Family Day Activities: Scoop 2

scoop 2 blog: family day activities: scoop 2!

Monday, February 20th, 2023 is Family Day. It’s also Love Your Pet Day! If you have family or fur-family be sure to get outside for a nice walk today. Looking for Family Day Activities: Scoop 2!

So, you’re looking for family day activities, you’ve come to the right spot! We’re here to convince you and your family to scoop 2 on this wonderful day.

What is Scoop 2?

Scoop 2 is committed to not only picking up our own pets’ poop but any other pet waste left behind that we come across. In addition, if we do not see any left behind waste we will “scoop” at least one piece of litter from our route and either recycle it or dispose of it properly. Hence “Scoop2”! Let us make our world a better, cleaner place 2 scoops at a time… you can always scoop more than 2.

Why scoop 2 on family day?

Why not! Make it a fun activity with the family to see who can collect more waste on their walk. It’s a great bonding exercise or competition for all ages! You and your family can look at the amount of waste you have cleaned up from your nearby green space, neighbourhood or local community and feel proud of yourselves for making a difference.

Learn more about Why we scoop 2?

Why scoop the poop? The truth about dog waste as an environmental pollutant.

Check out our FAQ section if you have more questions!

Another fun activity to do as a family? Join the poovement & Sign the scoop 2 pledge you receive a certificate you can sign and frame, put on your fridge, snap a selfie and send to us, whatever you want! Signing the pledge and joining the poovement is a great addition to your family’s daily walk or personal goals to scoop 2 pieces of litter or pet waste! Your family could make a difference in our environment and within your community.

How to Train Your Pet to Pick Up Litter

To kick off the New Year we wanted to celebrate! 🎉 There is so much to celebrate, with January being National Walk your Pet Month and Train your Dog Month! While we are not professional pet trainers we wanted to share some other top trainer tips and tricks. So when you’re out walking your pet… why not train your pet to pick up litter so they can scoop 2 with you? Sounds like a great idea to us!

Check out this awesome video on how to train your pet to pick up litter so you can scoop 2 together:

With common commands here is how you can train your pet to pick up litter:

1st – train your pet how to retrieve 

2nd – train your pet to “drop it”

3rd – train your pet to target certain items

4th – leave it command 

Now this may sound simple, but as someone who owned a very stubborn Jack Russel terrier, he never would “drop it” so we didn’t get too far on this list. We hope your pet is less stubborn 😉 So 1, 2, 3 are all crucial, but 4 is also very important because the time may come that your pet goes to collect trash that may harm them and we certainly do not want that. So making sure you teach the “leave it” command should also be added to your list of training. 

It is so cool to watch pets in scoop 2+ action! Check out these furry friends:

Tweets of Dogs shares this smart pup and how his owner trained their pet to pick up litter as they collected litter themselves!

While we do believe you SHOULD leash your cat for safety & many other reasons (check out our last blog HERE) this cat collects 33 Gallons of trash every year! WOW 🐱

While your pet is scooping alongside you, to keep you safe we wanted to share one of our favourite companies’ scooper products!

Doo-doo baggy club has two styles of scoopers:

Scoop 2 recommends Doo Doo Baggie Club to help pick up after your pet and scoop 2!

If you do train your furry friend how to scoop, we’d love for you to share a video or photo with us! You can do so by sending to us via our contact us form (You can submit pictures or videos), by tagging us on your social media post (you can find us on all social media platforms @scoop2poovement, or by sending to our email directly: [email protected] Happy scooping! 

scoop2

Scoop2 eliminating dog waste in our environment 2 scoops at a time

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Why You SHOULD Leash Your Cat

Why you should leash your cat: scoop 2 blog post!

Why you SHOULD leash your cat!

There are two sides to every coin. To leash vs. Not leash. There are definitely people who leash their dogs and people who don’t… but please do! Then there are cat owners who leash and walk their cats and owners who let them free… oh and I guess indoor house cats where they look out their windows all day long. TODAY we want to discuss the importance of leashing your kitty-cat, so here are 5 reasons why you SHOULD leash your cat!

