Dog using grass verge?

[namechanger0002]

Sorry for the terrible title. Obviously name changed.

I'd just mown and strimmed the grass verges in front of my house and was in process of sweeping. I stopped sweeping temporarily as people approached on the path so they could get past. One woman and her dog left the path and started walking directly over one of the verges. She then let the dog stop and use the grass as a loo, it was crouched and she waited, she had a waste bag ready in her hand, but didn't need to use that.

I didn't say anything but I thought it was inappropriate and rude. I'd clearly just mowed it and now there will be a patch where the dog used it. I know I don't own the verge but I maintain it (the local authority only does them once every few months and not well). I'm not a dog owner and wondered if this was normal and I'm being unreasonable.

Somebody quite often parks on the grass verge by my garage (not attached to my house and around the corner).

I’m not particularly bothered that they do, btw. I know the verge doesn’t belong to me.

You are firstly being unreasonable for cutting grass that isn’t yours - there is a reason grass isn’t cut in May. I manage some chalk grassland planted with special native wildflowers which is on public land. Morons with lawnmowers keep coming and cutting it down to make it ‘look nice’ despite signage explaining its on of the rarest habits in the world.

You are also unreasonable for complaining about a dog weeing on public grass - do you also complain when cats and foxes wee on grass?

I've heard of no mow May, and that's definitely not what the local authority is doing. My neighbours and I have maintained the verges for years, and the surrounding flower beds.

People don't even generally walk on the verges here, except occasionally for access, unless that's something I don't know much about either. Obviously I don't know much about dogs, hence the name change!

Op I think you're the entitled one... What's next? Register this public land as yours because you've been maintaining it and acting as the owner for a long time?
Op, inhale, exhale, go and enjoy your property. Later on have a laugh at this as you should.

It wasn’t her garden though! Also many dogs won’t be trained to wee on a drain.

Do the local foxes know not to pee on the grass?

YBU to undertake the unasked for maintenance of grass verges. It's nothing to do with you if the council doesn't cut it. That's not your decision to make.

Other people might like to see the birds and bees enjoying the uncut grass. It's not your personal verge it's for everyone.

My local council has planted wild flowers on many of our verges and they are full of bees.

Cutting the grass down to your idea of what's acceptable isn't helping the bee population one bit.

When a dog needs to pee it needs to pee.

Yes OP YABU I’m afraid

YABVU

It sounds like you think you are in charge of that area just because you choose to maintain it.

I’m glad you didn’t say anything as she probably would have just laughed at you.

@pigsDOfly

All of the neighbours mow the grass, it's not planted with wildflowers, but we all grow flowers, including wildflowers, in the borders.

The verges around the corner, leading into open countryside are now managed and the grass itself planted with wildflowers. That isn't the case here, and somebody did check a couple of decades ago, long before I moved here, that we were allowed to maintain.

Yabu. The fact you choose to maintain land that is public property and doesn't belong to you is irrelevant. People can walk on the verge and let their dogs poo/wee if they want to.

I think it's lovely that you want your neighbourhood to look nice. I think it's wonderful that you take the time and effort. However it's not yours, it's everybody's. So, keep doing it if you enjoy it but knowing (and understanding) you can't be upset it others use that space too.

What, realistically, do you expect her to do? You don’t “allow” a dog to go anywhere. Like toddlers. It’s possible to housetrain them, but once they are out there’s literally no way for a dog to distinguish your verge from any other grass.

Somebody checked a couple of decades ago? I know local authorities can be slow but even their policies and management plans will have almost certainly changed in the last couple of decades. It seems very unlikely they would plant the next street with wildflowers but not yours. Or if they genuinely haven’t planted wildflowers, it’s because they’ve realised it’s pointless as you and neighbours will destroy any habitat they try to create.

You're being ridiculously unreasonable.

Christ 😆. Other dogs will pee there (which is why her dog chose that spot. Mine is very selective about where she pees - must be atop another dogs fresh wee.) Cats will pee there, foxes will pee there, any other wildlife will also pee there! A public verge whether mown or not is exactly where dogs will and should be peeing. Most won't just go on the pavement and anyway it would be less pleasant if they did. Nothing entitled about it!

Good lord! You can't really be upset that a dog peed on public grass?

What effect do you think the dog pee will have on the grass verge. It's likely that by this time tomorrow and dozen more dogs will of peed on it also!

Yes,YABU.

Oh God, you’re one of those neighbours. Why would you even want to do the council’s job, the one you pay them for? Strange.

As the others have said, please leave it wild for No Mow May.

YABU. Hyacinth Bucket springs to mind.

Fwiw you won't get a brown mark on the grass from one wee. My dog didn't used to pee on our grass but since covid restrictions had lifted and neighbours have been dog sitting their sons dog daily who happily pees there it's now fair game. They both wee all over (as I'm sure do the foxes) and there is only one brown patch where the 2 dogs have what I can only assume is like a long running game off doggy pee snap. This also happens to be on a corner where the grass was already more worn than the rest of the lawn. No need to panic!

You need help if this is genuinley how you behave.

My dog can poo and wee on any grass verge that she likes, no matter how well maintained. I'll always clean up after her.

Probably a dog like mine. She really hates weeing on pavement so will hold on until she gets to some grass. We have verges like yours down our road and I avoid them as much as possible so she doesn’t wee on them. But on the occasions that she does…..🤷‍♀️ not private property, no difference between that and the council-maintained wild fields we are heading for. So I think you’re being a bit precious tbh. Even bitch’s wee won’t damage the grass as an occasional thing.