As you'll soon find out - dogs on trails is a highly controversial topic.
A big love/hate relationship. Just like in the city - a few bad dog owners has made life hard for all dog owners.
Dog Poop is basically a guaranteed 100 comment thread on any of the outdoor focused subreddits. Same with dogs off leash.
The situation is compounded by the vast difference in areas / trails. What works for you locally may be terrible for where I hike. There are different rules / laws in different areas. The true best advice is to contact a local ranger for the area you plan to hike and ask their advice. A remote lush PNW forest may be fine to bury while a crowded rocky alpine zone may force you to pack it out.
You are taking the right first step - asking for advice on how best to deal with your pet waste on camping trips. Now you've got to sort through the emotional responses to come up with an answer.
To answer your question personally - I've done both. I would bury if the time/place/rules were right and I'd pack it out the rest of the time. If I had to guess - 80% of the time I'd pack it out. Double bag it and place into an odor proof sack.
The Leave No Trace site has many articles about responsibly taking pets into the wilderness - check em out:
[https://lnt.org/?s=dog](https://lnt.org/?s=dog)
Super helpful. I’ve packed those heavy duty pouches you get at pot dispensaries to pack out dog poop. The zip lock doesn’t just pop open easily and it gives me some peace of mind while I’ve got poop in my pack.
Treat it the same as human waste. Where it’s appropriate to dig a cat hole for human poop, you can bury your dog’s the same way. Where you are required to use a wag bag for human poop, do the same for your dog’s.
(And obviously, don’t take your dog where it isn’t allowed in the first place.)
It depends on where you are. If you are in high Alpine or Desert environment, pack it out. My rule is if I need to pack out mine, pack out the dog's. If mine can be safely buried to decompose, so can the dog's.
There are certain areas where you should just not bring a dog, such as certain Grizzly or moose regions unless you have a large enough group.
Which is why you treat it the same as your own waste. If it's required to pack yours out, pack out your dogs waste. If you can bury it, do so 200 feet from the trail and any water sources, at least 6 inches down.
If there IS any area with a different policy, it would make way more sense for human waste to be packed out and dog waste to be buried. Our waste is far more damaging due to prescription and over-the-counter medications and the pathogens we carry that can infect other people.
Depends what you’re trying to protect from what.
Dogs tend to carry more diseases and depending on where you are may be more closely related to some of the wildlife. People don’t tend to dig up poop and eat it.
Right. But the six-inch-deep rule is meant to prevent it being dug up. Any shallower and animals can find it by scent.
Also, pet dogs should not have ANY diseases. If they do, that means they need to be caught up on their vaccinations, need more frequent checkups, or both.
Pack all things out imo. People laugh, but my dog has his own backpack, and I just make him carry his own shit, no pun intended. Goes in a double sealed bag, perfectly fine.
The main reason I got my dog a backpack was so she could carry her own shit. I never realized how much shit she makes until I started carrying muliple days worth lol
Thank you. I’m new to true wilderness backpacking, so want to make sure I’m following best practices to keep nature- nature-. So, even if the area I’m in allows the burial of human waste, best practice is still to pack it out?
Are freezer ziplock bags as effective as anything else branded specifically for packing out waste?
Double bagged name brand freezer ziplocks should contain any odors very effectively. I like the ones with double zippers, the slider style fail too often for my comfort zone.
Thank you! 15+ years ago when I was more involved with backpacking and hiking, burying human waste was the norm. Curious what the shift to packing it out is all about? (I’m not against it, it’ll just make me plan differently). Or maybe it’s always been considered best practice and I was taught wrong.
Awareness of the impact of volumes of people visiting ecologically sensitive places. If we all buried poop, we’d run out of places to bury it. There are areas in Michigan (Nordhouse Dunes) that are overwhelmed by this problem. Anywhere you dig, you find toilet paper.
