Seriously, neighbors, clean up after your dogs.

[Primer]

Years ago, before I worked at the animal hospital, and learned about all the nasties that can be spread by dog poop, I used to encourage the neighbors to let their dogs use our front yard. We had the greenest, lushest grass in the whole neighborhood!

I now know about way too many ickies to encourage other animals to use my yard. I let my own, but I know what they don't carry!

[Ironclad Alibi]

We had the greenest, lushest grass in the whole neighborhood!

We keep our dogs in our own yard. Whatever good the dog poop does for growing grass is overpowered by the killing power of dog pee. After these two dogs pass on (they're 7 and 17, so it will be a while), the back yard will have to be resodded.

[RedRoseSpiral]

Not a story about a dog that came into our yard, but a dog we had for a week for mating purposes. At the time we had a great dane named Xena (yes named after the Warrior Princess) and we decided to breeder her once. Romeo, the other dane we got to breed her, was a monster who at times didn't have the best manners.

Next to one of our bookshelves we had a botted tree, one of those small twisty ones. He decided that the pot was the perfect place to take a leak. Within a day all the leaves fell off of it. Amazingly it did survive. Took about a year before it would grow more leaves but the tree did go on to live a few more years before dad got rid of it.

[raw456]

I'm not sure about the laws elsewhere, but here in OZ you can be fined for not picking up after you dog. A five second scoop with a inside out bag is much better than a $200 fine.

The worse place I've found is the local off-leash park. People seem to think cause the dog is roaming free, it doesnt count. And Lace, like yourself, I have on occassin offered bags to those without them (and with no intention of picking it up either). It is fun to watch there minds try to work up an excuse. Especially if there are other dog owners there too

[RestaurantDude]

In NJ, USA it's anywhere from a $150 to $500 fine for not picking up after your dog, depending on where you are. Never seen it enforced, however.

[Imogene]

Primus and Secundus bought a dog when we moved there. And they never picked up after him. So, I didn't either. Not my dog, not my trouble.
In fact, they were so enamored of not taking care of the dog, they went out and bought chicken wire and fencing posts to make a little yard just outside the living room windows, so they could just let him out through the windows so he could go... then tried to get me to install the thing. "Uh, no," says I, whilst outside, attempting to push the posts into the sodden soil, and then find the chicken wire wrapped with a much stronger wire that I can't cut without the right cutters. So, for about a month, the apartment had posts just sticking out of the ground, until the rumblings of throwing me out started, then I started talking to the housing department, to let them know 1) there was a new roommate who wasn't on the books, 2) They didn't give me thirty days written warning before breaking the lease, and 3) the plans for the dog yard, which got immediately taken care of.