Dog poop question - is this ok?

Julia1983

So we were arriving home earlier today and saw someone allowing their dog to do a runny poo on our lawn. It is a narrow strip of grass adjoining our drive and the neighbours, but it is our responsibility to mow and maintain. They picked it up as best they could (before they saw us) but I asked (politely) if they could not let the dog go there next time as it is part of our garden. Guy got really offended and basically said they had no control over where their dog stopped to poop. I pointed out the common scrubland a few metres down the road and then went inside. Was I being unreasonable?  There is still a reasonable amount of poo left on the grass now on account of it being loose 😕

Fairygirl

Not being remotely unreasonable at all @Julia1983.
He's lucky you didn't punch him in the face. What is wrong with people nowadays...

Do  you have a dog warden at your local council? Worth asking for one to do his rounds if you do. I had to do it umpteen times when I moved here. The garden was mainly open to all and sundry who regarded it as their personal playground. 

Joy*

No you are not. The dog's owner is responsible for his animal and should not allow it to trespass on you garden. If it was on a lead, and it should have been,  it could have been persuaded to go in the gutter, at the very least. The difficult clean up would be less of a problem there. We have something of a similar problem as all the front gardens are open plan. The worst offenders are people with those very long extending leads which give the dig too much freedom. I've politely asked dog walkers not to let their pet use my garden as a toilet and I think that it has had some effect as now, no end of dogs are seen at the opposite side of the road and fewer at ours. 

Julia1983

Thanks. I'm not a confrontational person and it upsets me to do it but I was just so annoyed, we've worked hard on the garden. We are actually in the process of selling up partly because of the noise here, so I'm probably a bit on edge with that. Nobody seems to have any common courtesy around here! 

Fairygirl

You're not alone @Julia1983, and I hope your next home is more pleasant for you.
I completely understand about the noise thing too - I seriously thought about moving back out again 6 months after moving in here. 
Joy is right - the owners are responsible, and don't get me started on those leads. I don't know how those were ever allowed to be sold. 

raisingirl

Fairygirl said:

and don't get me started on those leads. I don't know how those were ever allowed to be sold. 

They cause so many injuries to owners and even deaths of dogs, it mystifies me why anyone would want to buy one.

As a dog owner, i would say we can't always dictate where a dog will poo, especially if they have the squits, but you absolutely can control where they walk. Had the dog not been allowed to walk across your garden the emergency dump might still have been less than ideal - presumably on the pavement near your house entrance. It's not always safe to push a dog into the road (depends on how wide the road is). Still better than on your lawn I'd have thought. The application of a hose or watering can would resolve the residue well enough from the pavement. There again, most dogs will try to go on grass or in a hedge, given the choice, so most probably he did it there because he was allowed on to your grass. 

Hope you manage to sell up and move somewhere quieter

wild edges

I've worked really hard to train my dog to stay on the pavement and not go on peoples' gardens. It's really hard when other people don't control their pets though as the dog follows their nose. Once one dog has peed on your property they'll all follow. I really hate it when I see hedges or plants next to pavements burned at dog wee height. Cats are just as bad though.

I love extendable leads though. Used properly they're brilliant but sadly most people don't use them properly. My dog is so good on his 8 metre lead that he gets confused if I have to switch to the spare lead which is only 6m. The one I have now has a wide hi-vis tape as the lead part which is a great improvement over the thin black string types. I got shouted at by a farmer once because he couldn't see the thin cable and thought the dog was loose. We were nowhere near any livestock but he'd had problems apparently. He did apologise when he saw it though in fairness.

Dovefromabove

I agree that the extendable leads have a use ... however they are not suitable for large dogs or for any dogs when walking on pavements in residential areas .... 😠

ive had dogs all my life until fairly recently ... large and smaller types ... some had from puppyhood and some acquired as ‘rescue dogs’ ... they all learned quickly to walk sensibly alongside me when on the lead ... that made the walks much more enjoyable for me and for the dogs. 

It seems to me that some folk think that as long as they are stronger than their dog then they don’t need to train it 😠 and they always think they’re stronger than their dog 🙄 

The other day I was in a queue of traffic  in a residential area when I saw an older chap, who didn’t look particularly fit, walking a large husky type dog on an extendable lead ... then around the corner came a young woman with a baby in a buggy and a small white Maltese type dog trotting nicely alongside.

 I watched the large dog suddenly change direction, wrap the lead behind the man’s legs and lunge across the lawn towards the Maltese, pulling the man over and dragging him on his stomach across the grass.   

The woman with the buggy began to shout/scream as the husky got close and the man being dragged just hung onto the lead and kept shouting what sounded like ‘Roy!’  ... fortunately it was all over in a flash ... two men (painters I think) who were working on the house rushed over and grabbed the husky by the lead and collar just as it reached the Maltese and the chap on the other end of the lead staggered to his feet.  

The traffic moved on and so did I ... a few minutes later I completed my errand and returned along that street ... no sign of either dog or their owners ... just the painters sanding down the windowsills  ... alls well that ends well ... but goodness knows what would’ve/could’ve happened if the painters had not been there.

That big dog was totally unsuitable for that older chap to be walking. 

Posy

It's really important not to punch or be punched but if the offender is obviously incapable of aggression, take a picture on your phone. Include the dog - in action if possible - and the owner in the same shot. I don't know if there is any legal action you can take but it tends to frighten the owners into better behaviour. My daughter did this with a woman who let her aggressive dog loose despite the fact that it persistently attacked smaller dogs. It worked.

Hostafan1

why are SOME pet owners so totally selfish??
 "I want a dog / cat, you're going to have to deal with the shit"

Dovefromabove

💡 Put a notice by your lawn saying ‘☠️ lawn treatment applied ... may be harmful to pets’ ... that might make the owners keep their dogs on a short rein ... at least for a while.