There is a fire hydrant in front of my house. How do I stop it from being the neighborhood dog toilet?
Thanks.

Can't stop dogs from being dogs...

Try spraying amonia on it. Problem is... even if it works short term... its not a long term fix. THere is none.

Smoothy is right, dogs will be dogs and as long as the hydrant is there, and being used, more dogs will continue to mark on it. You could try asking your neighbors to not allow their dogs to use it as their personal potty, or maybe put up a sign.

Unfortunately there is no permanent fix for things like this.

There is a pee stick you can purchase that boy dogs love to pee on. I have heard that it works... maybe give it a shot? Its got a scent to it to attract the dogs.

Once a dog pees on nything it will get peed on by almost every never dog. Dogs have to mark and their noses are thousands of times more sensitive than our. Mark is like leaving a calling card that says "I was here". Next dog has to leave his card too. You can try dog repellants but they work marginally. dog repellent, Sent that dog running (http://pestcontrol.netfirms.com/dog_repelling_device.htm) Keep in mind that this hydrant is not on your property so be careful you do not do anything that the city or fire department will not like.

From legal side, fire hydrant will be on public right of way, it is not your property to stop dogs from using.

No, it's not illegal, but I would be irritated too if I had a something in my yard a dog was peeing on. Especially if I had kids that shared the yard, and even more especially if it wasn't my dogs using it!

Fire hydrants are not in anyone's yard.

They can be on the corner of someone's yard! You have never seen this?

They are placed on easements and/or public property. It may appear to be someone's yard but they actually do not own this land. Folks may cut the grass all the way to the curb and even do planting but they do not own that last few feet. If you look at a land survey you'll be surprised to see where your land ends and public property begins, mine is 20' off the curb.

Actually not just the corner... but I think what Ballengerb1 means it would be at the edge of ones property... technically in the town, city or counties right of way associated with the roadway.

They are placed on easements and/or public property. It may appear to be someones yard but they actually do not own this land. Folks may cut the grass all the way to the curb and even do planting but they do not own that last few feet. If you look at a land survey you'll be surprised to see where your land ends and public property begins, mine is 20' off the curb.


I totally understand that. I'm not getting all technical here, I'm just saying I can totally understand how the op would feel about the towns people's dog using "her" front yard as a public potty. If I had a hydrant on an easement and some dog craps there, who do I call for them to clean it up? I know they won't mow it or keep it tidy...

We have an electrical box (the big ugly green things) on the front half of our property. The way our front yard is, there's a patch of grass, around 10 feet wide, then the sidewalk, then our lawn. That 10 foot wide patch doesn't belong to us, but we have to maintain it, other than the trees, the city takes care of those. But we have to mow it, and if we want we can do things to make it better (we put cement rings around the trees, and mulch).

Every dog in the neighborhood pees on that green box. A few years ago when the neighbor had her yard done one of the guys she hired backed his truck into the green box and damaged it very badly. The lock on the box broke. It was getting scary. The kids in the neighborhood were playing on this box, taking the broken lock off. We called the city about it, they said they'd get someone to come out. In the meantime hubby put a lock on it to prevent the kids from getting into it. Two weeks later the city finally sent someone down. Boy were they mad that we had put a lock on the box. We almost got a fine. They let us go simply because they saw that we were only protecting the kids, and actually did them a huge favor. Sadly they didn't fix the dent.

Our friends up the street have a fire hydrant on their lawn. She hates it, so she put up a little 1/4 fence around it. She got a warning to take it down or she'd be fined.

The OP always has the option to move to a house without a fire hydrant on the lawn. That's about all she can do.

We have a light post on our front strip.
I poisoned around the edge of it a few weeks ago because we have to mow it, but can't be stuffed using the weed eater all the time around the post.
I'm surprised we haven't got a notice or fine for spraying poison there.

I personally would make a sign to put on or near the hydrant.

http://www.signswithanattitude.com/images_signs/special_signs/no_dog_poop-pee.jpg

The city and fire department just want to make sure you do not do anything to alter the function of the hydrant. Planting a bush, painting it green, fencing it are just examples of things that would negatively alter finction, weed killer is fine.

Oh silly people,
You argue about who owns the fire hydrant - but you do not give a solution.
Dogs pee in the lobby of my apartment building - and all your civilized suggestions of putting notes or asking neighbors "not to..." worth to nothing.

Is there a PRACTICAL answer somewhere ?

Oh silly people,
you argue about who owns the fire hydrant - but you do not give a solution.
Dogs pee in the lobby of my apartment building - and all your civilized suggestions of putting notes or asking neighbors "not to..." worth to nothing.

Is there a PRACTICAL answer somewhere ?We gave it... try reading the tread again...

Oh silly people,
you argue about who owns the fire hydrant - but you do not give a solution.
Dogs pee in the lobby of my apartment building - and all your civilized suggestions of putting notes or asking neighbors "not to..." worth to nothing.

Is there a PRACTICAL answer somewhere ?


Yes, you should move to another building where the dogs don't use the lobby as a bathroom.

Yes, you should move to another building where the dogs don't use the lobby as a bathroom.

Must be a limited number of crack houses with pet restrictions in their area...

Also populated by people who (apparently) cannot read and/or comprehend.

Also populated by people who (apparently) cannot read and/or comprehend.

That would be the Welfare projects... Educations are frowned upon by the residents of those places.

Once again, have to wonder where the one-hit-wonders come from? Scanned the entire Internet, posted once about dogs peeing in fire hydrants, left to never return.

Seems strange. Unless, of course, it's someone with two screen names!

No, that's never happened.

Oh silly people,
you argue about who owns the fire hydrant - but you do not give a solution.
Dogs pee in the lobby of my apartment building - and all your civilized suggestions of putting notes or asking neighbors "not to..." worth to nothing.

Is there a PRACTICAL answer somewhere ?

Oh silly poster. We did give a solution, and that's to move.

That's also the only solution you have, other than fighting for months, years, until you die, with the people whose dogs pee in your building.

Personally, I'd move to a building that regulates that sort of thing. Also, are you sure it's the dogs peeing in the lobby and not the hobos that are sleeping there? If you lay with dogs... Sigh.

Dogs are dogs. Dogs pee. Unless the owners are responsible people, you really can't do a thing about it, at least nothing that won't cost you money, legal fees, and a lot of heartache because even then, you'd have to prove whose dogs are doing it. Seems like a lot more work than just moving to a place that doesn't allow dogs to pee in the building.