Keeping dogs out of my yard?

[fortmyersbride]

We have a big backyard that isn't fenced in. It seems to be the place all the neighbor dogs come to poop . Now that it's getting warmer outside I took the kids out to play on our swingset and it's like a minefield of dog crap . I don't particularly want to spend my weekends cleaning in up myself or washing it off the kids' shoes, and I don't really know that it's one dog in particular that I can go talk to the neighbor. Does anyone know of any humane ways to repel a dog from entering our yard or wanting to go to the bathroom in it? I came across a few pellet and spray products on amazon that I'm considering. I guess if I can't find a good way to control it I will look into fencing in the yard.

[jennistarr1]

are you sure it's a dog and not stray cats...I have a fenced yard and there is always cat poop and I haven't found a way to control it

[LoveTrains]

Are you sure its dogs and not some other sort of wild animal? I know my parents get a lot of deer poop in their yard.

I am just wondering how dogs are getting back there - are owners letting their dogs run loose in teh neighborhood? Could it be cats?

You can sprinkle pepper around the perimeter of your yard, that is supposed to get dogs from going to the bathroom there.

[fortmyersbride]

Jan 27, 2013 17:02:20 GMT -5 jennistarr1 said:

are you sure it's a dog and not stray cats...I have a fenced yard and there is always cat poop and I haven't found a way to control it

It's definitely bigger than cat poop, I was thinking large dog based on the size.

[jennistarr1]

then I'm not sure...it would be nice to catch one of them in the act...

[fortmyersbride]

Jan 27, 2013 17:02:22 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

Are you sure its dogs and not some other sort of wild animal? I know my parents get a lot of deer poop in their yard.

I am just wondering how dogs are getting back there - are owners letting their dogs run loose in teh neighborhood? Could it be cats?

You can sprinkle pepper around the perimeter of your yard, that is supposed to get dogs from going to the bathroom there.

There are a lot of dogs that are "let out" to go to the bathroom in the neighborhood or that wander out of their open backyards. I have found the nieghbor's dog in our garage (I guess he followed the car in and got closed in) and seen a few dogs out wandering in the road (so not safe!). We get similar piles in the front yard but those don't bug me as the kids don't play there. I'll have to try the pepper idea!

[Deleted]

It's really shitty, no pun intended, of your neighbors to just be letting their dogs out unsupervised like that. For a lot of reasons.

How many neighbors do you have that do this? Can you speak to all neighborhood dog owners, or at least the ones you suspect/that are nearby you and let them know it's a problem?

Does your state have a leash law? Most states do. If I talked to the neighbors and it continued to be a problem I would call the police about leash law violations. They are in place for the animal's safety as well as human safety and cleanliness/convenience.

I use metal garden fencing to keep my dog out of my flower beds. It's (guessing) maybe 3' high and you just stick it directly into the ground. It's not exactly beautiful but it keeps him from tromping all over my tomatoes. Depending on how big your yard is this may also be a solution, but if you have a huge area to fence off it could get pricey.

[fortmyersbride]

Jan 27, 2013 17:19:21 GMT -5 @carmensandiego said:

It's really shitty, no pun intended, of your neighbors to just be letting their dogs out unsupervised like that. For a lot of reasons.

How many neighbors do you have that do this? Can you speak to all neighborhood dog owners, or at least the ones you suspect/that are nearby you and let them know it's a problem?

Does your state have a leash law? Most states do. If I talked to the neighbors and it continued to be a problem I would call the police about leash law violations. They are in place for the animal's safety as well as human safety and cleanliness/convenience.

I use metal garden fencing to keep my dog out of my flower beds. It's (guessing) maybe 3' high and you just stick it directly into the ground. It's not exactly beautiful but it keeps him from tromping all over my tomatoes. Depending on how big your yard is this may also be a solution, but if you have a huge area to fence off it could get pricey.

