Dog mess outside my gate

A question about : Dog mess outside my gate

Hi there, tricky problem,
Dog mess has started appearing outside my front gate on a fairly regular basis. The first two times (all this year) I've cleaned it up (gagging in the process I hate dogs) but today I've discovered another load.

The gate opens straight onto to a public pavement so it's filthy and disgusting behaviour plus a health hazard.

I'm beginning to think that I should not clean it up though. By doing so am I just encouraging whoever this cretin is to keep doing it?

I have no idea who the perp is by the way and short of installing cameras or standing guard I never will.

Your ideas would be most appreciated.

Best answers:

• I found a load of pepper on the floor inside my drive which accidentally got dropped there discouraged the dogs from that area
  Mine was a touch worse though , the cretin was letting their dog go into my front garden and crap on my lawn and in the flower beds
• I just cleaned it up. There's a football ground next to my house and come half four some poor soul is going to tread in it so I couldn't leave it.
  I'm furious though.
  On the plus side I didn't gag this time, I must be getting desensitised to it!
• Plant a wee flag in it? Spray it a flourescent colour? Draw a chalk mark and arrow round it with a message 'I let my dog foul the area'. I think these are the kinds of tactics some people use to highlight the nuisance.
  At my last place, some inconsiderate dog owner used to bag the mess and then pop it up to hang on a fence so there was a collection dangling there. Nasty.
• It might be worth giving the bit of pavement a good scrub with some disinfectant. Once there's been mess in a spot I'm sure dogs can smell it and take it as a signal that it's a place to go. If you can get rid of the smell and possibly replace it with a scent they're not keen on that might help.
• I'd go for spray paint
  Incidentally, if it's outside the gate on a public footpath, whether a football fan steps in it or not is not your fault.
• Clean it up and then give the area a good scrub with a strong smelling disinfectant - it's got something to do with scent, dogs are creatures of habit and will keep going in the same place.
  Jeyes Fluid is a coal tar disinfectant - it smells very, very coal tarry and doesn't suds up making it easy to rinse.
  Then pepper, or chilli (that's orange so maybe not) or some proprietary scent off stuff.
• On a road near me they put dog poo bags hanging on spikes with a note that said dont let you dog go here plus something about children playing - bag it up and take it with you plus directions to nearest bin . Apparently it stopped the offender pretty quickly.
• I'd look out for the culprit and embarrass them while in the act, as I did with a neighbour recently who was constantly letting her dog pee on my lawn.
• You could try to keep an eye out for the offender, then contact the Council with the time of day and a description of the owner. They should have enforcement officers who'll come out and give them a fixed penalty notice.
  If not, you could swill the area with bleach and water to try to deter the dog from 'going' there.
• Yuck! Disgusting issue caused by irresponsible dog owners... no wonder you're livid. Report it to your local council and ask them for advice - unfortunately I don't think providing bags or bins will make much difference, if the owner had any intention of picking it up they would have their own bags anyway. Perhaps a sign highlighting that failure to pick up after your dog is a fineable offence, and warning that CCTV is operated in the area? Even if it's not, it might be enough of a deterrent!
• The mess left behind by dogs with irresponsible owners is my absolute pet peeve. Winter is the worst time as these morons take their beasts out at night and think no-one can see what is going on.
  There is a certain path leading into our town centre which is constantly fouled. There has been publicity about it in the local paper and someone saw the owner. You can imagine the description. Not a person you wish to ask to remove their dog's leavings! This has made no difference of course. The person in question probably cannot read.
  There is now florescent markings on the pavements all around the town saying bin it but I doubt it will make any difference.
• We had a cat keep pooping in the same place in our garden. Bought a large cheap bag of white pepper and just kept putting it there. (Rain obviously washes it away)
  It stopped quite quickly. The white pepper was less than Ј1 for a big bag.
• I live by a local primary school and have a boundary wall, so I can't catch the scum-bags who allow their dogs to do it and then leave it behind.
  I used to constantly clean/power wash the mess up, but I think this encouraged the same scum-bags to repeat their actions- why not it will be cleaned within the hour!!!!.
  Now I call the council and advise them how messy the public path is and that it is on a public primary school route and I encouraged the postman to do the same. Now they come out to clean up the mess after about two days of being reported. They scrape it up and spray something on the mucky patch and it seems to have stopped the scum-bags as they now see the council cleaning it up and of course are wary of being fined.
  Hope this helps.
• dont use jeyes fluid, will make the dog ill, its not the dogs fault, its the owner you have a problem with.
  zofloria diluted is fine, orange or lavander
  maybe leave some nappy sacks on the gate with a sign of your choice
  sorry spelling etc, one hand typing
• they should teach their dogs this
• or invest in one of these
• There's a house a few streets away with a sign up outside, saying there's no such thing as the dog poo fairy, so any dog owners allowing their dogs to poo in that spot should take the poo to the nearest bin. It then goes on to give directions to the nearest poo bin.
  I thought it was a novel approach, and might shame the rogue dog owners to do the right thing
• I would put a note on the gate. Up to you how polite you word it. You could just say something like "please do not let your dog mess here" although if the dog owner is really an inconsiderate idiot they may ignore it.
  Personally I would say something like "if I find out whose dog it is I will be posting it through your door"!