the roaming neighbor's dog

I would just tell them that the poop is disgusting. I know if it were my dogs pooping in other people yards and they didnt like it I would be nice and go pick it up. Heck I wouldnt want to step in my own dogs stuff. Why let someone else. Especially when it's not in their yard.

kle1986

I would just tell them that the poop is disgusting. I know if it were my dogs pooping in other people yards and they didnt like it I would be nice and go pick it up.

well you can't just bring it up out of the blue lol.... "hey, crazy weather we're having! by the way, you wanna take your dog's poo off my lawn?"

and i dunno if i mentioned it, but they watch him go off, and i'm pretty sure they see him pooping (at the very least peeing, which some people aren't too happy about either. i don't care too much about the pee)

i know if it were me i would pick it up, that's why i'm finding it hard to figure out why they're not. i think for the most part they sometimes tie him up off the back deck and he does most of his business back there, but the pace at which they pick those up is their concern.

i try and tell myself "if i were in their shoes i would want my neighbors to tell me they don't like it", but can they really think we'd be ok with it??? i wanna bring it up, but have no idea how. see my dilemma? we kinda drifted (we were never really super close to begin with), and with her baby on the way she's busy with a million different things i'm sure.

i hear ya tho kle1986... lots of zoey's poops are frozen in the snow right now, but whenever it thaws i get right on it and grab as many as i can. makes having a pee/poo spot even more convenient! limited hunting!! lol 

I would just say nicely that you love their dog but he is pooping on your yard and those of your neighbor's and everyone wishes that you could stop him.  Plus it dangerous to let you dog run free, with cars ard all he can get hurt.  Even if you say something, they may not change that's when the problems start.

Your neighbor does not realize the consequences of letting their dog offleash in the neighbor.  Very inconsiderate to others and it is one thing not knowing you are being inconsiderate, its another thing when it is not caring.

My foster Paganini when on a home visit to a wonderful family that was willing to take on and continue her progress in eliminating her issue of being dog aggressive to random dogs.  While there we observed the neighbor's Rott male roaming the neighborhood.   The family did not realize this and when we all went for a walk around the neighbor there were several more.  Not a good neighborhood for Paganini and after long discussions, both the organization and the family felt it would not be a good fit.  If this was my neighborhood, I surely would speak up.

Well said, DPU.

My other inclination was to gather up all the deposits from the neighborhood and leave it on the offenders' lawn. But, it sounds like, with an impending baby, this dog is getting shut out more and more. That usually leads to a shelter or underneath the snow plow. I think they should just "man up" and surrender the dog now and admit they are out of their league.

I guess there is no AC to speak of or there is hesitation to call them for fear of either neighborhood repercussions or fear for the dog's welfare in a shelter, as if wandering acrosss the street with any number of traffic hazards were better. If the dog does increase his range, eventually, the discussion will be moot.

ron2

My other inclination was to gather up all the deposits from the neighborhood and leave it on the offenders' lawn. But, it sounds like, with an impending baby, this dog is getting shut out more and more. That usually leads to a shelter or underneath the snow plow. I think they should just "man up" and surrender the dog now and admit they are out of their league.

first off LOL x100 ... i hadn't thought about that, but now that you mention it the idea is becoming more appealing hahaha...

second, great advice DPU. you hit it right on i think. 

i know they're not neglecting him enough that i worry for his safety, i know they love him to death, and in all fairness, our street is in the middle of a subdivision, it's a cul-de-sac that has very little traffic, and EVERYbody that lives on the street knows "the big black dog". that's obviously no excuse to let him run around... but if it was a big hazard i'd have piped up a long time ago.

i hate to say it, but unless i can slip it into conversation, i think all this might just kinda simmer and be lived with... is it just me that would be raising the dog differently? i want my little one to be really well behaved, and from day one when we got her i had done my research and i've been consistent with teaching her rules and boundaries. they talk to their dog like he's a person. full sentences and questions lol... i think mom is stricter than dad etc. i'm feeling more and more that it's not my place to make a big deal about it yunno? 

thanks for the awesome advice everyone :) 

I would call your local Animal Control. Most have rules in place about animals roaming at large, leash laws, etc.

Personally, I think it's extremely unneighborly for someone to not pick up after their dogs while they are on other people's property, and I think your neighbors have every right to be upset about it.  Every time I walk my dog in our neighborhood, I carry baggies for just this purpose.  And as for the dog running around loose, I don't know about your area, but where I live we have leash laws and this is illegal.  One of your not-quite-so-understanding neighbors may finally get fed up and call the local authorities to come pick up the dog.  Just today while walking my pup I saw a dog running around loose in the neighborhood, and not being familiar with it, I was terrified it might try to attack my Harry.  Thank goodness it did not, but you never know, and people unfamiliar with the dog won't know, either.  Dogs inevitably get loose from time to time, but allowing it to happen is unacceptable and could lead to hefty fines or confiscation of the animal, depending on local laws.