  1. For number one we should start with a number 1 FACT… Cats are the #1 Bird killer according to Richard Elliot, Director of Wildlife Research for Environment Canada. In fact SIOBHAN MCCLELLAND from Canadian Geographic shares “feral and domestic cats are the biggest killers of birds, claiming 196 million lives every year.” (Read his post here). This is a big problem for our environment and wildlife. Ben Spurr from The Star shares that in Toronto, “a city committee has backed a plan that would prohibit cat owners from allowing their pets to roam free outdoors” (Read the full article here) and “90 other Canadian municipalities already have anti-roaming bylaws” (Shelly Carroll).
  1. Cats produce pet waste which is just as harmful to our watershed as dog waste! People may not realize that pet waste is a big issue. That is why Scoop 2 is here to educate YOU and build a community of like-minded people who are responsible for our pets, and the environment. 
  1. Leash training your cat is a great bonding exercise between you and your furry friend! It provides mental stimulation for them through learning a new skill. 
  1. Your home will be cleaner – when you leash and walk your cat you will know exactly where they are, and with that… where they’ve been! No tracing rodent guts from the side of the road inside. See them prance through the mud? Clean their paws as you would a dog! They won’t pick up diseases from eating random things they find, and therefore your vet bills will be lower! Win-Win!
  1. Leashing your cat ultimately protects your pet! After all isn’t that all that really matters? Your cat won’t get into fights with other rodents, cats or dogs etc. We want the best for our pets and that means protecting them and taking care of them properly. People will often opt for a cat over a dog because it requires “less work” as friends and family have told me… When in fact this isn’t true! Being a responsible pet owner is pretty basic – you need to feed, exercise and keep clean/clean up after your pet. I know people who buy a cat and just leave them in the house, their cats are CRAZY! It’s no wonder “fluffy” is tearing apart your couch. I also know people who have let their cats free roam the streets, which has unfortunately resulted poorly… If you don’t leash them they may end up missing or worse…so PLEASE leash your cat! 

December is National Cat Lovers month and because of this we wanted to share another perspective on how you can show extra love to your cat and be a responsible pet owner by leashing your furry friend. We hope you found this article helpful and informative.

Looking for some products to help you pick up after your pet? Check out Doo Doo Baggie Club they have scoopers, baggies, and more!

Scoop 2 recommends Doo Doo Baggie Club to help pick up after your pet!

Take A Hike in November: The Blue Mountains

Scoop 2 Blog, Take a Hike in November: The Blue Mountains

November is filled with many fun National holidays, one of them being November 17 “Take a Hike Day”. Since we live in the beautiful Blue Mountains we wanted to share some beautiful local hikes that you and your furry friend can enjoy on Take a Hike Day!

The Georgian Trail

The Blue Mountains and Thornbury has many beautiful locations to take a hike in November. One of my favourites is the Georgian Trail. Take a hike in November on the Georgian trail and you will catch the beautiful fall colours lining your path. The Georgian Trail runs ~34KM from Meaford, Ontario through The Blue Mountains, to Collingwood, Ontario. There is a bike repair station by the Bridge of Kindness located in Thornbury, along with pet waste bags and garbage cans along the trail so you can Scoop 2!

The Georgian Trail The Bridge of Kindness in Thornbury. Sign states Dogs must be leashed, please pick up after your pet (scoop 2 of course) and there are pet waste bags in the image near the bridge.

The Beaver River Trail

The Beaver River trail is another spectacular trail to take a hike in November. It can be found in Thornbury. Start by the Police station, hike through the beautiful neighbourhoods, and runs along the Beaver River, by the Georgian Bay where you can watch a beautiful sunset at the harbour with your pet. Hike through the beautifully treed path, catch the different trees (with signage) along the way, while your pet can enjoy all the different scents. Of course you can find pet waste disposal along your route, so be sure to Scoop 2 pieces of pet waste/litter box (if you can find extra – it is typically very clean).

Beaver River Trail by Police Station. Dogs must be leashed please pick up after your pet (scoop 2)
Beaver River Trail by Police Station
Beaver River Trail by Bayview Park
Beaver River Trail by Bayview Park

Bayview Park

Finally I’d like to share Bayview Park, a central hub that you can link up to the Georgian trail, or walk a bit and you can find the Beaver River Trail. If you are looking to soak in the beautiful calming blue waters of the Georgian Bay, I highly suggest taking a stroll through Bayview Park. You will find pet waste bags and trash cans nearby for you to Scoop 2 and keep our community clean. If you have kids, this is a great spot for them to play on the playground – with a slide and swings, large green space and picnic table, Bayview Park is a great location to take a hike with the whole family to enjoy!

