4 Legs & a Tail Spring 2022 LK

Page 60

Is Dog Waste Composting Safe? I

f you're a garden-loving dog owner, you may wonder whether dog waste composting is a safe process. Let's look at the pros and cons of dog waste composting to see if it's a workable plan for your family, your dog and your garden. How Composting Works Composting is a process that combines natural materials that might be considered garbage, such as dead leaves, grass clippings, eggshells, fruit and vegetable peelings, coffee grounds and ends of bread loaves, and makes them into useful garden nutrients. You want to have a mixture of two parts brown (carbon-rich) material to one part green (nitrogen-rich material) in a successful compost pile. Add a small amount of fertilizer or compost starter mix to the pile to get the decomposition process started. Most composters use a bin of some sort to contain their compost pile. Some of these can be purchased at a store, while others can be homemade. Make a pile of yard waste, wet it thoroughly, add kitchen waste as it becomes available,

58 4 Legs & a Tail

and stir the pile occasionally. In a few weeks or months, you'll have a pile that looks like healthy dirt, which is exactly what compost is. Hot Composting Compost piles can be divided into two main types: hot and cold. Hot compost piles use heat to decompose more quickly, and they are best created during periods of warm weather, like the summer. Properly mixed hot compost piles should reach internal temperatures of 130 degrees Fahrenheit, and materials should be broken down and useful for your garden within about a month. Cold compost piles, on the other hand, break down over a period of six months to two years. You can create these at other times during the year and turn them into hot compost piles during periods of warmer weather. Dog waste compost should contain a mixture of two parts carbon (such as sawdust) to one part waste, and the Worm Composting internal temperature must reach at Worms can be a helpful part of a cold least 140 degrees Fahrenheit to make compost pile, or they can be used on the compost safe to use. their own to create their own compost heap. Worms will readily work their way through a compost pile containing large amounts of vegetable matter, or they can be used to decompose dog waste safely. Possible Health Problems with Dog Waste One of the biggest drawbacks to dog waste composting is the potential human health threat from roundworm eggs in the waste. If they infect humans, roundworms can cause two potentially serious health conditions: visceral larval migrans or ocular visceral migrans. In the first condition, newly hatched worms can travel through a person's bloodstream to settle in their liver, lungs, heart, brain or spinal cord. In the second condition, the worms attack an infected person's retinas, causing blindness. To kill roundworm eggs, the compost must reach an internal temperature of at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit. If you use a hot composting method, test the internal temperature of your compost pile with a long thermometer. You can also use the worm composting method to safely break down dog waste. Regardless of the compost method used, use dog waste compost only on ornamental plants. Do not use it on or around food crops because the safety of vegetables and fruits grown with dog waste compost cannot be guaranteed. Spring 2022


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Is Dog Composting Safe?

2min
page 60

A Sibling Encounter

1min
page 61

Is Your Cat Tracking You? Andy Corbley

2min
page 59

Therapy Animals and Their Healing

3min
page 58

A Modern-Day Superhero Karen Sturtevant

4min
pages 56-57

The Case of the Dog With Holes in His

4min
pages 54-55

Great Chicken Breeds for Kids

10min
pages 47-49

Rats, Bats, and Skunks Scott Borthwick

2min
page 53

The Common Loon: The Iconic New

4min
page 52

10 Convincing Reasons Why You Should

3min
pages 50-51

A Tap on the Shoulder Dorothy Crosby

5min
pages 44-46

The Seasons of Puppyhood Paula Bergeron Why experiencing behavioral changes in your puppy is normal

5min
pages 28-29

Earning your Spurs Sue Miller Ever wonder where this term came from?

5min
pages 42-43

A Cautionary Tale Jeffrey Reel

9min
pages 38-41

Spring Has Sprung Ingrid Braulini Some great

6min
pages 34-35

Nutritional Needs of Puppies

2min
pages 32-33

Veterinary Accreditation Catherine MacLean, DVM What to look for when you're looking for a vet

3min
pages 36-37

Spotting & Soothing Separation Anxiety

4min
pages 30-31

They are English bulldogs Karen Sturtevant

8min
pages 24-27

Why does it cost so much to adopt a pet from a shelter? Susan Tarczewski

5min
pages 8-9

Three Happy Tails: Examples of how the future of animal sheltering is moving towards a need for more complex medical care Jacques Du Preez

6min
pages 5-7

Dexter’s Tale to Become a Film A

5min
pages 18-19

Celebrate National Bulldogs Are Beautiful Day

7min
pages 20-23

Willow, America's new first cat, joins the Biden White House Doug Cunningham

1min
page 11

The History of the Domestic Cat How long have domesticated cats been around?

7min
pages 14-17

Pet Vaccines: Schedules for Cats and Dogs

0
pages 12-13

A Busy Year at Windham County Humane Society

2min
page 10
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