How Should I Deal with This, on a Personal Level or Involve the Landlord?

I would involve the landlord first. It is part of their lease to take care of their property. Not cleaning up dog waste goes against their pet policy.

You have every right to bring it up first to the landlord.

Good luck! You have every right to complain.

J.

I had a problem similar to this years ago...it wasn't a shared yard...we live in a home...but our neighbor allowed his dog to just run loose in the morning and do her "business" where ever she happened to be...which usually was OUR front yard!!! It upset me because there is a leash law in our community and we had spent over $1,000 to fence in our back yard to keep OUR dogs in our yard....why did I have to put up with other dogs messes in our front yard???
I handled it with a "little bit" of humor. I placed the dogs "deposit" in a small paper bag and took it to their front porch ( after they had left for work...I wanted it to be anonymous!!!) I put a note with it...something to the effect " Heidi left this at our house the last time she came to play and I was sure you would want it back". Suprisingly...Heidi started staying in her own yard after that!!!
I think I would check with the police to see what the laws are in your community, so you know if have a "legal leg to stand on". I would then go to your landlord and ask him to just issue a blanket letter to every renter, it could be that you are not the only one that is irritated by this and this would just cover all the bases!!!

Hi B., I agree that it is disrepectful and rude that your neighbors allow this to happen! Like the other suggestions I would pick it up and set it on their porch...
if that didn't work then I would let the landlord handle it.
I have two older dogs, we also put up a fence at our new
home, but we have a two level deck and the older one doesn't
do well with steps. I let her out in the front yard and watch her but I swear she always tries to go to my neighbors to poopy! I always walk around their yard and
pick up any poo I find whether it is my dogs or not. I hope
that my neighbors realize I am trying to be a good neighbor.. I do carry her down the steps in the back most of the time but sometimes it is in the middle of the nite.
I just can't believe that some people are so disrepectful!
I hope you get this resolved because it is really sad that
you don't have dogs and have to clean up before your child
can play on his swingset. Good Luck! L.

That is why some people should not own dogs. Ugh, that is so rude. You are well within your rights to be annoyed. I get that it is common property, but also, when dogs go on common property it has to be cleaned up. If the neighbors aren't sociable types that you could talk to about this, then go to the landlord.

I would clean up the mess that immediately effected the swing or any other area my children are playing in, put it in a bag and then put the bag on there porch with a note that said something like this,
Dear_______
I would appreciate it if you could clean up your dogs mess. We all have to share this area. Children play in the yard. Please do this as a common courtesy and for health reasons as well. I wouldn't want to bring this issue to the landlord, for I'm sure he would agree that the health and safety of all that live in our little neighborhood should not be effected.

And then see what happens.

I would ask the landlord to handle it. It is very likely that such disrespectful people (or any people) would not see the humor in a bag of dog doo on their front porch. You don't want to be just as disrespectful as they are, and what good will it do you to have angry neighbors? You don't want to make the situation worse for you or your children.

Be as respectful as you can to start off with, but definitely approach it. This is not petty, it is disgusting!

No I live in a neighborhood and people walk there dogs alot even though they have a fenced in back yard and let them do there stuff were ever so my husband finally put up a no trespassing sign on our fence. I think it's rude of people! IF you don't want to say something then maybe put up a dog/baby fence around the swing set.

I had the same problem with a neighbor who had a huge dog that left big mountainous piles of poop on our lawn. I first nicely talked to the son and that didn't work. So then I nicely talked to the Dad who actually asked me if I was sure it was their dog. Uh - YEA. He said he would take care of it. No piles for a week and then they started appearing again. So I picked up the poop and piled it over by their driveway. Again - about a week passed with no piles, then I spotted another one. This time I picked it up and put it ON their driveway by their sidewalk. That did the trick and I haven't had to pick up any poop since then and it's been 6 months! So yea - go invest in a pooper scooper and just return their property in a well traveled location.

