To not want a dog in shared garden?

[Dotty07]

We have a shared yard at the back of our house that is shared with 2 others neighbours. A new neighbour recently moved in and has a dog. The dog uses the garden space as a toilet, he does now pick up poo after many discussions but the dog pees everywhere and in everything. We can have anything out as he just lets it pee on whatever, including my back door!

AIBU to not want a dog using the back garden at all, it’s very small and the dog is big, is it just me?

If this is a shared garden and he has permission for the puppers then you are being very unreasonable. Ots not a private place so you shouldn't be leaving anything out anyway

Sorry I should have said to flower pots just to brighten the place a bit, we don’t have anything else but our bins, I had to take the clothes poles away as the dog pees on it too. We own, the other guy rents.

Yanbu. If it's a tenancy, what do contracts say about shared space/pets? If owned it must be leasehold or commonhold and there should be an agreement governing use, these often prohibit dogs.

If this is a shared garden and he has permission for the puppers then you are being very unreasonable. Ots not a private place so you shouldn't be leaving anything out anyway

Pretty much covers what I was going to say. Ask the owner to try to not let his dog near your door to prevent him peeing on it anymore, as for the dog pees everywhere and in everything there’s not a lot anyone can do about that, dogs don’t give a hell of a lot of warning when they’re about to wee somewhere so it’s hard to stop them. But he has as much right to the garden as you do.

If he is renting speak to his landlord.

Isnt there a granule or product you can sprinkle around the garden, and on your backdoor which stops dogs and animals urinating on them?

What is in the contract in regards to animals and the shared space?

I wouldn't be happy about it.

If you own and it's rented, are there leases for the flats? What do the leases say? Do you/they own any of the freehold? Most leases say pets aren't allowed without permission from the freeholder(s).

OP i am amazed by others comments. I do not believe shared use of a space entitles a tenant to allow their pet to piss in that space as that spoils it for others. It's disgusting for others who are not dog owners and have not chosen this.

Tbh I'm amazed a renter is allowed a dog, most landlords simply don't allow them. Check he's actually allowed a dog.

I wouldn't like it either but I don't think there is much you can do, assuming he is allowed the dog in the property.

I'm on the fence here.

Assuming he's allowed to have the dog, then I don't think you can tell him what he can and can't do in the garden. The advantage of being a dog owner with a garden is that you don't need to take the dog for a walk every time it needs to pee!

As long as he cleans up the poo I can't really see a problem. I know the idea of dog wee isn't pleasant but grass is hardly sterile in the first place - cats, foxes, birds, bugs all pee and poop on it too.

Tbh I'm amazed a renter is allowed a dog, most landlords simply don't allow them

A lot of landlords do allow them now, especially in places with a garden. We’ve also owned to flats and neither have any rules against pets. I don’t think the issue here should be about whether or not the owner is allowed a pet or not anyway.

It’s not nice that the dog is peeing on everything but every time you go to a park or sit on a field a dog has most likely peed there. I think you should be allowed to enjoy your garden without worrying about it though so could you ask the owner to limit the dogs access until he’s done his business so only part of the garden will have been peed or, or to rinse the spots he’s gone in before they go back inside?

I have a dog and a shared garden and we don’t let him use it out of respect for our other neighbours.

Unfortunately the garden isn’t grass, would maybe be better if it was. It’s a slabbed yard. Pee just sits and drys out.

I know the idea of dog wee isn't pleasant but grass is hardly sterile in the first place - cats, foxes, birds, bugs all pee and poop on it too.
Also this ^ you should always be washing your hands when you go back in side anyway, especially now!

And with the dog peeing on everything so you can’t put things in the garden, you’ve come back saying it’s plant pots, does that really matter? I assumed you meant things like children’s toys, or benches.

Unfortunately the garden isn’t grass, would maybe be better if it was. It’s a slabbed yard. Pee just sits and drys out. He can still rinse the spots the dogs had a wee on. I don’t think grass would be better tbh, you sometimes sit in grass, touch grass, can’t always see what’s hiding in grass. If it’s just paving he’s peeing on surely you aren’t touching it?

I am astonished so many people are saying that it is fine to have a large dog in a small shared space, that is pissing and shitting everywhere. No. It is not acceptable. Why should one person decide what everyone else has to live with. Is it just because of lockdown that it is an issue and when things normalise, the dog will no longer be left out in the yard. Surely the dog should be supervised when in the yard and ideally on a lead.

Ugh, you have my sympathies. I find it so gross when dog-owners let their dog wee on the pavement and don't wash it away so there's a little pool of wee left. YANBU as this clearly prevents you from enjoying the space, but I don't know if you have many options -- he is unlikely to listen. I might contact the landlord and ask if they can have a word.

I am astonished so many people are saying that it is fine to have a large dog in a small shared space

Unless there's something in the tenancy agreement that means pets aren't allowed in shared space, then of course it's okay.

You have my sympathies, OP, I am a dog owner but would never have rented or bought a place with a shared garden and expected other people to put up with my pet. It's not fair on people who choose not to have pets. I think you need to have a word with landlord, because a shared space should be kept in a reasonable condition for everyone to use and being free of pet waste is a minimum, I would think!

I'm on the fence here.

I trust you have the landlord’s permission.

We couldn’t have a bench out, no way. Although he does and I don’t mind. I personally don’t think it’s right that the neighbour and dog have precedence over a shared yard. I can’t go out when it’s in the garden as the owner doesn’t try to stop it approaching us.

Where I live, pets are allowed (with permission) as long as they don't cause a nuisance to neighbours. Basically, it's fine until/unless you annoy anyone, which seems like a reasonable clause.

If you own, you will have access to the relevant legal documents - check what rules apply to your shared spaces.

That’s fucking rude letting a dog piss on slabs in a shared garden.