Using our field as a dog toilet!

[Nudibranch]

We rent grazing next to the house. It has a footpath down one side. The neighbour uses it for her dog's toilet. Presumably she thinks this is ok because a relative owns the field. Twice daily without fail the dog goes in for a cr*p on the grass. It is never picked up (well, it is the countryside isn't it - who needs to clear up after themselves....?). To add insult, she is scared of horses and complained to her relative. I heard about this through the grapevine so fenced them off for the summer but in winter they will need access to the whole field. They are not at all "scary" I might add; one is curious of loose dogs but isn't bothered if they're on the lead. Obviously hers runs loose...

Horses, sheep and sometimes cattle permanently graze the field. Is there a requirement to pick up after a dog everywhere or does this just apply to pavements? I don't want to cause too much fuss as I don't want to lose the grazing but I am anticipating she will want them off the grass for the winter too and need to prepare a reasonable solution. My first thought is to ask her to go elsewhere for the dog's toilet, surely that's more than reasonable!!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Could you electric fence off the footpath (correct width, signs etc...)?

 

[its_noodles]

try talking to the council...

 

[Slightly Foxed]

try talking to the council...

Why? It's private land.

 

[AmyMay]

Why would she want them off the field? You rent not her. And on that basis your use of the field is none of her business. I would speak to the landowner and go from there.

 

[its_noodles]

Why? It's private land.

kay, its private land, so its the land owner's responsibility. you need to speak with the land owner...

 

[Honey08]

Get yourself a little flat coal shovel and pick them up, then pop them back over the hedge into her garden, or stack them up right outside where she gets into the field until she gets the hint! If she grumbles, say that's all you have time to do, if she wants the poo picking up better, might be best if she poop scoops herself...

However, we have footpaths through our fields that people walk dogs through and our dogs run in them too. We do get dog poop in them. I don't really think its such a big deal. What really bugs me are the ones that do poop scoop, then leave the bag of poop hanging on a fence or stuck in a dry stone wall for the dog poop fairy to collect. I would much rather them leave the poop natural so it has a chance of rotting/washing away..

 

[Capriole]

What really bugs me are the ones that do poop scoop, then leave the bag of poop hanging on a fence or stuck in a dry stone wall for the dog poop fairy to collect. I would much rather them leave the poop natural so it has a chance of rotting/washing away..

Oh me too! The lane past my field is really bad for this. Looks horrible esp. in winter when it snows and there are festive bag-of-crap- baubles dangling everywhere. Really annoys me, I'd rather the owner flicked it into the hedges with a stick and let it rot than do that.

 

[Shadow the Reindeer]

You should see how much crap gets left on our street.. they treat the passage next to our house as a toilet and don't pick up. It causes blindness in children due to parasites in the faeces, hence why dog owners should pick up regardless. Not saying children run through your field, but you can make out that you have relatives who visit and you're worried that their child might trip and fall onto a pile of her dogs crap.. an incentive maybe?

 

[Adopter]

Oh me too! The lane past my field is really bad for this. Looks horrible esp. in winter when it snows and there are festive bag-of-crap- baubles dangling everywhere. Really annoys me, I'd rather the owner flicked it into the hedges with a stick and let it rot than do that.

Same here, for some reason people pick up dog poo on NT land next door then leave little smelly bags for the poo fairy to collect on our private drive which the access footpath goes up! Left alone the poo rots fairly quickly in our wet climate, no idea how to stop this. One friend who lives by a local popular forest area has experienced exploding poo bags in the hot weather, horrible when they are suspended from a branch.

 

[Honey08]

I was wondering about putting some signs up re dog poo bags. There is a council car park nearby where people park to walk up to a roman fort, and I think the worst offenders come from there, I was wondering about contacting the council to put signs up. Adopter you would perhaps have to contact the NT to put a sign up?

 

[tallyho!]

OP, speak to the chap you rent it off. It's not on.

As for poo-fruit, send a letter to your local MP via the public domain. This gets seen by parliament and the MP is obliged to do something about it. I did the above and poo-fruit was cleared a week later.

 

[chocolategirl]

I remember reading somewhere once that dog poo is dangerous to horses if they ingest it? It is a problem I have with my liveries when they walk there dogs on the farm, I rarely see any of them picking it up after them and I am always telling them it's bad for their horses to graze fields that have dog muck on it but it doesn't seem to sink in!!

