Approximately 9.3 dogs per 1,000 people are brought to shelters in Australia. Roughly half of these dogs are reclaimed by their owners, but the other half are probably strays. There may be even more strays in the country that aren't turned into shelters. If some of these strays are hanging around your skip, here's what you need to do:
1. Enclose the Skip
In most cases, strays are just looking for a bit of food and shelter. If your skip is dry underneath, a stray may crawl under for a safe place to stay. Additionally, if there are scraps of food near the skip, that may attract them.
If you have the ability to put your skip in an enclosure, you can stop all of these issues. Ideally, you want a fenced area with a gate so your employees or tenants can access it.
2. Take Steps to Deter Waste Around the Skip
Even if you can't build an enclosure, you can take other steps to reduce waste around the skip. Keep the lid of the skip closed. If the skip is at your apartment building or work, instruct tenants and employees to only put waste in the skip. Tell them never to put bags of rubbish next to the skip.
If your skip is consistently overfilled, you may want to get a larger one. Also, post a sign on the skip telling other people not to use it.
3. Consider Trapping the Dog
You may want to try trapping the stray. Some strays are just lost family dogs and they will let you walk right up to them and take them to a shelter. Others, however, have been feral their whole lives, and they may not be used to people.
You can buy special traps for these dogs. They basically look like a dog crate. You put something soft in them as well as a treat. When the dogs go in, the door closes, and you take the whole trap to a shelter.
4. Explore Innovative Solutions
If you live in a rural area that has a lot of strays, you may want to explore an innovative solution. For example, in Turkey, there are a lot of strays. One group recently decided to feed the strays while also encouraging recycling.
Basically, if people put plastic bottles into a recycling container, the container spits out food for the strays. A solution like this doesn't necessarily keep the strays from your skip, but it may be something to consider if you can't keep the strays away. Contact local skip bin services for more information and assistance.