It's about 4 or 5 neighbors that let their dogs roam. Our next door neighbors are some of the worst offenders and I frequently find their dog on our driveway or out wandering. I don't know for certain who a few of the other wandering dogs belong to, perhaps I just need to start paying closer attention. The garden fencing might work on the side where I think most of them are entering from.

[chessie]

I have a neighbor that secured his whole yard with 4 runs of electric wire, (like cattle wire)-- and attached electric, works great keeping any animals out of his yard. I know most wouldnt like this option--but there are lots of owners out there that let their dogs roam free. I am in process of doing this for my entire horse area since the neighbors dogs keep wandering over.  They attacked one of the horses and got kicked..and owners were no where to be found during this process. 

[blackcat]

I have no advice, I am dealing with this myself and it sucks. The people renting the house next door let their dog out off-leash and it annoys the hell out of me. Our yard is not fenced in, as we do not have pets, neither is theirs, and I am tired of dealing with their dog being in my yard. It's part of the HOA regulations in our 'hood that your pet MUST be on a leash if the yard is not fenced in. I have already contacted the HOA and let them know, they are constantly reminding people in the newsletter about this, something that is really disappointing to me, why are people letting their animals roam free??? I really do not want to have to fence in my yard (I got a quote, and it's $1800 for wood, $3000 for metal, and my yard is tiny), I do not have anything to contain, so it sucks balls.

[whitemerlot]

I will be using this. Cheap and easy to attach to wooden stakes.

m.homedepot.com/p/HDX-4-ft-x-100-ft-Orange-Barrier-Fence/100384030/

[RoxMonster]

You say your next door neighbors are one of the biggest offenders. Have you ever talked to them about it? If you know for a fact they do let their dogs out and have seen them in your yard, I would definitely walk over and say something. Try to not be confrontational at first. Maybe, "I've noticed multiple times that your dog(s) has gotten into my yard and went to the bathroom in there. Would it be possible to keep him/her on a leash so this doesn't happen? My kids play in the backyard and it gets all over their clothes and shoes." If after that it still happens, I would consider calling the police about leash law violations. Do you have an HOA you could contact as well?

[Pilsy]

We use coffee grounds to keep the neighborhood dogs from pooping on the small patch of lawn out by our mailbox.

Why their owners don't clean up after them is beyond me.

[Deleted]

I would call animal control. My experience has been if people are lazy enough to just let their dog run around unsupervised then they are not going to start walking them on a leash just so you can complain.

[minniebee]

Your neighbors suck.

You could try talking to your neighbors and nicely asking them not to let their dog(s) into your yard. Honestly, I wouldn't expect it to do a lot of good, though. They probably know their dog poops in places other than it's own yard. If they're the kind of people who just let their dog roam around the neighborhood off leash, they probably don't care. They are clearly irresponsible dog owners.

You could call animal control. In the mean time ...

Do the dogs go all over your yard, or just a specific area? If it's just a specific area, try putting lemon or orange peels out in the area. Dogs don't like the scent of citrus. They don't like vinegar either, but don't put that on your grass because it will kill your grass.

I think there are dog repellant products you can get, although I don't know much about them. There are some that are noise deterrents, they make a noise that humans can't hear but animals don't like. I remember seeing those when I was trying to figure out how to get rid of gophers in my yard, but I didn't try it because I have a dog and didn't want to bother my dog in an effort to get rid of gophers.

[fortmyersbride]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I haven't caught any of the dogs in the act yet, next door neighbor is my best guess as their dog is right there and is often loose on our driveway. I think I'll try the pepper and citrus for now and keep an eye out for offenders. FBIL offered to let me borrow some motion sensor video cameras (he uses them for deer) if I want to catch the poopers on tape.

[LoveTrains]

I am LOLing at "dogs don't like citrus". My dog loves loves loves oranges. If I start to peel one he can smell it from across the house and comes running in to get a nibble of orange. Perhaps he is just weird, though.