 

[OrangePepper]

If you contact the access department of your local County Council they will give you some round signs to stick on the entrance/exit and along the route which demonstrate that the person in charge of the dog is responsible for picking up the poos. The dog is only allowed on the public footpath not on any land adjacent to it therefore the dog should be kept on a lead to avoid it straying off the line of the footpath. A public footpath is a public highway and as such dogs must be under control at all times on a public highway.

 

[teasle]

The inhabitants of a cottage at the start of the track leading to a popular dog walking area had trouble with the dogs dumping as soon as they got out of the car by their door. They got some flourescent paint and highlighted the many piles of poo- and. grief, it really stood out!

 

[MagicMelon]

Personally I'd electric tape off the path (just the width of it which I assume isnt that wide?), make sure the electric tape goes low enough that the dog won't go through it into the main part of your field. I'd do this anyway - hate the thought of people traipsing through my horses field!

 

[Clodagh]

Unless she has a pack of German Shepherds and you have a tiny field, is it really a huge problem? Our dogs go in the horse fields, as do foxes and badgers and it rots away very quickly. If it really is a big problem then I like the idea of scooping it up and putting it where she comes in.

 

[Slightly Foxed]

What really bugs me are the ones that do poop scoop, then leave the bag of poop hanging on a fence or stuck in a dry stone wall for the dog poop fairy to collect. I would much rather them leave the poop natural so it has a chance of rotting/washing away..

That is what really, really annoys me. Sorry, what is going on in those brains??

OP I can understand you're a bit miffed, but in the great scheme of things it ain't so bad is it? You have a convenient field to rent and is a bit of dog **** so very much more annoying than a bit of cattle ****?

 

[debsandpets]

A footpath is only 1 - 1.5 metres wide so if the dog isn't on a lead it is officially trespassing ....... I would fence it with electric fencing and don't forget the legally required signs on a footpath and hope that the owner gets a few massive shocks.


I personally like the idea of the shovel and stacking the poo at the dog & owners access point to the field (include some extra dog poo if needed to make the point).

 

[YorksG]

If you fence the path you could also use electric sheep netting to keep the dog out, again with signs, although I doubt the dog can read!

 

[RunToEarth]

kay, its private land, so its the land owner's responsibility. you need to speak with the land owner...

It has a public right of way, so council still have some authority over it.

I personally would pick it all up and chuck it in her garden. I picked some up the other day, put it in a bag and left it on said woman's car after I saw her leave a steaming turd down the low fields, where kids play. She had a go at me and I said if she didn't take it home I would follow her and post it through her letterbox.

Why have dogs if you can't deal with dog muck? Nation of idiots.

 

[Hippona]

It has a public right of way, so council still have some authority over it.

I personally would pick it all up and chuck it in her garden. I picked some up the other day, put it in a bag and left it on said woman's car after I saw her leave a steaming turd down the low fields, where kids play. She had a go at me and I said if she didn't take it home I would follow her and post it through her letterbox.

Why have dogs if you can't deal with dog muck? Nation of idiots.

I am officially your fan

 

[case895]

Have you got a shotgun? If other people's dogs went near my horses or other livestock I would shoot them.

 

[Clodagh]

Have you got a shotgun? If other people's dogs went near my horses or other livestock I would shoot them.

I think shooting a dog for having a poo might be regarded, legally, as a little OTT.

 

[RunToEarth]

Have you got a shotgun? If other people's dogs went near my horses or other livestock I would shoot them.

This is not America. There are laws regarding shotguns near footpaths, and also laws regarding when it is acceptable to shoot someone's dog. Curling out a turd isn't one of them, I'm sure.

 

[MurphysMinder]

As suggested above, I would just fence off the footpath. However, I have exercised our dogs in our field (approx 1.5 acres so not a huge area) for the last 25 years (as many as 5 GSDs) and never pick up the poo and it has never been a problem. As long as the dogs are fed decent food it breaks down quickly . I don't take the dogs in the field when it is growing for hay as I understand poo can cause a problem when it is hay (also not very nice to open a bale and find some) but other than that I wouldn't worry too much OP.

 

[Ellies_mum2]

I feel your pain re the dog poo. We have a public footpath through our fields and have some owners that don't pick up at all. those that pick up and dump in hedge or even in the gateway for the fairy to collect, and those that pick up and dump it in the river as they cross over it

OP how far into your field does the dog come to do its business? If it goes in pretty much the same place all the time then I would suggest putting some fence posts and tape around that area to keep your horses off it and then ask your landlord to have a word with them about it.

Good luck