Dan wrote:
someone or some people in my neighborhood are not taking care of their dogs
properly and are allowing them to leave waste in my yard. It's annoying,
and potentially a health issue. I never have seen any particular dog doing
it, so it's not like I can ask a particular neighbor to improve their

Won't make a difference even if you asked, the dog that belongs to the
person you speak to never never leaves a mess. It must be that other
dog!

You could try a few things.
- Leave a plastic bag with some plastic grocery bags inside to
encourage pet owners to pick up
- Motion-activated sprinkler, if it is your back yard or someplace it
can be directed to spray on trespassers only
- Fox scent, dogs supposedly avoid this, I think hunting stores might
have this
- Pepper-based powders for dogs & cats, available at the hardware
stores
- Call the city