Top 10 Tips On How to Stop a Dog Pooping in Your Yard

Written by Senior Editor Peter Gehr

Top 10 Tips on How to Stop a Dog Pooping in Your Yard

Top 10 Tips on How to Stop a Dog Pooping in Your Yard

This is a subject that stinks, and, if you’re faced with dealing with it, I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 tips on how to stop a dog pooping in your yard. These tips are the result of talking to friends and neighbors, veterinarians, and gleaning the internet for useful and practical tips to help train your dog, or train your neighbors’ dog to do his business elsewhere.

If you are a dog owner, hopefully you already have an established regimen set up for your dog’s elimination needs. If someone in your neighborhood has a dog that habitually poops in your yard, on your lawn, or in some cases, right near the front step of your home or office, then this needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.

As per most issues with pets, this is not the dog’s fault. The dog is not maliciously dumping on your porch because he dislikes you. In his mind, it’s a matter of “when you gotta go, you gotta go,” and if he has not been trained or overseen when the call of nature arises, then this is the sole problem of the dog owner.

I’m going to first cite an example by telling you my story: I live in a condo and the entrance into the building is shared by 20 other condominiums. The courtyard is large and wide and allows for ample parking and entrance into each private garage. The front doors all face onto the courtyard/driveway. Several of our neighbors have dogs, and, for some reason, one of the dogs developed the habit of doing his early morning bowel movement right in front of my garage. It seemed like he picked the same spot every day, and it was early morning when no one was awake to catch the culprit in the act.

Rather than confronting all the dog owners in my neighborhood I wrote to the Body Corporate management. I also included a paragraph excerpted from the council bylaws in relation to dogs defecating in public and private property. I worded my complaint with humor, candor and also included a photo of a steaming feces.

The Body Corporate administrator sent a warning to all the dog owners pointing out that a fine will be incurred upon any dog owner allowing their pet to poop in the courtyard, and that complaints had been submitted.

The monetary “bite” seemed to get the attention of the responsible pooper, and problem solved.

To passively reinforce my request, I also sprinkled granules over the entire area in front of my garage door, and, so far, so good. I’ve re-sprinkled once each week and it definitely seems to work well.

Your situation may be entirely different, and this is why I’ve done some research to help you find a solution to pooping pooches.

Review on How to Potty Train a Puppy Video

 

Top 10 Tips On How to Stop a Dog Pooping in Your Yard

  1. Post a Sign. This will display to the offender that you are aware of the problem, and that you are taking steps to at least show your neighbor that you do not approve of your yard being a dog toilet. “Please Curb Your Dog” is a good one. You can also add the name of a security company to show that your yard may be monitored (even if it really isn’t). Try to find a professionally made sign. Responses to “home-made” signs can be negative.
  2. Odors Dog’s Dislike. Citrus oil, white vinegar, moth balls, or ammonia can be used to deter dogs. You will just have to be careful with these as they are not plant or grass friendly when they dissolve. Generally speaking, dogs also dislike the smell of garlic, pepper, chili, and even a soapy spray has been known to discourage dogs. Slow release odor granules are also available to either garden centers or pet stores.
  3. Gate, or fence. A fully fenced property simply keeps out unwanted dogs.
  4. Change Fertilizer: If you are using an animal based fertilizer on your lawn, chances are that the dog is responding to these odors and is attracted to your yard because of the organic matter on your lawn. A dog’s sensory perception is so incredibly acute that it may be able to smell it for miles.
  5. Sprinklers: Chances are that the offending dog is turning up at the same time each day. Program your sprinkler system to be on during that time, or, if the lawn is already wet, this will also act as an effective deterrent.
  6. Motion Sensor: Motion activated sprinkler systems can be a great choice. The dog will trigger the sensors and surprise the dog pre-poop, and will imprint a bad memory for the animal to stay away.
  7. Rosemary: Dogs dislike rosemary and this is a reasonably fast growing and pleasant looking plant.
  8. Plant Barriers: Roses or any thorny or course plants (such as holly) could be considered, but this is more of a long-term plan.
  9. Commercial Repellants: Sprays are available from your favorite pet store, and can be sprayed on pathways or garden edges.
  10. Eucalyptus and Tea Tree Oil: Make up a solution of eucalyptus oil or tea tree oil and spray it around the perimeter of your garden. Dogs detest this smell, and this could be enough to keep the animal away from your home.

