To tell this woman off for letting her dog sh!t on my lawn?

[MrsNuckyT]

Was getting ready for work this morning when I glanced out of the bedroom window to see a small white dog (something like a shih tzu - oh the irony) squatting on my front lawn doing a poo. Its very well dressed owner was standing by with a poo-bag.

I knocked loudly on the window and gestured for her to move the dog. She didn't but did call up 'sorry'.

I then went down stairs and opened the door and called over to her that it was disgusting to let her dog do its business on someone else's front lawn. By this point she was picking up the poo. She replied that she was sorry but that she couldn't help it because the dog had just decided. I told her that she should be in charge of her dog and that I thought it was appalling behaviour to do this to someone else's property.

Honestly she looked at me as though I had lost the plot. Did I over-react and WIBU? Is this somehow OK on the basis that she picked it up???

For the record the dog looked obedient enough as they walked off and the poo was not runny so I have no reason to think the dog was ill.

I think you are in the right. I experienced something similar last year, when I kept finding dog poo on my drive and then one morning while I was walking out of my house onto my drive a woman walked past and let her dog piss all over my drive. I have to say I did shout after she told me that dogs go where they go. She messed with the wrong person that day and well I've never seen her again and the poo has stopped. I have hidden CCTV now so should anyone ever do it again they will get the dog poo back.... through their letterboxes.

Well she shouldn't have left her dog go into your front garden anyway, fence or not.
What would she have done if the dog hadn't been just a foot into the garden but at the end of the lead? Would she have been happy to walk IN your property to clean up? Or would she have left the poo on the ground she couldn't go in?

crispy your situation isn't the same though. The OP's dog owner picked it up. No letterbox poo-posting required.

Yanbu as the dog should not have been in the garden in the first place but as she apologised and picked it up I don't think there was really any need to go and talk to her.

What thenightswatch said .

Once your dog has decided to poo it's going to happen. Maybe some dogs don't mind being dragged while having a shit, mine do. As for not letting your dog go onto the grass ever, that's a bit ridiculous. Why does it matter? If you didn't see it you wouldn't have known? I think you overreacted.

Overreaction, since she picked it up. If you live by a road, there are a lot of more toxic things on your grass.

It's difficult to move a dog mid poo but she shouldn't have allowed her dog on your garden in the first place for him to decide to go there. A private garden is different to a public verge even if there is no fence and she should respect that. I understand why you were annoyed but at least she cleaned it up.

Yanbu. Would it be OK for you to pop over her house and take a massive dump on her doorstep as long as you pick it up? I doubt it.

Unless it was a dry, hard poo it will have left traces on your grass.

Due to the covenants on our house we aren't allowed fencing out the front and people let their dogs shit and piss all over it ( dog walking shortcut where I live). It's wrecking the grass.

She picked it up and it seems like she was always going to do it (poo bag in hand) so I think YABU if it was the first time it had happened.

There is a small triangular piece of land to the left of my drive which actually belongs to my next door neighbours; they use it as a lavatory for their dog and do clean the mess up eventually, but not immediately; they wait until it hardens!
I have noticed that during this wet winter an increasing number of dog owners walk their dogs round to use it; the smell is noticeable and I occasionally pick up pieces of dog dirt on my shoes. I live in a village, with fields and waste ground yards away; all the houses have gardens; why do dog owners think they are entitled to use urban spaces as lavatory facilities for their dogs?
And don't get me started on the grass verges and the village green.

Pirate

I don't understand why they were in your garden in the first place. They shouldn't have been on your lawn, but since they were, the woman couldn't have done much more than apologise and clean up.

YANBU! Two dog related incidents this week, I am pissed off with irresponsible owners. Somebody let their dog do this outside of my house and did not pick it up (presumably because it was a runny mess). I didn't see it until my bin blew over and my 4 year old wanted to help me to pick it up. It has fallen in this pile of shit and he was covered down his arms, chest and trousers. Utterly disgusting! Following on from that, walking in the park, a woman let her very large dog off the lead despite seeing me and son walking towards her, the dog bounded towards him, he screamed and threw his hands up as if to surrender, she bloody laughed! He was terrified! No apology, nothing. It makes me so mad.

How far had she trespassed on your lawn? Does it border the pavement?

I'd have let it go because she cleaned it up.

YADNBU. Disgusting. She would have had notice because the dog shouldn't have gone over on to your grass in the first place, that would have been her cue to pull the dog away.

At least she picked it up. I went out the other day and some fucking skank has let their dog shit at the bottom of my path (actually on the path in the corner) and on the kerb bit to our front garden and fucking left it there! All this rain isn't washing it away yet either.

I live in a tiny village too Thenightswatch, in tiny villages there isn't much pedestrian traffic

Love it LaChatte

"Maybe some dogs don't mind being dragged while having a shit, mine do"

It's all in the training

Ynbu. At all. Yes she cleaned it up but the germs which can cause blindness might I add will still be there. Which your children/grandchildren could be playing in.
Yes theyve got to shit somewhere, but how about on their own front lawn

Well she picked it up so I think YABU.

Here we go thought it wouldn't be long before a child was blinded!

Op of you shouted at me like that whole I was clearing up my dogs poop I would have thought you were unhinged.

We all shit including you me and dogs. As long as we flush and she clears what's the problem.

why do dog owners think they are entitled to use urban spaces as lavatory facilities for their dogs?

You can't tell a dog to hold it in until you find a suitable spot that's not "urban".

If my dog poo's in the street, I pick it up.

Dog owners get enough jip for not picking it up, this one did and she's still getting jip. Can't win!

The problem is IT'S IN HER GARDEN!!!!

Is it really too hard to comprehend that some people don't want germy dog excretia in their gardens?

Well, its not in her garden because she picked it up!

I'd be more annoyed if a dog peed on the grass since you cant pick that up and it turns grass brown.

The poo is no longer there. Mountain out of molehill. I would be agreeing if the poo had been left but it was probably sitting on the grass for a matter of seconds.