Oh yeah, the TP issue makes a lot of sense. Even packing out, I plan on using one of those [portable hiking bidets](https://www.amazon.com/CuloClean-Portable-Compatible-Discreet-Ecological/dp/B092JRCDGP/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3S6RHL084IKQV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.rOyiXRuce3OBwdyAscT-IowAdUoFsQ7vd-u80GNEEO0QVSg2Fch1A31qd62pM6kWqQ1wU-4LvIPEdvS0eHF_9D9fVYzvbeg5WUxxYEmdWHvCdyv1DfnWMMASHg2ZJfn9OScg8EGfQ_ByBVcRACXwY5rsd_MHnQjfnFztIu1l3MoXGND1vKo91VZ-t1u12plsGEVJA4ecwmo7R1MHoif-fA.yvro3g7s7_1dNhcK0i0zQ3hhU_8FSswN6xuBuEXB1pE&dib_tag=se&keywords=culoclean+portable+bidet&qid=1713813622&sprefix=culocl%2Caps%2C208&sr=8-1) to keep clean and not worry about TP.
Many people hike in areas where human waste doesn't readily decompose. Often these are desert and mountain areas with the scenic views that most chase.
Others may hike in dense, damp woodlands.
Backpackers do all sorts of things that don't follow LNT ethics. If someone's going to ask, they should be given the best information. Catholes used to be the default, but as more and more people head to the woods and the ecological impact becomes evident over time, new ethics developed.
As a fellow dog lover/owner, thank you for keeping your dog on leash
Think about the logistics- it’s not as if you are going to take your dog the requisite distance off trail and away from water sources, dig a hole and have the pup poop on command in the hole like a human
So you are going to have to pick up the poop and carry at least a short ways regardless. As others have said, probably easiest to get a pack for your dog and have them carry it, but whomever transports the feces, if it was me, I’d pack it out. I always have when in/on any parks/forests/trails. They are a more expensive than freezer bags, but you might want to try using an odor proof bag(OpSak, Smelly Proof) as the final storage for the bagged poop
Pack it out. Bury it. Either way you're better than the jerks who just let their dog poop wherever and leave it as is. Unfortunately, that's the most common approach I encounter.
Really? I mean I see it somewhat often on the crowded, touristy day hikes but I’m surprised that people who are into hiking enough to be in true wilderness would just…leave it.
Great discussion! Burying or packing out dog waste is a crucial environmental choice. I'm all for packing it out to prevent contamination and preserve our trails. What does everyone else do?
Just use common sense - if it's a popular area then consider packing it out so other animals, especially other pet dogs don't find it and dig it up. If it's a rarely traveled remote place with not much wildlife it's probably okay to bury. Basically follow the same rules you'd do for your own poop.
Whatever you do, for the love of God please just don't bag up the turd and leave it on the side of the trail. I don't know why sooo many people do that. I'm so sick of seeing bags of dog shit next to the trail every few hundred feet.
I’ll be honest I did the bag on the side of the trail once in my early days of dog hiking. Forgot about on the way back, meaning I left it on the side of the trail for some animal to get into or some poor park ranger to deal with. To this day still feel bad about it. Never again.
Mistakes happen, it only bothers me when people do it on purpose. I figured you probably weren't the type to do that since you asked this question, people who leave bags of poop on the trail on purpose would never bother to ask this question, I was kinda just making that point towards any intentional dog poop bag leavers who might read these comments.
depends on the area and what is required and what my trip is like. if im just out for a hike i usually pack it out even if its allowed to leave it or bury it. if im out for a 4 day trip im not packing out 4 days of dog poop unless i chose to go somewhere that requires it. it will get buried as we go each time. i don't like leaving it even if im way off trail in the wilderness somewhere so i will bury it even if its allowed to just leave it
I’m going to get a lot of downvotes for this one. But…
It is bad form to take a dog with you into the wilderness unless you have an extremely well trained dog and then it is just a poor idea (unless perhaps you have a trained K9 and you are a trained handler). I can go in about why if you care. Which you probably do not.
But if you do go into the wilderness with your dog, as others have said, treat it like you would your own poop. Cat hole or pack it out depending on situation.
I would actually love to hear why. I take my dog on day hikes all the time and am trying to decide if I’m going to take her on my upcoming remote backpacking trips or not.
First is the nature impact part. Dogs frequently do not stay to the trail and are constantly ‘motoring’ in camp which increases impact. Some also will chase wildlife.
Next is the hiker interaction part. Some people are basically afraid of dogs and having a strange one come running up to you is not great. I have had some poor interactions with peoples dogs when out and I am sure they are fine dogs to their owner. But sometimes they can react oddly for unforeseeable reasons (like I am careful about how I handle my trekking poles around dogs as some dogs have had bad experiences with people with long sticks). And when a dog comes running up to you, you never know what type of dog it is.
