Dog poo-ing on our garden every morning and evening. AIBU to say something?

[LucyLime]

We live in a quiet area with just three houses in a sort of cul de sac. We are part of a small estate but at the bottom of it. Nobody comes down here unless they live here or are delivering something really.

However there is a cut through at the top and every morning and evening for the past week, a woman has started appearing from this cut through and walking past our house with her large dog. And every morning and evening, this dog is doing a poo on my front garden.

It cocks it's leg on my bushes and had a wee and then settles down for a poo. And yes - she does stand there watching and picks it up

The reason I know? We have security cameras. The reason I've not said anything to her yet? I have annoyingly either been asleep/ in the shower/ in the garage/ out shopping. Nearly managed it this morning but by the time I'd opened my front door, she was turning the corner and I wasn't about to screech!

So ... onto my AIBU. My DH thinks that as she's picking it up then meh, not a massive deal. I think differently - I don't want my front lawn used as a dog toilet and I think it's bad manners to allow your dog to do this. Once I sort of get - but this is now becoming a pattern.

AIBU to literally stake out my camera notifications today and ensure I can get to my front door and ask her to stop immediately? Or just ignore it?

YANBU - that's just disgusting to keep letting her dog do it in your garden. Once or twice fine, but have some respect. I think you're right to say something

Alternatively, can you put any flower pots or something similar in that same spot to prevent it happening in the same spot? last resort obviously as I think confronting her is the right thing to do

Am I the only one that thinks we need a diagram of the op’s garden and surrounding area?

It’s lockdown and we’re bored, this is as exciting as it gets, I need to be able to picture the scene properly.

Come on @LucyLime you know what to do.

@MrsSchadenfreude

We used to have this in the house I grew up in. We lived on an unmade road that essentially ran between a farm and the river, and was beloved by dog walkers. We had one woman who would regularly allow her dog to shit in our garden, claiming that it was the verge and we didn’t own it, having a screaming match with my mother. One day my mother waited until she had walked off a little way, picked up the poo and flung it at the woman, hitting her squarely in the back. We never saw her again...

I love your mother 😂😂😂

what should i do? Hold my hands underneath to catch it?!
Why are you asking us?
you chose to get a dog for your pleasure and enjoyment, you have to deal with the shit, it is not acceptable to say 'the dog does what it wants to and there's nothing I can do about it'

She does do something about it, she picks it up! As would I. What i'm saying is; of course I would try and divert the dog to another area BUT sometimes you don't realise in time.

SingleHandSue yes, yes we do.
Am also looking forward to 4pm and her next visit...so jealous of someone having actual drama in their life

God no. That's disgusting. Definitely tell her to do it elsewhere

Having said that, this is obviously a recurring situation and not a one off accidental defecation.

I’d never let my dog poop in someone’s garden.

Hillary111

Why post if you haven't read the thread, or at least the OP's posts.

And it isn't appropriate to let your dog on a garden at all, whether at the edge or in the middle.

Keep your dog on a short lead so he can't go onto other people's gardens.

Take stills from the security footage & post them on social media, maybe on a village page? Lots & lots of photos of the dog peeing & pooing would make it funny & show it's not just a one-off.

@Hillary111

A dog goes when it needs to go, this cannot (in most circumstances) be helped. Yes, you can try and drag the dog mid-shit but sometimes this isn't always possible. A number of times my dog has started to go without me realising and by then it's too late... what should i do? Hold my hands underneath to catch it?!

What should you do? You should stop letting your dog on other people's lawns. Or does your dog get to make the decisions and you don't get a say?

keep your dog on a short lead
If all dog owners would keep to that one rule most of the problems caused by dogs would be solved

@Hillary111

what should i do? Hold my hands underneath to catch it?! *Why are you asking us? you chose to get a dog for your pleasure and enjoyment, you have to deal with the shit, it is not acceptable to say 'the dog does what it wants to and there's nothing I can do about it'*

She does do something about it, she picks it up! As would I. What i'm saying is; of course I would try and divert the dog to another area BUT sometimes you don't realise in time.

