Tired of Dog Poop in Your Community? Signs Provide Effective Tool

You’re at the park on a nice, leisurely stroll and—oh no—you realize you’ve accidentally stepped in a pile of dog poop. Unfortunately, this has happened to most of us at one point or another and can quickly ruin your day. At the time you may be thinking, “if only people cleaned up after their pets we wouldn’t have this issue”. While we all love our dogs that doesn’t mean we always love cleaning up after them. The person walking their dog earlier in the day may not have had a bag with them, or might not have thought it was that critical to clean up after their pet just this once. While it may not always seem vital at the time, it is important to remind members of the community how important it is to clean up after their pets so that we may keep our areas safe and clean for all to enjoy.

Dog Poop Poses Health Risks

An argument could be made that it’s just dog poop and not that big of a deal since it degrades naturally over time. However, if the dog that pooped was infected with a parasite or other illness and another animal passes through it could be unintentionally exposed to the pathogen. If the dogs are permitted in a park where young children play it is also possible kids may pick-up, step in, or fall on the poop not realizing how unsanitary it is. Not only does dog poop pose a health risk, it’s also a safety concern.

Fines Might Not Be the Answer

In recent years the city of Chicago tried to pass a measure that would enact a $50 – 500 citation for those who failed to clean up dog poop. The measure unfortunately failed to pass. With spring around the corner and the winter’s snow melting away, residents of West Loop noticed more dog poop this year than ever before. Understanding that the city would not be able to help, the group took it upon themselves to install a series of signs to remind neighbors to clean up after their pets. Within a few days of starting the initiative nearby neighborhoods of South Loop, Noble Square, and the Ukranian Village reached out to see how they, too, could help keep community areas clean (source).

While fines can certainly deter people from leaving dog poop behind, they might not always be the answer. As we’ve seen in Chicago, community involvement may be an even better solution as it calls on people’s sense of duty and responsibility to keep their areas safe and clean. Signs are an excellent way to communicate this message and serve as a gentle reminder to clean up after your pets.

Signs Provide Effective Solution

The next time you’re at a stop light look around you and notice all of the signs that populate our roads. Signs are everywhere from roads, parking lots, parks, and even creeping into our neighborhoods more and more. With so many signs competing for our attention, how can we be sure people will read our pet cleanup signs? An effective sign consists of three parts: placement, messaging, and material.

Placement

The placement of your sign is almost as important, if not more important than the messaging on the sign itself. A pet cleanup sign placed in the middle of a pathway with nowhere to dispose of waste is not very efficient. Dog poop signs should always be placed above, on, or as close as possible to a waste bin. Not only does the trash can serve a functional purpose—it acts as a secondary message to the sign to dispose of all trash and pet waste. Parks that placed only one or two signs at the entrance or exit of a path saw more dog poop issues than those that placed signs at each or multiple trash cans throughout the trail.

Message

Now that you have the perfect spot picked out for your sign, what would you like it to say? It’s important to consider not only the message you wish to convey but the community that will receive it. Some communities have found that humorous signs serve a more friendly reminder than those that list long fines and penalties for failure to clean up after your pets. Since we’re constantly surrounded with restrictive signs like Stop, Do Not Enter, Restricted Area—signs that employ humor around cleaning up after you pet are likely to stand out and make an impression.

Material

The next step after figuring out our message and placement is to have the signs made—but where do we start? There are so many online sellers that offer a range of materials from paper, plastic, aluminum and options like reflective or non-reflective messaging. Plastic is a good option when signs are meant to be erected temporarily but they often break down quicker than sturdy aluminum signs. For the longest lifespan it’s important to look for signs that are made from thick aluminum (.063 or greater) and reflective material that shines both day and night. While good quality signs are a greater investment upfront, they will not need to be replaced yearly saving time and money in the long run.

Clean Up with Dornbos Sign

Here at Dornbos Sign we know how important your dogs are to you because they’re important to us. Dornbos Sign is a family-owned business and our top priority is ensuring you have a great experience every time. We manufacture all of our own signs at our sign shop in Michigan using materials made in the USA. Our signs are made from durable traffic-grade alumTinum with 3M Reflective material so that your signs will last for years to come.

Looking to save? Enter  DOGS21 in the COUPON CODE section at checkout and get FREE SHIPPING on all of our Dog Waste and Leash Law signs. Coupon expires 12/31/21, website purchases only, cannot be combined with other discounts. If you have any questions about our signs, how they can be customized, or anything else, please don't hesitate to contact us by calling 1-800-922-0029, emailing info@dornbossign.com, or filling out our online form.