People who allow their dogs to poop in other people’s yards

Argh! I love dogs – they are adorable, cute, loyal, devoted, fiercely protective, etc … and they have to go to the bathroom just like every other living thing on legs. But what I don’t like is when their owners allow theme to poop in their neighbor’s yard without cleaning it up. I don’t blame the dog; after all, they go where their noses tell them to, but their owners should know to either steer them in a different direction (like THEIR yards, for example) or to pick-up after them. This is apparently complicated for some.

I’ve had to talk to a (new) neighbor twice about dog poop being found in my yard. And we’re not talking little tiny poops, either. The first time the neighbor attempted to claim that it wasn’t their dog’s but when I pointed out that the pooping is happening in the same place, the neighbor conceded that it was their dog. The second time I talked to them about it I had a bag and dust pan in my hand and they took it from me and scooped the poop. I’ve heard every excuse – for example, “Oh, they pooped in the middle of the night and I couldn’t see where it was to pick up because it was so dark.” Well … it gets light eventually, and if the same poop that was in your yard in the morning is still there in the afternoon when you get home, you know the owner has no intentions of picking it up unless you prod them into doing it.

To be fair, I have also seen my neighbor in the yard with the dog and she has picked up after it on the spot. It’s like sometimes it gets picked up and sometimes it doesn’t.

The thing that is so irritating about it is that I don’t even own a dog! Yet I have come home three times recently to find poop on top of the pine needles (one of the times my neighbor was on the way out to pick it up as I was walking up the sidewalk). Frustrating!

We have a lot of dog owners in this development and once upon a time, dogs pooping in other people’s yards was problematic – to the point that dragging the trash can around to the front on trash day was like walking through a poop minefield. Finally, the development installed several dog poop stations, complete with little baggies, around common areas where dogs are frequently walked and it got a little better. My yard is not near a common area where the little baggies are readily available, but that doesn’t matter. The owner should still have their own scoop and baggies handy.

I make it a point when I’m out walking to thank my neighbors if I see them walking their dog with a little baggie in hand. Fortunately I see more with the baggies than I do those without, so most are being considerate. If you’ve had a repeat issue with this in your yard, how have you handled it? I am interested in suggestions in case I have to talk to my neighbor again. I sense that she wants to be considerate, but doesn’t always follow through.

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