If your dog is on a lead you have control of where it is, and can stop it crapping in places where this is —even more— unacceptable.

Secondly, this is not a one off, this dog is crapping on the OPs garden regularly. And the owner is fully aware of what the dog is doing but is typical of lazy entitled dog owners everywhere who think their right to spread dog crap over the nation is somehow enshrined in human rights legislation.

Be factual but not confrontational. 'you walk this way several times a day and you are allowing your dog to use my garden as a toilet. I know you have picked it up but this is not public ground it is a private garden. Please respect that and keep your dog off it.'

@Yohoheaveho

keep your dog on a short lead If all dog owners would keep to that one rule most of the problems caused by dogs would be solved

I'm a dog owner and I agree. Those like Hilary111 and OP's garden-crapper give us all a bad name.

A dog goes when it needs to go, this cannot (in most circumstances)be helped
Rubbish!
Dogs who can be trained not to poo in the house can also be trained not to poo in other people's gardens or in the middle of the footpath. Responsible dog owners do not need to be told this.

Is it dark when they come past? Get a motion sensor light, but with an extremely bright light focussed on the footpath and garden.

I'd also put in a water sprinkler, that happens to turn on as soon as the dog goes onto your grass!!! ideally, it also wets the footpath where the owner is!

I have not RTFT to be honest but it's really strange that some people think this is OK because the owner picks up the crap. Firstly, you can't get every tiny bit up and you can't remove the stinking piss at at all. Secondly, I find it odd that it is suggested OP puts up a barrier. If it is not ok to open a six foot gate in a six foot fence in order to let your dog in to shit on someone else's lawn, it's not ok to let it toilet on a private lawn that is intended.

I'd soon be telling the CF to get her dog off my garden.

Take a screen shot of her dog crapping and nail it to a little post saying "stop your pooping dog"
Or a "no dogs allowed sign"
Or an auto sprinkler
Or citronella all over the place
Or dog whistle when you see them
Or 'warning. This garden uses chemicals that will kill your dog if it walks on it"

And a diagram wouldn't go amiss op

I wouldn’t even let my dog walk on your garden, certainly not poop on it. She’s very rude and you should calmly and politely say something to her.

I wonder if any companies make dog potties. 😁 Picking it up is all well and good but it does leave smears. I wonder about a mat that you'd lay down when the dog signals it needs to go (would require dog to be trained) and the dog would go on. It would need to be designed to be able to be sealed up and ideally be biodegradable so better than plastic bags.

I don't have a dog so maybe I'm being stupid. I have a cat who has a litter tray but chooses instead to use my strawberry patch 🤬

Unfenced not intended.

Sodding autocorrect having a fit there.

Definitely poor dog owner behaviour. In our street we have an issue with people letting their dogs poo on the grass verge in front of people’s houses and not picking it up. Delightful when your child walks through it on the way to school in the morning.

Our neighbour’s kids made a sign: “This is our grass. Not your dog’s toilet.” Accompanied by a drawing of a poo with an X through it. It’s made it onto the local Facebook page and seems to have done the trick as we’ve had no stray poos for over a month!

My dog has never been to the toilet on someones lawn, he has however gone at the entrance to someones drive way, terribly embarrassing as it was not pretty and also not easy to pick up! You are clearly missing the point I am trying to make. Even if dog is on short leash, it is still possible if you are walking directly adjacent to someones garden that they may start to go toilet somewhere they shouldn't. I'm not saying letting your dog roam into someones garden to take a shit is acceptable. Obviously it isn't! But the odd accident on the edges could probably be forgiven.

We used to have this problem but now our neighbour has a dog who marks his territory by peeing on the wall on his way out we don't. Other dogs are better at controlling each other than many dog owners it would appear.