Views of Bayview Park in Thornbury, perfect place to take a hike in The Blue Mountains
Bayview Park water views and sign that says Dogs must be leashed, stoop and scoop (we encourage you to scoop 2)

If you enjoyed this post we’d love to hear which trail you plan on enjoying for take a hike day! Be sure to share with your friends these wonderful Blue Mountain hiking gems, or if you’re a local be sure to share your favourite part of living in the Blue Mountains or your favourite local trail. Our friends over at Builds by the Bay Real Estate share a great blog on Dogs in The Blue Mountains if you are planning on making the move & looking for more information for your pet (plus she’s an amazing REALTOR®). As always, let’s make a difference in our beautiful Blue Mountain community (everywhere) & scoop 2!

National Recycling Day: How to Properly Dispose Pet Waste

Scoop 2 Blog: National Recycling day: how to properly dispose pet wasteToday is November 15, which just so happens to be National Recycling Day. From a young age we are all taught the importance of “reduce, reuse and recycling”! While one day a year isn’t quite enough, to celebrate the day – we need everyone to properly recycle and dispose of their trash and pet waste so we can enjoy our earth for as long as humanly possible. So in this blog post, we wanted to provide you with some tips for properly disposing of pet waste & systems that you can implement in your own home!

Why Scoop the poop?

Pet waste, whether you own a dog or cat, their poop can be harmful to our watershed. It contains lots of bacteria which can spread and bring diseases and illnesses to other animals, humans and affects our drinking water. You can visit our FAQ as we answer this one in more-depth, with infographics!

What’s the Scoop on Poop-Bags?

We love our pets, and as responsible pet owners we have a dooty to take care of our pet’s waste… it is admittedly the least glamorous part of owning a pet, but EVERYONE POOPS! It is time some of us learn how to properly dispose of pet waste. If you follow our social media we have some helpful graphics on what poop bags are the best, but we will also share it here:

How to properly dispose pet waste: What's the scoop with poop bags? compostable vs. biodegradable vs plastic bags. Compostable are the best option!

Plastic bags:

Here at Scoop 2 we urge you to think twice about using plastic bags, while the cheaper option, we are paying for it in the long run as these take over 500 years to degrade in landfill, if at all. Hundreds of thousands of marine animals are killed yearly by plastic bags so lets try and stay away from this option!

Biodegradable bags:

When we hear the word “biodegradable” we think we are doing good for our planet, when in fact the term “biodegradable” is just a marketing word – there is no legal definition or legitimate standard for biodegradable. These bags take 3 or more years to decompose.

DooDoo Baggie Club has a pet-waste bags that dispose in 1 year if you are interested in a reliable “biodegradable” product!

Compostable bags:

Compostable pet waste bags are considered bioplastics which look and feel like plastic but are made from renewable resources such as plant starch and designed to breakdown with the help of microbial activity within 3 months – now that’s a great option!

How to Properly Dispose your Pets Waste?

As previously mentioned you can use poop bags, these are the go-to method when you are on the go to dispose of your pet’s waste. As a responsible pet owner you must stoop & scoop, and as a scoop 2 member – we always try and scoop at least 2 pet wastes we find on our daily walks, if you don’t see any other pet waste then we always try and scoop litter. This helps our community and our watershed! To properly dispose of your pets waste really depends on your location! While in bigger cities like Toronto, you can dispose of your pet’s waste in a compost bin, in others you are required to toss it in the garbage. If your town doesn’t have any specific systems or mention it on its website I would also like to encourage you to reach out to your town and plead for some proper solutions.

How to Properly Dispose Pet Waste on the Go?

When you walk your furry friend, is typically the time they do their doo. So how can we ensure as responsible pet owners that we are properly disposing our pet waste while walking? If you live in the city of Toronto, there are many pet-waste specific bins located around the city – you can find most locations here. If you don’t live in Toronto, we encourage you to research proper waste disposal locations in your area – there may be Sutera disposal systems (read our previous blog on what Sutera is doing with the poop!)

