Dog s**tting in garden

[Londonwriter]

We’re lucky enough to have a (narrow) 50ft garden during lockdown.

My DH has been allowing our dog to s*t in the garden. Everytime my three-year-old DS goes to play in the garden, which is currently his main outdoor recreation as the playground is closed, there is at least one or two cold, dry c*ps hidden in the grass.

My DH says that he feels sorry for the dog because, although we are using our one ‘exercise’ trip each day to walk the dog, the dog can’t manage. He says he doesn’t know the dog is c***g in the garden because he often wants to go in the dark.

I’m sick and tired of it. He’s pooing twice a day (on each trip out) and then, it appears, in addition, he c*d six times in the garden over the Easter weekend. I’m worried that my DS gets sick from the garden being a dog toilet. When my DH isn’t working from home, the dog manages perfectly fine on a short run in the morning, a brief walk around 4pm and a further brief walk around midnight.

I told my DH to try to get the dog to c**p in one place only, but apparently this is not feasible given he’s working full-time and we have a colicky baby.

AIBU? DH thinks I’m a hygiene Nazi and it’s fine provided the c**p is picked up.

Yep, just do a quick poo patrol each day before you take your kid out. Our dog poops in our garden and we just pick it up if we see her doing it and if we don't notice it, one of us does a quick whizz round in the morning to check anyway.

It's difficult to train a dog to poo in one area

Why is it?
Take dog to appropriate area, wait for the magic to happen, praise lavishly, repeat.
Same as any other training 🤷‍♀️

My dog has once or twice tried a sneak elimination outside the allotted gravel area, a quick telling off and taken to the correct area, they learn, it’s not hard.

I can’t remember the last time our dog went to the toilet outside the designated area.

Poor dog. Where else is it supposed to go? Award for most ridiculous thread today. Congratulations

Me too woolies - me too.

What breed is the dog?

My friend trains guide dog puppies, for obvious reasons they are not allowed to poo when they are out walking (blind people cannot see the poo to be picked up) so the puppies are trained right from the get go to toilet in one area of a garden.

They are led there on a lead until they can be relied upon to toilet in the same place. They use the phrase "busy busy" when they start to wee or poo and they then know that this is the cue to squeeze one out

Your Dh is just being lazy, agree a place the dog can toilet, away from the grass. Somewhere easy to clean up. Take the dog on the lead to toilet in that place. Reward with treats.

And if it's a small garden, just mow the lawn so nothing can 'hide' in it. It's pretty easy to see a dog poop sitting on short grass.

One reason I would never get a dog. We have about 10x more people up our road recently - private road, grass vergers and we let people walk up here (but we the residents have to clear the dog poo) and I would like the UK to be rid of all dogs as pets although I doubt I will see that in my life time. I hate dogs.

You can swear on here and type crap and shit you know, you won't conflagrate from it.

When we've had dogs they sometimes go in the garden. We try to avoid it with regular walks but needs must! And especially at the moment when walks are limited, what else do you expect them to do? Would you rather they shat on the lounge carpet?

Just do a sweep of the garden before letting the kids out, try to train your dog to go in the same area, or keep an eye on it when it's in the garden so you can clean up quickly.

@Londonwriter hey I would stop reading these replies. They aren't getting the point.

I take my dog out on a lead in the garden to poo and encourage him to do it down the side of house so I know where it is. I always try to pick up immediately but it is harder if it's dark. I would be seriously angry if I had a 3yo playing in the garden amongst dog shits.

Better in your own garden than a public area IMO. Why should I have to sit on poo remnants in the park?

You’re being ridiculous, I’ve had dogs all my life they’ve always shit in the garden and my children have never got ill from it, just pick it up and crack on. Do you think no dog has ever crapped at the park?

And you never shit do you Xenia?

The problem is not with dogs but with owners who don’t pick up.

That wasn’t what this post was about but carry on being goady.

I will match you.

I hate dog haters. They should all be eliminated too.

@frostedviolets if you knew from puppyhood that's what you required from your dog you'd have a fighting chance.

My 13 year old rescue would not respond. So pop off with your snarky 🤷🏻‍♀️

Just pick up the crap.
Hose any left overs into the grass and be done with it.
Bleaching the grass is actually crazy.
Regularly worm your dog so it doesn’t have parasites.
Do you let it lick your face or does it lick your 3 year old? If so it’s already sharing it’s parasites way more efficiently that a bit of dried crap.

Seriously dogs are like toddlers with fur. When they need a shit it just happens to need it and it won’t be on your schedule.

OP you shouldn’t own pets, at all.

Thanks, everyone

Just to explain - I sound neurotic because a neighbour’s kid was blinded by dog poo in their garden. We probably normally take the dog out enough that he never needs to poo in the garden.

@frostedviolets I too am worried about why he’s gone from two poos to several. It feels like it’s something to do with my DH moving to working from home. My DH has a very close relationship with this dog (unlike our last dog) and takes him out every couple of hours when he’s at home. The dog asks my DH to take him out every time he comes downstairs (currently not possible).

Sounds like the reasonable solution is to set up a ‘cordon’ of plant pots around a ‘dog toilet’ on the gravel, and take the dog there on lead if he looks like he needs to poo. Encourage him to poo there, and then dump a bucket of water over it. That protects my DS AND makes the dog more comfortable. Once lockdown lifts, we’ll go back to walking the dog a bunch of times...

Problem solved.

You know someone who was blinded by their own dog

I know many dog owners and not a single blind case

Sorry the dog poo fairy isn’t visiting. Perhaps do it yourself until they begin visits again.

Letting a dog out to poo in the garden is a fairly normal activity, ime. It is possible to train a dog to use the same spot but would require disciplined repeptition and supervision to establih the habit. Even then, the chances are pretty high of the odd incident of poo somewhere else which starts to 'undo' the training, so the dog would always need some form of supervision in the garden.

Blindness is caused by ocular toxocariasis, which is caused by roundworm eggs. Worm your dog regularly with a high quality wormer to minimise the risk.

Why do you think it's OK for your dog poo residue to be left in public if not in your garden?

You're paranoid about your child coming into contact with dog shit but you'll happily throw bleach about the place?

@Soubriquet same here. And my brother ended up face in few times when running around garden and tripping over😂 We had way too bog garden to be checked all the time and sometimes they didn't stick to their toilet corner

Where do you expect the poor dog to do his business when not on a walk?? It's what dogs do and you signed up for it when you got him/her!

Bleaching the grass is a very bad idea - bad for the grass and potentially lethal for the dog.

Big garden😂😀 not bog