# Baby, baby, where does your dog go? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 25, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315 "2003-05-25T00:28:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/1 "2003-05-25T00:28:18Z")
As some of you know, I adopted a dog recently. This is my first dog since I moved out on my own. I grew up in a much more rural area. Back in the day, you could open your door, let the dog out, and then let him back in when the day was over. Or if it got hot. But you get the idea. In later years, you had to have the dog on a leash when he was outside, but because we were rural enough there was plenty of room to walk him. I’m talking lotsa woods. In other words, it was pretty easy to avoid having the dog piddle on a neighbor’s lawn or something. Now I’m in a much less rural area - an apartment complex. I’m in the pet section, which means there’s no shortage of puppies. You’re supposed to clean up after your dog, so I take a plastic bag with me, turn it inside out, and use it as an - urp, ugh - glove when he’s done his duty. And then toss the bag in a dumpster. Even though I’m cleaning up after him, I have this nagging feeling that someone will say, “Hey, don’t let your dog go there!” And of course, you can’t clean up his piddling. What am I supposed to do, bring a sponge? 😃 So for you dog owners, what do you do? a) In your neighborhood, are you **supposed** to clean up after your dog? If so, do you? If not, do you anyway? b) Where do you let him crap and pee? Are you discriminating? Is he? c) What methods do you use to remove the waste? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/2 "2003-05-25T00:33:40Z")
TMI - Hand in a plastic bag. pick up the poo with the outside of the bag. Turn the bag inside out. Throw the bag away (or post it through the letterbox of an enemy) ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/3 "2003-05-25T00:35:45Z")
Yeah, that’s what I meant when I said “as a glove.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/4 "2003-05-25T00:36:01Z")
shitshitshit, Reading that spoiler is going to give you a sense of deja vu. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/5 "2003-05-25T00:37:13Z")
Sorry, In a moment of uncharacteristic stupidity I didn’t read all of your OP. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/6 "2003-05-25T00:38:22Z")
shitshitshit, I get it - pun intended? BTW, this is in IMHO because I figure people would have varying opinions on how to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/7 "2003-05-25T00:50:40Z")
(Now that I have read the OP) One should expect most people understand that pee is pretty difficult to clean up. One phrase that almost every person somehow knows in early childhood is “eww, a dog could have peed there!” So it is a given that dogs pee ‘there’. My grandpa’s little shit of a rat dog makes a note of holding his chocolate icecream in until he gets INSIDE the house. I will not let my dog squat in the middle of a busy main road (as we cross it) and take a dump (as she has tried to do in the past) but pretty much anywhere else is ok. (outdoors) ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/8 "2003-05-25T00:52:44Z")
I am becoming American - “take a dump” as opposed to ‘have a dump’. Every time I hear an American on tv say, “I am going to go take a dump” I say “take it where?” in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/9 "2003-05-25T00:53:38Z")
I love having a fenced yard. Every few days, we go on poop patrol. They do wreck the grass, though. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/10 "2003-05-25T00:54:58Z")
Yeah, I had a friend who said, “I don’t take shits - I leave em!” He was so proud. ---
**Author:** ![chattywine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@chattywine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chattywine)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/11 "2003-05-25T01:01:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lobsang \* > \*\*I am becoming American - “take a dump” as opposed to ‘have a dump’. > Every time I hear an American on tv say, “I am going to go take a dump” I say “take it where?” in my mind. \*\* You have a dump? Too much like having a baby. **Lobsang** I bet you were one to ‘give exams’ too… For the OP, baggie/glove thing works wtg, pee evaporates forgetaboutit, most popular spot round here is around the corner behind the garbage dumpsters. Oh how I wish the neighbors would be so inclined. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![soulsearcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@soulsearcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulsearcher)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/12 "2003-05-25T12:02:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lobsang \* > \*\*Every time I hear an American on tv say, “I am going to go take a dump” I say “take it where?” in my mind. \*\* how often does one get to hear that term on tv? just wondering what sort of shows other than oz of course have writers that would slide that in. I have a 13 week old puppy, and i’m finally getting to know his “schedule” he would go pee outside, and then wander about sniffing and doing nothing else, and then the moment i let him in, he goes scurrying off to some corner to do his dirty deed. he’s a lil guy so um i think my son has just been mulching the poop that does make it outside :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/13 "2003-05-25T16:42:43Z")
> [@](#): > > how often does one get to hear that term on tv? just wondering what sort of shows other than oz of course have writers that would slide that in. Actually the most recent place I heard it was in a film. Pulp Fiction. Vincent Vega says it , ---