If there are no rules against it, I would look into a fence, does not have to be a big tall one, but just something that marks your yard and keeps what you want in, in and out, out...

If that is not an option, maybe the next time you see them out there, stepping out yourself and commenting on the dogs and such and bringing up where they are doing their duty and that you have almost stepped in it and you know the kids don't pay as much atention as you... Don't bring up that you "don't want them pooping in your yard" at first and see if they get the hint.

You are NOT being petty - that IS rude and disrespectful! Not to mention unsanitary and disgusting! You don't have pets, so you should not have to worry about your children playing in and around poo, let alone risking tracking it in your house! Yuck! If it were me, I might just blow a gasket, so I am not sure how to tactfully and effectively handle the situation. Maybe talk to the landlord as a third party? Good luck!

I totally agree. Get some little baggies and put them on their porch every single time. If they don't get the hint and stop doing it, light them on fire on their porch! LOL...Okay, maybe not. You could take a picture of their dog doing it just in case so that you can report the violation to your city pound. Then they would get a ticket or something. Technically, your backyards would be public property because you share. I would think they would be responsible to pick it up no different than if they were in a park.

Suzi

And I thought I was the only one dealing with this situation! Last spring one of our neighbors in our townhome community was letting their dog out and not supervising. Not only did the dog come over to our yard to do its "doody" but it also pooped right on our walkway! It was also extremely aggressive coming up to us within inches and barking like mad and rushing at us while my children and I were walking to our car. My kids were terrified. Several calls to the landlord later, the problem was rectified. That dog is always on a leash now when let outside. I have considered bagging up the doo and leaving, but I am actually glad that the landlord resolved the problem without confrontation. Good luck!

that is disrespectful and you do have a good reason to be upset. I would first as the landlord if they can put up a fence right in the middle so that the dogs can not get to your side. if that does not work talk to the neighbor after all it is their responsibility to clean up after their pets especially in town. of which in town there is such thing as leash law but only if the animal is outside its own yard. although my aunt did get a fine for her dogs being loose even though they were in her driveway but they had been running around outside the yard before that. otherwise the landlord should step in and talk to them.

You don't sound petty. It is your yard. My husband and I have lived in apartments for a long time with a dog. She is a very good dog and listens to us, most of the time. So, depending on the places we have lived we have let her off the leash to do her business, etc. But, we ALWAYS clean up after her and usually only let her off her leash when no one else is around. I am a very non-confrontational person so I would recommend bringing this up to the landlord first. No need to start a squabble with your neighbors if they just aren't obeying the rules! Rules are there for a reason. Just my humble opinion from someone on the other side : ) Good luck!!

we had a neighbor once that would chain their dog up near our yard and the dog would poo in our flower bed or on our sidewalk everyday. Well after a few times of it we put a note on their door asking them to please clean up their dogs mess after he messes in our yard, well they didn't and my husband found them outside one day and talked to them about it, They moved the dogs chain farther into their yard so the dog would't reach our yard anymore.

I would talk to the neighbors first, ask them to please clean up their mess and they should be cleaning it in their yard too because other kids could step in it and living in duplexes or townhouses is everyone's yard so it shouldn't be out there in the first place. Encourage them to get a pooper scooper and use it. If talking to them doesn't help then I would go to the landlord about it. And there is a leash law so if that doesn't help call the pound on them when they are loose. I know that is mean but that can be the last resort option. If they get cited enough for not having leashes on their pets they will get the message.

I wonder if your landlord would appreciate knowing they have so many animals in their house. That seems like a lot of animals for renting.

I wouldn't deal with them on a personal level. They will probably get offended. The best way to handle it is talk to your landlord-definitely bring up the fact your neighbors need to clean up their poo. Ask the landlord to create a newsletter with a reminder of cleaning up after animals as well as remind everyone of leash laws. If that doesn't work, I would call animal control and file a formal complaint. Unfortunately, that's what it takes sometimes for people to take that law seriously.

