Should residents be able to 'police' sections of their street?

[StreetStrife]

After just being shouted at by an incredibly rude and aggressive woman who barged out of her house to have a go at me for letting my dog wee on a patch of council owned grass at the end of her close I thought I would ask wise Mumsnetters their thoughts.

The woman who took it upon herself to police her street, and also, apparently, takes it upon herself to 'look after' this small patch of grass by planting a few geraniums in the middle, claims that because she looks after it and children play there sometimes I should not let my dog on it. Apparently my husband has "already been told not to use it" by her, so how dare I.

My thoughts are that children play in gardens and parks where dogs go all the time, that this is not her land, and that this is a convenient place for my dog to wee while we temporarily have no garden access due to building work. It is the closest bit of public grass we have, and I am currently injured and can't walk too far (although this is not a visible injury). My dog is prone to UTIs and likes to wee on grass rather than pavement, and often refuses to go if there is no grass. The next nearest patch of grass is an extra five minutes away.

This has reminded me of many incidents I've been involved in or heard of over the years, often to do with parking spaces on public highways but outside someone's house.

Should residents be able to 'police' the use of the streets directly in front of or around their home? I think no, so AIBU? If you are one of the people that think I am unreasonable I'd love to hear why, and if you do this on your street do people abide by your demands?

Yes, you’re being unreasonable. Nobody likes their immediate environment stinking of piss.
I’m old enough to remember when dogs were taught to pee in the gutter, not express preferences.

I think if people did this now they'd get a brick through their window 😬

She's batshit.
She does not get a say in who or how a piece of council owned land is used.
Next time tell her to do one.

YABU and antisocial. Take your dog elsewhere and don't be so bloody

1. Entitled
2. Lazy.

She's just asking you to not make her environment shit. Because it's not just one dog. It's dozens of dogs all day every day, and she's clearly fed up of it. Of course she obviously has no legal recourse or right to do it, but as a decent human being and a considerate adult you would be a bit of a dick to keep doing this having been asked to stop by someone who obviously cares a lot about it. It's not her problem you have a dog you apparently don't have facilities for and can't look after.

Do you let it wee in your garden?

Well if they were whose criteria would thry be going by? What one neighbour thinks is wrong another may think the opposite

Can’t you train your dog to pee in your garden or in a gutter?

🍿

This is going to be a dog-bashing thread.

She’s being mad, it’s not her grass, it’s a public space.

Don't have facilities for? My dog has free rein to the garden all day and will wee and poo out there, when he's walked he will wee and poo...how do you suggest we stop that?

As it's completely legal to let your dog pee on public grass, then technically she is not policing her street, she's just being a nutter.

But should people in general be able to police a street, as in looking out for illegal behaviour, then yes, as this is the basis of neighbourhood watch.

She's crackers. You don't get to plant something on public land and therefore claim it as your own.

She has absolutely no legal rights over that land. She is annoyed that you are using it as your designated dog toilet. She is entitled to express that annoyance, you are entitled to ignore her. Whether or not to do so is up to you. My neighbours have what I consider to be unreasonable expectations that no one else will ever park on the public road outside their house. They are free to express this opinion; they have no means of enforcing it and I can (and do) ignore it.

I presume she does because of this bit from her op:

"this is a convenient place for my dog to wee while we temporarily have no garden access due to building work"

there will be foxes and rats and cats and all sorts peeing near her geraniums

she just wants to intimidate people

In very hard nosed terms you're not being unreasonable. She doesn't own that land anymore than you.

Seriously though, this woman makes an effort to keep your street nice and your response is to let your dog pee on it?

You sum up everything that is wrong with this country.

She's asking you to take your dog elsewhere to toilet so that kids can play there.

Do you have a good reason to say no? Can't your dog just be kept off that verge?

Yes if course, but I currently can't access my garden because of building work.

Kids can still play there...

Quite, other people that live in the road are very pleasant and welcoming and stop for a chat. I live just round the corner so we are all familiar faces.

If kids play on public grass surely it’s done in the knowledge that some dog might have peed on it?

Your neighbour is being unreasonable.

I think your last sentence is a little harsh, but broadly I agree with your post.

If she's gone to the effort of making a patch of communal land nice then I think you could have encouraged your dog to move further along.

But what kind of PITA has to let their dog pee on the one bit of grass someone is trying to make something of?

It's just pointlessly antagonistic. The dog can just pee on another verge.