Not to want a stranger's dog to crap in our garden every day?

[sleeponeday]

So, in our new house we have a lovely local who lets their dog into our front garden every workday to take a crap between 6.30 and 8.30 am. They open the gate in order to do so - very quietly. It's absolute It was obviously going on for a while before we moved in (house was empty at least a couple of months prior) to judge by the amount of shit. Chilli powder on the stones (a local dog breeder suggested that this might stop the dog being willing to get into the garden at all, without harming them) isn't working, and nor are sleigh bells on the gate. Any suggestions on what we can do to deter this animal? And I do not mean the poor dog.

So they know the house is no longer empty but are deliberately going in the garden to let the dog shit and not pick it up? That is fucking unbelievable! Why don't they just do it on the pavement? Or in their own garden? I am at this level of CFN!

Or you could install a camera linked to your phone. It's pretty easy to set up.

That sounds really promising - I will have to have a google. Though honestly a motion sensor to an alarm so I can go out and catch them, and try to rely on their being too embarrassed to risk it once we've met, might be even better. I'm not that sure what an image of them might do - think putting up posters is likely to start a war, which would be more satisfying in theory than practice, I suspect.

They have a lot of these in gardens in my neighbourhood:

Albatross yeah that's pretty much our feeling! I'm someone's unpaid Pooper Scooper!

Also you could lock/secure the gate until after 8.30am then pop out and unlock it.

Get up reeeeeeeealy early. Lie in wait with a mahooosive super soaker.

Hit the fucker with the full force of the very cold water as soon as he steps thru your gate.

Maybe put a sign on saying no trespassing first.

Might be a woman I suppose. Hit him or her with your water. The person not the dog.

How are you letting this happen?! I would have someone (my mum for example) stay over night to child mind in the morning then I would sit discreetly by the window until then run out there shouting blue murder.

If that doesn't work, lock the gate, bolt a postbox just inside the railings and tell visitors to call you on arrival, or give them the padlock pin!

I think our camera is triggered by motion (so that it doesn't just record hours of empty garden) and would probably send an alert to the phone if you wanted it to.

mention to neighbours, they might have more time to spend spying than you do.

Elfin that's a really good idea, as nobody really comes at that time of day in normal circs. Postman comes after that time too.

I like the dog sculpture thing! Will look on Ebay for one.

Don't waste your money on the sign - it's not like this idiot thinks they're doing something reasonable, they just don't care, so all that would happen would be you annoyed AND out of pocket.

You have to arrange things with kids so you can catch them out. I would definitely go for the watering your garden/emptying a bucket out the window in to your own garden approach if they ignored you the first time you caught them.

Can you booby trap the gate with bangers (like party poppers) to go off when it's opened? Would frighten them and alert you too

I'd lock the gate after dh has left and put a huge sign on it saying:

"Someone in this street is DELIBERATELY letting their dog into my garden to poo. Please ring the doorbell ===> for deliveries"

Pop a wireless £5 doorbell on the gate from Argos.

Leave a sprinkler on

Lock the gate until 8.30am.

Surely they won't be able to get in and will move along

If you do catch him or her please can you come back to tell us about the conversation? I'm astounded at how anyone can think this is OK.

Years ago my dad shot our neighbours dog kept doing that (not recommended).

How wide are your railings? Is it possible that the dog owner just lets the dog out of the house and it wanders along by itself and craps in your garden. (That's what happened on my road until I caught the dog at it and followed it home).

We also get a lot of cat shit in our garden that sometimes looks like a pile of dog poo.

Padlock the gate. You know when they're doing it. Take the padlock off when you get up.

Invest in a foghorn and take it in turns to watch the gate, when they show up parp them.

Film them, identify them, find where they live, scoop then put it on their doorstep with a note saying "think you forgot something. Next time I will report you to the dog warden with my film footage and you will be fined £xxxx (the rate round there)". Kids are great at keeping watch.

Sorry to go off topic but where do you live that you get post between 6.30-8.30? Our postie never arrives before 11 these days!

I second the idea of turning it into a game with the kids. 'Come on Kids, we are going to pretend we are spies and need to catch everyone who comes up the path' Plonk them at the window to keep watch.

Polite notice... As I have young children in my home I'm sure you can understand we don't want to expose them to dog waste. Please make other arrangements....PLAN B. collect it and leave with request to collect