It takes a lot of time and effort to tend your garden, and you wouldn’t want any dog to destroy your yard’s look with its feces. So, How To Keep Dogs From Pooping In Your Yard?
There are several ways that can not only help you keep dogs from pooping in your yard but also keep them from entering your yard at all.
Read this post to know how you can prevent dogs from defecating in your yard.
How To Keep Dogs From Pooping In Your Yard?
It is hard to keep stray neighborhood dogs or even your own dog away from destroying your beautiful lawn with its poop. There are many ways to protect your lawn from dogs’ poop.
Let’s have a look at some of those ways closely.
1. Creating Barriers
One of the most simple ways to protect your yard from dog poop is to create a barrier around your yard. This will prevent the entry of your dog as well as your neighbor’s dogs.
The easiest option for a barrier to keep dog waste out of your garden is to build a fence around your lawn. Some fences are a bit expensive, but there are some cheaper options as well.
Putting up a fence will keep your dog and the stray dogs out of your yard immediately unless the dog is too stubborn to find a way around it.
Some people don’t like to put up a fence because they don’t like the aesthetics or they don’t want to be bound by a fence just to keep dogs away. In this case, you can put up a line of dog-proof bushes or plants like cactus. This will not only keep your dog or any unwanted dogs out but also give a pleasing view.
The dog-proof bush option may not be as effective as the fence option, but it works just well enough to keep your dog and your neighborhood dogs away.
2. Repellents
There are several repellents available in the market that will help repel dogs from your yard. You can also use some natural ingredients in your house to make a dog repellent on your own.
Some of the most effective natural dog repellents include vinegar, cayenne pepper, and strong chili powder. You can mix these ingredients with water and spray them on your lawn. The dogs that come sniffing to do their business will go running back.
However, cayenne pepper and chili powder can be irritating to the nose of a dog. You can stick to vinegar, it will get the job done perfectly.
3. Sprinklers
If you don’t want to fence your yard, then adding sprinklers is another option to keep the dogs from pooping in your yard.
You should get a motion-activated sprinkler so if any dog comes into your yard, the sprinklers will drive him away. After a few soaking encounters, the dogs will learn not to come anywhere near your yard to poop.
4. Try Different Smells
It is a known fact that dogs sniff the ground before they urinate. If they find a familiar smell, then they get comfortable pooping there. However, newer and unfamiliar smells make the dogs wary of entering.
You can do this simply by changing the lawn fertilizer you use every once in a while so that you don’t find any dog droppings in your yard.
5. Make A “Poo Zone”
If you are a dog owner yourself and don’t mind having your dog and its friends in your garden, then you should dedicate an area for pooping and peeing.
You can train your pet to use that area whenever it needs to relieve itself. The other dogs will follow. Make sure that you clean the “poo zone” regularly to maintain hygiene.
How To Stop Neighbor Dog From Pooping In My Yard?
Just follow the given steps and you won’t find any dog poop or dog urine of the neighboring dog in your beautiful garden.
1. Remove Temptations
Remove anything in your yard that may be a temptation for dogs. That includes food and water.
You should also close the lid of your trash cans tightly so that the stray dogs don’t look for food inside it.
Make sure that your yard does not have any rodents that will attract stray dogs for a meal.
2. Put Up A Barrier
Put up a fence or a line or dog-repellent bushes around your yard to keep the unwanted dogs out of your yard.
Most dogs will go away even if they see a low fence. Make sure that you don’t leave any holes or other entry points open for dogs to get in and do their business.
3. Get Sprinklers
Get motion-activated sprinklers and set them in places where you see dogs pooping. Getting soaked a few times will keep them away in the future.
4. Dog Repellents
Set a perimeter of natural dog repellents like vinegar or chili around your yard to keep the local dogs away. The pungent smell will irritate dogs and they won’t lurk around your yard. You can try this effective repellent- Bonide Outdoor Animal Repellent
5. Contact Animal Control
If any of the above tricks don’t keep neighborhood dogs from pooping in your yard, you can just contact animal control or the health department to take strict actions.
Can I Throw My Neighbor’s Dog Poop Back In Their Yard?
It is not okay to throw back your neighbor’s dog poop in their yard. In some states, it is illegal to throw feces in anyone’s yard.
It is better that you leave the poop war behind. Try talking to your neighbor because it might be that she does not know her dog is pooping in your yard. Just request gently that they take care of their dog’s behavior of pooping in your yard.
Even after that, if the neighbor’s dog still continues to take a leak in your yard, you can take pictures and complain to the health department.
Is It OK To Let Your Dog Poop In Someone’s Yard?
The law on scooping dog droppings varies in different states, most of them state that the pet owner needs to pick up their pet’s dropping immediately.
Even though there is no law enforcing you to stop your dog from pooping in someone else’s yard, it is just not good manners to leave your dog’s poop in someone else’s house. You have to clean your dog’s poop.
