QUOTE]
Well, as I’ve said, this has been going on since before I was born. The key as I’ve said is to pick it as soon as possible. My WAG for why my family does this: dogs are an important part of the family. And my family just couldn’t bear the thought of them being exposed to the elements outside.
But back to my original point: How do blind people clean up after their dogs?
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### Author:  [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/7 "2008-05-30T06:20:24Z")
[QUOTE=Jim B.]
Well, as I’ve said, this has been going on since before I was born. The key as I’ve said is to pick it as soon as possible. My WAG for why my family does this: dogs are an important part of the family. And my family just couldn’t bear the thought of them being exposed to the elements outside.
[/QUOTE]
But don’t most people take their dogs on walks? Or do you mean you couldn’t bear to leave them outside all the time?
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### Author:  [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/8 "2008-05-30T06:23:18Z")
[QUOTE=Freudian Slit]
But don’t most people take their dogs on walks? Or do you mean you couldn’t bear to leave them outside all the time?
[/QUOTE]
No, we usu. don’t take our dogs out for walks. They’re lazy and slothful just like the humans;) .
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### Author:  [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/9 "2008-05-30T07:19:54Z")
Well… they’re seeing eye dogs! Aren’t the suppose to be trained or something?
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### Author:  [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/10 "2008-05-30T07:26:40Z")
They get down and use their enhanced sense of smell. Or they poke around with their stick till it hits something mushy.
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### Author:  [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/11 "2008-05-30T07:39:12Z")
I don’t think they pick up after their dogs at all. At least, the one time I saw a seeing-eye dog poop in the Safeway (right by the meat department, yuck!), the blind woman and her companion just walked right on along as if they didn’t smell anything.
I really thought those dogs were better trained.
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/12 "2008-05-30T07:46:31Z")
[QUOTE=Hilarity N. Suze]
…the one time I saw a seeing-eye dog poop in the Safeway (right by the meat department, yuck!)…
[/QUOTE]
Yeah, yuck, cos it would have been much better if it was in the chocolate eclair aisle. 😛
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### Author:  [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/13 "2008-05-30T12:22:48Z")
[QUOTE=Hilarity N. Suze]
I don’t think they pick up after their dogs at all. At least, the one time I saw a seeing-eye dog poop in the Safeway (right by the meat department, yuck!), the blind woman and her companion just walked right on along as if they didn’t smell anything.
I really thought those dogs were better trained.
[/QUOTE]
Well, in defense of the dog, not all dogs interpret the “don’t poop in the den” housebreaking instruction to include all dens everywhere including other people’s houses and grocery stores and gymnasiums and things like that. Some dogs interpret “don’t poop in the den” to mean only _their_ den, and sometimes they don’t quite grasp that “upstairs” and “downstairs” both comprise the same den.
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### Author:  [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/14 "2008-05-30T12:27:48Z")
[QUOTE=Hilarity N. Suze]
I don’t think they pick up after their dogs at all. At least, the one time I saw a seeing-eye dog poop in the Safeway (right by the meat department, yuck!), the blind woman and her companion just walked right on along as if they didn’t smell anything.
I really thought those dogs were better trained.
[/QUOTE]
:eek:
I _think_ the idea is supposed to be that they’re trained to poop on command and **only** when they’re off-lead. Dogs in working harness don’t poop or pee or sniff interesting things–they’re given ample and appropriate breaks to do so before and after working sessions.
I bet if you’d called Guide Dogs for the Blind and asked them about the above incident, they’d have something to say about it.
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose]
Well, in defense of the dog, not all dogs interpret the “don’t poop in the den” housebreaking instruction to include all dens everywhere including other people’s houses and grocery stores and gymnasiums and things like that.
[/QUOTE]
Guide Dogs for the Blind are trained pretty hard-core about appropriate times and places to poop, way beyond the idea of “den”– **Hilarity** ’s experience notwithstanding.
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### Author:  [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/15 "2008-05-30T12:35:37Z")
Dogs are very trainable. My dog is trained to defecate in the woods behind my house. When I let her out, she will urinate anywhere, but if I see her run down into the woods, I know why. If we are somewhere other than home, she goes in the most densely foliaged area (like high weeds).
That said, I have no idea as to the specific answer for the OP. I have seen seeing eye dogs for vaccines/illness/etc, but the question never crossed my mind!
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### Author:  [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/16 "2008-05-30T12:39:58Z")
[QUOTE=NajaNivea]
I _think_ the idea is supposed to be that they’re trained to poop on command
[/QUOTE]
Walt Rosskopf (an avian veterinarian) told me about a Macaw he was boarding at his practice. The owner’s chauffeur dropped the bird off. A kennel worker alerted Walt that after nearly half a day, the cage bottom was clean. Walt phoned the owner, who told him that the bird was trained to eliminate on command, to the word, “poop”. He tried it and it worked.
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### Author:  [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/17 "2008-05-30T12:58:43Z")
I suppose the dog could be trained to crap in some type of litter box or onto a mat in the bathroom and then the blind person just needs to roll it up or rinse it off.
If they didn’t have a live in acquaintance or SO then someone could stop by once a week or so and go to the place the dog craps and spend a couple minutes shoveling the poop into the garbage. At the least, the dog could be trained to crap in the same place in the yard to make the shoveling task easier.
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### Author:  [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/18 "2008-05-30T13:23:45Z")
Like many disabilities blind people qualify for a variety of assistance programs/services that help them with a variety of tasks like paying bills. Having someone who stops by once a week to check on things would pretty much be a given.
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### Author:  [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/19 "2008-05-30T15:15:44Z")
**How Do Blind People Clean Up After Their Dogs?**
Carefully!
Do city-dwellers (i.e., no back yard or unfinished basement) generally get exemptions from the “must curb your dog” laws?
RE the aside: We have two pooches that both do everything in the house. We put them out several times a day, but it’s pretty much dumb luck if they do their thing outside. One is an evil little monster dog (did I just type that out loud?) who is housetrained, but knows that if he can sneak into another room he can do his business in peace. The other is about seventeen, and though we regularly (and recently) have had him in the vets for a physical/bloodwork, has some … _issues_ … that over the past few years have got him going in the house. Poor dude. He’s a bit nuts. We liken him to an old car, one that starts and runs reliably, but has a few loose wires in the electrical system and occasionally leaks oil. Good boy. Other one, not-so-much. (Guess which one’s the minpin.)
So, after a years of cleaning, Mrs. Dvl turned a bit of cloth into a life changing, peace-bringing, we-should-be-millionaires-with-this-thing, _diaper_. This came after trying several of the commercial options, people diapers and pullup pants—everything leaked in some way or another. These don’t – not at all. It does, however, mean that once a months or so we have to go to the counter with a box of Depends in hand. But our house is _spotless_.
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### Author:  [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2008, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-blind-people-clean-up-after-their-dogs/451105/20 "2008-05-30T15:37:20Z")
The 2 blind people I have known with seeing eye dogs have cleaned up after them using plastic baggies. Both of these friends were legally blind, but not completely blind. It may have involved some “feeling around,” but with the baggie. The dogs were well trained to go in the same general area. If the facilities/groundskeeping staff were around, they’d generally offer to help, which my friends appreciated.
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