Dog mess... what to do?

[jrebeiro]

Hey a reply to another thread got me thinking.... What do you guys do when you encounter a yard with dog poop all over. I make the customers clean it and if they don't I come back at a later date after it's clean. Anyone bunking up their mowers by just going right over it? I'd be worried about it hitting the blades and shooting out right on to the siding of the house... or even worse on me or one of my workers.

Any thoughts?

[bob]

Come to think of it, not too many of my customers have dogs. And most of the lawns I cut are commercial accounts. If I did see some poo, I'd just ride right over it. I don't like getting off of the ZTR!

[Eric ELM]

Here are a couple threads on the topic, there are a lot more if you want them. :)

http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?threadid=9956

http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?threadid=9956

[KirbysLawn]

Drive thru.......splat....

[KindGardener]

The accounts who have with dogs also only have small lawns. The worst one - I visit once each 2 weeks - those poor Labradors (walking around in 2 wks worth of dogs**t). So I charge an extra 5 bucks a visit (for the time it takes one of my guys to clean it with a shovel & throw it in their garbage can).

Many of my accts have parking strips (downtown Huntington Beach), and while their is a "dog-litter" ordinance, on some streets you would never know it! I always try to scoop it, where practical, otherwise it makes a dirtysmelly mess with my 21" deck (I bag all my clippings... ugh).

Once or twice I've politely confronted dog owners who have left their dog's load behind "Excuse me - do you know it's both against the law, and socially impolite to leave your dog's mess on your neighbor's lawn?"

They just looked at me and scowled - but I felt better.

[TJLC]

I have one customer left, who always has land mines (dog crap) in his yard. He is such a good customer, that I tend to overlook this. Probally stupid on my part, but that's just me. He's getting ready to go into the hosp. for surgery and called to tell me he was sending my check for lawncare out because he wouldn't be home for a few days. He never argues about the cost of anything I do. For people like this I don't mind doing little extras.

[HOMER]

I guess we can start asking potential clients if they own dogs and if so "just say no"!

I guess I would lose a few accounts!

If I splatter it on their house so what, it was theirs to begin with and it should have been picked up. If I see it in time there will be little patches of grass sticking where the weedeater just didn't seem to get it. If they complain then they will be told I smell bad enough at the end of a long hot day and I don't need to smell any worse because of their dog skit and I ain't gonna smell up my truck because of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Other than that I run over it and collect my money.

[Skookum]

I got rid of those type accounts a few years ago. I got tired of smelling like dog poo! I also got tired of tracking it into my own house at the end of the day when I did not notice it soon enough.

I looked at a yard a few years back as well with big dog piles everywhere. It was about a $35.00 yard. If I recall right I told the guy $85.00 a cut. He liked to poo himself. I explained that there was way too much dog poo in the backyard and that if not for the dog poo it would be $35.00 a cut. He tried the old, "we will clean it up and keep the dog over here in this other fenced in area which you do not have to mow", line.

I heard that old line with the ones I just got rid of earlier that spring. They never did it, why would this guy! I said no price drop with all the droppings!

[PetalsandPines]

Imagine this...a lttle old lady with a german shepard police dog... This dog towers over me. The woman is partially deaf... The dog guards the fence to the backyard and can't even be bribed with a whopper from burger king... You can see where I am going with this... I pound on the door for her to put the dog away, after 15 minutes of pounding she finally tries to get the dog in the house. By now the dog is obsessed with eating me for dinner and ignores the little old lady.. It breaks my heart to drive away with her lawn half done!! :(

[plow kid]

Schitt Happens ;)

[lsylvain]

First let me say that I am a dog owner. 100lb shepard rott and 150lb of pure german rott. Talk about a mess. Anyway.... I say charge them to clean it up. Or send it at the house a couple of times they change thier mind. I know in my area there are companies than make a good living clean it up. It's pretty cool they just go just like us everty week an pick it up.

[Twotoros]

I ran into this again today, here's how it went:
dingdong- Me- "Hi, do you have the name of the management co.?"(rental, I already have the info)
" Because starting next week I will have to start billing them for the dog waste clean-up"
Lady-" Well I can clean it up. I did not know when you would be coming"
Me-" The same time and day as the last three years" Same tenant,same problem,three years now.
Lady-" I'll make sure to have everthing cleaned up."
Me-" I would appreciate that because if not I will bill them at my mowing rate which is not cheap"
Lady- "I'll have it done when you come next"
Me-" Thank you"

She has been told before and I don't expect she will do it, she's the Jerry Springer type you see. I will bill at the rate based on the three properties I do in that hour-52$ with a 15 minute min. or I will quit this job. This is the last straw year for me on many different subjects.

[Scott H]

If they dont want to clean it up, ride over it and if it splatters on there house. OH WELL

[rats5656]

go around it so it looks like you made a design on there lawn and then they will thank you for such a good job well done.