Dogs defecating on sidewalks and other yards

Started by ZachR • 6 replies • 2521 views

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ZachR (Indiana)
Posts: 34

Posted:

Has anyone had to deal with HO's allowing their dogs to urinate and defecate on sidewalks, streets and other HO's yards? I personally can't imagine how someone could be so irresponsible, but it is happening. This is a problem that is hard to patorl for, but thought there might be someone out there that could give some advice.

Thanks

DanielH1 (California)
Posts: 482

Posted:

We had this problem but it sort of solved itself.

When we were brand new, homeowners with pets didn't know where to take them so they took them to the nearest grass.

The Board bought and put up doggie stations which were immediately vandalized and destroyed (probably by juvenile delinquents, not residents).

Some sections of grass died after being continually urinated on.

But ...

Some residents with dogs got lazy and started using the flower beds near their houses as dog runs. Since those flower beds looked like crud, anyway, and were usually right outside the offender's house, nobody really minded. In time, the flower beds turned into "dog poop town". The dog poop is mostly all dried out at this point. Sometime soon, the dogs will have to upgrade "dog poop town" to "dog poop city" and go vertical.

I think that the grass was too far away and some homeowners felt bad when they noticed that the grass died. I think that the doggie stations also guilted some people into picking up.

I guess that also I sometimes went around a picked up dog poop before I had a party or whatever.

So, the problem seems to have solved itself for the most part.

JonD1
Posts: 2,350

Posted:

Any owner on our property is required to request permission to have a dog.

As part of being given permission they are told they must pick up after their dogs if not the Board can revoke that permission.

There is also a rule that allows for a $250 fine in the event someone does not pick up after their animal.

Lazy, ignorant, disgusting whatever you decide if you own a dog you should be willing to clean up after them if not you should not have any animal.

RobertR1 (South Carolina)
Posts: 5,164

Posted:

Zach,
You might think about this.
How many dogs/cats are we talking about. I assume you association documents makes some notice of pet restrictions and I would suggest if you allow pets they have to be registered. If not make a policy. Require the owners of animals become a member of this Pet Owner Group. Let them get together and establish some rules and restrictions and submit them to the Board for approval. The intent being to make the responsible owners responsible. Not all pet owners are unconscious when they take their animals out side and many carry doggie bags and such, they are not your problem, it is the unthinking, or whatever else you call them that cause the trouble. Get a Board member to work with the petowner group to make both sides happy. I have no idea if this will work, we just would fine the individuals which does nothing to address the habit.

ChrisP5 (Missouri)
Posts: 165

Posted:

This is starting to become an issue with our association and we now have an owner sending picures of every new pile of droppings that shows up. We have a hearing scheduled with one unit owner. Has anyone ever ended up having to hire a "pooper scooper" company to come in on a regular basis?

ZachR (Indiana)
Posts: 34

Posted:

We have installed 2 doggy-pots, but they are in common areas. We pay a local service to check and maintain these pots every week. The big problem is around our multi home mailboxes or just along our sidewalks, alley ways and yards.

The pet group is a good idea, only problem is we don't have a lot of interaction in our community. We struggle to get people to get involved in the community. I guess we could look into adding a fine for dog waste that is not picked up. Even if it is almost immposible to patrol, the fact that there is a fine for it, may get people to comply.

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

Zack, Google dog repellent and you will find a myriad of natural and chemical repellants to keep dogs away from a specific area, here are some natural ones recommended by one site.

Homemade Natural Dog Repellent

Chili Pepper
This is one of the most common and most effective dog repellents. It is what you will commonly find in the commercial organic dog repellents. The capsicum in the pepper will irritate the skin of the dog, particularly the sensitive area in and around the nose. The irritation will deter the dog from returning to the area. Common chili pepper powder sprinkled around the area will help repel all dogs.

Ammonia
Dogs are not particularly fond of the smell of ammonia. To our noses, ammonia is strong but to a dog’s sensitive nose, ammonia is like a punch in the face. Place ammonia soaked cotton balls around the area you wish to keep the dog out of. Do not pour the ammonia directly onto the ground as it may hurt your plants.

Vinegar
Vinegar is another strong smelling scent that will act as a repellent to dogs. Again, use cotton balls soaked in vinegar in the area you wish to keep dogs out of. Do not pour vinegar straight onto the ground as this will kill plants.

Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol is another strong smelling substance that will repel dogs. Same advice applies here as well. Soak cotton balls in the rubbing alcohol and place them in areas you wish to keep dogs out of.

Citrus Smells
Some dogs do not like the smell of citrus fruit, such as orange or lemon. If the above strong smelling solutions are too strong smelling for your nose, try cutting up some citrus fruit and placing those around your garden. If you can find it, citrus oil may also work.

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