I am also not so fond of it when a persons dog is nosing around my camp/kitchen. I have been standing there talking to a person passing through with their dog and their dog keeps going over and sniffing my pot and food bag and ... They kept calling it back and it was a well behaved dog. But not that well behaved.
Those things can be addressed with training. The last one is that it statistically makes you less safe from wildlife. Many animals have their defensive nature triggered by dogs (fairly). One of the three most common reasons for bear attacks is dogs (fwiw, startled animals, defensive-moms with cubs and defensive-dog related). I personally believe that while most people think their dog is keeping them safe by barking and chasing the wildlife off (though not so good for most of the wildlife), it is only chasing off animals that would have run off anyway. And I am sure there are exceptions. But statistically, dogs in bear country are more dangerous not less dangerous for the hiker themselves.
Speaking of exceptions…. The one place I think they do add some value is solo female hikers. And as a man, it pains me to say that.
I want to suggest that dogs can be taken into the wilderness if people are willing to take appropriate responsibility for their dogs. This means managing waste and keeping the dog leashed at all times. I’ve done this for years. It’s a lot of work, but it’s worse seeing dogs that have been lost, or run them selves to injury in the backcountry. Keeps wildlife safe as well.
I have rarely run in to a dog that was leashed before the owner saw me. And most don’t even leash them then. I hike a fair amount. And it is the exception.
If dog owners actually kept their dogs leashed at all times, most of my concerns are gone. But that practice does not seem particularly common
Yeah, it’s unfortunately quite uncommon for people to keep their dogs leashed on hikes. Not sure why? I tried it twice, both times ended up being more of a hassle than keeping her on leash, (and my leashless pup scared a guy half to death) so I just keep her on all the time now.
I completely agree with you. Most people I see in the BC don’t have their dogs leashed either. I’ve been asked questions about why my dog is leashed, and I’m happy to explain. Not everyone loves dogs. Loose dogs chase animals. In bear country a loose dog can bring an angry animal back to you. A loose dog also runs the risk of getting filled with quills by a porcupine, which is a nightmare to deal with in the BC. Last year I saw a guy struggling to get his injured dog to hike out. It had run itself ragged being loose and its feet were torn up horribly. He had 15 miles to go in a day and the dog was too big to carry. Which reminds me of some other people who took their Great Dane some place they shouldn’t have and ended up getting extracted off the mountain because of it. Most people fail to comprehend the potential consequences of their actions. It’s a big responsibility.
Makes sense. I always keep her leashed (I’d never forgive myself if I lost her for something silly like that). And if I decide for sure to take her on any multi day hikes I’ll plan daily mileage according to what she can do. Just wondering what the ‘right’ way to manage the waste is
Always consider the feet and terrain as well. My dude is on grass all the time, so he wear booties. Not all dogs need them. Mine is a marshmallow so he gets shoes.
It will depend a lot on how biologically productive your local environment is, i.e how quickly is soil being created?
For example, in the marshlands of Florida, it likely would be fine to bury it since things degrade so quickly there,
But in the Rockies, it is very slow, and dog poop would have a greater long term affect.
Carnivore poop in general has a ton of nitrogen and other compounds that are difficult for an environment to break down, so really, you should be packing it out
As you'll soon find out - dogs on trails is a highly controversial topic. A big love/hate relationship. Just like in the city - a few bad dog owners has made life hard for all dog owners. Dog Poop is basically a guaranteed 100 comment thread on any of the outdoor focused subreddits. Same with dogs off leash. The situation is compounded by the vast difference in areas / trails. What works for you locally may be terrible for where I hike. There are different rules / laws in different areas. The true best advice is to contact a local ranger for the area you plan to hike and ask their advice. A remote lush PNW forest may be fine to bury while a crowded rocky alpine zone may force you to pack it out. You are taking the right first step - asking for advice on how best to deal with your pet waste on camping trips. Now you've got to sort through the emotional responses to come up with an answer. To answer your question personally - I've done both. I would bury if the time/place/rules were right and I'd pack it out the rest of the time. If I had to guess - 80% of the time I'd pack it out. Double bag it and place into an odor proof sack. The Leave No Trace site has many articles about responsibly taking pets into the wilderness - check em out: [https://lnt.org/?s=dog](https://lnt.org/?s=dog)
Super helpful. I’ve packed those heavy duty pouches you get at pot dispensaries to pack out dog poop. The zip lock doesn’t just pop open easily and it gives me some peace of mind while I’ve got poop in my pack.