This is how I would handle the situation, since you guys are friends.  The next time you guys find yourselves together (as in, don't make a special trip over to their house to discuss this, it will be less confrontational if you bring it up when you just happen to see each other), just say to them something along these lines, "Look, you guys, I'm your friend and you know I love your pooch, but I thought I should tell you that some of the other neighbors have said things to me about poochie leaving little presents in their yards, and I don't think they like it too much."  See how they react (you could even say "don't shoot the messenger" to let them know you are just relaying info.  Let them know you, as a dog owner, understand how hard it is sometimes, but that you also know that people don't like stepping in big poo piles on their own property.  Explain to them the possible consequences of a fed-up neighbor, and how you would hate to see that happen to them.  Give them suggestions, such as getting a pooper scooper, or carrying baggies to collect droppings from others' yards.  This also could open the door to discuss the running free issue, but I wouldn't bring up everything at once, lest they get defensive and think you are barraging them with complaints.  Start small, and see where it leads.

Hope this helps, and GOOD LUCK!

aerial1313

"Look, you guys, I'm your friend and you know I love your pooch, but I thought I should tell you that some of the other neighbors have said things to me about poochie leaving little presents in their yards, and I don't think they like it too much."  See how they react (you could even say "don't shoot the messenger" to let them know you are just relaying info.  Let them know you, as a dog owner, understand how hard it is sometimes, but that you also know that people don't like stepping in big poo piles on their own property.  Explain to them the possible consequences of a fed-up neighbor, and how you would hate to see that happen to them.  Give them suggestions, such as getting a pooper scooper, or carrying baggies to collect droppings from others' yards

aerial1313, this is the best advice i've heard in a long time :)

just to clarify... he's not really running around unsupervised really (i think i must have mislead in a previous post or something)... they open the door, let him run around a bit and do his business, then call him back in. it looks like depending how much time they have, or the weather, they let him run around a little, into ppl's yards, maybe keeping their fingers crossed he doesn't poop away from home base. they DO own  pooper-scooper (a monster sized one too!), i've just never seen them use it outside their property. as for poop-bags for walks etc, i have no idea since i don't follow them on their walks :P i can only imagine they bring them, but only kuz i would never leave the house without at least ONE (i have some in my purse too, even paper towel if a pee happened inside for whatever reason)

he's not a "lose" dog... so i'm not calling any kind of authorities. it's not like that...(i'm glad you got that out of my msg aerial) 

*UPDATE*

since i have them on facebook, and my Zoey has her own little dogbook (heehee), i've started trying to engage more conversation with them. they even added their dog to dogbook, and Zoey and him are (obviously!) friends!!! i've suggested maybe a play date in a fenced in dog park in our area i'm pretty sure they've been to before, that i have not yet...

But he IS a lose dog, he is not confined. There are so many things that can happen to a dog that wanders on the streets. Even if you live on a dead end quiet street, he can still be hit ad possibly killed by a car. That is my biggest concern, not poop in the yard.

JRTzoey

he's not a "lose" dog... so i'm not calling any kind of authorities. it's not like that...(i'm glad you got that out of my msg aerial) 

Oh, I know you wouldn't call the authorities, I wouldn't either if it's just a matter of pooping in my yard (aggressive or attacking dogs...I absolutely would call it in!), BUT other neighbors might.  I even had a neighbor when I was a little kid who was so obsessive about his "perfect" yard that he would shoot any dog that wandered onto his property with a BB gun!  The dogs didn't even have to do anything bad to make him shoot them; one foot on his property and the gun came out.  That's an extreme example of a neighbor overreacting, but what I'm saying is that you could tell them other people might do that if they don't feel the situation is being resolved.  And Erica is right...outside off leash is loose, period, and I, too, would worry about him being hit by a car.  You could even mention that if you wanted, especially since he's developed his little "I dare you to try and get me" game. 

Some people are just mean and intolerant (though they have a right to be upset about poop in their yards), and won't be so kind.  That's the kind of thing I was saying you might explain to your friends as a possibility of what could happen.  If your friends become more diligent in picking up after their dog, the other neighbors probably wouldn't care about the dog on their property, as long as they know his little presents will be gone. :) 

I used to have a  neighbor who did that very same thing - open the front door every morning and evening and just let her dog out to do his business wherever he wanted - always in someone elses front yard.  I asked her about it once and she said "Oh, he doesn't like to go in his own yard." Hello?? This is a neighborhood of houses that all have decent sized fenced back yards. If the back yard is the place you train him to go, he certainly will go there.

Joyce