Dog Mess

Hi there. I am a new home owner to the Broadlands community and certainly don’t want to start off on the wrong foot. However I must bring this to someone attention...

I can only speak for the areas I have seen but I have noticed an absolutely ridiculous amount of LARGE dog mess that has not been cleaned up by the dogs owner... There are even dog bags provided, which is very nice! I don’t understand why someone wouldn’t use them??? I cant imagine anyone would be ok stepping in dog mess... whether it is their dogs or not...

Of course I do not know what can really be done about this... it isn’t like a trash can being left out in plain view... But I felt it should be brought to someone attention... Maybe a reminder could be sent to remind dog owners of this responsibility???

 

Ally - unfortunately this is a "bark" that mostly goes unheard. And it is voiced fairly often.
IMO, too many selfish, lazy, unresponsible dog owners in our community.

 

Well put! This will always be an issue in any community.
We own two dogs and if I wont allow my own dogs to do their business on my own property - I certainly DO NOT condone other dog owners allowing their dogs to do their business on my property. We purchased tasteful signs (if your dog poops please scoop) and almost everyday I see at least one irresponsible dog owner via our video camera -

I have resorted to the following methods: confronting the owner, high grade pepper powder, sprinklers that activate via a remote, various chemical treatments and yes I have actually picked up the poop in a ziploc bag and then rang the door bell to return the poop back to the owner.

If the these dog owners (especially the owner of 2 large German Shepards and you know who you are) allow their dogs to walk on my landscaping much less our lawn (which burns our lawn) I'd be more than happy to dust my property with powdered laxatives.

If owners have an issue with that here's novel idea;

Keep your freakin dogs off other people's property and for Pete's sake use the doggie bags that are provided through out the community.

This is also a serious health issue, would you want your toddler (who may actually play in their own yard) to come into contact with it, I know I wouldn't.

 

Wow, haha, thank you for the responses!!! I was so disturbed to see such a large amount of mess left behind

I think that is great that you have taken action and confronted some of these people. I actually saw a BAG filled with mess on the lawn the other day.... So they went as far as to pick up the mess.... but still left it there... Amazing!

 

That's as bad as the people who leave dirty disposable diapers in the parking lot. Lazy and inconsiderate.

 

We have been having the same problem with irresponsible people not picking up after the dog. We had a suspect but couldn't prove it. A few weeks ago we were fortunate enough to actually catch the culprit in the act. I confronted her, asked her to clean it up (which she did) and asked her to not let the dog do it's business on out yard at all. Even if it's picked up, the residual odor encourages other dogs to use the same spot. We've been turd free ever since. We'll keep our fingers crossed.
BTW the culprit wasn't the dog's owner. She was a girl hired to walk the dog after school.

 

as a dog owner i am very sensitive to this issue and always pick up after my dog. not only that- i do what i can to get him to do his business on the curbside grass, not lawns. it doesn't always work- sometimes he just walks over a squats, but i carry bags and clean up his mess everytime. i've even picked up nearby piles that were left by someone else. i'm hoping that compared to the high number of dogs in the neighborhood, the inconsiderate piles left behind are a small percentage.

the hoa provides with with plenty of materials to pick up and opportunities throw away their mess- there is NO excuse for not curbing your dog!!

 

FWIW ... even doing it on the 'curbside' grass causes problems. When I lived there, it seems every dog in the neighborhood left its calling card on the 'curbside' grass. Not solids, only liquids.

Caused the entire area to turn yellow and die. We finally tore up the grass and put in flowers and ground cover. Actually took care of the problem once the ground cover took hold. Owners would steer the dog away so as not to walk on the landscaping !!!

 

That's why we walk our dog on the paths in the woods and not on the sidewalks.....and we ALWAYS pick up after our dog no matter where she poops! What really kills me - is when dog owners let their dogs go on the path and don't clean it up! That's really bad!!!! I've seen that more times than I want!

 

well, they gotta go somewhere, and if the choices are curbside or in someone's yard... that's what comes with having a yard in a neighborhood- i guess it's the cost of "doing busniess"- pun intended.

we have a yard too- we get dog walkers cutting through and leaving poop too, it sucks but it's life with a yard in the suburbs. the alternative? a condo where someone ELSE maintains the grass if there IS any...

we have to be realistic as frustrating as it is- poop happens and always will.

 

As a dog lover and "owner," I condemn those who are not responsible. Based on my experience, the irresponsible ones are a minority. I pick too pick up after other dogs and say something when people do not.

 

The other choice is along the walking paths, where there are these nice posts with dog mitts, and areas where the dog can 'wee'. The problem along the curbside is while that is 'VDOT' owned, the homeowner must keep the area up to the same standards as their front lawn. Being the neighborhood dog urinal does not help.

 

AMEN! :agree:

 

A lot of the problem is people don't know how to walk and handle their dogs. There are very few dogs that are under control in our neighborhood. A dog should be under control at all times be it on or off a leash and that means that he/she is following your orders not going off doing their own thing. My dog walks behind me and remains on a short leash as we walk. I do not use retractable leashes when we walk him. He is not allowed to do his business until I let him and I only allow that in the common areas if he really has to go. He holds it all day he can hold it on the walk until we reach common ground. I always take him out in our back yard before we go on the walk to reduce the posibility of him going.

 

I would disagree with that statement. I log many, many miles on our trails and pass a lot of people with dogs. I would guess that at least 90% of the time the dogs are leashed and under control.

 

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I don't know about that...I also log tons of miles on our paths and our kitchen window looks out on the path....I see SO many owners with retractable leashes and the dog is walking ahead of them. A dog should walk either behind or in the middle of the owner. Yes, most dogs are leashed and seem under control...but they're walking the owner, which leads to the dog thinking he's in control.

 

I may be mistaken, but I heard that in a court of law (dog attacks) that dogs are not deemed to be under control when on a retractable leash.

 

IMO - they should take those retractable leashes off the market......

 

We should all keep in mind the title of one of the best dog training books, "Don't Shoot The Dog." (This is an approximation of the title.) If the experts suggest not blaming the dog and holding the owner responsible then we should extend this not blaming the leash and holding the owner responsible.