Research, and the tremendous interest shown in PoopPac thus far from the UK, Canada, Mexico, Japan and Australia have already shown PoopPac has international appeal. Today dog waste management is a very hot topic; it is controversial and political both domestically and internationally. The subject of managing dog waste and related stories appears in the main media outlets daily. As such the PoopPac Dog Walkers Waste Case is the right product at the right time and offers a great business opportunity.
So why has this become such a topical subject recently? In a relatively short period of time we have gone from most dogs living in a household with surrounding land or a garden/yard in which they have been trained to use a particular area of the grounds as their toilet, to more and more dogs moving in with smaller households in urban communities where many now live in apartments, or homes with small yards that do not lend themselves as a place large enough to exercise dogs. Also increasingly dogs have become much closer human companions, often regarded as a member of the household and as such traveling extensively with their guardians on all trips outside of the home, including trips to the store, restaurant and just about everywhere their guardian goes. This mobility, combined with restricted home environments has born an increasing necessity to provide solutions for dog waste management. Add to this the ever increasing dog population and it is apparent why pet waste management is a growing business sector.
Today there are an estimated 78.2 million domestic dogs here in the USA (1) and this number is increasing annually, correlating closely to the number of households in the USA.
78.2 million dogs are a lot of dogs! To help put this in perspective the estimated resident population of the UK (United Kingdom) was 61.8 million people in mid-2009. Visualizing the population of the UK and correlating that with the number of dogs in the US really brings home the fact that if a significant percentage of our dog owning population do not follow recommended dog waste management etiquette we will all be in quite a mess, literally!
Most people agree that public parks, walk ways and trails are not public bathrooms for people. Today this statement needs to also apply to dogs due to the sheer number of dogs we now have in our communities. There is no doubt that the evolution of pet waste management can be likened to the evolution of our own waste management and litter management, in that as the challenges grow the solutions will follow and in the future communities will be designed to include the proper facilities to manage and disposal of pet waste. However in the meantime, despite the differing policies of different cities ‘all’ dog owners need to take personal responsibility for their dog’s waste disposal.
So what options are available? It is acknowledged that dogs like people can be potty trained. Also dogs, like people, cannot always hold it in until they get home and thus public toilets/facilities for dogs do need to be provided. To this end there are a growing number of dog parks, or areas designated within a park especially for dogs and these areas contain facilities to handle dog waste. Many parks that do not have designated dog areas do provide public waste bins and waste bags for dog owners who may occasionally get caught in need; but this is a public courtesy to help maintain the public spaces and should not be seen as a cart blanche pass to use the public space as a dogs regular toilet spot, or a place to get ‘free’ bags from the dispenser by the handful to use elsewhere.
Manufacturers have designed numerous tools to help with pet waste management both in and around the home, in the yard as well as for parks and public areas that cater to dogs. However for those that walk their dogs in areas that do not have pet waste facilities the main reason people cite for not disposing of their pets waste is either they didn’t have a bag, or more frequently they ‘bagged it’ but there was nowhere to ‘put it’ so the left it, bagged, on the ground.
Understandably a fresh package is messy, smelly and unhygienic; it is not a package one wants to carry around with them as it not only ties up their hand with this task, but with the thin bags accidents do happen. Add to this the person multitasking; needing to manage other items, perhaps also have young children, dogs, coffee, newspaper etc. also in their hands… you get the picture. With these challenges in mind PoopPac Dog Waste Case is designed to carry used dog waste bags safely, hygienically, and to conceal all odors until a proper waste facility is available. The case also carries and dispenses unused waste bags. This tool is a perfect solution for those challenged in walking in areas without adequate facilities and aids the user in effortlessly and conveniently contributing to proper pet waste management, whilst leaving them hands free to enjoy their walk, and without the distraction of trying to dispose to the package as quickly as possible.
The PoopPac Dog Walkers Case is a great solution to the many challenges cited as reasons some dog walkers still neglect to take responsibility for their pet wastes unnecessary negative impact on our environment.
(1) The APPA (American Pet Products Assoc.) has been tracking statistics on the pet industry, including the number of pets per household since 1988. In 2002 the US had approximately 109.3 households of which 36.59% were dog owners. These 40 million households had a total of 68 million dogs, giving an average of 1.7 dogs per households with dog. In 2011 we have an estimated 117.6 million households in the US of which 39.37% are households with dogs totaling an estimated 78.2 million dog’s
