Neighbour's dog fouls my lawn

[RoseRodent]

Sorry for a post rash, I have not been in either garden for years as I have been very ill, and I'm just trying to reclaim them both from the triffids and I have lots of questions. I don't know if I am just not searching very well as I couldn't find anything which was a similar issue.

What is the remedy for a neighbour's (not direct next door, a few houses down) dog fouling on my private property? I know whose dog it is, (but also know they will not care, so the primary option of civil discussion with a sensible neighbour is eliminated) and they just open the front door and let it roam until its business has been done and it comes home. The council will only become involved with reports of fouling public areas, and even then they seem to have virtually no powers, because a photograph of sh*t coming out of the back of their dog and landing on the ground doesn't seem to be evidence sufficient to issue a notice, it seems the warden needs to be there in person observing the act! Anyway, back to the garden...

What is the correct remedy to follow to try to get this stopped? Is there something specific to the fouling, or should I concentrate more on reporting it as a loose roaming dog? I have no animals at all,I should not have to pooper scoop my lawn.

I've tried various deterrents over the years, BTW, but none seems to overcome this animal's desire to do its business here, there is cat fouling and fox fouling also, which I just have to put up with because there is no law covering wild poop, so the dog is driven wild to urinate over these smells near its territory. The cats and foxes don't come as often, every 2 weeks at most, the dog poops here daily. The expense and effort of treating the area with anti-poop measures which didn't work just got too much. I cannot fence the area, the neighbour on the other side shares my drive area so if she leaves her gate open this dog can get in anyway. In any case, it's not my duty to fence their dog OUT, it's their duty to keep it IN.

[MacadamB53]

Hi Rose,

should I concentrate more on reporting it as a loose roaming dog?

owning a dog (or other animal) and not keeping it under your control is an offence - speak to the police.

Kind regards, Mac

[humptydumpty]

Speak to the RSPCA, they may be able to loan you a dog trap.

Trap the dog, call RSPCA, they will take it away, the owner will have to pay to have dog returned.

[jonahinoz]

Hi,

It was not uncommon in the Swansea Valley, for adverts to appear in the local newspaper, stating that horses would be returned to their owners after payment for damage they had caused to gardens, otherwise they would be sold to pay for the damage.

Could the same be done with dogs, after the householder had obtained quotes for removing the dog's exhaust?

John W

[arsie]

I won't add to all the advice on dogs roaming etc but concentrate on getting your neighbour to keep her gate closed e.g. fitting a self-closing spring or some such. Depending on how that goes, moving some of the dog poo onto the shared drive might reinforce the common cause you have More simply, could you just start closing the gate at every opportunity?

[RoseRodent]

I won't add to all the advice on dogs roaming etc but concentrate on getting your neighbour to keep her gate closed e.g. fitting a self-closing spring or some such. Depending on how that goes, moving some of the dog poo onto the shared drive might reinforce the common cause you have More simply, could you just start closing the gate at every opportunity?

Thanks, just to be clear that the driveway is shared with no. 10 and the dog comes from 16. The dog does not escape from 16 by negligence or accident, it escapes because rather than use their rear garden or take the dog for a leashed walk, they open the front door of the house and put it out into the street to wander and do its business. It comes to my garden. Once the dog is out of 16, if 10 leaves their gate open then the dog can wander into my driveway at 12 even if my gate is closed. I cannot close 10's gate as it's not a legal shared drive, it's 2 separate drives with 2 independently owned gates but no fence separating the two inner driveways, and if a fence were installed neither drive could then accommodate a vehicle, since my door opens into their drive and theirs into mine to gain access to cars, but there is a legal dividing line between the two drives. I'd be trespassing on 10 to close their gate and creating a nuisance for them to have to open the gate to put their car in. The same situation exists with 14, there's a run of front gardens each with a front fence and gate but no barrier between, so even if gates were closed from 16 through to 10, the dog is released inside the gates. Ultimately, unless 16 stops deliberately turning the dog into the street, it can get into my garden. Does that make any more sense?

So I'm guessing there is no separate recourse for the fouling, my best bet is to pursue the loose dog element?

Thx.

[appledore]

We've just set a camera up to see what's fouling our front lawn. We think it's a fox, but one of our neighbours doesn't care where her dogs do their business. The last three mornings there's been a heap in the same place, but nothing on the camera. I think we must have a ghost.

[mattloeb]

call the councils dog warden. they can take away the dog censored and if you suspect its who it is ask them for a sample. some tests later it will prove if it is their dog or not.

[jonahinoz]

Hi,

Something in my mind that I read many years ago, probably before dog wardens were invented. Vague memory says that the owner of an animal is not responsible for what it does if it enters your property directly from the road. I'm sure that is what I read, but not sure if what was written was correct.

I think the anti-poop laws only covers public highways with up to a 40mph speed limit. Which will not include your garden. Google should know. If the dog is on the street, it's a problem for the dog warden.

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