Dog poop in the garden isn't just a disgusting affair. Dogs can transmit worms and if your own dog is not the culprit, you have no overview of any deworming that has taken place.
recognize dog feces
A dog poo is apparently quickly recognized. But most of the time it's not that simple. While feces from larger dogs can be clearly identified, smaller piles of feces can also come from other animals. An important feature is any food residue in the faeces. If seeds, berries, fur or feathers are visible, a wild animal has relieved itself in the front yard. For the further procedure, however, it is irrelevant from which animal the droppings come. You don't necessarily have to be able to spot dog poop.
Source: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez, Feces de can (dog), edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
clean up dog waste
Dog poo in the garden is best either buried or cleaned up with a shovel. Dog excrement should not be buried in the lawn or in the vegetable patch, which is why it is disposed of in household waste or in the compost. Every tool used is thoroughly cleaned after use.
Notice: Avoid touching dog poop with your bare hands, use gloves!
Prevent
So that you don't have to remove dog excrement in the garden in the first place, you can try various measures to prevent the problem.
Use the dog's sense of smell
Dogs use their noses to orient themselves. They also use their sense of smell to find a place for their droppings. Try to take advantage of this fact.
- plant strong-smelling flowers or herbs in the front yard
- use special plants that are supposed to keep dogs away
- Spray dog repellents if they do not harm dogs
coffee grounds
The leftovers from the coffee also smell very strong and can successfully keep dogs away from the front yard. However, coffee grounds have the disadvantage that they acidify the soil over time. Either only use it near plants that prefer acidic soil or generally only in places that are not planted. In order for coffee grounds to be effective, they must be laid out in correspondingly large quantities.
Appeal to the dog owner
The dog is not responsible for its actions, but the respective owner. Therefore, try to make dog owners aware of the problem. Post signs asking that dogs not relieve themselves in their yard or at least that dog poo be cleared up. In public areas, dog owners are legally obliged to do so and should therefore always carry an appropriate bag of excrement with them.
Notice: Sometimes a personal conversation helps. However, this depends on the discernment of the dog owner.
water
An irrigation system with a motion detector waters the garden whenever someone enters it. If a dog tries to get into the front yard or onto the lawn, it will get wet. Most dogs then take to their heels.
change ground
A temporary measure is to spread gravel or other material in the garden that is unpleasant for dogs as a subsoil. These can also be grid panels that dogs do not like to step on. However, grid panels do not look particularly attractive in the garden and should soon be replaced with other options.
ultrasonic devices
An ultrasonic device produces a high-pitched beep that is said to be uncomfortable for dogs. It can also be used to drive away cats or martens. However, it can happen that individual dogs or cats are not impressed by it, while the beeping sound eventually becomes annoying for humans.
fencing
If no other measures help, you can only fence your garden impenetrably for dogs. This can be done with a fence or hedge. Whereby hedge plants are at least not insensitive to dog urine and can be damaged. It is also important to remember that the dog poop may not end up in your garden, but it can still end up on the sidewalk in front of it. So the problem is not eliminated, only shifted. Perhaps a correspondingly marked electric fence is more helpful. The dog owner will have to make sure that his dog does not get too close to the fence. If it does happen, a trainable dog will give the fence a wide berth in the future.