Our yard seems to be the area pooping ground for dogs. We thought it was just dogs running around off the leash pooping in our yard, but today caught not one but two owners actually walking their dogs to our yard for their afternoon "business". Seriously. And based on the piles of poop, they do it all the time.

Now that the snow is too high for them to get in the yard proper, they let them poop directly in front of our mailbox, something we don't enjoy and I"m sure our postal carrier enjoys even less.

While I'm tempted to take their pictures on the sly and publicly humiliate them in the newspaper or here, I think I'll just whine about it. I don't have a dog, but if I did I'd carry a little baggy to pick up after him. I just ask MC residents to do the same. Shame on you that don't, I hope karma leads your foot to land in the messes you leave behind.

[This message has been edited by Stewart (1/21/2011)]

You could always bag it up and return it back to the owners door step

...on fire

I agree. Someone lets their dog use my boulevard on a regular basis, and while that is not private, I still maintain it and don't appreciate having to pick up where their dog left off!

Our house is on a corner lot and a big back/side yard and yes, we even have a fire hydrant in our front boulevard - we get lots of neighborhood folks cruising with their dogs.

When we bought the house I decided I didn't want to have growing feelings of conflict with new neighbors with this exact thing, especially being the new family on the block.

So, on two occasions, when I saw our neighbors squatting their dogs I just popped out the front door and said "Good morning" with a big smile, and just said "If you'd be so kind, we like to let our kids play in our yard... if you wouldn't mind not having your dog poop here?"

They said "sorry" and "no problem" ...only one person on that time actually had a plastic bag to clean up but let's be real... he probably carried it just in case he got caught like this. Either way, they acted nice, I wished them well and no real problem since.

It's so strange - people know it's not their yard, they know they'd hate it in their yard, yet have to be caught red handed and explicitly told to stop. I suppose, by contrast, I've never had anybody ask "May I please let my dog crap in your nice yard?" ha ha

Oh well, take a chance and ask them to stop - to my surprise it's worked for me and now I visit with those neighbors regularly and they're really great. No hard feelings.

We had a neighbor many years ago in Belgrade whose dog preferred our yard to all others. One spring, I collected a huge bag full of it with the intention of leaving it on his doorstep. I am ashamed to admit that as I was filling it up, he came out and I was so angry, I threw it at him yelling "I think this belongs to you." Then I stomped into the house. Oddly enough, he moved soon afterward.

It does amaze me how people walk down the alley early in the morning with their pet moose and stand whistling while it mucks the place up, then stroll off as if it never occurred to them anyone would ever see it again.

I have cats. Guess why.

Yes, Amorette, because nothing is more pleasant than trying to clean out your child's sand box or weed your flower boxes while mucking through cat poop.

I once had a conversation with a cat owner because she was complaining about a rogue dog in her neighborhood. I told her that our neighborhood regularly had rogue cats (notice the plural). I wondered why I never see "cat at large" citations like I see "dog at large" citations. She kindly explained to me that it's not a cat's nature to be leashed. They are wild animals who need to roam. So, the next time your cat is needing to "roam", remember, perhaps, that it is spending some of its time in yards not owned by you. Unless, of course, you are one of those cat owners who keeps your cat shut-in and does not allow your baby to roam about town freely. If that is the case, I say more power to you....complain to your heart's content about wandering dogs.

Do what the comedian does, "Here's your sign."

I used to have this optimistic thought: "If only there were poop collection bags and containers available..surely then the dog walkers would clean-up after their pets!"
Now we have the HRHC Health Walk path complete with dog potty stations and bags Still poop everywhere I am sure within a short amount of time..all dogs will be banned from there also, and though I would greatly miss taking my dogs there, I wouldn't blame HRHC at all.

Denise, first our cats are rescued strays from the neighborhood and will not go back outside. They occasionally sniff at an open window or door but do not go through it. Second, having lived near West Yellowstone, I can tell you "dog at large" has nothing to do with poop. The law, and the fact that dogs and pigs are exempted in all open range laws, is because dogs on the loss pack up and become wolf unafraid of people. The reason I mentioned West Yellowstone is because every summer college students getting summer jobs there, get a big dog for the summer. Then fall comes and they "set it Free" when they head back to school. a month or so later the area sheriffs organize a dog hunt to do away with the packs that have formed and are terrorizing local kids and families as they forage for food.