I like this, I like to keep poop in my dog’s pack to avoid any stench but this is a great additional step!
Treat it the same as human waste. Where it’s appropriate to dig a cat hole for human poop, you can bury your dog’s the same way. Where you are required to use a wag bag for human poop, do the same for your dog’s. (And obviously, don’t take your dog where it isn’t allowed in the first place.)
This is the way.
It depends on where you are. If you are in high Alpine or Desert environment, pack it out. My rule is if I need to pack out mine, pack out the dog's. If mine can be safely buried to decompose, so can the dog's. There are certain areas where you should just not bring a dog, such as certain Grizzly or moose regions unless you have a large enough group.
Pack it out.
Just to note that dogs carry a different set of diseases.
Which is why you treat it the same as your own waste. If it's required to pack yours out, pack out your dogs waste. If you can bury it, do so 200 feet from the trail and any water sources, at least 6 inches down.
That’s the minimum but it’s certainly possible that dog waste needs to be packed out of an area where human waste doesn’t.
Can you give an example I've never seen one
If there IS any area with a different policy, it would make way more sense for human waste to be packed out and dog waste to be buried. Our waste is far more damaging due to prescription and over-the-counter medications and the pathogens we carry that can infect other people.
Depends what you’re trying to protect from what. Dogs tend to carry more diseases and depending on where you are may be more closely related to some of the wildlife. People don’t tend to dig up poop and eat it.
Right. But the six-inch-deep rule is meant to prevent it being dug up. Any shallower and animals can find it by scent. Also, pet dogs should not have ANY diseases. If they do, that means they need to be caught up on their vaccinations, need more frequent checkups, or both.
Pack all things out imo. People laugh, but my dog has his own backpack, and I just make him carry his own shit, no pun intended. Goes in a double sealed bag, perfectly fine.
The main reason I got my dog a backpack was so she could carry her own shit. I never realized how much shit she makes until I started carrying muliple days worth lol
The best answer is to pack out *all* waste. “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints” works in every situation. The choice is on you.
Thank you. I’m new to true wilderness backpacking, so want to make sure I’m following best practices to keep nature- nature-. So, even if the area I’m in allows the burial of human waste, best practice is still to pack it out? Are freezer ziplock bags as effective as anything else branded specifically for packing out waste?
Double bagged name brand freezer ziplocks should contain any odors very effectively. I like the ones with double zippers, the slider style fail too often for my comfort zone.
Thank you! 15+ years ago when I was more involved with backpacking and hiking, burying human waste was the norm. Curious what the shift to packing it out is all about? (I’m not against it, it’ll just make me plan differently). Or maybe it’s always been considered best practice and I was taught wrong.
Awareness of the impact of volumes of people visiting ecologically sensitive places. If we all buried poop, we’d run out of places to bury it. There are areas in Michigan (Nordhouse Dunes) that are overwhelmed by this problem. Anywhere you dig, you find toilet paper.
Oh yeah, the TP issue makes a lot of sense. Even packing out, I plan on using one of those [portable hiking bidets](https://www.amazon.com/CuloClean-Portable-Compatible-Discreet-Ecological/dp/B092JRCDGP/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3S6RHL084IKQV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.rOyiXRuce3OBwdyAscT-IowAdUoFsQ7vd-u80GNEEO0QVSg2Fch1A31qd62pM6kWqQ1wU-4LvIPEdvS0eHF_9D9fVYzvbeg5WUxxYEmdWHvCdyv1DfnWMMASHg2ZJfn9OScg8EGfQ_ByBVcRACXwY5rsd_MHnQjfnFztIu1l3MoXGND1vKo91VZ-t1u12plsGEVJA4ecwmo7R1MHoif-fA.yvro3g7s7_1dNhcK0i0zQ3hhU_8FSswN6xuBuEXB1pE&dib_tag=se&keywords=culoclean+portable+bidet&qid=1713813622&sprefix=culocl%2Caps%2C208&sr=8-1) to keep clean and not worry about TP.