I hope these top 10 tips on how to stop a dog pooping in your yard are a help in resolving this issue for you and your family. Remember, it’s not really the dog’s fault, and the dog owner should have better control over his dog. It’s quite possible that simply approaching the owner of the dog and communicating the problem will be the best solution, but this may not always be practical or possible.

If you want to try something natural, here’s a product called I Must Garden Dog and Cat Repellent Granules that is environmentally responsible.

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11 thoughts on “Top 10 Tips On How to Stop a Dog Pooping in Your Yard

    • Thank you Kathy. I’m glad you liked the content, and I appreciate your feedback.

    • It’s all about consistency and revisiting the same spot with either a clicker and treats, or lots of praise and treats when they do the deed in the desired spot. When you gotta go, you gotta go, and when the urge is noticeable it’s time to act quickly to get them to the right “spot.” It takes effort, but it can be done by monitoring how many times your dogs poop per day and when. Keep track of this and work with it and if you are persistent with leading them to the poop zone, it will become habit to them fairly quickly.

  1. Please suggest me if there is any medicine or any kind of spray which I can spread in my yard so that with smell of that medicine my dog will not to do potty in my yard. But please make me sure that the medicine will not harmful if in case my dog swallow that medicine. Please reply me on priority basis because I’m very much feed up with this habit of my dog. Thanks in advance

    • Dogs do not like the smell of the herb rosemary. This is something that you can grow quite easily either in pots or in garden beds. Of course, this is not an immediately solution, but one you could consider. If it’s possible to fence off the area where you do not want your dog to poop. A temporary fence that could later be removed would suffice. If this is not an option, then there are oils that can be used to spray in areas where you prefer your dog does not use. These include Tea Tree oil or citronella. Lastly, it may be worth considering using a clicker and taking your dog to the areas you want him to use and reward the dog accordingly.

  2. Thanks for a lot of information – hoping one or more of them will work! I ordered professionally made pick up the poop signs from regional water sewer district, but may not get them for awhile due to high demand!

  3. I live in an upscale neighborhood. My neighbors are suppose to pickup after their dogs. The HOA sends out a letter every month telling owners to pickup after their dogs. I live on the end unit. It seems like it is the same dogs pooping in the same spot. I have tried hot pepper. I have tried dog repellents from home depot. Still nothing works. It rained today. When it stops raining I will try your above recommendations. Thank you for your recommendations.

    • Being that dogs have such an acute sense of smell, it’s possible the neighbors dogs are picking up on the scent of poop from previous deposits. Secondly, it may also be the fault of the dog owners who are also in the habit of letting their dogs do their business in the same spot. I would try a generous spraying of citronella oil. Being that it’s oil the residue remains even after a rain. It may be an idea to give the area a daily spray to keep maintain maximum pungency so that the dogs are repulsed by the smell even from a distance. You could back off the daily spraying and turn to a weekly “top up” and monitor the progress. Lastly, if for some reason the above does not stop the problem, try setting up a security camera facing directly at the particular problem area and you’ll at least be able to find out who the culprits are and communicate with the owners to be more community conscious and neighborly and to comply with HOA guidelines.

  4. My dog is 11, very good dog. We just put in a pool an a very small area of fake grass 6×12. We can’t get him to stop pooping their when he was going other places that was good. Now all he wants is to go on the fake grass, we’ve put tons of the store, stop going stuff but to no avail. We even have fenced it with wire fending, witch we don’t want to keep up. My husband is going nuts!!! He thinks he will wreck the turf, Amy suggestions? ???

    • I’ve recently been having problems with a neighbors dog pooping by our front door. The solution for me was to generously spray citronella oil all the way up the path to the brick paving near the front door. The dog never returned. Give it a try on the fake grass area.

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