To be annoyed by neighbour's dog peeing on the grass?

[weatherthorp]

I live in a semi-detached house with a small hedge to mark the boundary at the front. NDN has a fence instead. A metre-wide length of grass goes along the length of our hedge/their fence, right next to the public pavement. I believe this grass is owned by the council. Diagram attached.

Multiple times a day, our NDN brings their dog out of the house, past their half of grass and onto ours for their dog to have a wee. The result is our side is covered with lawn burn while theirs is unscathed!

On the one hand I think IABU to be annoyed because that land is technically beyond our boundary and not owned by us (although we do care for its upkeep). But on the other hand, I couldn't imagine letting my two dogs do the same on their side without a care in the world!

I'm not going to mention it to them either way as I favour neighbourly relations over a dog pee-free lawn. But it still bothers me to see it... AIBU?

Honestly, I wouldn’t even notice. All grass has suffered this summer.
Do you think you should perhaps find a hobby, instead of standing at your window monitoring your neighbour’s dog’s toilet habits?

They're probably not doing it because it's your side, they'll be doing it because it's the closest to their house their dog is willing to do a wee. So if you did mention it they might be willing to just take their dog a little bit further away to wee on someone else's grass.

you mean on the grass out the front owned by the council? It’s not on your side as you don’t have a side as it’s council owned. If i’m understanding this correct then you need to chill out.

If I’m reading this right, a dog is weeing on grass that isn’t yours.
Have you tried calling 999?

We have this same set up down our row of houses, our boundary, then grass (owned by council) and then the road. Everyone who walks dogs down the road has dogs that pee on those patches of grass all down the road.

Our own dogs do it when we walk them, sometimes they pee outside one house, other days they will pee outside another, but as its council owned grass they can pee where they like. Dogs like to pee, where they like to pee and it may be that their dog can smell its pee'd there before so will target the same area again. Dogs like to do that, they 'pee on pee'. And, as a PP said, it may well be the only place their dog wants to go.

I think you have to suck this one up and let it go. You can be annoyed about it all you want but its unlikely to change anything.

Time to fight back and assert dominance. When their dog starts to pee you go to their side of the grass, you squat or lift your leg and pee while holding eye contact with the neighbour.

I doubt they’ll be back after that. If they do come back, repeat until they either stop or call the police on you.

Water it to dilute the wee if you're concerned about it. Other than that, I wonder what that poor dog is eating if its pee is so concentrated from a once or twice a day wee that it's burned the grass. Although it could be because it's not getting regularly rained on after the hot, dry summer.

Thanks everyone, you've helped with some perspective 😂A lot of other houses on our road have 'made something' of the areas outside their houses as it's down to us to look after our own bit. But the fact it's council-owned is the deciding factor isn't it. Question was AIBU for being irritated by it... answer is yes!

No yanbu. It’s not “your grass” but it’s your frontage. I’d politely ask them to take the dog elsewhere to wee because the ground is being permanently damaged and once the grass stops growing it will be muddy and slippery and unsightly in winter.

Id make it a “would you mind terribly, I’m so sorry to ask as I know it can be tricky to change a dog’s habits but I would appreciate it so much if you can try….Perhaps the dog will move up to the next verge or cross the road and wee on the other side of the street so he’s not tempted to wee here until the grass has chance to recover?”

I’m a dog owner and I do all I can to ensure my dog doesn’t pee on people’s lawns. However if it’s a public verge I let her go as she does only
pee on grass and she can’t hold it in forever.
You have already said YABU I can see

Just coming on to say I love your diagram OP !

but I think council property is just that ie not yours
although I can’t see why they can’t walk their dog and let him pee elsewhere

They probably can't walk their dog every time it needs a quick wee. Dogs are weird. Mine will pee in the garden (though not anywhere near the back door, has to go up the path a bit), so I can let him out for a wee. But if theirs won't, they probably don't have time for a full-on walk multiple times a day.

Mine also won't poo within a half-mile radius of my house. I guess if next-door's dog is that fastidious, then OP has got lucky as it wouldn't dream of pooing on her verge.

Tbh I had no idea some dogs were like this as Ours just goes anywhere

So fare enough

It’s not your land and you have a hedge separating your land and the councils land. I wouldn’t be bothered by this. Good neighbours are hard to come by. I would just carry on and mind your own business.

Nononono, OP. You had a feeling and those feelings are valid and no one should be telling you how to feel. This is an outrage.

In all seriousness, hopefully this will help stop it bugging you so much.

My dog won’t toilet in the garden either. We live in the middle of nowhere but she waits till she’s just out the gate. So I have a random pee patch too.

I don’t think you’re unreasonable to be irritated. But as it’s not your land, you’d be unreasonable to do anything. The fact they walk past the bit closer to their house suggests they are inconsiderate, since they don’t want it by them but are happy to have it near you.

If it does carry on irritating you. I’d do something with your bit too to gently put dogs off. Long planter filled with lavender or mint should do it, smells nice too. If asked I’d mutter something about bees/ pollinators.

Thank you! I tried a bird's eye view perspective first but didn't have the artistic skill...

I wondered if this might be part of it, or if their dog simply prefers weeing against a bush than a fence. Our dogs will go anywhere so it's not something I've encountered before. It had occurred to me to be grateful it's just wees though!

I definitely will carry on and mind my own business. That said, they're not otherwise 'good neighbours' for a multitude of reasons (none related to dog wee which is why I didn't include it here!). It's partly why I'm finding it difficult to be objective in this particular case and asked for others' opinions.

DOG NAPPIES NOW

Even the houses look angry with each other haha love it.

Totally get it op. We have our house, land, path, land, road and honestly everyone is a bit MINE with their sections to the extent the council refuse to cut certain sections as they got fed up of complaints by the residents saying they did a shit job and where leaving it a mess. So now you get a few of us who are cutting out sections weekly and then the council long rubbish bits with poo and rubbish it’s funny.

Thanks. I would bet the majority of our road doesn't realise that bit out the front of their house doesn't belong to them, which is why they've put the effort into making 'theirs' nice. Maybe we'll follow suit, but to be honest just knowing I'm overreacting helps a bit 😅

Also maybe some repellants. Coffee grounds and such might do the trick. Is it foxes or dogs mens pee works for?