What to Do When Neighbors Dog Poops in Your Yard

It can be infuriating when a neighbor’s dog poops on your lawn.

Not only is it disrespectful if the dog owner doesn’t pick up after their dog but it can also cause strained relationships with someone you will be living next to for the foreseeable future.

Before you hit the roof and gear yourself up for the argument of your life, there are a few things you can do that are more subtle when taking matters into your own hands.

One way to ease the situation without having to confront your neighbor is to change your point of view on the situation. Dog poop can serve as nutrients for your yard if you compost it properly.

While it can sound a bit gross, but taking the poop on your lawn, composting it with grass clippings and other organic substances can give you free fertilizer.

If what we suggested above isn’t up your alley, don’t worry, we still have a few tricks you can use to keep your neighbor’s dog from pooping on your lawn.

Keep Them Out

One of the easiest ways to keep your neighbor’s dog from pooping on your lawn is to keep him out.

We believe that no one will have the audacity to purposefully let their dog into someone else’s enclosed yard to take a poop. T

o do this, you will have to clearly fence off your property. You won’t need to spend an arm and a leg, as a simple wooden fence will do.

You can also shell out more money for a much more aesthetically pleasing fence made of brick, stone, cement, etc. If you don’t like having to seal off your property with manmade constructs, then a living barrier such as hedges and bushes can offer the same benefits.

We will preface this by saying some dogs are very determined and when they are seasoned escape artists and diggers like Siberian huskies, it may take more than a hedge or a wooden fence to keep him out.

If the fence isn’t built high enough, a larger dog could also jump over the fence onto your lawn.

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Building a barrier is one of the best and most effective ways for small to medium dogs. If your neighbors dog happens to be a stubborn large breed, then it may take more than just a fence system.

Deter Them Through Their Senses

Dogs like to poop on your lawn for a reason. Maybe there is a certain spot he likes to go into to do his business. If there is, you can take a walk around the area and do an in-depth inspection.

A dog will usually gravitate towards the same spot because there is a familiar scent. The scent is usually his previous dog poop or urine that will lure him back. A good way to make sure your neighbor’s dog doesn’t poop on your lawn any further is to rid your lawn of those smells.

A dog has a very acute sense of smell, so don’t think that planting more flowers in your yard or spraying air freshener will be enough to mask the smell.

It may not be totally possible to completely cover the smell and if you would like to use a stronger smell to cover the dog feces, you can look into different fertilizers of your own. Perhaps the scent of another animal’s poop will be enough to steer your neighbor’s dog away.

Instead of just keeping your neighbor’s dog away, the presence of store-bought fertilizer could also act as a deterrent for other wild animals and insects.

Another thing you can do is to use repellents, which typically have a stronger more unfavorable smell to dogs. Not only will these deterrents be very potent to your neighbor’s dog, but it might also be unpleasant for you, so keep that in mind.

Deterrents can be bought in a pet store, and they’re usually citronella scented as that has been proven to dissuade dogs and be used in behavioral correction training. There are formulas you can concoct from household ingredients such as vinegar, cayenne pepper and garlic. Be careful when using some of these products because ingredients such as garlic can be toxic to dogs.

Work With Your Neighbor

Most of the time, your neighbor’s dog pooping on your lawn does not stem from malicious intent on your neighbors’ part or the dog’s. Your neighbor’s dog may just love the layout of your yard so much he prefers it to his own.

Since your neighbor can’t monitor his down 24/7 and some dogs are just born to be more out of control, your combined efforts can result in more success.

Training to show the dog that he isn’t allowed entry into your garden or other parts of your land is one solution. Not only can the dog learn about your property, but he can also understand that other parts of the neighborhood are also off limits.

One good method for training involves a little bit of negative enforcement. When we say negative, we don’t mean anything harmful, but more on the annoying side.

On your end, you can lay out a sprinkler system that is motion-activated. Keep in mind that dogs aren’t cats, so there is a chance your neighbor’s dog will not be affected by the water and may even decide to play in it. Luckily for you, there are training tools you can turn to.

A great training tool to incorporate into the routine is a vibrating collar for dogs. These collars are excellent training tools to teach the animal to do his business within the confines of his own home.

However, to implement training tools, you will definitely need the consent of your neighbors.

A vibrating collar will also have setting options for different levels and some even feature other forms of deterrents such as ultrasonic sound.

A GPS collar will also do wonders. Your neighbor can set up a perimeter around his or her property and set the collar to emit a sound or vibrate when their dog crosses the barrier.

