Absolutely. That's a reasonable tactic (debatably effective -has worked for me). Do you not think there's a HUGE difference between that and shooting it??
I will admit that there is a difference...and I do admit that perhaps it is a borderline tactic. If I was real close friends with the guy next door, then I might have felt considerable in calling him, saying I am tired of stepping in your dogs poop. Please make it stop.
However, in this case, I was not really friends with the guy. Indifferent one way or the other. Right or wrong, I felt it was between me and the dog. I wasn't worried about shooting him in the eye or anything. I am a good shot. I waited until he was still, then popped him in the rear quarters from 50-60 feet away. After doing that a couple of times, he started going somewhere else to poop. So it solved my problem, the dog was fine, the neighbor never knew the difference to my knowledge.
But I can see your point I guess. If someone is careful about it, I would not mind them shooting my dog to get him out of their yard. It is their yard. Now, I am now talking about shooting them with a shotgun or anything like that. I would rather that happen than dealing with police, trying to figure out how to train my dog to poop in the right place.
In town, obviously you must follow leash laws and no firing of guns. but in the country, dogs either run loose. Or are typically released from a cage to get out and run around some. A dog that stays 24/7 on a chain and has to poop/pee in that little circle is what I consider dog abuse.
You may be right? It is definitely a debatable topic.