# Will a UV or a specific color light help me find Dog Poop



## Blue72 (Nov 5, 2007)

I know it sounds silly, But I need a light to help find dog poop at night to keep my yard clean. Will a UV light do the trick or any of the colored LED?


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## turkdc (Nov 5, 2007)

I know it sounds silly, but you could try scooping up the poop during the day.:thinking:


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## Blue72 (Nov 5, 2007)

turkdc said:


> I know it sounds silly, but you could try scooping up the poop during the day.:thinking:


 
Thats the problem it is not always easy to find, especially during the fall right now ( the poop camoflauges with the leaves). However my kids sneakers seems to be able to pick it up in less than 30 seconds


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## IcantC (Nov 5, 2007)

dd61999 said:


> Thats the problem it is not always easy to find, especially during the fall right now ( the poop camoflauges with the leaves). However my kids sneakers seems to be able to pick it up in less than 30 seconds


 
Perhaps buy the kids some sneakers to use to clean up poop with :naughty:

Back to your Q, I am pretty sure UV light does not show poop. It will show urine/blood.


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## Katdaddy (Nov 5, 2007)

Maybe you could feed the dog something to cause him to have blood in the poop?????


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## MikeSalt (Nov 5, 2007)

Katdaddy said:


> Maybe you could feed the dog something to cause him to have blood in the poop?????


 
That is sick on an unimaginable way! But a perfectly valid CPF point of view.

You basically do not want an LED if you are trying to distinguish poop from brown leaves. Where colour difference and image three-dimensionality are key, you need a well-driven incandescent.

Good time to build a ROP or Mag85 I guess?


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## TITAN1833 (Nov 5, 2007)

I feed mine with green trits this time of the year 

Now to your Q I have some UV lights and no they don't,unfortunately.

It looks like keeping those leave off your yard,is the best way.


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## Marduke (Nov 5, 2007)

I could not help but laugh when I saw this thread title. But in all seriousness, are there no dog owners out there that already own a UV light to check out if it works?


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## Burgess (Nov 6, 2007)

You know . . . .


Back in the days when we still had a dog,

i would watch her, often from a distance, to see where she squatted.


Then i'd go get the shovel, and try my best to go to *that* spot.


Not always as easy as it sounds, however. 


Sometimes, in frustration, i'd notice that i could actually 
*Hear the Buzzing of the Flies*, around the pile.


'Course, this was all in the daytime.


I do indeed share yer' "pain".

:wave:
_


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## GreySave (Nov 6, 2007)

Hey, don't feel bad. Up here in NW Pennsylvania I now have SNOW on top of the leaves on top of the poop. 

The others are correct. Using an incan with carefully placed footsteps is the best way. The latter applies even during the daytime hours. I never tried a UV light, but I can't see it working unless there's something scary health wise in that which you seek. I have a Kroma. Colored lights will not help.

Now in my case, if we get enough snow I cut a path with the snowthrower so the greyhounds can have their own "track" to run on, and the poop.....Well, it sort of goes flying through the air in miniscule pieces right over our fence and off of our property. Problem solved.....


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## Khaytsus (Nov 6, 2007)

My old neighbor solved this problem in an innovative way.. He just made his dog poop in everyone *else's* yard.


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## Yorkshire Pudding (Nov 6, 2007)

No need for any expensive flashlights,just shut your eyes and walk about. When you feel a squelching sensation, then you've found it!

John L


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## jcompton (Nov 6, 2007)

GreySave said:


> Now in my case, if we get enough snow I cut a path with the snowthrower so the greyhounds can have their own "track" to run on, and the poop.....Well, it sort of goes flying through the air in miniscule pieces right over our fence and off of our property. Problem solved.....


 

I wouldn't want to be the one who cleans your snow blower!!! :green:


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## TITAN1833 (Nov 6, 2007)

Marduke said:


> I could not help but laugh when I saw this thread title. But in all seriousness, are there no dog owners out there that already own a UV light to check out if it works?


Yes and I will conduct a test tonight,again.But if that fails,I will take with me a stick with a childs sneaker attached,this seems to work quite well..read through the posts.:twothumbs


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## MikeLip (Nov 6, 2007)

Put a little luminova (from watch dials) in the dog food. It will then fluoresce brightly under UV! Or you could just have her do do what mine does, and eat crayons the kids leave around. The brighter colors are easy to spot. And Christmas tree tinsel works well too!


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## lupy (Nov 6, 2007)

I trained our dog to only go in the woods around the house. He got locked in a night, then in the morn, I ran him to the woods and didn't let him leave untill he went. After a couple months, it's automatic. Now the only poop in the yard is from other dogs..........


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## Thujone (Nov 6, 2007)

My solution was to get a bigger dog, bigger poop is easier to find


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## Spalding (Nov 6, 2007)

Guys,

You have everything you need to find feces built in - get on your hands and knees and use your nose! Naturally, a headlamp would be helpful for identifying what you sniff out. Your nose will work even if the dog stools are covered by leaves!