Then, as I said Steve, more power to you to complain about wandering dogs. My point was that I find it interesting when I hear cat owners complain about dog poop in their yards. I run into cat poop in my yard, and in places where I am putting my hands, not stepping with my shoes, far more often than I run into dog poop. I'm very aware of the point of "dog at large". I did not state that the two ideas were connected, but that this thought was the kick-start for the conversation about cats and their need to roam.

Roaming cats = poop not being picked up by their owners.

As Steve said, ours are indoor cats. I clean their boxes daily. They do NOT go out. They do not want to go out as they are rescued strays. While cats are generally less of a problem because their leavings are smaller and they often bury them, my cats do not bother anyone.

Dog owners intentionally take their animal out to poop on a neighbor's property. Cat owners do not. Why not encourage their dog to poop on their own lawn, then take the dog out for exercise? Especially BIG dogs that leave BIG piles.

the only time I had a problem with cats poop was when my little daughter had a sandbox and they thought it was a huge cat litter box but problem was solved with a lid for the sand box...

Dog owners intentionally take their animal out to poop on a neighbor's property. Cat owners do not.

This is a gross generalization. I would say it is the minority dog owner who intentionally takes his animal out to poop on another's yard. I would think one could successfully argue that by letting a cat out of the house, cat owners are doing the same thing. I guess, for me, the bottom line is that dog owners are not any more irresponsible than cat owners, and I take issue with one, or the other, who claims it so. There are thoughtless owners on both sides.

BTW, is it the size of the pile that counts then? I used to own a dog smaller than most cats. Would it have been acceptable to let him out to run wild around the neighborhood because his "pile" size was acceptable? What's the criteria? What's too large so as to label a pet owner irresponsible? Inquiring minds want to know.

We have many dogs and dog owners walk by our house on a daily basis, and honestly none of them have ever left behind a pile of doggy doo for us to deal with even though I'm sure that more than one of them has seen our lovely patch of green lawn beside the sidewalk as the perfect place to leave his calling card. I have a dog (who incidently prefers to do his business on our daily walks as opposed to in our back yard) and I have NEVER left the pile behind for someone else to deal with. I take him to a dog park now and then where a large number of dogs roam freely off the leash and have never seen any droppings left behind for others to step in there either.

It is not that hard to clean up after your dog-if you go to a pet store (or even Walmart) there are little rolls of bags that go into a small container you can attach to your leash....and if you are too cheap to spend money on those, you can always stuff a couple of plastic grocery bags into your pocket before you leave the house.

Our parks and walkways used to have stations which were stocked with bags for waste clean up, but because of the economy and resulting budget crisis they have stopped stocking them. However, the dog owners are still being considerate and not using that as an excuse to leave messes all over the place.

I live in a big city where a large number of people don't know each other and are not trying to impress their neighbors or those around them, but are just doing the right thing. It seems like a town like Miles City with (overall)such nice, considerate people would have more people who take pride in their community and assume more personal responsibility. Maybe this discussion will be a wake-up call for them (here's hoping!)

Our biggest problem is Antelope poop in the front yard and on the putting greens at the golf course. I can usually slice it with a sand wedge.

I had a neighbor that used to encourage their dogs to poop in our yard. After stepping in several piles while mowing, I decided enough was enough. I grabbed the shovel, scooped up the piles, and threw it back into their yard. I had to do this a couple of times before the owners got the hint.

My neighbors have a tiny but extremely mean dog that loves to use our boulevard. I'm always amazed that they don't wonder how this dog never seems to need to poop. After all their yard is pristine, so where's the poop going? MY YARD. Wouldn't you take your dog to the vet to see why it's so constipated? I've wanted to gather the poop and throw it back into their yard but I content myself with shooing the @%^%#$%@ thing whenever it approached our yard. It's pretty old now so I'm hoping the thing will just die soon. I know I should hate its owners but I also just despise this dog.

As a child my father witnessed a young ladie let her dog lift it's leg on my bike infront of my house. The next day she let it crap in my mothers flower bed. The third day when she showed up he told her if she lets her dog S*** in the flower bed he will follow her home and s*** in her flower bed.

As for haveing a dog vs. cat debate, most dog owners take care of their dogs or have them in their own yard. Cat owners either have them inside or ?? free to use the neighbors house.

here's a thought, get a s*** eating dog

To neighbors of roving cat owners, if you know who the owner of the cat(s) is/are ~ ask them to create an outdoor sandbox for their pets. I have a fenced backyard mine stay in, and I've made one using 'dirty sand' from Doeden's pit on the hill. You might also consider doing it in your own alley, to draw them there instead of your flower bed.