Which cities are winning the war against dog poop?

There is currently a war on dog poop in the United States. With many dog owners not picking up after their pooches, some cities are stepping up their game when it comes to keeping their streets and sidewalks clean. Of course, it is also about picking up at the park too!

In research shared by Tails.com, we learned about a growing concern over fouling – which is simply a dog poop problem in which people are leaving their dog’s poop behind after walks or trips to the park. Over the years, we have talked about dog walking etiquette, with one of the main tips being that you should always pick up after your pup.

I know it should feel obvious, but apparently it isn’t. In fact, according to the Tails.com researchers, a whopping 38 percent of dog owners are NOT picking up after their pups. However, cities and states are fighting back against the fouling, and in some cases, some of those cities are coming out on top.

Cities are trying to combat their dog poop problem and in some cases, they are willing the war on fouling

So which cities are coming out on top and how was their success measured? It seems that there were eight factors, with a possible score out of 10 for each factor, that researchers looked at to determine which cities were at the top of the list when it came to combatting fouling. Those eight factors are:

"How many dogs per city /10Do they have enforced dog fouling fines /10How easy it is to report dog fouling /10How much is a fine for dog fouling? /10Number of parks /10Number of dogs per park /10The estimated amount of dog poo per day /10If they have any additional dog walking rules in place /10"

With those factors in place, researchers worked to rank a wide range of cities (they specifically looked at 10 cities in the U.S., as well as cities in the U.K.) across the country using a maximum score of 80.

So which city came out on top? It was none other than Seattle with a score of 65 out of 80! In second place, was Albuquerque with a score of 62. At the bottom of the list of 10 cities was San Diego, which was only able to muster up a score of 30 out of 80.

Wondering why this is a problem and why you should be picking up the dog poop? Not only is it important to protect the water supply, but it is also about protecting yourself and others. The reason this is important is because dog poop can contain a lot of harmful bacteria and it is also releasing nitrogen into the atmosphere, so bagging it up nips that in the bud.

The last thing we want is to get sick because of dog poop, and honestly picking up after your pup should be a given.

Are you surprised by how many dog owners don’t clean up after their pups? Are you surprised by where Seattle ranks in terms of cleaning up? Tell us in the comments below.