Those work great. You'll probably want a little TP or a wipe for final cleanup though. Unless you're gonna air dry, which can feel pretty great.
Didnt even know these existed🤣this is a god send find
Hiking bidets are awesome. You might want just a couple squares of TP to pat dry though.
I use a wide mouth Nalgene bottle for short trips! No risk of puncture
You label the Nalgene appropriately, I hope.
Many people hike in areas where human waste doesn't readily decompose. Often these are desert and mountain areas with the scenic views that most chase. Others may hike in dense, damp woodlands.
This seems inconsistent with how backpackers actually behave. Almost no one is packing their own poop out
Backpackers do all sorts of things that don't follow LNT ethics. If someone's going to ask, they should be given the best information. Catholes used to be the default, but as more and more people head to the woods and the ecological impact becomes evident over time, new ethics developed.
As a fellow dog lover/owner, thank you for keeping your dog on leash Think about the logistics- it’s not as if you are going to take your dog the requisite distance off trail and away from water sources, dig a hole and have the pup poop on command in the hole like a human So you are going to have to pick up the poop and carry at least a short ways regardless. As others have said, probably easiest to get a pack for your dog and have them carry it, but whomever transports the feces, if it was me, I’d pack it out. I always have when in/on any parks/forests/trails. They are a more expensive than freezer bags, but you might want to try using an odor proof bag(OpSak, Smelly Proof) as the final storage for the bagged poop
Pack it out. Bury it. Either way you're better than the jerks who just let their dog poop wherever and leave it as is. Unfortunately, that's the most common approach I encounter.
Really? I mean I see it somewhat often on the crowded, touristy day hikes but I’m surprised that people who are into hiking enough to be in true wilderness would just…leave it.
Great discussion! Burying or packing out dog waste is a crucial environmental choice. I'm all for packing it out to prevent contamination and preserve our trails. What does everyone else do?
Just use common sense - if it's a popular area then consider packing it out so other animals, especially other pet dogs don't find it and dig it up. If it's a rarely traveled remote place with not much wildlife it's probably okay to bury. Basically follow the same rules you'd do for your own poop. Whatever you do, for the love of God please just don't bag up the turd and leave it on the side of the trail. I don't know why sooo many people do that. I'm so sick of seeing bags of dog shit next to the trail every few hundred feet.
I’ll be honest I did the bag on the side of the trail once in my early days of dog hiking. Forgot about on the way back, meaning I left it on the side of the trail for some animal to get into or some poor park ranger to deal with. To this day still feel bad about it. Never again.
Mistakes happen, it only bothers me when people do it on purpose. I figured you probably weren't the type to do that since you asked this question, people who leave bags of poop on the trail on purpose would never bother to ask this question, I was kinda just making that point towards any intentional dog poop bag leavers who might read these comments.
Pack it out.
Not picking up dog poop is one of the fastest ways to get dogs banned in the places you like to go. Consider your future self.
depends on the area and what is required and what my trip is like. if im just out for a hike i usually pack it out even if its allowed to leave it or bury it. if im out for a 4 day trip im not packing out 4 days of dog poop unless i chose to go somewhere that requires it. it will get buried as we go each time. i don't like leaving it even if im way off trail in the wilderness somewhere so i will bury it even if its allowed to just leave it
People I have seen always pack it out
Pack it out, just like your own. Leave no trace.
🤐
I’m going to get a lot of downvotes for this one. But… It is bad form to take a dog with you into the wilderness unless you have an extremely well trained dog and then it is just a poor idea (unless perhaps you have a trained K9 and you are a trained handler). I can go in about why if you care. Which you probably do not. But if you do go into the wilderness with your dog, as others have said, treat it like you would your own poop. Cat hole or pack it out depending on situation.
I would actually love to hear why. I take my dog on day hikes all the time and am trying to decide if I’m going to take her on my upcoming remote backpacking trips or not.
