With political debates centering around greater environmental issues such as climate change, air pollution, and the alleged fifth mass-extinction, a dog-owner may wonder why signs saying “please pick up after your dog” are appearing more and more in neighborhoods and parks. However, with 83 million dogs in the US producing 10.6 million tons of poo a year (Freinkel 2014), a contributor to the intensification of these greater environmental issues is the methane produced by this waste and the “doodie” bags used by owners. Despite the creation of “eco-friendly” biodegradable bags, such as what Paul Canella has promoted on Poopbags.com, the $49.99 spent on 360 of these bags does not compare to the 1000 normal bags for only $14.89. (Erbentraut 2014)
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Dog waste and the type of dogs were the independent variables. The dependent variables were the rate of reproduction and worm length. The composts each received the same amount of water, sunlight, and sawdust. There were 4 equally sized bins, with the same size holes, the same amount, type, and source of compost, all with 10 worms each, roughly around the same length.
The dogs ate their normal diet of dry food, along with occasional treats and dental chews. Two large dogs, boxers, and two small dogs, dachshunds, were used as sources for the waste. Each dog was up to date on treatments for heartworms, fleas, etc. It was important to keep the dog’s conditions the same as they normally would be so that the test would produce results that are applicable to real world families.
500 grams of compost were placed in 4 shoe-sized plastic bins with small holes. Each bin had 10 earthworms that are about the same length. 1 cup of sawdust was added each day along with varying amounts of dog waste. Bin 1 had received no dog waste and serve as a control. Bin 2 had received 25 grams of dog waste. Bin 3 had received 50 grams of dog waste. Bin 4 had received 100 grams of dog waste. At the end of each week, the compost was emptied into a different bin to count the number of worms and measure the length of each in millimeters. This continued for 5 weeks and was repeated twice for 4 different
Dog waste and the type of dogs were the independent variables. The dependent variables were the rate of reproduction and worm length. The composts each received the same amount of water, sunlight, and sawdust. There were 4 equally sized bins, with the same size holes, the same amount, type, and source of compost, all with 10 worms each, roughly around the same length.
The dogs ate their normal diet of dry food, along with occasional treats and dental chews. Two large dogs, boxers, and two small dogs, dachshunds, were used as sources for the waste. Each dog was up to date on treatments for heartworms, fleas, etc. It was important to keep the dog’s conditions the same as they normally would be so that the test would produce results that are applicable to real world families.
500 grams of compost were placed in 4 shoe-sized plastic bins with small holes. Each bin had 10 earthworms that are about the same length. 1 cup of sawdust was added each day along with varying amounts of dog waste. Bin 1 had received no dog waste and serve as a control. Bin 2 had received 25 grams of dog waste. Bin 3 had received 50 grams of dog waste. Bin 4 had received 100 grams of dog waste. At the end of each week, the compost was emptied into a different bin to count the number of worms and measure the length of each in millimeters. This continued for 5 weeks and was repeated twice for 4 different