Does Cayenne Pepper Keep Dogs From Pooping In Your Yard?
Cayenne pepper will surely keep dogs from pooping in your yard because its smell is too hot for dogs to handle. However, it will irritate the dog’s nose, eyes, and throat.
Spraying the pepper will not only irritate dogs but will also wash them off when it rains. You can just keep the cayenne pepper in a bowl rather than spraying it all over the yard.
Do Moth Balls Keep Dogs From Pooping In My Yard?
Mothballs are made up of chemical pesticides and deodorants. They not only repel moths but also keep the dogs away from your yard.
The smell of mothballs is not pleasing for dogs and because of this reason, they will not use your yard as their personal potty place.
What Repels Dogs From Pooping In Your Yard?
It is generally the unfamiliar and bad smells coming from your yard that repel dogs from pooping in your lawn.
The most effective repellent is vinegar. The pungent smell of vinegar irritates the nose of dogs which keeps them away from your yard.
How To Stop A Dog Pooping In A Certain Area In The House?
There are products available in the market that can repel dogs from a certain area. You can spray the repellent in the area that you don’t want the dog to enter and cause any damage.
You can also use homemade repellents to keep your dog away from certain areas of your house.
If the spray causes irritation to you as well, you can just keep hot peppers or hot chilly in a bowl in the area where you don’t want the dogs to enter.
What Home Remedy Can I Use To Keep Dogs Off My Lawn?
These are some natural ingredients that you can mix with water to make a repellent spray that will keep dogs off your lawn:
- White Vinegar + Apple Cider Vinegar
- White Vinegar + Lime Juice
- Essential oils
- Cayenne pepper
Will Vinegar Break Down Dog Poop?
Vinegar will help break down your dog’s poop and dissolve it. It will also help you get rid of the brown spot that the dog poop left behind.
You can use white vinegar mixed with water 50/50 to break down and dissolve the dog poop. It is a good option to remove dog poop from faux gardens.
The vinegar neutralizes the Ph of dog poop and does not leave any stains behind. It also kills the germs in the process.
How Long Does It Take For Dog Poop To Decompose?
It takes 9 weeks for dog poop to decompose if the weather conditions are in your favor. The dog’s diet will also affect the time in which dog poop decomposes.
9 weeks is a long time, so don’t leave your dog’s poop lying in your yard for that long because it can be harmful to your plants.
If you live in cold weather conditions, it can also take 12 months for the pet waste to decompose. The cold weather hinders the breakdown of dog poop.
If your dog’s diet includes food rich in proteins, it will take longer for its poop to decompose contrary to the diet with plant-based food.
Also Read: Can Dogs Eat Pepperoni?
What Dissolves Dog Poop In The Yard?
1. Vinegar
Vinegar is pretty much an all-rounder. It is a disinfectant, a deodorant, and a dissolvent for dog poop. Even though vinegar can be used to dissolve dog poop, it is only partially effective.
Vinegar is a better cleaning agent that will get the dog poop stains right off the floor.
2. Gardening Lime
Gardening lime is better than vinegar to dissolve dog waste off your lawn. You just have to sprinkle it on the dog feces and it will disappear in a matter of days.
You need to be careful while handling gardening lime as it may burn your hands if you came in direct contact with it. Use gloves to spray the gardening lime to dissolve dog poop.
Also, use the gardening lime in small amounts because large amounts can be harmful to your plants.
3. Enzyme Dissolvers
There are certain enzyme-based dissolvers available in the market that keep your lawn pristine without harming dogs. These solutions help remove urine odor and dissolves dog poop within days.
The best part about using this solution is that it is made up of biological agents rather than chemicals to dissolve dog poop.
Does Rain Wash Away Dog Poop?
Rain will wash away dog poop immediately and go straight into the water sources. You must pick up the dog poop right after the dog drops it or else you will find it dissolved in the water that you drink.
You should not wait for the rain to wash away the dog poop because it contains a lot of bacteria that can harm your garden.
Does Dog Poop Attract Rats?
Certain rodents eat dog poop, which is why if you leave the dog poop lying in your yard, it will attract rats. Dog poop contains a lot of nutrients that rodents like to eat.
However, eating dog poop will be the last option of preferred meals for rats. Rats are more likely to eat leftovers from trash cans and even baby rats before they choose to eat dog poop.
Also Read: Why Do Dogs Bark At Squirrels?
Does Dog Poop Attract Snakes?
If you leave the dog waste lying in your yard for a long time, it will attract rodents to your yard. This means that you will also attract snakes who are in search of rodents for their meal.
It is wise to just scoop up the dog feces before there is a whole army of rodents and snakes roaming in your yard.
Conclusion: How To Keep Dogs From Pooping In Your Yard?
To answer your question, how to keep dogs from pooping in your yard, you can simply put up a fence or spray dog repellents in your yard.
However, make sure that you don’t cause any harm to the dogs in the process of keeping them away.