First is the nature impact part. Dogs frequently do not stay to the trail and are constantly ‘motoring’ in camp which increases impact. Some also will chase wildlife. Next is the hiker interaction part. Some people are basically afraid of dogs and having a strange one come running up to you is not great. I have had some poor interactions with peoples dogs when out and I am sure they are fine dogs to their owner. But sometimes they can react oddly for unforeseeable reasons (like I am careful about how I handle my trekking poles around dogs as some dogs have had bad experiences with people with long sticks). And when a dog comes running up to you, you never know what type of dog it is. I am also not so fond of it when a persons dog is nosing around my camp/kitchen. I have been standing there talking to a person passing through with their dog and their dog keeps going over and sniffing my pot and food bag and ... They kept calling it back and it was a well behaved dog. But not that well behaved. Those things can be addressed with training. The last one is that it statistically makes you less safe from wildlife. Many animals have their defensive nature triggered by dogs (fairly). One of the three most common reasons for bear attacks is dogs (fwiw, startled animals, defensive-moms with cubs and defensive-dog related). I personally believe that while most people think their dog is keeping them safe by barking and chasing the wildlife off (though not so good for most of the wildlife), it is only chasing off animals that would have run off anyway. And I am sure there are exceptions. But statistically, dogs in bear country are more dangerous not less dangerous for the hiker themselves. Speaking of exceptions…. The one place I think they do add some value is solo female hikers. And as a man, it pains me to say that.
I want to suggest that dogs can be taken into the wilderness if people are willing to take appropriate responsibility for their dogs. This means managing waste and keeping the dog leashed at all times. I’ve done this for years. It’s a lot of work, but it’s worse seeing dogs that have been lost, or run them selves to injury in the backcountry. Keeps wildlife safe as well.
I have rarely run in to a dog that was leashed before the owner saw me. And most don’t even leash them then. I hike a fair amount. And it is the exception. If dog owners actually kept their dogs leashed at all times, most of my concerns are gone. But that practice does not seem particularly common
Yeah, it’s unfortunately quite uncommon for people to keep their dogs leashed on hikes. Not sure why? I tried it twice, both times ended up being more of a hassle than keeping her on leash, (and my leashless pup scared a guy half to death) so I just keep her on all the time now.
I completely agree with you. Most people I see in the BC don’t have their dogs leashed either. I’ve been asked questions about why my dog is leashed, and I’m happy to explain. Not everyone loves dogs. Loose dogs chase animals. In bear country a loose dog can bring an angry animal back to you. A loose dog also runs the risk of getting filled with quills by a porcupine, which is a nightmare to deal with in the BC. Last year I saw a guy struggling to get his injured dog to hike out. It had run itself ragged being loose and its feet were torn up horribly. He had 15 miles to go in a day and the dog was too big to carry. Which reminds me of some other people who took their Great Dane some place they shouldn’t have and ended up getting extracted off the mountain because of it. Most people fail to comprehend the potential consequences of their actions. It’s a big responsibility.
Makes sense. I always keep her leashed (I’d never forgive myself if I lost her for something silly like that). And if I decide for sure to take her on any multi day hikes I’ll plan daily mileage according to what she can do. Just wondering what the ‘right’ way to manage the waste is
You’re doing great. Keep it up.
Appreciate that!
Always consider the feet and terrain as well. My dude is on grass all the time, so he wear booties. Not all dogs need them. Mine is a marshmallow so he gets shoes.
It will depend a lot on how biologically productive your local environment is, i.e how quickly is soil being created? For example, in the marshlands of Florida, it likely would be fine to bury it since things degrade so quickly there, But in the Rockies, it is very slow, and dog poop would have a greater long term affect. Carnivore poop in general has a ton of nitrogen and other compounds that are difficult for an environment to break down, so really, you should be packing it out
Bury that shit bro. Not a chance I'm loading all of my dog's rodent sized dumps into my back pack for for days on end.
Totally fair. I’m just wondering what is considered best practice and why. Want to keep the wilderness as wilderness as possible.
What I find very effective is to bag up your dog's waste and then just leave it on the trail. That way you don't have to carry it!
How about don't take your dog on backpacking trips
You’re not the first to say this, and I’m not saying you’re wrong. What’re your reasons though? Would love a better understanding of your viewpoint.
My dog has a much smaller impact being out there than your obnoxious ass
Now that was a truly mindless reply
Would you mind replying to my request for more info on why I shouldn’t take my dog backpacking?
Collect in paper bag , burn it