Backyard Woes

A few days ago Nick and I ventured out on our bi-weekly trip to PetCo to get dog food. You may be thinking, why don't they just buy a bigger bag of dog food? And that may be a good idea, except we do buy the 40lb bag and I'm unaware of any larger sizes. We have three dogs now whose weights are 120lbs, 75lbs, and 55lbs. They eat A LOT. Which also means they poop A LOT. We do buy premium dog food which other than it costing a lot they say, "High digestibility means small compact stools for easy cleanup. That means more nutrition for your dog and less backyard cleanup." I still think there is a LOT to cleanup - especially with three dogs.
Not to mention we haven't been the best at cleaning up. It was quite embarassing after the ice storm when I had to tell all of the utility workers and the insurance adjuster to "Watch your step."
While we were at PetCo I picked up one of these scoopers which works well. I worked for about 30 - 45 minutes scooping and filled up a tall kitchen trash can. And there is still a lot more to pick up. =\ I got to thinking, what am I going to do with all this crap?? When I decided to start composting I read that you couldn't add pet poo to your compost but I remembered seeing something made specifically for pet waste. This is composting but you can't actually use the compost in your garden. I ordered a Doggie Dooley system. It seems like a cool idea you just dump the poop and depending on the size/quanity of dog waste you only have to empty it like once a year. And you pour some stuff in it and there is supposedly no smell. COOL!!
Since I'm planning out this veggie garden, I have a lot of ideas coming about what I want my backyard oasis to be. Which is the reason for scooping all the poop, obviously. We are thinking of purchasing a patio set and maybe a firepit?? since right now we only have a few plastic chairs.. no wonder we never go out there!!