Every morning we find a new pile of poop in our front yard. But we can’t seem to catch the dog in the act, so we don’t know if it’s from a dog running loose at night, or one that’s being walked on or off a leash really early in the morning. But we want to find out. We’d like to have a word with the owner, if one is involved. If it’s a dog wandering free, we’d want to know that too.
Any creative ideas how to accomplish this? We’d like to record it somehow, if possible, and find out what time this is happening.
I had a problem like this a few years ago, but I could never catch the damn dog. It was all over too, like a damn mine field. Turns out the college girls from next door were letting their pooch “wander” to do his business when I was at work, and my yard was the closest toilet. When I confronted them about this they claimed he kept “getting away”, and would poo before they could catch him. Odd how he could never dump on their lawn.
All I know is that that dog had a high fiber diet, because he would drop at least one or two loads a day on my lawn before I caught him.
DakotaDog: We do have access to a video camera and a tripod, so we’ll probably try that first, before investing money in a new camera, although I would just LOVE to see the dog and/or owner when the flash goes off. I just want the activity stopped, and there were lots of creative ideas addressing that in earlier threads, but Mr. Legalsnugs wants to catch the dog and have a chat with the owner.
Astro, did the bad-owner behavior change after you mentioned it?
We’ve got similar problems around here too, but I don’t know if anyone’s caught the responsible parties. I would second the motion-detector/camera idea, but that leaves the logistical problem as to being home when the “attacks” occur as well as being tripped every time someone walks past. As with astro, it’s most likely occuring when you’re not home/extremely inconvienenced with regards to catching the interloper in question.
While it might be escalating things a bit far, I believe failing to curb a dog is a crime in most municipalities. Around here (where it’s endemic), there are notices posted about one per block about the fines (and possible jail time, but I haven’t read it closely, so I might be making this up). It may be courting additional danger, but perhaps one could be posted on your property.
A condo down the block has a similar problem (someone tossing bags of dog poop in their garden) and posts notices that “it’s really gross.” This seems to stop the behavior for a few weeks, but then it resumes.
Wouldn’t you know it? Today, for the first time in weeks, no nocturnal canine activity. . . However, I spoke with one of my neighbors who has seen a dog-walker (who may or may not be “our” dog-walker) around 6:15 a.m. when she goes power-walking. Apparently this guy, a “distinguished looking man,” keeps his dog on a leash, but walks with the dog* all over the front yards*! The man doesn’t walk in the street while the dog roams the yards - the man actually walks with the dog up to our front sidewalks!
And our homeowners association just put a notice in the newsletter that we received today, that the County will fine a dog-owner $500.00 for this sort of activity. So we are apparently not the only ones suffering from this filthy hound. And I don’t mean the dog.
We will continue our vigil, however; we think a $500.00 fine would be just about right.
God, but I find this behavior reprehensible. I mean, I figure if people wanted my dog pissing or shitting on their lawn, they’d probably call me up and say “Hey Zette, why not bring your pups over and turn my shrubbery brown and poo on my yard?” But they don’t, so my dogs neither poo nor pee on other people’s property. I’ll let them sniff around, but they do not pee (and certainly don’t poo) on other lawns and such- it’s incredibly rude and nasty.
I suspect that one of these might do the job for you. Note that they are available in a range of prices. I must admit, however, that the camo 35mm disposacam might require you to camp out on your front lawn disguised as a pile of leaves.
Our next door neighbor used to “walk” his dog specifically in our yard; he’d simply stand at the boundary and extend the extra long leash, allowing the dog free reign. I caught him once when the dog pooped right in front of the basement window while I was standing in the room. I tapped on the window and the dog was quickly jerked away, but not before he got to do his business.
Later, we discovered tell-tale signs that he’d been doing it for quite some time, so we just went out with gloves and tossed the piles back over into their yard. (Keep in mind, this was well away from the road, and directly between our two houses, yet somehow all in our yard. We knew it was them.) They stopped doing it then, and moved out eventually. I don’t think the poo incident had anything to do with it.
AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH! He’s been back. I guess the $500 fine doesn’t scare him. Since Mr. Legalsnugs is on a business trip for a couple days, and I have no intention of confronting anyone without him as backup, I sprinkled liberal amounts of chili pepper in the favored area. If he gets a hot snootful maybe we can avoid the cost of a night camera - although Mr. Legalsnugs is actually looking forward to the photos, particularly if it includes a bright flash!
Thanks everyone for their support and ideas and great camera sites! I feel better now.
