Do you have a well-kept yard? Yes, me too, coming home and finding your neighbors dog has been having fun in your yard is not fun after a long day’s work, In this article, I want to cover everything on how to keep neighbors dog out of my yard.
Dogs can be free-spirited and it’s not always possible to stop them coming into your yard but how to keep dogs from pooping in my yard was my first task that I wanted to sort out fast as I didn’t find it very fun picking up dog mess after a day’s work and I didn’t even own a dog.
I will try to cover all solutions that I had to go thought and ones you may need to take if the problem can’t be resolved with your neighbors so without further ado let’s tackle the problem.
What is the law on dog fouling?
The first thing to cover is the law when it comes to dog fouling on your lawn, I must add that I am not an attorney so this is just my understanding also even though this is covered first it’s not always the best step to take first.
If a neighbor’s dog is entering your land without permission, in most states it’s more than likely trespassing.
There are 3 different types of trespass I believe that a dog entering your yard without permission falls into they are the following:
Unauthorized Entry, On to land possessed by plaintiff and Damage to read more you can check out Wikipedia here.
The way I read the law when I was having problems with my neighbor’s dog was that if the dog enters my property without permission and damages my yard or lawn then the dog owner would be liable for costs of the repairs.
Its best practice to seek advice from a trained attorney if the legal route is the way you want to tackle the problem and they should be able to help with what options you have opened to you.
I wouldn’t go straight down this road and I didn’t but I did look it up and the main reason for this was to know that I had the law on my side and something had to be done to sort the problem out and I could tackle the problem with a little more confidence knowing this.
Dog pooing in my yard City Ordinances
Again this is not always the best way to go but it’s worth arming yourself with the knowledge just in case you have a neighbor that is not very reasonable but in most cases, you will have a respectable neighbor who wants to solve the problem.
In most stats city ordinances is what governs any issues around pets dogs, in this case, they will give guidance on ownership responsibilities and the leash laws.
To find your local city ordinances office you can use the following website here if you don’t know how to contact your city ordinances office.
Arming yourself with this knowledge can help you in any dispute you may have and if your neighbor is breaking any laws as in some cases they actually might not be.
See below on tips on dealing with the problem, this legal information is not to attack your neighbor with its just to give knowledge on the law and let you know it’s on your side but in most cases, you will not need it if you follow our steps below but as above it may give you that little extra confidence when it comes to talking to your neighbor.
Is it illegal to put poop on someone’s doorstep?
Why am I including this you may be thinking, well if you’re like me after a long day I was thinking to make a point should I gather the offending item(s) and place it on their doorstep.
A little childish I know but they were my thoughts at the time, my choice was not to and it was wise really as I could have been the one having to clear up the mess again and be a little embarrassed doing it.
Doing this can fall under vandalism in law but at most your likely to be charged with a misdemeanor, you’re unlikely to go to jail or receive a fine but will be ordered to clean up the dog mess again this time of your neighbor’s doorstep.
How do I keep the neighbor’s dog from pooping in my yard?
So let’s get down to some real solutions now we know the law is on our side and that being childish will only get yourself in trouble let’s get to some real solutions to the problem in hand.
One of these steps in 99.9% of cases will work and you won’t have to go down the hole of getting the law involved.
Talk to your neighbor about their dog poo in your yard
It sounds too simple that a simple chat with your neighbor will solve the problem of their dog pooping in your yard but in most cases, it does and the reason can be simply they didn’t know their dog was getting into your yard and pooping.
In most cases, your neighbor will be sorry for this happening and will put a stop to it but to make the chat go smoothly and not turn into a heated debate then we have a few tips to help you with the first contact.
I always find it the best practice as most people much prefer to try to solve a problem before any authority gets involved skipping this step is easy but it can permanently damage your relationship with your neighbors.
It’s not always going to work but speaking before taking any other action in most cases is the best solution as who wants to be known as that neighbor who just calls the police or attorney over something that could have been dealt with a polite chat.
Don’t go when you have just discovered the dog mess after a long day, let yourself calm down and cool off before talking to your neighbor.
Be calm in your tone and don’t raise your voice, don’t blame or threaten your neighbor during your chat.
Talk about solutions to how you both can solve the problem I find including yourself in the problem/solution this doesn’t make your neighbor feel like you are pointing blame even if you feel they are to blame.
An easy starting conversation would be “Hi John (neighbor Name) how are you? I feel really bad I have to do this but I’m unsure if you know Jake (dog’s name) has been getting into my yard and doing his business on my lawn, I am not too sure how he’s getting in so I can sort the problem out”
This way you’re setting the tone that you feel bad for having to do this and you’re willing to sort it there is no blame, in nearly all cases if you have a decent neighbor they will apologize and will sort the problem out without you having to do anything.
Put up warning signs about dog mess
This one is really if you have a problem with people who are walking past your yard that are letting their dog do their business on your lawn.
A sign “Clean up after your dogs” with a CCTV sign will in most cases give walkers a polite and very effective nudge that you dislike dog mess on your yard and are willing to take action if they allow their dog to mess on your lawn.
Install CCTV
This may seem a little extreme but more and more homes are installing CCTV as it comes more affordable, it’s also an effective way to make sure your yard is more secure.
The main reason to install CCTV for dog pooping in your yard is that your neighbor or any dog walker may just deny that it was their dog but with video evidence, there is no other option for them other than to take action.
Neighborhood Watch
Are other neighbors having the same problems as you? Are you all having the same problem that you just don’t know whose dog is the pooping dog?