Toronto accepts pet waste in its compost bins. Check out this quick video the City of Toronto has shared on how to dispose/compost.

Pet Waste Systems to Implement in your Home

Now it is paw-ssible to implement easy-to-use systems in your own home to make disposing of pet waste even easier. Flushing pet waste (again, check with your sewage system or the town on this) can be an easy solution, simply scoop, dispose and flush! As mentioned, you could use compostable pet waste bags to scoop their waste and dispose in the compost bin. While locations like Toronto scrape for plastics and it isn’t required to use compostable bags, lessening our plastic production and use is extremely important as the plastic bags would still end up in our landfill and do not degrade over time.

Easy Pet-Waste Disposal Products to use at Home

Our friends over at Doo Doo Baggie Club are helping everyone do their dooty with the ease of their awesome products – check them out here!

To be fully transparent: when shopping with our links & Doo Doo Baggie Club through our referral, we do earn a small affiliate commission.

We hope this blog posting was helpful, educational and enlightening on how to properly dispose pet waste. As a responsible pet owner we would love for you to join the Scoop 2 community – Join us in the Poovement & start making a difference today! Finally, we would like to once again urge you to take action with your town to find waste disposal solutions that better our planet, like Sutera! Questions? Comments? We’d love to hear from you, so fill in a contact request, or head over to our social media channels and let’s chat!

Pet Poo in The News

scoop 2 blog pet poo in the news

Welcome back to Scoop2 where we have built a community of responsible pet owners and people who care about the environment. Today we wanted to continue with our subject of pet waste, as we are seeing the topic of pet poo in the news coming up more often. Especially with the COVID “boom” of pets, it seems like everyone has a pet, in fact approximately 1/3 of the world population owns at least one dog. Pet poo is a big issue, some would say it’s massif, so we thought we would share some fur-bulous articles from our nearby communities to help educate the Scoop2 community.

The Meaford Independent shared a great article on the subject of pet waste being a growing problem in the Meaford area. Brandon Forder states: “Not only should pet owners understand the health risks associated with dog faces, we all need a gentle reminder from time to time how to be respectful of our environment, our neighbours, and the many tourists and visitors that frequent our beautiful town everyday”. Here at Scoop2 we couldn’t agree more, we love how Forder shares these pet-waste facts: “Pathogens in dog poop can survive up to four years on the ground, even after the waste has been removed and washed away from the rain. These pathogens have the capacity to not only causes disease, they can be easily washed into our precious and vulnerable water systems. Studies show that between twenty and thirty percent of all bacteria in urban watersheds are due to dog faces alone. Even as little as one gram of dog poop can have up to 23 million fecal coliform bacteria, microscopic organisms that can cause serious waterborne disease.”  Thank you to The Meaford Independent, and Brandon Forder for sharing such an informative article with our community and shading light on this important issue. Read the full article here

Another great article from Meaford Independent & Brandon Forder:

The Meaford Independent shares another paw-erful article written by Brandon Forder who says “What I can’t wrap my head around is why certain pet owners go through the hassle of bagging their dog’s waste, but don’t make the small (yet significant) effort of disposing of it properly.” we too are frustrated Forder! We are glad to read that we are not alone when it comes to the frustrations behind seeing pet-waste bagged, but still left behind. While sometimes we know people will leave it behind on a long walk, meaning to collect it at the end and simply forget, does not stop the fact it is still an issue! Responsibly disposing our pets poo is crucial in keeping our environment and watershed clean. Read the full article here

Poop into Power, fur-real!

CTV News in Kitchener shared a great article on one of our favourite subjects: turning poop into power featuring a company we love – SUTERA. SUTERA is an in-ground waste containment system, we will be writing more about the company in future blog posts. The CTV article by Jennifer K. Baker writes “The underground basin, which is cooler and therefore helps control the smell, is emptied every five to six weeks based on usage. Fetterly said the waste is then co-mingled with other organics from across Southern Ontario. Those contents are then converted into green energy. In nearly five years, the dogs of Waterloo have contributed enough poop to power 25 homes for a year.”  We are so happy to hear more of these systems have been implemented around Waterloo and are slowly starting to expand around the Country, in other cities like Mississauga. Read the full CTV article here

Pet Waste in The News

We are seeing the topic of pet waste in the news more often. Especially with the COVID boom of pets, pet waste is becoming an even bigger issue. Well, everyone poops, so how can we harness this waste and turn it into clean energy? We have some cool videos to share if you are interested in learning more:

 

Poop Patrol - Waterloo ON

Dog Poo to Energy - UK

What about Human Waste?

