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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

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

603 replies

LucyLime · 18/01/2021 10:26

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?

OP posts:
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8
HamishDent · 18/01/2021 12:58

If it’s clear it’s a private garden then YANBU. There’s no way she should be allowing her dog to walk on your lawn, let alone poo on it. Wait for her dog to be mid poo and go out to let her know it’s a private garden. Hopefully she’ll realise her mistake and apologise,

CaraDuneRedux · 18/01/2021 12:59

what should i do? Hold my hands underneath to catch it?!

Pick your dog up and lift it onto the pavement if necessary.

I'm a first time dog owner and even I worked out one of the first commands I had to teach my puppy was "out" as in "out of that gate/driveway/garden and back onto the pavement.

It's not exactly rocket science. Nor is it difficult to do - my puppy got it within 3 days.

OP YANBU - dog owners who let their dog do this are complete mingers.

Dopo · 18/01/2021 12:59

@ifIwerenotanandroid

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.
Make these into bunting and hang from two posts. Not a fence as such but a row of shameful flapping photos of the crappy dog
TripleHHH · 18/01/2021 13:00

I have 3 dogs, I would never allow my dogs to shit on someone else’s grass. There are many different way to prevent this. I know accidents happen and as a one off, it wouldn’t be a problem. Continuing to let your dog shit in a specific garden, as park of your dog walk, isn’t on. Our local park is a 5 min walk from my house, along a street lined with houses. On the rare occasion I feel like my dog won’t make it to the park, I move her to the side and makes sure she goes on the path, not someone’s private garden. You do get a little warning when a dog’s about to go, and you have time to move the along a bit.

SinkGirl · 18/01/2021 13:01

There’s a guy who walks his dog past our house and every day for a while his dog would pee over the hedge separating our terraced house from the neighbours and our path. My twins sat in dog piss several times on the way out to nursery. It’s absolutely grim and there are plenty of other places on the route to let a dog pee, including a big overgrown grass island about 5 metres up the road. I posted about it at the time and many people thought I was being unreasonable not to want my path covered in dog wee. People are bloody weird.

Dopo · 18/01/2021 13:01

@Remaker

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!

This is great. Ok get your kids to draw their sad faces on a picture. "Please don't poo in my playground"
lljkk · 18/01/2021 13:01

Yes fine to speak to her to ask her to get her dog to toilet elsewhere, but if that doesn't work, you can't control her (or indeed others, and dogs like to go where other dogs went so now the scent will entice others). A fence would stop this. Sometimes I don't know if MNers actually want at all to stop a problem or instead just want permission to be enjoy being outraged.

princessandthedragon · 18/01/2021 13:01

I think I heard somewhere that Lion poo can be a deterrent to cats so maybe it will work for dogs too? I think you can buy it. I think it’s bloody cheeky of the owner to let her dog use your garden to toilet in on a regular basis. Why should the OP fork out for a fence?

Eckhart · 18/01/2021 13:02

I think I heard somewhere that Lion poo can be a deterrent

Dragon poo is even better though Wink

AmoElCafe · 18/01/2021 13:08

I have a cat that shits on my lawn every morning and no one picks it up (obviously). I’d be far less bothered if it was a dog and the owner was picking it up. I have to pick up a giant cat turd every day.

BloggersBlog · 18/01/2021 13:08

Or better still, just get a dragon. You'll be the cause of a lot more poo-ing but not on your garden

Tiredandstressed9 · 18/01/2021 13:08

You are not being unreasonable.

Original poster
LucyLime · 18/01/2021 13:08

@lljkk I'm not outraged. I just think it's bad manners. And give me a chance, I've not spoken to her yet. That's hopefully coming later.

If she ignores me then yeah - then I'll move to outrage

OP posts:
Eckhart · 18/01/2021 13:09

@AmoElCafe

I have a cat that shits on my lawn every morning and no one picks it up (obviously). I’d be far less bothered if it was a dog and the owner was picking it up. I have to pick up a giant cat turd every day.
Just because a cat shits on your lawn doesn't make it ok for people to let their dogs shit on people's lawns, though.
Sheepareawesome · 18/01/2021 13:09

Sometimes our dog poos in the middle of a road, which is a pain to pick up. We try and pull her along to a verge but she does it where she does it. Luckily there are plenty of grassy areas where she can go, but once she has started she can't stop. We do however make damn sure she doesn't do it on someone's lawn even if that means walking down the middle of the road. We know roughly that she poos at the start of the walk so only take her places where she can do it without going near gardens. Perhaps it would be worth asking the woman if she can vary her route? The dog will be expecting to go there - they do like their routine.

Original poster
LucyLime · 18/01/2021 13:10

@Hillary111 oh she realises. She stands there yawning or looking at her phone as the dog does it. I know this as my camera (on my property) records her for 20 seconds each time.

OP posts:
Beautiful3 · 18/01/2021 13:13

Just ask her nicely not to let him toilet on your garden. Should be enough to put her off.

princessandthedragon · 18/01/2021 13:14

[quote LucyLime]@lljkk I'm not outraged. I just think it's bad manners. And give me a chance, I've not spoken to her yet. That's hopefully coming later.

If she ignores me then yeah - then I'll move to outrage [/quote]
Expect a mouthful of abuse from her. She sounds very entitled

Doilooklikeatourist · 18/01/2021 13:15

@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?!
Yes
Dopo · 18/01/2021 13:15

A few of these.

Dog poo-ing on our garden every morning and evening. AIBU to say something?
Dog poo-ing on our garden every morning and evening. AIBU to say something?
Nonbio46 · 18/01/2021 13:16

Stepmum
He’s always on a lead in these situations and I keep a close eye on him.

ifIwerenotanandroid · 18/01/2021 13:21

dopo - Yes!

WinstonmissesXmas · 18/01/2021 13:22

A hose is your friend.

Runnerduck34 · 18/01/2021 13:22

From your title I assumed dog owner wasnt picking it up!
If its on the boundary of your property/footpath and she always picks it up then Id say nothing.
But If dog is toileting on middle of your grass then Id say something.

WeAllHaveWings · 18/01/2021 13:26

I spend the first 10 minutes of our walks saying to my dog - "not there, not yet, nope" as he tries to cock his leg against lampposts and bushes in/next to private gardens. It is only when he reaches public land he can uncross his back legs and relive himself.

I would be tempted to go out, introduce yourself and nicely ask her to stop the dog peeing on the bush as it is surprisingly delicate and you have had problems before with the urine killing/burning it on one side and hopefully that will stop her pausing at your garden completely.