I have lazy neighbors who have been allowing their two dogs to run freely and poop in my yard. It used to be an empty lot so I kind of get it but sorry, someone lives here now. After 3 years of going out to yell at the dogs or to actually chase them off (when I see them) and shovelling poop back to their yard the damn dogs still come over. I thought when dogs smell the poop they learn thats's where to poop? I must have sent 40 to 50 piles back to their side. The best part was just the other day either someone also returned them a present, in their driveway, or ome of their dogs actually pooped in the middle of their driveway. Karma is a b!tch. Anyway, dog deterrents DO NOT WORK so do not suggest them. Pellets were a waste of $$, ultrasonic repeller did nothing. I'm not wasting any more effort or $$ on solutions that don't work. And I'm not calling animal control. Range wars only make living in your neighborhood stressful. I want to come home to a castle, not to a war. We get along otherwise so why make things stressful? I'm not talking to them, either. They are already aware of the problem and really, I shouldn't have to ask you to clean up after your dog. Why are we all so entiltled to our rights over everyone elses's anymore? There is absolutely no respect left in this world which I think is really the crux of the matter. You can't ask anyone to do anything that they think infringes their rights. Uh sorry, but we didn't fight two world wars and countless others so it would be acceptable for you to be lazy and let your dogs poop all over. I'm done playing the game. I'm fencing the entire side yard on that side now, probably close to 200 feet. Enough is enough. No one else on the street of large yards has a fence out front so that part of it will stand out. But it's the only thing that will work. I know it's not an option for everyone but it is for me and I have no issues with the look of a beautiful 3 rail white vinyl fence with wire mesh running down the side. And landscaping the inside of the fence line will be fun! I will do the right thing and let them know I am doing it(no setback here so it's only fair to warn them). And when they ask why......problem solved. I'm sure the dogs will start going on the other side now; it will be interesting to see how that neighbor, who has 3 small children, swallows that pill.

LOL!!! i had this same problem when we lived in a townhouse. tiny yard, stupid neighbor, 2 big labs. but our problem was a *little* worse. we had a grass yard but the neighbor had his whole back yard decked. he rarely, and i mean RARELY ever cleaned up dog poop. and the dogs' pee would seep through the cracks of the deck so there was no way to clean it up. it was the worse smell you can imagine. my son was a toddler but we could not use our back yard for anything because of the horrid smell. as if that wasn't enough, this guy was gone for days at a time. one of the dogs would get on top of the dog house and jump the fence so the other dog would bark incessantly ALL DAY LONG. i finally got to the point where i walked around and opened the gate to let the other dog out. this place was out in the country, surrounded by woods, so the dogs never went far. it was a last resort because the noise was so overbearing! i finally had a belly full of the smell and ended up calling the health department who gave him several warnings. he finally sold the place and moved. we celebrated!!!

What happe to the poo smell? i have two medium dogs and we have a dog run/bathroom at the sid eof our house. old house and again at our new house. we had different levels of pebles of diffe sizes to help drainage. we would not leave poo more than a cou hours but usuall picked up as it happend and sealed in a compost container that is meant to keep smell trapped.. but the pee is a probem. we would use baking soda all over and then spray water. Luckily it wasnt near my neighbours used area. But still i felt bad. our garbage was picked up every two weeks but the compost container really sealed the smell. The baking soda worked but needed to bough in bulk. our dogs refused to go pee/poo on their walks. they would save it for the bathroom when they got home. even if they did tinkle when out, they’d go straight to their bathroom when they got home and finish the job. also laying fresh rocks helped but picking up, spraying down and a lot of baking soda is necessary. and you cant have it near a well used area.

Thanks again for everyone’s comments. To answer some of the questions mentioned, the prohibition on the apartment is in Covenants and Restrictions recorded on the property before any home lot was sold. So we bought our homes subject to the restriction. City enforcement won’t do anything. They admitted the stairway was a zoning violation as are the motion detector lights. They admit the apartment violates zoning too It’s “trendy” here to advocate for density and I think they have been told to lay off these mother in law apartments. I don’t know why the City doesn’t zone an area for more apartments instead of advocating for ad hoc DIY density. This is not a fully developed area so they could do that. I have now called the HOA but the person I need to speak with is out this week. (Naturally!) I do have some empathy for the tenant. I don’t like putting someone out of their home (and I’m not sure reporting the apartment will cause an eviction or just an agreement no more tenants after she leaves) but on the other hand the apartment is creating bad precedent for enforcement of the CC&Rs, diminishing my privacy and probably decreasing the value of my home. (And the tenant hasn’t been so nice to my dogs.) It’s been difficult weighing it all out and finding the right thing to do. But I still think pushing the HOA to enforce the rules is best. Thanks.