Dave McLaughlin wrote:
I have a house on a corner plot with a 7-8ftwide tatty strip of
grass/weeds running up the side which is attractive only to dogs and the
neighbours kids who keep playing football up against the wall!

I'm looking to fill it with something that is spikey/sharp enough to
deter dogs/kids (rather than disembowel them!) and was thinking along
the lines of 'anti-burglar' type plants such as pyracantha, berberis,
and quince.

Rotweiller. Keeping yer own dog will deter all others, and the children
too. Rotweilters eat footballs.