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## GreySave (Nov 6, 2007)

<< I wouldn't want to be the one who cleans your snow blower!!! >>


LOL. Not a problem. We average over 7 feet of snow per year, so it is literally self cleaning. Four to six inches of snow so far today with numerous power failures. It's a heavy wet snow, so it is dragging the limbs down far enough to either touch the lines and cause issues or to break and bring the lines down. Also numerous pole fires and blown transformers. Translation = Flashlight time!


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## redledz (Nov 6, 2007)

My dog likes to poop in multiple spots at one time and so in the dark in the fall I would sometimes spend some minutes tracking them all. I lived in at an apt complex at the time, so I didn't like using a bright incan since he'd poop near windows sometimes. I found that a blue led would work for me. Against leaves, the poop shows up because it shines more than the leaves. haha


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## Patriot (Nov 6, 2007)

Marduke said:


> I could not help but laugh when I saw this thread title. But in all seriousness, are there no dog owners out there that already own a UV light to check out if it works?


 
I can try it tonight if you guys don't mind waiting about 8 hours......I can tell you right now that I'm not going to carry it into the house to test it..lol :sick2:


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## Numbers (Nov 6, 2007)

How about walking the dog, no poop in the yard and healthy for both. 
Around here when walking we have to clean up after the dog goes - easy to find - disgusting to have to carry back home when there is no appropriate garbage container available.


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## Hitthespot (Nov 6, 2007)

No and I don't know anyone who sells it either. I believe manuier is from cows?


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## Spypro (Nov 6, 2007)

When I'm looking for my dog's poop at night, I use a flashlight with a flood beam, like my SF L4 or my modded MM with the Terralux drop-in.


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## DM51 (Nov 6, 2007)

LOL, this is an extremely funny thread. 

I have various different color LED lights, and some incans, and I'll go outside and try them out, and see which one works best, if any do.

Trouble is, it's dark already. How do I find some dog poop in the dark so I can test whether the lights can find it?


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## TITAN1833 (Nov 6, 2007)

I have just returned,from walking my dog.My UV light found nothing at all..But when I got home my dog was sniffing around my shoes..Yeah you guessed it..My shoes found it no probs...I'll go wash it off.


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## Marduke (Nov 6, 2007)

So maybe one could put some UV florescent paint on their shoes, and throw them randomly into the yard. By the laws of nature, they will land in a pile of doggy doo doo, and you can easily find the shoes with a UV flashlight!!


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## da.gee (Nov 6, 2007)

Numbers said:


> How about walking the dog, no poop in the yard and healthy for both.
> Around here when walking we have to clean up after the dog goes - easy to find - disgusting to have to carry back home when there is no appropriate garbage container available.



Disgusting? You're talking bonus hand warmer for those chilly days.


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## JimmyM (Nov 6, 2007)

MikeLip said:


> Put a little luminova (from watch dials) in the dog food. It will then fluoresce brightly under UV! Or you could just have her do do what mine does, and eat crayons the kids leave around. The brighter colors are easy to spot. And Christmas tree tinsel works well too!


 When I was a kid, my dog had some sort of craving for crayons and tinsel. In the spring, there would be little piles of tinsel and mangled crayon wax in the yard. No poo since it had dissolved/decayed, etc. Just foreign objects left behind. Sometimes we'd find green "Army Guys", plastic doll accessories.
Cat poo and cat urine strongly fluoresce under UV because they have a lot of protein in them. That's also why dogs seem to have a fondness for cat poo. Human urine should contain very little. If your urine fluoresces strongly under UV, see a doctor. Bacteria in urine also fluoresce. Again maybe see a doctor about that too.


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## Bushman5 (Nov 6, 2007)

da.gee said:


> Disgusting? You're talking bonus hand warmer for those chilly days.



ROTFLMAO!!!!


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## MikeLip (Nov 6, 2007)

JimmyM said:


> When I was a kid, my dog had some sort of craving for crayons and tinsel. In the spring, there would be little piles of tinsel and mangled crayon wax in the yard.




Yep - our yard was always nicely decorated after the holidays too


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## Spalding (Nov 7, 2007)

Hitthespot said:


> No and I don't know anyone who sells it either. I believe manuier is from cows?



Manure is from cows, Manuier is a French actor.


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## howiesatwork (Nov 7, 2007)

If we're talking fresh, still warm poop, use a night vision scope...


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## Marduke (Nov 7, 2007)

howiesatwork said:


> If we're talking fresh, still warm poop, use a night vision scope...


 
You mean thermal, not NV


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## DM51 (Nov 7, 2007)

IR light does show up on an NV scope, but I doubt fresh dog poop would give off enough IR radiation, unless the dog had been eating Vindaloo #1 leftovers, lol


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## greenlight (Nov 7, 2007)

OP never indicated whether he owned the dog that was making all the poop.


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## NA8 (Nov 8, 2007)

Hmm.. another application for RFIDs.


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## Bunk3r (Nov 8, 2007)

^or glow powder!


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## Spypro (Nov 8, 2007)

Haha !
Mixing glow powder with dogs foods... GITD poops !


