Dog Poop clean-up incentives?

HELP! we are a large military family housing community with a major problem- we cannot get our residents to pick up their dog poo!!! Unfortunately we can't fine them for this due to our government contract, but our landscapers can't mow due to the amount of dog mess everywhere. Does anyone else have experience with this or any ideas of what I could do to get this under control?

Is there any sort of city/local ordinance that is applicable? Maybe you can get them involved in monitoring the property and citing violators. If you spot violators, you can still send them a warning notice, and depending on what their pet agreement is, threaten to rescind their permission for a pet.

I had to smile when I read this as military communities have been battling this situation and have came up with many solutions from dog poop areas to having poop stations with bags.

Here is what I would suggest. Ensure that it is in your resident handbook about dog poop being policed up. That is they do not, a dog DNA sample will be taken and the owner sited, and they will bear the cost of what it took to run the test.

Now that being said you have to have a very tight shot group to ensure that you have a solid case. I would consult JAG about what would be needed to ensure it would stick to the pet owner. You have to ensure that all pet owners are registered with their pet's swab done and sent in. Now here are the points which can come up: If a resident is caught not cleaning up, he or she could be fined what amount of money? So, the reason I said talk to JAG is because it raises some due process questions. Does the military housing management really have the contractual authority to make such assessments? Who is the judge and jury? What are the standards of evidence? How much left-behind poop constitutes a violation? Even if they clean up after their dog with a plastic bag, they inevitably leave behind some trace. That is, unless they use a shovel and scoop right down to the dirt. But then people would probably complain about bare scoop spots all over the place.

Now here is a link which gives 5 ways to provide incentives. I gave you one of those five ways: www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/5-ways-c...wners-to-pick-up-poo

Ha! Love the ideas in that link! You may not be able to fine the violators, but if you leave poop on their doorstep or have a Pooper Scooper Wall of Shame, people would definitely get the hint. Not picking up poop is something people are sorry about only if they get caught.

Otherwise, you could hire a company whose sole purpose is to pick up pet poop and pass the cost of it along to the pet owners via an increase in (or implementation of) the monthly pet fee.

We offer a reward to residents who find the culprit! Normally a $25 rent credit or gift card does the trick. You'd be surprised how many residents turn into detectives and all the photos you'll receive! Then we follow up the the turd violator and enforce revoking being able to have a pet residing with them.

I would start with a "Fine" letter to all dogowners with a dog poop bag stapled to it. I've done this before and it really gets there attention.

Whenever I have a serious problem, like this one, I get extra man hours or volunteers from residents who are tired of it.

Give them "citations" to hand out with a $50 fine notice attached. Most people take their dogs out when they get home from work, so it's usually 5-7 when our doggies get to go out.

Just do it every other day over a period of a month and they'll get that you are serious.

On my fine notice, I have a list of pet violations then a section for fines. The first one is checked "Warning". Then I have a place to check $25 fine, $50 fine, $100 fine, $200 fine.

You could also get maintenance some baking soda or lime and have them mark all of the piles so it is big and white where everyone can see where they area. It's funny, until it rains.