This method to control the dog pooping incidences will take coordination. Make sure your neighbor and yourself are on the same page.

If You Can’t Beat Them, Work With Them

We are aware that the saying is “if you can’t beat them, join them”, but we have an inkling not you nor your neighbors will appreciate this type of participation.

Instead, you can compromise with the dog if you don’t mind the poops so much or if your neighbor is willing to clean up the dog waste. A big problem with dog poop on a property is no one realizing it’s there. Without knowing something is there, there is no way to avoid it until it’s too late.

To make sure you always know where the poop is in your garden, you can create a special pooping spot for the dog. This is easy to do if your neighbor’s dog always meanders to the same spot to do his business.

If not, there is something you can do to get the dog to poop in one area, and that is with attractants. You can leave a pee pad in an undercover area away from the elements that contain attractants. This will lure your neighbor’s dog to that single spot.

Keeping the dog poop in one area is hugely beneficial, especially if you have your own dog. This can turn into a sort of outdoor potty training session and dog poop will only show up in your designated spot.

Remember to clean up the dog poop as soon as possible to not attract other animals to do their business on your lawn too.

Put Up Signs

For many people, if dog owners cleans up after their dog, where they decide to poop may not be a big issue.

However, if you prefer to keep your lawn dog-free, you can try to put up signs indicating the importance of your neighbors leashing their dogs or making sure to pick up the dog poop before they leave.

A respectable dog owner will abide by these signs. If you still find dog poop showing up on your lawn, you can install security cameras just to see who the culprit is.

Once you put a face to the deed, you can confront the dog owner in a polite way if necessary. Remember never to use an accusatory tone to your neighbor and try to keep things as peaceful as possible.

Do not resort to extreme methods such as calling animal control, initiate a huge argument the whole neighborhood can hear or engage in malicious practices such as laying out poisonous chemicals.

Offer Support

There are times when the dog owner coincidentally runs out of dog poop bags to pick up the poop. We have encountered this issue more than once as sometimes it’s hard to gauge how many times your dogs will go.

If this is the problem, it’s easy to rectify by offer dog poop bags on your property. You can attach a roll onto your fence or mailbox if you notice your yard serves as a dog poop hub.

Use Your Dog

We’re not saying sic your dog onto your neighbor’s dog, but having your dog “tell” the other dog in a canine language that this is his property, may deter your neighbor’s dog further.

If your dog is trained to poop in the yard, his dog poops can be enough to act as a deterrent. If your dog often does his business in the yard, it could show your neighbor’s dog that this land is spoken for.

This is especially true if your dog will “tell him off” with warning barks.

Is It Really That Bad?

If you don’t mind your neighbor’s dog pooping in your yard, then that’s great! It’s harmless if your neighbor cleans up after their dog right away or you pick up after them every day.

However, there are some downsides to having your yard become the public bathroom for dogs. First of all, dog poops in your garden are not aesthetically pleasing.

With all the work that went into planting the perfect garden, we’re sure those with a green thumb won’t appreciate flowerbeds littered with dog poop.

It’s also not a very healthy thing to have on your lawn if you can help it. Dog poop can contain bacteria that can be harmful to a person’s health. If you cannot be on point with the cleanup, then you should ask your neighbor to keep his dog off your garden.

For people who have children, there is more of a chance they could come into contact with the neighbor’s dog pooping on the lawn. If you or your kids or dog touch the bacteria-laden poop without washing your hands, you could get sick.

Aside from the harmful chemicals, the poop can sometimes attract more pests onto your yard. With more of these animals gaining entry, there is more risk of diseases spreading in the neighborhood.

Conclusion

It takes time and patience to make sure an animal keeps off your lawn. To keep your neighbor’s dog from gaining entry into your house, garden, or lawn, it will take patience and a lot of communication and training.

Don’t try to take on the responsibility by yourself without negotiating with your neighbor if you decide to use deterrents or training tools.

In the end, it is their dog even though it is your lawn. To avoid disagreements, always keep them in the loop. Hopefully over time, both of you working together can reach the desired result.

Expert Tip

If you are able to, turn the sprinklers on in your yard when the dog is doing the deed to really see results. It will be more effective as the dog will understand that pooping on the lawn is the issue more so than his presence.

Did You Know?

Saying “no” to the dog and teaching him right before, during or right after the act will get the message across more clearly. It is a form of direct training that will likely show better results if done right.