If not maintained, dog waste will ruin the appearance of your yard (being protein based it is usually the reason for the burn spots on the grass), attract disease and offend your neighbours. Some of the more common diseases are the Parvovirus, Giardia, Hookworms, Cocciadia, Distemper, Roundworms and whipworms. Mowing over pet waste just spreads the diseases and parasites over a larger area of your yard. Letting children pick up the waste or play in a yard that is heavily soiled with dog waste is not recommended. It can take more than a year for dog waste to disintegrate, and studies have found that it has an effect on our ground water through run off.