Another vote for letting the landlord handle it! Good luck!

I would try speaking to them first. If they are rude or continue to not cleanup after the animals, I would tell the landlord. You pay rent too and deserve a healthy clean environment for your kids to play in!
Good luck! Hope it gets better!

Let the record show I am not a fan of dogs, and this is one of the top reasons. I don't want to follow my dog around and pick up all the messes it leaves behind. So, I do the responsible thing and don't own a dog. I do think you should make a point to mention that you don't want your child stepping in dog doo in the back yard. They should be respectful of their neighbors. I would not involve the landlord, unless you don't see any changes. I hope your commenting solves the problem. Good luck!

I know this will sound harsh but we have had the same problem and talking does no good we finally decided to put the poop back where it came from after scooping it to a inconvient spot for them in their yard they got the messsage and kept their animals out of our yard. Might not work for all but it worked for us...we are still neighbors with them no hard feelings on either side.

I think if you have to pay to live some where, it should include rights to your half of the yard! You're paying just as much as them, so I'd speak up. Even try putting a small tiny fence whether it's a cheapie garden type fence, or just a cloths line rigged from one post to another, see if they get the hint. If not, tell them what's up! If that doesn't work speak to the landlord. If that still doesn't work, call the cops one night and tell them there is a loose dog in YOUR half of the yard!! = P Neighbors that are disrespectful like that tick me off err!!! lol Best of wishes!!! I love dogs to death, but I sure the heck don't love steppin in their poo!!
P.S, You could always put it in a bag for them and give it back, and IF it just happened to catch on fire after you left it there... oops!! LOL Sorry, I'm a lil ornery at times = D

I myself live in a duplex and have 3 small dogs. We share our front and back yard with the entire duplex community. Our dogs are always on leads before they leave the house, we have tie downs so we don't have to follow them around. And we clean up their messes. We have a pooper scooper and a hose in case it is too soft to pick up. And before we got those two things we used Walmart bags to clean up the messes. It is just plain rude for your neighbors not to be considerate of the other people in the complex. Maybe my situation is different because this is a no pet complex but we are given special priviledges because my daughter is legally blind and needs to be used to being around dogs. If our neighbors come out and we haven't gotten up too clean it yet we always tell them where it is so they don't step on it and we NEVER leave it out where anyone can when we go inside. I would suggest talking to your neighbor first. Our neighbors are awesome and we have a pretty good relationship so it may not be as easy for you but that is what I would do and would hope they would do for me.

That's not okay at all. Since you have to live next to them, I'd try being nice first. Depending on the age or circumstances of these individuals and if they don't have kids, they may not have even thought of how stupid that is. "Hey, would you mind... I'm worried about my children's health and they may also track in the poo. I would really appreciate it." If that doesn't do it, I'd go to the landlord. I would think if it would go straight to the landlord first and have the landlord speak to them, their reaction will be much different. I guess it depends also on how you think your landlord will handle it. Start off asking please, then if that doesn't work, take it up a notch.

I would see if the landlord would let you put up a small fence around the play area just one of those small fences you see around garden I think they might even come in vinyl there only 2 feet high or so it could be easily removed when you move

Besty I'm all for Kristi's response...if communication has broken down and you aren't seeing results then their personal property should be graciously returned to them in the most traffiked area (driveway, doorstep, etc.). And if you are asked about it just tell them as politely as you can that you were merely returning their property as it was left on your side of the yard (no different than if their kids left a ball or bicycle on your side of the yard). I would certainly let the landlord know what you are doing and how you don't appreciate the fact that your neighbors can't control their pet or clean up after it and suggest that perhaps he ought to rethink his pet policy.

Although it would be nice if you could afford to put up a fence, my feeling is that if you could afford the fence you'd probably just move to a better place, yes? So until that day, move some Sxxt around, save some pennies and hang in there! We're rooting for you!