[puppyluv]

Jan 27, 2013 23:55:16 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

I am LOLing at "dogs don't like citrus". My dog loves loves loves oranges. If I start to peel one he can smell it from across the house and comes running in to get a nibble of orange. Perhaps he is just weird, though.

HA I was thinking the same thing. My dogs love oranges!

I think your best option is to get a fence. In addition to keeping the poop out, if your kids are playing in the yard often, you wont have to worry about random dogs coming up to them while outside.

[bleubook]

Make a flier/letter that says you have moles and are having going to be placing mole poison in your yard. Say it is high toxic to dogs and say that you'd hate for one if their precious pups to get sick or die if they accidentally found it while unattended in your yard. (Don't actually put the poison out).

[sydney02]

Living in the country has made me hate all dogs but my own. People here let dogs roam and shitting is the least of what they do. They kill livestock, other pets, make my dogs go crazy in the window. I came home to find my front windowsill absolutely trashed. I'm talking claw marks all over, dug deep into the beautiful wood. Apparently the neighbor's dogs were running around the front and when they saw us pull up they ran. My dogs were going crazy at the window and trashed it.

It's definitely dog shit. Cats find a discrete areas and then bury their crap. They are courteous that way. Dogs will dump in the middle of your lawn.

Honestly, you can call animal control and keep reporting it over and over. We ended up getting a fence. It was the only way to not have to deal anymore. I hate asshole neighbors.

[sydney02]

Jan 27, 2013 22:51:16 GMT -5 fortmyersbride said:

Thanks for all the suggestions. I haven't caught any of the dogs in the act yet, next door neighbor is my best guess as their dog is right there and is often loose on our driveway. I think I'll try the pepper and citrus for now and keep an eye out for offenders. FBIL offered to let me borrow some motion sensor video cameras (he uses them for deer) if I want to catch the poopers on tape.

This is a great idea. I forgot to suggest taking a picture if you see the dog in the daytime. It's hard for a neighbor to argue if you have a photo of the dog in your yard. 

[chessie]

Jan 27, 2013 23:55:16 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

I am LOLing at "dogs don't like citrus". My dog loves loves loves oranges. If I start to peel one he can smell it from across the house and comes running in to get a nibble of orange. Perhaps he is just weird, though.

Mine as well.  They will eat any fruits, or veggies though.  Its food, they dont discriminate.

[Norticprincess]

Scarecrow sprinkler?

www.amazon.com/Contech-CRO101-Scarecrow-Activated-Sprinkler/dp/B000071NUS

[Velvetshady]

Jan 28, 2013 9:55:17 GMT -5 Norticprincess said:

Scarecrow sprinkler?

www.amazon.com/Contech-CRO101-Scarecrow-Activated-Sprinkler/dp/B000071NUS

I was going to suggest a motion activated sprinkler.

[msmerymac]

Jan 28, 2013 0:21:10 GMT -5 sydney02 said:

It's definitely dog shit. Cats find a discrete areas and then bury their crap. They are courteous that way. Dogs will dump in the middle of your lawn.

 

Cats can still suck. We had a kayak with a tarp on the side of our house and a cat still got in and pooped in it. Like, badly. My husband had to hose it out. Plus they come up on our porch and look in the windows and freak my cats out.

Irresponsible pet own suck, period.

[dexteroni]

I think of all the suggestions here, going to your neighbors with photographic evidence, sending out the fake poison alert, or fencing in your yard are the only ones I would recommend. Many dogs will eat whatever you put out, and will probably make a point of returning to the awesome yard that has food in it, lol. And some of the foods suggested aren't good for dogs - citrus isn't poisonous, but it can give some dogs stomach issues; if you don't want poop in your yard, you probably really don't want diarrhea. And you didn't say you were going to try coffee, but coffee is dangerous to dogs, and can even kill them. If you were considering using it, please don't.