Neighbour being ridiculous or AIBU?

[Southwig22]

Today a neighbour stopped me whilst walking my dog and told me I'd been allowing him to "foul" his property. He then showed me his ring doorbell footage of my dog cocking his leg on a bush right on the boundary of his front garden and the public footpath.

I apologised for any offence but also pointed out that's what dogs do - pointed towards my home and that I see dogs urinating on my bushes daily and it's really not a problem. Obviously there are no health risks or anything like there is for dog waste.

Despite me apologising he carried, and said it was damaging his property and he would report me (to who??), at which point I said he was being silly and this is not a reportable problem.

Honestly he was quite polite but AIBU to think he's being utterly ridiculous to approach someone about this.

You don't mind, but he does. If he was polite I don't think he was unreasonable.
My neighbour has this problem and finds it upsetting, she says it absolutely stinks.

50/50? Most people are saying YABU.

My upstairs neighbour used to let their dog out to piss right by our gate. It fucking stank. How are you surprised that someone doesn't want a load of piss, that does smell, right at the front of their house.
He sounds like he handled it perfectly. Found the source of the problem and politely asked you to stop. Excellent neighbouring.

Read the poll results, not those getting their knickers in a twist commenting

I'm not ignoring the facts, facts are being misinterpreted to support people's opinions.

Although it's a fact urine smells and could kill plants, in this situation it's such a small volume (let's assume it happened once per week) that it categorically hasn't caused a smell or killed the plant.

I have to trim my bushes (this is sounding wrong) and pull the ivy out from underneath with my hands.
Gloved or not, I'd rather your dog hadn't pissed up it.

I tend to go by whether dog piss will damage more than cat/fox/whatever else piss that gets on it would do.

If it's flowers, something someone might cut, something not hard-wearing, for example someone on my walkies route has their lawn right to the pavement and along the pavement, surrounded by lavender - so no wee on that (though I am sure foxes and cats piss all over it).

Wooden gates would be a no, ditto wooden fencing, straight onto the fronts of peoples homes where there is no garden - all no.

Robust hedging like beech or leylandii or hawthorn, yeah, lamp-posts and telegraph poles (which are made to with-stand dog wee), no problem.

Scent marking and reading scent marks is a natural and necessary part of a dogs daily routine and enrichment, but making other peoples gates and fronts stink isn't on!

If you find it ok for your dog to pee on the neighbours plants why not get the dog to pee on your garden before you take it for a walk?
Ive owned dogs and appreciate they wee but it sounds like the dogs desperate to go as soon as outside

Dont shit on your own doorstep and dont let your dog piss on your neighbours plants

I can understand this and admit I had never considered this - either for others or my own garden, I'm usually more concerned about cat turds and spiders!

If it is right next to the green/park just take your dog there and let it wee on bushes there? If some random bloke was walking past your garden and relieved himself on your plants would you just shrug it off as no big deal?

I still maintain that dog piss stinks. I visit properties who have dogs on a regular basis and you can tell the ones who let their animals wee in the yard or garden compared to the ones who don’t. It absolutely stinks. People who say it doesn’t must be accustomed to the smell, like the smell of pubs or smoke or body odour when you’re used to smelling it constantly.

The annoying thing is that you apologised and he continued complaining. It winds me up when someone does this because it’s as if they’ve prepared their little speech and they’re determined to continue whatever you say.

He should have stopped when you apologised because that’s always going to get an irritated response.

Have you owned dogs or bitches? Completely normal behaviour for a dog to scent mark.

Once a week or once a year, you shouldn't be allowing it full-stop.

You're also missing the point that it won't only be your dog doing it. Once one dog pees somewhere, they all want to do it. He's perfectly within his rights to talk to you and ask you to stop your dog pissing up his property.

It's not hard to keep your dog on a short lead and away from people's land, homes and cars. I walk dogs for a living and I don't let any of them take a piss up people's homes or property. It's just plain rude.

If it’s consistently in the same area where they’re marking their territory it will start to smell.
My next door neighbours have a dog which has a specific place that she like to pee in at the side of their house. Our driveways leading to gardens are attached and whenever the sun hits that part of their drive/garden the smell is awful. We can’t open the windows at the side of the house when it’s warm or it just stinks our house out 😖

I don’t allow my dog a to pee in my garden, so I definitely wouldn’t want someone else’s! Dog urine can kill grass or plants and long term can cause degradation of paints and metals, I would never allow my dogs to foul on someone else’s property, just walk pasts and go to a verge, woods or common land.

he asked you politely, I’m not sure what the problem is.

If he’d not approached you, would be thinking of moving your dog to wee elsewhere? No? Then he did the right things by speaking politely to you.
It’s not very neighbourly of you to just let your dog wee regularly on other neighbour’s property btw

My dog keeps weeing on a patch of weeds right by the door step of a neighbour and I feel bad about it, so now I'm trying to remember to cross the road before we get there.
I think a random wee is ofcourse fine, but consistent weeing in one spot will get smelly and it's not nice for anyone in close regular proximity.

Yes this is exactly it. I think he was expecting an argument or for me to be defensive.

As I've said up thread - what I think is ridiculous is the threats of reporting it.

Do your clients know that? Because no way I’d let you walk my dogs. Male dogs need to scent mark - it’s just what they do and they’re not going to enjoy their walk with you if you just drag them along. It’s quite cruel.

If necessary? When is it not necessary to pick up your dog’s waste?

What is it about (many) dog owners thinking they're entitled to use the whole world as their dog's toilet.

I'm thinking this. How are people not allowing dogs to scent mark? If you are on a long street with houses all along are you just dragging the dog along? I can't think of any other way I could stop my dog from marking other than drag him along for 15mins until we get to the park?

@Foolsandtheirmoney my dogs are allowed to scent mark as much as they want when they have “free time” if I don’t want them marking I ask them to walk to heel and engage with me- there is no dragging- they stay in heel and walk nicely next to me until we get somewhere appropriate and they are let off to do their own thing (within reason)

I hate dogs and allowing them to urinate in someone's garden is disgusting. Would like it if I allowed my 2 year old toddler urinated over your flowers or in your bushes? Regardless, he asked you not to let it happen again. And you're not going to. Problem solved. But he is not being unreasonable to not want your dog weeing in his garden 🙄

What is it about (many) dog owners thinking they're entitled to use the whole world as their dog's toilet

I have no idea. Grim!