Best Pooper Scoopers

Cleaning up after your pup is a dirty job… but someone has to do it! Fortunately we’ve found a couple of the best pooper scoopers to make the job easy for you.

We’ve had a number of dog pooper scoopers over the years and have seen some good, some bad, and some just terrible. Some of the issues we see with scoopers are:

• Breaks easily
• Doesn’t close tight enough to grab
• Bends easily and stops working
• Tears up grass
• Awkward to use
• Get rusty

After having used a bunch of scoopers we found our two favorite poop scoopers. These scoops are totally different styles and have different pros & cons that we’ll cover here so you can make the best choice for your situation.

Our Picks for The Best Pooper Scoopers

Tray, Rake and Spade 3 Pack Poop Scoop

A dog scooping system that comes with two scooping devices and a tray to scoop into and transport.

Buy Scooper Set

This is the dog scooping system that we use most often. Typically in the summer I use the rake and pan with a sweeping motion. The great thing about this is I can leave an old paper grocery bag in the center of the yard and walk around with these two tools, eventually returning to dump everything into the bag.

The pan is pretty giant and holds lots which is very handy. It does require a little coordination to get in into the grocery bag as its not much smaller than the opening, but most times I only need to do this once so it’s not a big issue.

When there’s snow on the ground the spade comes in handy to put a little extra strength into breaking chunks free from the snow and ice.

We’ve got a giant dog, so I’m confident this will work for any size dog and even multiple dogs. Sometimes after a long winter our yard is a total scooping disaster, but this makes quick work of it.

Pros:

• Sturdy metal that doesn’t bend easily
• Strong pan that can hold a surprising amount
• Poles can be shortened or lengthened
• Long poles means no bending over
• Rust resistant

Cons:

• Large pan means you’ll need a large bag or container to dump into
• Requires a little coordination with both hands to move pan and tool of choice

Nature’s Miracle Jaw Scoop

A scooper with a jaw that opens and closes by squeezing the handle.

Buy Jaw Scooper

This is our alternate choice for the best pooper scoopers. It has a spring loaded jaw that opens when you squeeze the handle. This is super handy for a one-handed pickup and works really well. It has strong springs that pull the jaw back into place as your release your grip.

I think these springs or the plastic will break eventually, but they seem really strong and I’d assume it’ll continue to last for quite awhile. I’d make the assumption this will happen at some point, but hopefully give you quite a bit of good use.

It’s super handy to be able to pickup with one hand and carry a bag in the other hand, so that’s the advantage here. The disadvantage is if you’ve got a big pile to pickup you’re going to have to open the jaw as wide as possible and it might not be quite enough (keep in mind we’ve got a giant dog though).

Pros:

• Easy to do a 1 handed pickup
• Strong jaw and springs
• Animicrobial protection
• Non-stick plastic
• Comes in 2 sizes

Cons:

• Can only open so wide
• Made with plastic that will probably eventually break and need replacing

8 Scooping Tips

Here a few helpful tips to make your poop scooping chores a little bit easier:

1. Try to avoid scooping after it’s rained or early in the morning when there has been dew. It just makes things way messier than they have to be.
2. If you’re scooping into a bag, like a grocery bag, it’s a good idea to double-bag if it’ll be heavy, wet, or if there’s snow on the ground so the bottom doesn’t fall out.
3. If you’re scooping into a plastic bag you can get a bucket or other container to stretch it over and make your job easier.
4. If your dog’s waste goes out with the trash, do your scooping right before trash collection day so it’s not smelling things up for as long.
5. Have some extra old shoes that you can put on in case you make a misstep.
6. Try to scoop on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Leaving waste out can become a health risk.
7. Follow a grid pattern to make sure you cover the entire area most efficiently.
8. Make sure to wash your hands when you’re done (even if you think you kept them clean).

Best Bags for Walking Your Pup

You could certainly carry a tool along with you while walking your dog, but that’s probably not easy and hard to stay sanitary. In most cases you’ll just need to carry some bags and place one over your hand to grab your dog’s droppings.

The three main concerns here are:

1. Making sure you remembered to bring a bag
2. Making sure that bag doesn’t break
3. Containing the smell

We’ve been using these Earth Rated Dog Poop Bags for a long time now and never had any issues with them. We get them in lavender-scented, but you can also get them unscented. It’s a great thing to buy in bulk and have on hand.

If you don’t want the rolls there are also easy tie bags that work great too. You can just leave the box somewhere you’ll remember to grab one before you head out.

Additionally, if you want to make sure you don’t forget a bag you can get a leash dispenser to attach a roll to your dog’s leash and never have to worry about forgetting a bag again!

Kyle J. Larson

Kyle grew up with Yellow Labs in his family since he was a child. He is a SIRIUS Certified dog trainer and loves all dogs. As a professional web designer and author, he keeps our dog name and breed search tools running.