The Scoop on Corgi Poop

Health inspectors spend a lot of time studying what is in poop, how to treat it and what to do with it after it’s treated. You could say we have a crap job, but somebody has to do it if public health is to be protected. And if we are not studying it, we are talking about it. Get a group of health inspectors together at lunch and I guarantee that the poop topic will come out at some point (pun intended). 

Poop was on my mind today as I took advantage of a beautifully warm, sunny, winter day in Florida to do some yard work. One project was filling in the holes the Running Corgis had dug over the past week. They love to dig holes, especially if they didn’t get their run or were not given a “job” that day. They also take a lot of pride in re-digging the holes after I fill them. The re-digging of holes is becoming a problem for me because after two or three times, I never have enough dirt to put back into them (where does it go??).  So that means I have to find something other than dirt to fill the holes. 

I discussed the problem with my vet. According to her, dogs find their poop repulsive, so she suggested I use their poop to fill the holes. From a health inspector perspective, that advice made a lot of sense. Compared to humans, dogs can have almost twice as much bacteria in their poop. Dog poop also stinks; it attracts flies into the yard and serves as a breeding ground for disease. Using the poop as hole filler is the kind of solution to a number of problems that even a health inspector cold love.

According to a study by Mary Wright, a dog the size of a corgi will generate approximate 32 grams of poop per day. I have two corgis, so that means they can produce around 64 grams of poop-fill each day. Based upon the size of the holes I filled using one month's worth of corgi waste, that translates to a very conservative approximation of 8 cubic inches (4 in³per dog) of dried corgi poop produced each day.

So far, the solution has been working well. After filling the holes, the dogs start digging in the same place but they stop just before reaching the poop and do not dig there again. And, the corgis are still making plenty of poop for future holes. I can’t wait to tell everyone about it over lunch!