Help! Constructive Criticism re. dog poo needed

Green

Dear All,
Please help.
Me and the family, which includes a 2 and 5 year old, have just spent another weekend enduring the nauseating stench of dog mess.
Our neighbour, who we have always felt really positive about, has two gorgeous Bull Mastiffs, brother and sister who are about 20mths old. They've lived next door since they were a couple of months old. They have a "kennel" in which they live outside. Much of the run in which they are kept, due to the shape of our gardens, is about 8 feet from our kitchen and bedroom.
The smell of the dogs last summer (2006) was so bad that on occasion it induced retching. We did not take action at that time as we were unsure of how things were going to pan out in terms of the dogs being a permanent fixture or not.
We first spoke to our neighbour briefly in May saying that we were concerned about the health and safety aspect of there being so many piles of poo and puddles of urine left undealt with during the day. We followed this up with a letter in August when in addition to the piles of poo we had been subjected to several nights of being woken by prolonged barking. Sporadic barking has been a feature ever since the dogs first arrived, but this was relentless. In September we spoke to our neighbour and specifically asked if it would be possible for someone to clear up after the dogs during the day and perhaps a stronger detergent to be used.
This weekend it seemed evident that our previous pleas have not been headed and we wish to be able to go to our neighbour with some tried and tested cleaning/training regimes that would undoubtedly improve our lives and I'm sure make life more pleasant for the dogs.
Many thanks in advance for your support.

Hcollie85

If you think its worth complaining about then complain it might get the person moving a bit quicker

Heather
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shadylady

this makes me wish we where in america lol as they have animal cops and they would of sorted the problem, as there was a similar problem on animal cops houston and the aspca took the dogs to be rehomed maybe you should consider ringing the rspca..
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oracle

that really bad if you have already spoke to them a few times and they have done nothing to resolve the situation then you should report it to enviromental health thats what a friend of mine did and she also reported them to the enviromental health about the barking to it will help if you could take pics of there garden and keep a diary thats what they advised my friend to do then they get a better picture of how long its been going on for. plus they told my friend that a lot of poo a wee will attract rats i didnt believe it i even double checked but its true and its not a good situation for the dogs to be living in and dont feel guilty if you reported it you would be helping the dogs if the owner loved they pets as much as the people on this site then they should'nt be loads of dog mess in the garden anyway. i have 4 children 1 ab, 1 cat, fish and a rabbit and i manage if she cleaned it up once aday even once every other day it would'nt be a problem for other residents i would report it you have tried to be nice but they not being very understanding the smell and the constant barking is not fair on you or your children please keep us posted hope you get it sorted x

littlelab

I agree, I would report it to the local EHO and also to the RSPCA as this may contrevene the new animal welfare act as to housing conditions of the dogs.

Welcome by the way, let us know how you get on
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Natalie and Co xxx

nahatalie

I agree, informing the local EHO is probably the best route. It is unacceptable for the dogs to live in such conditions and downright inconsiderate to inflict that smell and risk of attracting rats on neighbours. Have you spoken to other neighbours? What do they think? I'm sure the problem will be dealt with soon, it's not something you will have to put up with.

Green

Dear All,
Thanks for your advice.
Things did get better after we popped a second letter through the door, and we breathed, without retching, a sigh of relief.
This past weekend was bad again however.
Before we take the step of going to Environmental Health and the RSPCA can anyone give me tips that I could pass on in a last ditch attempt.
ONE - what's the best detergent to use when cleaning up dog poo?
TWO - would it be possible to train the dogs (2yr old bull mastiffs) to only poo when they're out for a walk?
Many thanks.

oracle

i use washing powder and some ferbreeze mixed together in a presure washer (or a bucket) every other day and that seems to do the trick as the ferbreeze sorts the smell and the washing powder (cheap tablets will do) gets rid of any poo and wee stains that might be left behind and it wont burn or hert the dogs paws hope this helps please keep us posted

littlelab

Biological washing powder is great, but you can get stuff that kennels use to clean down the mess, will go and look for the name of the stuff Very Happy

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Natalie and Co xxx