Every so often I get to have the pleasure of testing or trying out new contraptions and devices designed to make our lives easier, especially when it comes to dog poop. Having been in the business for over 25 years, I have become somewhat of an authority on the subject. The latest product to come my way is called Doggy Dun It® Pick-Up Scoop. It’s a device that gives you the ability to rake the poop into a bag from an erect or upright position. That means you don’t have to stoop down to pick up the poop.
I will say right off the bat that I have never seen a product that would be suitable for the professional pooper scooper as we usually deal with huge volumes of waste throughout the day and most products I test are for home use. We in the industry have a phrase for new scoopers that want to use the old scissor action pooper scooper, you know the kind that you squeeze and two buckets on the end of the spring loaded scissor action contraption closes up and grabs the poop. It’s called “Popeye Arms”. We call it that because if you were to use that device all day, everyday, you would have the forearms of Popeye! If you’re too young to know who that is, just Google it and you’ll see what I mean.
The Doggy Dun It operates a little differently. It looks like a standard pooper scooper and rake, only the rake is attached on one arm, and the receptacle is attached on the opposite arm. Both arms are attached and pivot at the top. When you squeeze the handle, the rake side grabs the pile and swings it in the bag lined receptacle. When the bag is full, or you want to remove it, simply take the bag off of the hooks, tie it off and toss it in the trash. It also has a small bag holder attached to one of the arms for storage of spare bags. A little hard to grab so you have to tilt the device upside down and let the small roll of bags slide out.
Now, let’s get to practicality. I used the Doggy Dun It on a few piles in my condo community and was surprised that it actually worked efficiently. And, yes, I did get a few strange looks. It must be designed just right to keep the rake at the proper angle in conjunction with the receptacle as it moved the poop right into the bag. That part was easy, but let’s see how it works on poop that’s been smashed in the ground a little. That was a little tougher. I squeezed the handle as far as it would go, but the rake had trouble grabbing the poop. It would actually stop as it was digging into the grass and the arm would flex. After a few tries, it eventually scraped up the remains and into the bag it went. Of course, In all reality, if you’re using this regularly, the poop won’t have a chance to bury itself into the grass. Better yet, just scoop the poop before the gardeners run over it and smashes it into the ground.
The next part is kind of gross, but you all know the subject has to come up. What about stool that is a “little” loose, sloppy, liquidy or let’s just call it what it is… diarrhea? All I can say is, I didn’t find any to test it on. (Phew!) But, my guess is that it would rake through it with ease, then would involve a bit of cleaning up. And speaking of cleaning up, since the Doggy Dun It is made of plastic, it rinses off pretty easily. As for the removal of the bag, it was kind of awkward to remove the strap and tie it. Then I realized that all you have to do is unhook the handles from their hooks and let the bag drop through the receptacle. That must be what the open bottom is for. Duh!
Final Analysis of the Doggy Dun It:
Doggy Dun It with dog poop bag attached to it.
The Doggy Dun It is lightweight, durable, hands free – when it comes to the poop. It’s not as hands free when removing the bag of poop from it. One thing I would like to see added would be a locking device or a latch to keep it in the closed position for easy storage. What more can you ask for? It’s easy to use and you won’t break your back bending over to do that menial task of picking up the poop.
It may take a little practice to find the correct angle when scooping. I had my 7 year old granddaughter try it out, at her persistence of course, and she had a little trouble handling it. But, after a few more tries, she was able to accomplish the task at hand. Another concern was with really small poops. I had one of my sons try it out right after his little dog took a dump and the poop was so small that it slid through the rake and he had a difficult time aiming the poop into the bag. You’ll see what I mean if you check out the video.
You can purchase the Doggy Dun It on Amazon or directly from the maker at www.doggydunit.com. And one more plug… you can always hire a professional pooper scooper to do it for you! Search for one in your area by visiting the Association of Professional Animal Waste Specialists, www.apaws.org, and search by area code, zip code, city or state.