**Author:** ![HBby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/977dab/32.png) [@HBby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HBby)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/14 "2003-05-25T18:38:01Z")
In my county, there’s a “Scoop the Poop” law. Not scooping the poop is finable (sp?) up to $200. In my neighborhood, they provide “Mutt Mitts” dispensers every two blocks, which are super handy, and “Pet Trashcans” for the poopy bags. The HOA also sends out reminders to scoop the poop and recommend carrying a water bottle to hose down their pee so it doesn’t burn the plants. I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong, if you let your pup do it’s business away from where children play and not on people’s private yards. My methods are pretty clear: don’t let it be known that my dog was ever there. The next bit is gross, so… if his poop smears or gets stuck in the grass, I actually will break off the poop-smeared grass (hand still in the Mutt Mitt) so there’s no trace of my dog having been there. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lobsang \* > \*\*I will not let my dog squat in the middle of a busy main road (as we cross it) and take a dump (as she has tried to do in the past) but pretty much anywhere else is ok. (outdoors) \*\* He only goes on plants, dirt, mulch, sand and the like and won’t go on concrete even if another dog hit the spot. While visiting Paris, we had a hard time, finding any plot of grass or even dirt that wasn’t fenced off–poor guy held it in quite a bit. One time, he couldn’t any more and, while briskly crossing a busy intersection in the heart of the city, he stopped cold and took a dookie in the middle of the crosswalk as the light turned. I almost panicked as cars came bearing down on us.:eek: It was a close call. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/15 "2003-05-25T22:34:56Z")
I personally say “take a dump” all the time. Now, with the dog here, there’s someone to hear it. :eek: I don’t let him do #2 anywhere obvious or where people walk. In fact, see what you all think of this rule: No concrete, nowhere where people usually walk, and no grass that’s usually mowed - meaning that wild grass is okay. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/16 "2003-05-26T03:42:48Z")
Ah, elimination control. On walks, solids are picked up in the tactful plastic bag for disposal later. For instances of rare but mutally upsetting gastric upset, I usually have a kleenex lurking around my pockets. (No, I don’t enjoy it but she doesn’t enjoy having her guts in revolt either.) Squat and widdle? (I have a female dog.) She has her specific " unload and fly express" spot under a bush in the backyard for late-night or quickie outside visits. Walks are different matter. She can be _desperate_, all four legs crossed from quivering bladder overload, but if she knows we’re going for a WALK–and she always knows–she rations it out for purely canine purposes. She’d put the stuffiest, pickiest Victorian to shame. Gotta sniff carefully first and only then decide if she wants to leave a calling card. Some spots barely rate a cursory few drops. Others (after much thoughtful sniffing) merit a respectful full squat. FTR, almost all of those involve stereotypical tree trunks, street signs and fire plugs, not “Ground Force” edens. Dogs are ultimate pack animals. As long as they’re under you control, and you remove their appreciable leavings, it’s cool. Unless pure dog-traffic overload endangers grass, there ain’t a problem. (Dogs may not _like_ it but there’s nothing saying you have to permit them to favor a "public’ urination spot either.) They’ll look reproachful and pained at your crass lack of sensibility but them’s the breaks. Veb ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/17 "2003-05-26T03:45:47Z")
Funny thing is, the last dog we had went every three feet or so. Stop, pee, look around, go… stop, pee, look around go. Always in a hurry, always marking territory. This one goes twice. Does #1 once and #2 once. And that’s IT. We walk for 20 minutes or so, and he has pleny of opportunities to unload some more. Won’t do it. I stop at a tree or a bush, he stops. Looks up at me: “Well? Are we going or what?” ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/18 "2003-05-26T15:15:27Z")
Here’s how I deal- my dogs defacate and urinate on my property only. How is that done? Before we walk, they both do their business. That generally takes care of the poop issue so I don’t have to worry about it. When we’re walking, I do not allow them to urinate wherever they want. They already went, so I know any further efforts are just to mark territory where they smell other dogs. So we walk at a brisk pace, they can stop and smell, but not pee where they’re smelling. I figure if Mrs. Jones wanted dog piss on her flowers, trees, and shrubs she would buy herself a dog. I feel strongly about this and enforce it because urine kills grass, plants, and other vegatative matter. I think it’s nasty to have some dog walk onto your lawn and take a piss there. One of my neighbors stopped by to chat and let his dog run all over my yard pissing on things- I finally asked him to leash him so he wouldn’t piss on the flower bed that I put my HANDS in. He seemed bewildered by the request. The dogs are now trained not to mark when they’re walking. If either shows signs of poopage, we just turn around and walk home. That’s generally not an issue because as I said, they do their business before we set out. Oh, and I bought a leash at Target that has little baggies right in the handle. Very convenient when you’re at a park or a “pick up as you go” situation. [http://www.fourlegsandatail.com/leasretwbago.html](http://www.fourlegsandatail.com/leasretwbago.html) ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-baby-where-does-your-dog-go/177315/19 "2003-05-26T15:26:51Z")
Yeah, it’s a little different if you have your own place and have a yard for the pup to do business in. I guess I technically have air space, since I’m on the second floor, but that might be problematic. When I lived in a house, though, we couldn’t do what you did because our animals wouldn’t go right away - they’d want to walk a bit. I guess you just have to take it on a dog-by-dog basis.