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## MikeLip (Nov 8, 2007)

You understand of course that if your quest proves fruitful and you post the results here, there will be a sudden run on that particular light that works. Plus there will be an upswing in the number of flashaholics going out at night to scrape up doggy-doo, possibly buying a dog if they don't have one already or volunteering to clean their neighbors yard!


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## phenwick (Nov 10, 2007)

Spray paint your yard and tree leaves with UV. Then you just look for the dark spots after the dog goes out and does business.


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## Blue72 (Nov 10, 2007)

cann someone try a blue lens. I wonder if that would work the same way hunters use it for tracking blood


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## DM51 (Nov 10, 2007)

OK. I’ve done a test with various lights and I have some results. These are purely subjective (as they appeared to me). I was looking for maximum contrast - a light which could make the “subject” stand out from the background. I have adjusted them to some extent to allow for the brightness of the light sources. 

Score as follows, ie 1 is very bad and 10 would be perfect:

UV --- 1
Yellow-green --- 2
Red --- 3
Green --- 4
Blue --- 5
White (incan) --- 6
Daylight --- 7
White (LED) --- 8

Sorry, but I am NOT going to post poopshots to illustrate any of this, lol. 

The UV was a real surprise – it was useless! The poop seemed to almost disappear into the background. Blue was pretty good, but white light was the best, with the strong blue component of a white LED making it even better than daylight. 

Disclaimer: This was dry-ish poop, on pale-colored gravel. Your poop may vary, lol.


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## TITAN1833 (Nov 10, 2007)

DM51,I don't believe you:laughing:we need poopshots,to verify your claims.
This is very serious(doggy business) we are discussing here lol.


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## Blue72 (Nov 10, 2007)

DM51 said:


> OK. I’ve done a test with various lights and I have some results. These are purely subjective (as they appeared to me). I was looking for maximum contrast - a light which could make the “subject” stand out from the background. I have adjusted them to some extent to allow for the brightness of the light sources.
> 
> Score as follows, ie 1 is very bad and 10 would be perfect:
> 
> ...


 
I think the results might be different with fresh moist poop, I could be wrong


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## DM51 (Nov 10, 2007)

dd61999 said:


> I think the results might be different with fresh moist poop


Eeew, gukk. Yeah, the result might be different, the result might be that I throw up, running a test on that, lol. "Fresh moist poop" - gag, blecchh, lol


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## Burgess (Nov 10, 2007)

Guess it's finally happened . . . .


The fit has hit the shan.




_


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## Gannz (Nov 11, 2007)

lupy said:


> I trained our dog to only go in the woods around the house. He got locked in a night, then in the morn, I ran him to the woods and didn't let him leave untill he went. After a couple months, it's automatic. Now the only poop in the yard is from other dogs..........


 
Exactly what I did. Why spend time picking up after your dog when you can train him/her to go where YOU want? Even if you don't have woods you can train them to go in the same area.


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## Mash (Nov 11, 2007)

I think we might be looking at this from the wrong end, no pun intended! Instead of illuminating the drop zone and watching with naked eyes, we might be better off filtering the reflected light.
I remember seeing an article about a military binocular which had a filter which would enable you to spot camouflaged objects very easily. Dont remember much, but the reason was that the leaves and jungle would give off a different wavelength than the camouflaged steel tank, or the camo uniform, although to the naked eye they all seemed the same color.
Perhaps this kind of technology, eg a pair of glasses plus a light emitter at a specific wavelenght would do the trick!
PS I wonder with a thermal cam, how long after the event can one package be detected?


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## flash_bang (Nov 12, 2007)

I think this is just a case of using a tool not fit for the job…why don't you just tell your kids to watch where they're walking or something? It shouldn't be too hard…


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## Burgess (Nov 14, 2007)

Better yet . . . .


Teach yer' kids how to use a shovel.



_


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## BlackDecker (Nov 15, 2007)

dd61999 said:


> Thats the problem it is not always easy to find, especially during the fall right now ( the poop camoflauges with the leaves). However my kids sneakers seems to be able to pick it up in less than 30 seconds



uhhh... rake up your leaves? You'll probably get most of the poop as well.


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## Phaetos (Nov 17, 2007)

Am I the only person here who has no trouble finding my dog's poop? I have two Lab's, and that is the smelliest poop EVER!! They can poo, be DOWNWIND and I still smell it within seconds. :green:


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## da.gee (Nov 17, 2007)

With two Labs I would think the shadow cast by the large pile would be a dead giveaway.


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## Phaetos (Nov 17, 2007)

That is true too. Can't quite miss the big brown shadow on the ground, not to mention the steam even in the middle of the summer


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## hopkins (Nov 17, 2007)

Certain plastics glow very well under UV light so why not
shred some into sawdust sized bits and feed your dog a tablespoon
or so every day mixed with equal amounts of soft dogfood.
Not his entire diet but his daily treat! Should be able to see these flakes
with the UV easily.

In fact, your kids will probably fight over who gets to go out UV poop hunting!


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## Bullzeyebill (Nov 17, 2007)

Once a week I run my tractor mower over my back yard. It gets all of the poop up. When fall comes and the leaves start to fall I mow even more often. I of course use a catcher on my mower. I gave up trying to pick up poop every day.

Bill


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