I to am having the same issue, some new renters moved in on my road a few months ago and there's dog turd all over the place. Have captured them on cam once, never knew that the dog would mark and sniff my driveway as its toilet. Might give the pepper trick a try but it's not the dogs fault which is why I'm hesitant to give it a try.
You are correct, it's not the dogs fault. But unless you can come up with a way to correct the owners habits (confrontation, legal, etc) then this will not harm the dog, just make it REALLY not want to go near that area anytime soon.