Then an effective solution is to set up a neighborhood watch this is not a gang to tackle the offending neighbor this is to help pinpoint the offending dog and to deal with the problem, I would suggest if your neighborhood watch program finds the dog only one person talks to the dog owner.
The reason why only one person should talk to the offending neighbor is that you don’t want them to feel ganged up on as in some cases you will find they dig their heels instead of tackling the problem at hand.
Doggy poo bags
Offering doggy poo bags to people walking by your house can be a great solution, a polite “hello would you like some doggy poo bags” may allow a claim conversation to take place where you let them know there dog is messing on your lawn.
With all solutions, it’s about getting your point across without being argumentative or aggressive and the doggy poo bag is a great way to get a conversation going with someone who may not be a neighbor and simply someone who walks past your yard regularly that you don’t know.
Make your fencing around Your Garden better
A lot of times a neighbor’s dog will be getting into your yard by a hole in a fence or a broken fence some dogs like to dig under the fence also we have a separate solution for this below.
Height is the best practice when it comes to a fence with a dog, the next step is to look for any holes in your fence or your neighbor fence and when you have a chat you can suggest the hole may be the problem.
With some simple fixes, you can put a problem like this to bed without any real hard work and will stop the dog from entering your yard.
Don’t make your Yard dog-friendly
By this I mean don’t leave food out or rubbish as dogs will enter to investigate or to get something to eat.
Don’t leave standing water in your yard as dogs like to drink and standing water or water bowls will attract dogs.
So when we make our yard not “dog-friendly” by not putting things in dogs like not by trying to cause a dog any harm as this is not only not very nice it can be illegal and you could get yourself in trouble.
Clean up the Poo
I know it’s not nice and it’s not your job but as the faster you remove the poo from your yard the better the reason being that dogs will use there smell to return where they have gone before.
Dogs, in essence, will be turning your yard into their toilet, so cleaning up fast and using a detergent to clean and dilute the smell will help in stopping the dog from returning to your yard to use it as a toilet.
If you don’t have any cleaning detergent to hand then using the baking powder in water will dilute the smell left by the dog mess this is also ideal for your lawn as it shouldn’t cause any damage to your grass.
Sprinkler System
Dogs don’t like water it will do them no harm but they just don’t like it in most cases, so having a sprinkler system that is motion-activated can be a good deterrent.
The sprinkler system is more than likely to give the dog a little fright but will do it no harm and the dog won’t want to return but some dogs love water so it’s best to play this one with caution.
How do I keep my neighbors dog from digging under the fence?
This is something that is very problematic and if a dog is so determined to get into your yard nothing you or your neighbors can do or is there?
On your fence line dig a trench and bury chicken wire to give a barrier, this will also help if you have a problem with cats digging under your fence.
If you have any large rocks or paving slabs placing them on the perimeter of your fence should prevent the dog’s ability to dig.
Both these solutions should be very effective in keeping your neighbors dog from digging under the fence there not easy solutions I must say but they are the only real ones that I have found to have worked as dogs that dig is normally very determined to get into a yard.
What scent do dogs hate?
What smell repels dogs from pooping? There is nothing that will stop a dog from pooping in your yard but there are scents that will stop dogs from entering your yard as dogs smell is 100,000 more acute than us humans; this powerful smell makes using scent to deter dogs from coming into your yard very effective as a dog will remember a smell a lot better than us humans.
If a dog smells a scent that it doesn’t like then it will remember this and stay away from these places forever this is why people use scents to deter dogs.
9 scents dogs hate Chili pepper, Citrus, vinegar, Alcohol, Ammonia, Mothballs, Nail polish, Mint, and Strong spices.
These are all scents that dogs hate and will try to avoid them at all cost so sprinkling them on a fence that a dog keeps getting thought will make it less attractive to the dog and should stop the problem its found that citrus is one of the best deterrents.
We don’t want to harm the dog in any way and these products shouldn’t we only want to stop the dog from entering our yard and these smells should help with the problem.
Regarding Roaming Dogs
If you are having a problem with dogs that are just roaming and you and your neighbor just don’t know who owns the dog then the problem is a little harder to tackle but it can be overcome with some of the following solutions.
Most states have leash laws so the best practice is to call local government agency and let them know you having a problem with roaming dog(s) they should let you know of any leash laws and how best to tackle the problem you are having.
They may give you a contact number for a local animal control shelter that will be in a better place to deal with the problem as the roaming dog(s) may not have a home and may just need some help or they may be able to identify the owner easier than me or you and explain the leash laws to them so they are better informed.
It’s worth saying again that there are better solutions if you know who owns the dog as this course of action will rapidly deteriorate your relationship with your neighbor as some animal control shelter will take dogs away if they are roaming and the only way to get them back is with payment in some cases.
Conclusion
Dogs are smart so be coincident in your deterrents make sure you keep the upkeep of any fences, if they have dug holes then make sure you keep an eye on the dig site and when you approach anybody about the problem to be it neighbors or a passer-by be polite and calm in your manner and you shouldn’t have too much of a problem.
If you go down the legal route make it your last choice as you have to still live next to your neighbors and I know I would find this hard if we have had any sort of legal battle no matter how uncomfortable the first chat maybe with your neighbor it won’t be as bad as any legal battle with a neighbor.
We hope this article helped on how to keep neighbors dog out of my yard and that you solve your dog problem without having to go down the rabbit hole of the legal stuff ad was done with a friendly chat and if anything you become closer to your neighbor.