We hope we have shared some insightful information with you about pet (and human) waste, and that you were able to learn a bit from some of these videos. Scoop2 is proud to contribute to keeping our watershed clean and educate our communities on the importance of picking up after your pet. Sign the pledge today!

PET FIRE SAFETY

Pet fire safety

Tips for Preventing House Fires:

🔥 Lock knobs on stoves – so your pet cannot nudge to stove and ignite a burner

🔥 Don’t leave candles unattended when you leave a room, so a paw or tail cannot tip them over and cause a house fire

🔥 Pet-proof your home! Your fur baby needs pet-proofing as if it were a baby, remove any loose wires or potential hazards

🔥 Beware of glass water bowls on wooden decks – on hot days the sun rays can start a fire through a glass water bowl – use ceramic or stainless steel instead 

How to Prepare for an Emergency?

  • Put a rescue alert sticker in a front-facing window to alert rescue workers there’s a pet in your home
  • Arrange a place for pets to say if you evacuate your home – not safe for you, not safe for your pet! 
  • Make an emergency kit – have your kit in a safe location near front doors for easy access 
  • Keep identification on your pet – and ensure it’s up to date! 

Great products to help you prevent pet-fires:

Pet Rescue Sticker

Pet Emergency Kit

Pet ID

We love these tags as they can’t fall off as easily (like regular tags), the QR code is customizable and can easily be changed as your information changes, plus the cute pet image is just adorable! Shop other styles:

Pet Proofing

It depends on what your needs are for pet-proofing, and how difficult your pet may be… but we LOVE this retractable baby and dog gate – perfect for your fur-and/or human baby!

Elevated Ceramic Pet Bowl

We love these elevated (and adjustable) pet bowls, perfect for your cat or pup to eat at a comfortable position.

Ceramic not your style? Check out this Classic Stainless Steal Pet Water and Food Bowl combo

Looking for more helpful tips, information, and fun content? Follow us on social media:

Interested in making a difference in your community? Sign the Scoop2 Pledge and Join the Poovement!

Pet Fire Safety with Scoop 2. How to prepare for a pet-fire emergency?

Welcome to Scoop2

Scoop2 Blog, welcome to scoop2!

As you have read on our home page, our mission is simple, we want to create a community of like-minded responsible pet owners who care for the environment and respect our non-pet-loving neighbours. But anyone can be a part of Scoop2! If you are an environmental enthusiast, we want you too!

We are committed to helping eliminate dog waste, and trash in our environment that has been left behind. Our goal is to protect our earth, mainly our watershed, and both humans and wildlife. 

Growing up we all heard the popular saying, “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but foot prints” or something similar. Here at Scoop2 we believe the same, and want to take it that extra mile, to scoop (at least) 2 pieces of litter or pet waste when you are out on a hike or walk and dispose of it properly.

Why is this important? Animal waste contains bacteria and parasites, such as, E. coli, Giardia and Salmonella. Waste washes from private property and our streets and parks into our waterways, which pollutes our watershed. Same with garbage, there is a reason we have been shifting from plastics to recyclable materials – For example, plastic straws are no longer available at most fast-serve restaurants – save the turtles people! Waste and trash in our water poses a health risk to both humans and other animals. Interested in learning more? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions Page to answer some common Q&A’s. A question we don’t have answered? Send us a Contact request and we will be sure to respond as soon as possible.

How can I join the Scoop2 Community? Sign our Scoop2 pledge to join the poovement and follow our social media accounts (quick links at the bottom of this webpage) we share helpful tips, information, local resources, cool products and more!

Speaking of cool products, be sure to come back soon to check out our upcoming blog post on products Scoop2 is LOVING and will make your Scoop2 journey easier.

Thank you for checking out our Scoop2 blog, welcome to our wonderful community and be sure to come back soon!