What Can I Do to Get Residents to Clean Up After Their Dogs?

Every apartment community has that dog owner. You know the one. Cute golden doodle. Designer leash. Never picks up the poop. Either he stands there, pretending to be on his phone, and “doesn’t notice,” or, if observed, grabs the poop bag, leans over, and feigns cleaning it up. 

Naughty pet owners create conflict, as well as a mess. There are Facebook rants. Timestamped videos from other residents, accusations, and sometimes even altercations. And who do they come to for justice? You. The Property Manager.

You didn’t go into property management to become the neighborhood Dog Doo Detective. And yet, here you are…

• Rewinding surveillance footage in 15-second increments like it’s the Zapruder film
  
  
• Cross-referencing poop locations with leash colors
  
  
• Sending emails titled “Incident at the South Courtyard – Please Review”
  
  

And despite your best efforts, residents might even demand your boss’ number, hoping he’ll put you through the Turd Degree until the case is solved.

DNA Testing as a Solution? Yeah, nah.

Yes, there are services that will test dog poop for DNA. Yes, it costs money. No, residents don’t want to pay for it. Yes, it feels like an episode of CSI: Canine Stool Investigation. 

No, it’s not a good use of your time. 

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Pet Waste Management: Solve the Problem, Not Just the Case

Focusing only on catching individual violators creates an endless loop of unhappiness for residents and management alike: angry complaints, constant investigations, and constant recidivism by the lease violators. 

There’s good reasons to solve the problem, not just the case:

1. Resident Trust & Satisfaction

Poop on the lawn = residents think the property is neglected. When it happens over and over, they don’t care if you fined someone. They care that it’s still happening.

2. Protecting Property Value

Consistent dog waste not only damages grass and landscaping—it signals poor management to prospects and owners. That hits leasing, retention, and NOI.

3. Preventing Conflict

When residents see no consistent enforcement, they enforce it themselves—through gossip, confrontation, and angry emails. 

4. Saving Staff Time

Every “poop investigation” takes up valuable time that should go to real operational needs. Automation with smart AI and enforcement tools makes the problem manageable.

5. Reinforcing the Lease & Community Standards

Targeted enforcement builds a culture of accountability. When residents see there’s a system—not just random busts—they’re more likely to comply.

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AI Video Surveillance System Solves the Problem

With AI Surveillance, 100% of your surveillance footage is watched and indexed by a computer. That means you can search for the offender in seconds, rather than hours. You can also download that footage, and send it along to the offending pet owner along with a fine for the violation. You can even start a playlist to keep track of repeat offenders. 

And most importantly—establish a real deterrent. All while your budget enjoys a little ancillary ROI.

And you get on with managing real issues that will improve your community, like stopping car break-ins, package theft, and vandalism. Oh wait, turns out Cloudastructure can help you with those, too. Let’s talk.

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Join Our Pet Policy Webinar

More Pet Issues? Come have a chat with liability attorney Amanda Podlucky of Cobb/Gonzalez and PetScreening’s Victoria Cowart! We’ll be talking about all issues furry and fluffy, and there will be plenty of time for Q&A with the experts!

Paws & Policy - Thursday, Jul 10, 2025 - 2 ET/11 PT

Register Today!

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